some of you may wonder if anyone on CSC really rides, let alone races, on the Soloist Team? Those of you who follow the European racing scene already know the Soloist Team has been ridden to plenty of victories by Team CSC on that side of the pond. In North America, that question was answered at the Philadelphia International Championship on June 10. Of the team's seven riders, 3 rode the Soloist Team, 3 rode the Soloist Carbon and 1 rode the R3. JJ Haedo (Soloist Carbon) and Matt Goss (Soloist Team) went 1-2 in that race. Perhaps Matt would have nipped JJ at the line had he been on the Soloist Carbon but it didn't seem to hold him back relative to all the carbon bikes behind him.
We received more than 60 entries for the Enjoy.Cervélo contest, way more than we ever could have hoped for. Some beautiful, some crazy, a few warped, but in all cases, a big thank you to all those who took the time to participate.
We have now tallied your votes and those of the jury for the qualifying round, and the top 10 is now on cervelo.tv for the finals. So, please take a moment to watch these ten 15 second videos, and VOTE. The winner will receive a cycling trip to France, a Cervélo frame of choice and of course - your video on TV during this year's Tour de France.
All ten videos are here.
In honor of Andy Schleck's magnificent second place finish and white jersey victory in the world's second biggest bike race, we have put some beautiful wallpapers on the site. You can find them, as well as many wallpapers from Paris-Roubaix and other races, in the Wallpaper section.
Bicycling Magazine Reviews the Soloist Team Sweepstakes around the world Fabian Cancellara takes Tour prologue and yellow jersey Fabian's Prologue-winning P3 Carbon Fabian Also Wins Stage 3 Fabian's Stage 3 Winning Bike Cervelo's Forum Goes Live
In the August issue of Rodale's Bicycling Magazine, gear editors review the Soloist Team. Billed on the magazine's front cover as "The Best $2300 Bike We've Ever Ridden" (the Soloist Team actually retails for $2200 USD), the Soloist Team takes high praise for its aerodynamics and for its stiffness, but especially for the fabulous value the Soloist provides in "speed-per-dollar". To read the complete review, click here.
There are many, many ways to win a Cervelo during this year's Tour de France. So if you have been lusting over a Cervelo but are still saving up, here are your chances for a shortcut:
a.. Vs./Saab/Bicycling magazine b.. Active.com c.. Cyclingnews.com d.. Competitive Cyclist e.. Category One Cycles
World Timetrial Champion Fabian Cancellara demonstrated that he is in a league of his own as far as time trials go, when he sped to victory in the Tour de France prologue - a 7.9-kilometer route around Buckingham Palace in London.
No less than 13 seconds was the time difference down to number two - Astana's Andreas Kloden, who had a further 10 seconds down to number three. "It's a big deal for me and also for my family back home. I've been working towards this ever since Paris-Roubaix and I almost feel like the rest of the Tour is just an added bonus now. But of course I'd like to stick around and see if maybe I'm able to win another time trial later on - and of course help the team to some more great results as well," said Fabian after his victory. Fabian's prologue win was the third-fastest ever in the Tour, with the two fastest prologue still firmly in the hands of Chris Boardman. Some may wonder about Dave Zabriskie's win in the 2005 Tour, but due to its length that was considered to be stage 1, not a prologue. So with two Tour opening victories in the last three years, the P3 Carbon has struck again, proving that it's not enough to just toss a curve in your seattube, you actually have to design the seattube and the rest of the frame properly to get the optimal results. So what exactly was Fabian Cancellara riding in the London prologue of the Tour? a.. stock Cervelo P3 Carbon frame, size 54 b.. Cervelo Wolf CL fork c.. Cervelo P3C seatpost d.. Zipp 999s e.. Vittoria Crono Evo CS tubulars f.. Visiontech 3-piece system of stem, basebar and clip-on (Fabian likes to make adjustments to the angle of his extensions, making the one-piece system not very practical) g.. FSA NeoPro cranks h.. Selle Italia Flite saddle i.. Speedplay Zero Ti's
In an incredible move, Fabian managed to also win stage 3 of the Tour de France. First he put in a few efforts to pull the peloton closer to four leaders who were threatening his yellow jersey. Then with one kilometer to go and the leaders 10 seconds in front, he jumped from the peloton, caught and dropped the four leaders, and then went on to stave off the sprinters who were breathing down his neck. "It was brilliant!" said a happy Team CSC sports director Kim Andersen following the stage. "It was so worth the wait - what a finale - I'm almost lost for words. I actually don't think he was going for the stage as much as trying to defend the yellow jersey, but we're in the car shouting in his ear phone that he had a gap and he just went for it." The 236.5-kilometer stage from Waregem to Compiegne had taken a strange turn earlier so the unexpected victory for Cancellara was very fitting really. Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Matthieu Ladagnous (Francaise des Jeux) escaped already after six kilometers and quickly gained a 12-minute lead. After that Team CSC started to catch up and without much effort the gap was quickly reduced to eight minutes.
The peloton didn't want to catch the break so early so everyone slowed down and this carried on until about 60 kilometers before the finish, where Staphane Auge (COF) and Frederic Willems (LIQ) escaped and caught up to the two others.
With about 30 kilometer left the four-man break started to pose a threat as their lead increased to four minutes and neither of them had worked that hard during the stage so far, so they had lots of strength left over. No less than six teams besides Team CSC were chasing behind, but it was not until things got tactical for the four riders in the break that the gap was reduced.
On a cobble-stoned part of the route one kilometer ahead of the finish line Cancellara demonstrated just why he won Paris-Roubaix last year. He escaped on the cobblestones and caught up to the four in the break with 200 meters to go. Behind him the sprinters were desperately trying to follow suit, but they never made it and Cancellara took one of the most spectacular victories imaginable in a stage like this.
"We had talked about that cobble stoned bit earlier, but we never discussed it as an opportunity for attack, but more the fact that the riders should be careful, when they got there. But it's actually pretty symbolic that Fabian made this happen after his disappointment in Paris-Roubaix a couple of months ago," added Kim Andersen.
"It was absolutely fantastic to win in the yellow jersey. I was afraid I'd lose it during those final 30 kilometers and now instead I'm standing here with a victory, which I'll remember for a very long time," said an excited Cancellara.
During the road stages of the Tour, Fabian (just like most of his colleagues) rides the SLC-SL. As light or lighter than all but two of the frames used by his competitors (the R3 SL being one of the two other frames), the SLC-SL has another feature that makes it ideal for efforts like on stage 3: its aerodynamics. When you are out in front by yourself, Fabian Cancellara on his SLC-SL creates 3% less drag than he would on a standard, round-tubed frame (you can see photos of Fabian on a regular Soloist Carbon in the tunnel at left; aerodynamically there is no difference between the two bikes). 3% may not sound like that much, but over the kilometer he soloed that works out to around 10 meters, which makes a huge difference.
Fabian's SLC-SL was fitted with: a.. Cervelo SLC-SL frame, 58cm b.. Alpha-Q GS-10 fork c.. Cervelo 1-position aero carbon seatpost d.. Zipp 606 wheels e.. Vittoria Corsa Evo CX tubulars f.. FSA Gossamer MegaExo crankset (same as used on the Ultegra-equiped Cervelos) g.. FSA bar & stem h.. Selle Italia Flite saddle i.. Speedplay Zero - limited edition Yellow
Many of you have been asking us to put a forum on our site where you can exchange ideas, ask for help, arrange group rides and talk about any other cycling-related topic you can think of. So here it is, the Cervelo forum. Log in, and post away.
c photo - Tim De Waele / Cor Vos / Cervelo If you do not wish to receive Cervelo eNews, please click here www.cervelo.com eNews text contents may be used free of charge provided Cervelo is credited as follows: "courtesy www.cervelo.com/enews". Photos may only be used if listed at www.cervelo.com/media. All other photos are c Tim DeWaele and may not be reproduced.
Interbike 2008 Full 2008 model line The new Cervelo RS Cervelo is the first to test SRAM Red New tools for Cervelo windtunnel testing Cervelo at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii
"Cervelo is the exception. Many of the bike tests we do last for 4 to 8 hours. Cervelo tests for a week at a time." Dave Sanford, windtunnel engineering manager at the San Diego Low Speed Wind Tunnel
The general concensus was that very few companies had truly exciting things to show this year. For Cervelo, the show was a resounding success, coming straight off the independent surveys of VeloNews, CycleSport and Inside Triathlon readers that indicate Cervelo is their top pick for a new bike next year. So obviously dealers were very excited about the Cervelo line, in particular the new RS model (see below). But maybe the biggest hit was our display of our windtunnel test rig, which finally made people understand that Cervelo spends its time on REAL aerodynamic research, not on some marketing-inspired photo-ops in the windtunnel (our favorite was one manufacturer who already proclaims its new frame to be very aero, but then said it will be tested in the windtunnel for the first time in a few weeks. And given the diamond-shaped tubes, it obviously it won't do well at all). More on our test rig further below.
As Ferdinand Porsche once said, it is easy to have something new, but very difficult to have something better. So the majority of our model line will remain unchanged, as customers like Team CSC simply haven't been able to find anything to improve on them yet. For 2008 we will have the following models:
a.. Soloist Team (unchanged) - Bicycling magazine calls it the "Fastest, most-storied $2300 bike in the world." We disagree; it's actually only $2000.
b.. Soloist Carbon (unchanged) - Bike of the year in the USA, France, UK, Australia, Germany, it's the most aero road bike in the world.
c.. SLC-SL (unchanged) - Even lighter than the Soloist Carbon and just as aero, the SLC-SL is Team CSC's aero AND weight advantage at the same time.
d.. R3 (new graphics) - Two starts in Paris-Roubaix, two wins. The lightest frame to ever race on the world's worst roads keeps proving to be the strongest as well.
e.. R3 SL (unchanged) - How can the lightest production frame in the world also be one of the strongest and stiffest? Well, that's what happens when you have more engineers than bike models.
f.. RS (new) - The brilliant strength, stiffness and handling qualities of the R3 series - but with a longer headtube for those desiring a higher handlebar position - see the article below for more info.
g.. P2 SL (unchanged) - How often do you see the words "entry-level-world-championship-winning bike"? In DuraAce and Ultegra for North America.
h.. P2C (new graphics) - Only beaten in aerodynamics by the P3C, this bike continues to dominate its category. Now in a DuraAce and an Ultegra version for North America.
i.. P3C (new graphics) - The standard by which every TT bike is measured. Often copied, never matched. And another "2 starts, 2 wins" bike, with Fabian Cancellara at the World TT Championships.
Cervelo constantly receives feedback from riders across a wide spectrum of abilities, from relative novices to the pros of Team CSC. With regard to geometry and fit, we always receive positive feedback. The only request that we sometimes receive from riders with higher than average handlebar positions - including a few at Team CSC - is to offer headtube lengths to match that.
Enter the RS, our latest stiffness-to-weight (STW) design which will accommodate more upright positions, while maintaining the high performance characteristics that set Cervelo apart. After all, flexibility has nothing to do with performance levels. A good portion of the pros have rather limited flexibility; (which is not that strange; they were not selected for their ability to touch their toes, but for their excellent leg muscles, heart and lungs).
Of course, they as well as any serious cyclist understand the importance of improving flexibility, still there will always be those who are more flexible than others. For that reason, we have the R3 and Soloist models for riders with average or above average flexibility, and now the RS for those who prefer a higher handlebar position.
"To be perfectly clear," said Gerard Vroomen, co-founder of Cervelo, "the RS does not fall into the trap so often found in the bike industry of equating a higher handlebar position with less of a desire for high performance. From tube shapes to carbon lay-ups and from stiffness & strength to handling geometry, the RS is so good that some CSC riders will use it next year, while those pros and regular riders with average or low handlebar positions will continue to be perfectly served with the R3 and Soloist ranges."
In December 2005, long before SRAM launched its first road groups (Force and Rival), Cervelo invited Alex Wassmann of SRAM over to Team CSC's first training camp to present the products. The team tested them (you may remember the video of Alex driving Bjarne Riis into the ditch, which can be found here). Cervelo & Team CSC have stayed in contact ever since. This July, our co-founder Gerard Vroomen finally took the Force prototypes off his bike, to have them replaced by the new SRAM Red prototypes. Thus, Cervelo TV was the first "media outlet" to do a test of the new Red group, but we agreed with SRAM not to publish anything until after Eurobike. Alex even did some of the shooting himself, but to be safe we didn't give him a car; he had to shoot the video while riding next to Gerard. So here it is: our initial review of the new Red group.
In March 2007, Dave Zabriskie (at the behest of Cervelo) visited Gentle Giant Digital, a world leader in digital 3D scanning. There, a complete 3D scan of him was made, which has since served Cervelo in its CFD analysis. CFD, or Computational Fluid Dynamics, is the simulation of air flow on the computer. With this scan Cervelo became the first bike manufacturer to use a proper representation of a real cyclist in its CFD analysis.
But there was a second use for the Gentle Giant scan, as Cervelo recently completed the production of a full-scale wind tunnel test dummy based on the scan, an absolute first in the bike industry."Using a test dummy in the wind tunnel is much more practical than a live person." explains Cervelo co-founder Phil White. "First of all, it is very difficult to keep people in the exact same position for an entire day while switching bike frames, parts, etc. With the test dummy we can test much more accurately. Secondly, since the test dummy doesn't have a racing contract with Team CSC, he is available all the time. Finally, it is very cold in a wind tunnel; so real people don't like sitting in it for very long. The dummy doesn't complain."
The test dummy was CNC-machined out of a high-density modeling foam and finished with an acrylic paint for durability. Its attributes include:
a.. The positioning of all four joints is 100% repeatable through the use of bullet nose dowels in the arms and legs and steel locator bushings potted into the body.
b.. Its hands are positioned into the aero-bar extensions using the same method
c.. He is affixed to the test bike at 4 points, (2 at the pedals and 2 at the forearm rest pads), through the use of 3/8-16 unc thumbscrews, screwed into threaded inserts at the soles of the shoes and at the elbows.
The dummy completes the new windtunnel test set-up of Cervelo, which also includes a modular test frame. This frame has an extremely thin but solid steel core, making it stiff enough to be ridden or used with the dummy. This core can then be clad with various tube shapes to quickly investigate their aerodynamic effectiveness. The components of the test bike and the position of the rider remain completely unchanged while the tube shapes on the modular test frames are changed, resulting in much more accurate and repeatable test results.
With the new test dummy and the modular frame, Cervelo once again sets new standards. Its dedication to thorough aerodynamic engineering and extensive wind tunnel testing throughout the design process is second to none. "Cervelo is the exception," says Dave Sanford, windtunnel engineering manager at the San Diego Low Speed Wind Tunnel. "Many of the bike tests we do last for 4 to 8 hours. Cervelo tests for a week at a time."
It's that time of year again: The Ironman World Championships. This week, nearly 1700 athletes will race to complete a grueling 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run on the Hawaiian island of Kailua-Kona, and Cervelo will be there. Stop into HP Bikeworks on Luhia St. (just off the Queen K Highway) to test ride a Cervelo, and keep an eye out about town for Chris, our technical support chief, and the other Chris, our videographer. You may just find yourself on Cervelo.tv.
We'll be watching all of our athletes - age groupers and pros alike - and cheering them on as they cross the finish line, but you might particularly want to watch out for Lisa Bentley at the finish - she'll be working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to make a little boy's wish come true. Check out www.cervelo.com for more details.
Best of luck and congratulations to all of the athletes headed to Kona this week! Have an incredible adventure.
Full 2008がモデル化するInterbike 2008は、新しいCervelo RSに線をひきます Cerveloは、SRAM Red NewツールをKona(ハワイ)でIronman World選手権大会でCerveloをテストしている Cervelo windtunnelを見つけるため検査する最初です