Travis Meyer’s first month as a professional included a win that many of his countrymen chase for their entire careers — the Australian road race championship. The Garmin-Transitions neo-pro, younger brother to teammate and Aussie time trial champion Cameron Meyer, has yet to debut the green and gold national champion’s kit, as he has focused on his track program since the championships.

Meyer will join his team in Girona later this month following the UCI World Track Championships in Copenhagen, where he will bid to win the team pursuit title. VeloNews caught up with Meyer on an oppressively hot day in Singapore in early March.

VeloNews: Tell our readers about Travis Meyer on the bike.

Travis Meyer: I’m a track and road rider. I started off on the track at eleven years old. I’ve always done both and I started off doing road and track nationals as a junior and I’ve continued doing that because I wouldn’t mind making the London Olympics. That’s a big goal for me.

I more specialize in the time trial on the road and the individual and team pursuits on the track, but I do everything on the track for a bit of fun as well. I wouldn’t say I’m a sprinter, I’m a bit of an all-rounder, I guess I would say. I do the Madison with my brother Cam quite a bit.

VN: You came up through the Institute for Sport program?

TM: Yeah.

VN: How’s life at Garmin?

TM: It’s good. Unfortunately I haven’t had much time with them yet because I’m doing my track commitments at the moment. I missed Tour Down Under with them, which was disappointing, but I’ve had a bit to do with Whitey (director Matt White) now, and he’s a really good guy. I get a pretty good vibe from the team; I haven’t been with them much, but I’m looking forward to the season.

VN: When do your track commitments end and you make the transition to road?

TM: Track commitments end straight after worlds in Copenhagen, which are from the 24th to the 28th of March. Then straight after that I’ll head over to Girona, where I’m going to be living with Cam.

Tour of Romandie at the end of April is my first tour and from then on it will be road.

VN: A good, solid month-long training block before Romandie?

TM: Yeah, which is good because with the track the way it goes now, you don’t have to do a lot of road kilometers and that sort of thing — it’s more about power and speed. I haven’t done a lot of road miles at the moment and I’ll need that month to get ready for the road racing.

VN: Not many brothers have the opportunity to ride professionally with their sibling. What does this opportunity mean to you?

TM: It’s pretty huge because we started off racing at exactly the same time when we were younger and we’ve progressed through exactly the same. We’ve gone through from juniors to the Institute for Sport, and from there to Garmin. It’s really good that we’re both on the same team for our first couple of years in the pros. I’m really looking forward to it. Cam and me get along really well, race really well together, so yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.

VN: Has there been a difficult side of that in the past — the sibling rivalry?

TM: It hasn’t seemed to be a problem, spending too much time together. We get along as best friends, basically.

VN: Looking at your calendar, are you going to be on the same stops very often this year?

TM: No, not really, which is really disappointing. I reckon we’re going to do maybe one tour because he’s stepped up a fair bit straight away. He’s planned to do the Giro (d’Italia) again and (Tour de) Suisse as well, so he’s got a few of the bigger races.

I’m more starting off slower with the smaller races, so I don’t think we really do any tours until maybe August together, which is a bit of a shame, but what can you do, it’s all right.

VN: Cam and you split the Australian road titles this year. I can’t think of anywhere internationally where that has happened in recent memory. How does that feel?

TM: It’s still taking a while to sink in, really. It was really kind of expected that Cam would win the time trial; he went in as the hot favorite and didn’t disappoint, obviously. I went into the road nationals just purely to help the other guys. I got into the break and did my job and it all panned out and I happened to win.

It was very good for our family — for me and Cam — they kind of said the Meyer brothers stole the show that weekend. I think when I get to Europe and start racing in the Aussie colors, it’s really going to sink in. It’s pretty unbelievable.

VN: You guys will have a green and gold road kit and speed suit in the apartment in Girona.

TM: Yeah, like we said to each other, we can’t get the kits mixed up. All the skins suits in green and gold will be Cameron’s and in the road kit, I’ll have the green and gold. We won’t need name tags or anything.

VN: You’ve worn the Aussie colors in the past on the track, but now you’ll be wearing them nearly daily on the road. What does that mean to you?

TM: It’s massive to be known as Australian champion, for Cam in the time trial and for me in the road race. I think it’ll really sink in when I have my first race in the kit. It’s a bit of a responsibility, I guess. I’m representing the Australian champion and everyone looks to me — especially when I think about guys like Stuart O’Grady and Robbie McEwen that have worn it before — it definitely means a lot.

VN: Particularly at this point in your career.

TM: Oh yeah. I mean, it’s my first year pro. I thought that if one day I could win the Australian road championship or time trial championship, it would be a bonus. Just at some point in my career. For it to happen in my first year as a pro is absolutely unbelievable.

VN: What are your targets going into the season? What is your schedule at this point?

TM: I start off with the Tour of Romandie. Then Bayern Rundfhardt in Germany, Delta Tour, and I have a couple of one-dayers in Italy as well. That’s all I know at the moment. I think they’re going to see how I go for the first half and that will determine what I do for the rest of the season.

My goal is really just to do as well as I can — to do a good team job. I’d be happy if I can help the team and am not just hanging on, getting hooped ever day in a tour. As long as the team is happy with how I perform and if I can help anybody in the team in any way get a result, that will be a success.

If I can get one result for the year, I would be happy. At track worlds, I can hopefully break into the teams pursuit and win a world title there, and at the Commonwealth Games at the end of the year as well.

My ambition one day is to be a leader. I’m going to get stronger by being a worker and time will take its course and eventually, hopefully, I’ll start winning races.

VN: What are your ambitions on the track?

TM: In the end of the day, you can’t do track forever. It’s quite hard to put 100 percent focus into the track when you have a road career as well. London is a big goal for me, but I need to see how it progresses. In Australia, there are a lot of young guys putting 100 percent focus into the track and so I need to see whether I just do the road 100 percent if it doesn’t look like I’m going to make the track team.

London would be fantastic; whether it happens, I don’t know. There will be a time when I have to give up the track. When that is, I don’t know.

VN: There is a big Aussie presence in the Garmin program now. How has that made the program attractive to you?

TM: There are five of us now. It is a big attraction because it makes the transition a bit easier for us young guys going into a new team. Having Matt White as a director is fantastic for us as well. The more Aussies the better, in my opinion. We’ve got a good group of guys, but it’s not just the Aussies. We’re mainly from English speaking countries and that’s a big attraction because is make the transition easier.

VN: Chris White at Fly V Australia is building what he hopes will be the first Australian team to ride the Tour. How attractive is a national-based program, like Team Sky, to you?

TM: I think that if one day we could get an Aussie ProTour team, it would be fantastic. I think a lot of Aussies would jump at it, myself included. I think it could still be a while off, but if it happens, yeah, there’s a big appeal to move over like all the British riders did with Team Sky. I have my fingers crossed that one day it will happen.

Women

1. Susannah Gordon Parker Co in 8:36
2. Rebecca Much Chicago Il in 0:08:43
3. Angela Axmann Flagstaff Az in 0:08:47
4. Tayler Wiles Bluffdale Ut in 0:08:53
5. Ashley Koch Scottsdale Az in 0:08:54
6. Melanie Meyers Tucson Az in 0:08:55
7. Anna Sanders Mesa Az in 0:08:58
8. Judy Jenkins Tucson Az in 0:09:02
9. Kathryn Bertine Tucson Az Skn in 0:09:04
10. Greta Neimanas Colorado Springs Co in 0:09:05
11. Cara Bussell Portland Or in 0:09:06
12. Catherine Dickson Glendale Az in 0:09:10
13. Megan French Phoenix Az in 0:09:12
14. Cari Higgins Boulder Co in 0:09:22
15. Jo Ford Mary Tucson Az in 0:09:23
16. Gwen Inglis Tucson Az in 0:09:25
17. Gabriela Ferrat Evergreen Co in 0:09:29
18. Anne Guzman Carlisle On 64114 in 0:09:32
19. Renee Tumminello Lisa Littleton Co in 0:09:32
20. Tammy Lamb Tucson Az in 0:09:38
21. Jennifer Buntz Albuquerque Nm  in 0:09:45
22. Shantelle Pierce Flora Vista Nm in 0:09:49
23. Kristen Hetzel Tucson Az in 0:09:49
24. Carla Flores Pueblo Co 48199 in 0:09:51
25. Sue Stokes Breckenridge Co in 0:09:52
26. Heidi Clayton Phoenix Az in 0:10:16
27. Sherry Curtis Tucson Az in 0:10:31
28. Linse Bradshaw-sandoval Los Alamos Nm in 0:10:50

Men

1. Al Kennett Square in 7:24
2. Phil Zajicek Tucson Az in 07:35
3. Michael Mathis Rochester Ny in 07:48
4. Caleb Fairly Colorado Springs, Co Co in 07:50
5. Eric Marcotte Scottsdale Az in 07:50
6. Alister Ratcliff Durango Co in 07:50
7. Paul Thomas Tucson Az in 07:56
8. Thom Coupe Plymouth Nh in 07:56
9. Corey Steinbrecher Tucson Az in 07:57
10. David Salomon Hermosillo, Mexico in 07:59
11. James Gunn-wilkinson La Jolla Ca in 08:00
12. Mathew Bell Toronto On in 08:04
13. Alex Howes Tucson Az in 08:06
14. Jacob Rubelt Tucson Az in 08:06
15. Jr Grabinger Flagstaff Az in 08:08
16. Jared Gilyard Tuson Az in 08:08
17. Nicholaus Schreiber Tucson Az in 08:11
18. Derrek Ivey Toronto On in 08:14
19. Ryan Zupko Chandler Az in 08:14
20. Cheyne Hoag Dansville Ny in 08:14
21. Eric Kenney Boulder Co in 08:15
22. Walker Savidge Breckenridge Co in 08:15
23. Ben Bradshaw Paradise Valley Az in 08:18
24. Joshua Bartlett Windham Nh in 08:18
25. Anthony Aker Thousand Oaks Ca in 08:20
26. Lisban Quintero New York Ny in 08:22
27. Stevie Cullinan Paradise Valley Az in 08:22
28. Nick Traggis Boulder Co in 08:23
29. Farabaugh Adam Owego Ny in 08:26
30. Gregg Brandt Winona Mn in 08:28
31. Daniel Rooke Phoenix Az in 08:28
32. Hector Rangel Hermosillo in 08:29
33. Eugene Boronow Tucson Az in 08:31
34. Jonathan Parrish Chandler Az in 08:31
35. Tim Carolan Tucson Az in 08:34
36. Hermosillo Aldape Antonio in 08:34
37. Hermosillo Hernandez Carlos in 08:41
38. Hermosillo Aldape Moises Mexico in 08:46
39. Christian Deshaies Sherbrooke Qc in 08:46
40. Az Tucson in 08:47
41. Peter Salon Boulder Co in 08:48
42. Salvatore Scotto Divetta Novi Mi in 08:52
43. Clay Murfet Tucson Az in 08:54
44. Michael Mitchnick Toronto On Can in 08:55
45. Justin Steeds Paris On Can in 08:58
46. Cameron Jette Toronto On in 09:01
47. Arnaud Papilion Longueuil Qc in 09:01
48. Vincent Veilleux Quebec Qc Can in 09:02
49. Ny Ny in 09:08
50. Radames Treviño Hermosillo in 09:12
51. Jordan Cheyne Belleville On Can in 09:19
52. Jeff Zygo Rochester Ny in 09:23

Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis) blazed a path Friday morning along the Fiesta Island time trial course to take stage 1 of the Tour de Murrieta, in California, with a time of 23:52. Teammates Karl Menzies and Roman Kilun rounded out the podium, three and five seconds in arrears, respectively.

Ruth Clemence (Specialized Designs for Women-Bicycle H) dominated the women’s race with a time of 25:23, distancing second-place Shelley Evans (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty12) by :39 and third-place Lauren Tamayo (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty12) by 1:10.

The startlist for the three-stage race is stacked as riders put in their final race miles before the domestic season gets underway in earnest at the San Dimas Stage Race March 19. The action continues Saturday with the Jax Bicycle Center Grand Prix. Stay tuned to VeloNews.com for images and race reports from Murrieta.

Photos © Mark Johnson/Ironstring

The Colavita/Baci Women’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light opens training camp Friday in Borrego Springs, California, ahead of the team’s 2010 debut at the San Dimas Stage Race March 19-21.

“We’re planning six days of intense training in San Diego’s Borrego Valley,” said co-Directeur Sportif Tina Pic.  “We will be looking forward to testing our legs in San Dimas.”

With then-team leader Pic in the saddle, the team slotted nine top ten finishes at San Dimas in 2009, including Pic’s second-place to Ina Yoko Teutenberg in the stage 3 criterium. Colavita/Baci will look to improve on that record and pull a stage win next week.

“Kelly Benjamin and Modesta Vzesniauskaite gave us a great preview at last weekend’s Merco Credit Union Classic,” said co-directeur Rachel Heal. “Kelly took third in the road race and Modesta finished both races in the top 10 so I’m confident we can expect even more podium finishes with the whole squad working together.”

Led by six-time national criterium champion Pic and former British Olympian Rachel Heal, the team includes U.S. and international champions representing all forms of road racing.

Colavita/Baci rosters for San Dimas Stage Race and Redlands Bicycle Classic:

Kate Bates (AUS)
Kelly Benjamin (USA)
Theresa Cliff-Ryan (USA)
Andrea Dvorak (USA)*
Shontell Gauthier (USA)
Heather Logan-Sprenger (CAN) Carmen Small (USA)
Modesta Vzesniauskaite (LTU)*

*San Dimas Stage Race only

Stay tuned to VeloNews.com for a training camp report from domestic racing beat reporter Brian Holcombe.

Liquigas neo-pro Peter Sagan scored his second stage victory in this year’s Paris-Nice with a bold solo attack in the final two kilometers of a wild and hilly 157-kilometer stage on Friday.

Sagan, who also won Wednesday’s stage to Aurillac, emerged from a group of about 40 survivors on what turned out to be a tougher-than-expected race from Pernes-les-Fontaines to Aix-en-Provence .

As the remnants of the peloton neared the finish, the 20-year-old Sagan fought for a good position leading into a hard left-hand turn on to a narrow road about 1.5km from the line. Jumping out of the turn and on to a small rise, Sagan quickly built up a small five-second advantage on the field and powered into the finish, holding on to a narrow two-second advantage as he celebrated his second win of this race and of his professional career.

“I like to attack on the final hill,” said Sagan, a former world junior mountain bike champion.

While racing Paris-Nice in support of teammate Roman Kreuziger, the young Slovak has made an impressive mark on the week-long stage race, winning two stages and leading the points competition. Kreuziger is now third in the overall standings and leads the best young rider completion, while Sagan is eighth on GC and second in the race for the white jersey.

Astana’s Alberto Contador retained the yellow jersey he earned with a win at the mountain-top finish in Mende on Thursday.

Racing to the sun
After a 200km transfer from Thursday’s stage finish at Mende, riders lined up for Friday’s relatively short stage under sunny skies and slightly warmer temperatures than those that have marked the race since the start on Sunday.

Riders, who have spent much of the past few days bundled in layers of clothing seemed much more comfortable as the peloton rolled out of Pernes-les-Fontaines at 1:00 in the afternoon.

The day’s route was marked by four rated climbs, the most difficult of which — the Category 2 Col de Murs — summited just 40km into the stage.

The peloton stayed relatively intact on the approach to the climb although the small trip up the unranked Cote de Mormoiron began a day-long process of riders falling off pace. On the slopes of the Col de Murs, the attrition began in earnest with a large group of riders slipping off the back of the main field, including KOM leader Laurent Mangel (Saur-Sojasun).

A few riders — including Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) — took their chances on the climb, but the peloton seemed unwilling to let anyone get too much of a gap. French national champion, Dimitri Champion (Ag2r) managed to build a small 10-second gap and led the field over the top of the climb. By the bottom of a long descent, however, the Frenchman’s escape was over.

Another Ag2r rider — Maxime Bouet — soon tried his own charge off the front, but he, too, never managed to get more than 20 seconds on the field, even when he was joined by a group of six other riders hoping to establish the day’s break.

Indeed, the day seemed to be defined by aggressive riding by the French teams in the field, with attacks coming from Bbox, Cofidis and Ag2r. At one point, Bbox’s Thomas Voeckler managed to scamper ahead to win three seconds of time bonus at the day’s first intermediate sprint, moving him up into the top-10 in the overall standings, ahead of Cofidis’ Estonian national champion Reine Taaramae.

Meanwhile, with Mangel dropped earlier in the race, Cofidis’s Amaël Moinard worked to amass KOM points. He earned five as the second rider over the Col de Murs, one as the third rider over the Cat. 3 Côte de Lacoste, and another two as the second rider over the Côte de Bonnieux. It was enough to move him into the top spot in the race for the Polka-Dot jersey, ending the day with a total of 21, three more than the trailing Mangel.

While none of those climbs — or the day’s final ascent, the Cat. 3 Côte de Saint-Canadet – had much impact on race favorites, the attrition continued throughout the day.

It was on the approach to that final climb that saw the day’s most “successful” escape form. Volodymir Gustov (Cervelo), Carlos Barredo (Quick Step) and Sylvain Clazati (Sky) managed to build a small 30-second advantage when Cofidis’ Taaramae fought to bridge up to the group. While the 22-year-old Estonian could lend additional horsepower, his presence in the break also meant the escapees stood little chance of simply slipping away from a disinterested peloton.

Only 1:06 out of first place on GC, Taaramae caused the peloton to ramp up its chase, but the quartet managed to crest the final climb with a 50-second lead. After grabbing top points on the climb and helping his teammate deny anyone else a shot at them, Taaramae seemed content to slip back to the main field and ride in with the peloton over the final 30km.

But even with the top GC threat out of the break, the other three escapees’ chances quickly evaporated as the Ag2r team massed at the front of the field and ramped up the chase. The effect was not only to doom the break’s chances, but also cause a split in the field, reducing its size to around 50 riders.

One early victim of the split was Voeckler, who suffered an untimely flat tire and then fought to regain contact. By the time he was able to get help from his teammates, Voeckler could only manage to gain contact with the back of a growing chase group of riders who’d been gapped by the Ag2r effort at the front. RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer was among those who missed the split and eventually finished more than two-and-a-half minutes behind the day’s winner.

While Ag2r worked at the front of the field, apparently in hopes of setting up Nicholas Roche for the win, other teams benefited from the effort and in the final kilometers, the mad scramble for position began.

Sagan was the strongest of the riders who made it through the dangerous turn at 1.5km-to-go and the Slovakian timed his acceleration to perfection, charging out of the turn and on to a small rise that peaked out just 600 meters from the line. At best, Sagan managed to build up a five-second lead, but that’s all he needed, crossing the line with a small two-second buffer on a hard-charging back of 25 riders.

The order of the top-10 in overall standings changed little, with Contador still holding a 20-second lead over Caisse d’Epargne’s Alejandro Valverde and 25 on Kreuziger.

Contador said he had to stay attentive throughout, comparing Friday’s race to a stage in the Tour de France.

“It was like a Tour stage, but the hard ones,” Contador said. “It was tough to control as there were a number of riders just a few seconds apart. I felt good today but you have to have a very very good team to control things. It’s a race easier to win by counter-attacking than being on the defensive.

Sagan, exhausted after his win, collapsed on a grassy area near the finish. He said was thrilled with his win on Wednesday and found his second victory to be “even more unbelievable.”

“After my first stage win three television crews went to my house to interview my parents,” he said.

We have to assume his parents will get more visitors on Friday.

Saturday’s sixth stage, the longest of this year’s race, is a 220km ride from Peynier to Tourrettes-sur-Loup. The stage features eight rated climbs, culminating in the Category 1 Col de Vence, a 9.7km climb that averages 6.9 percent. The climb, however, summits at the 187km mark, 33km from the finish.

Dear Readers,
This week marks the return of both Paris-Nice and of our daily up-to-the-minute Live Coverage of racing. It’s one of my favorite parts of the job, due largely to the fact that I get to hear directly from readers throughout each day’s stage. Readers can simply type in comments, observations and questions and those appear right on the control panel, next to where Andrew Hood and I type in the latest news from the road.

Despite the fact that cycling is an exciting sport — certainly my favorite — and often filled with drama, even I have to admit that there are certain times when there is a lull in the action. So, on those days when there is a doomed break, with eight minutes on the peloton, but still another 150km to go, readers will often chime in with questions. I thought I’d devote this week’s column to answering a few of those questions. In some cases, I might have answered the question during Live Coverage, but too briefly for my satisfaction.

I’ll start out with a question about the history of Paris-Nice, from reader “ Old Guy,” who asks

“So you keep saying this is the 68th Paris-Nice. When did the race start?”

Well, fellow old fella, the first edition of Paris-Nice was in 1933. Like the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, Paris-Nice was originally established for the sole purpose of promoting newspaper sales. As you know, the Tour was started by the owners of L’Auto and later taken over by the publishers of L’Equipe. The Giro was promoted by the owners of Italy’s sports daily, Gazetta dello Sport.

Paris-Nice was the branchild of lbert Lejune, who first promoted the race in 1933. Lejune owned both Le Petit Journal in Paris and Le Petit Niçois in Nice. Lejune really wanted to encourage Parisians to consider Nice as a vacation destination as well, so he promoted his week-long stage race as a reminder that despite the winter-like conditions in other parts of the country, Nice was a warm and pleasant place to spend some time, especially in the spring. His “Race to the Sun” was designed to underscore that point.

It’s kind of hard to imagine that Nice needed that kind of promotion, but it really was a small, sleepy town back in those days.

The race ran uninterrupted from 1933 to 1939 and then was canceled until 1946 because of World War II. That year’s race was organized by the owners of the newspaper Ce Soir, but it faltered and the race was again canceled until 1951, when the owners of Road and Track magazine took over management of the race. While Road and Track ponied up the cash, the resurrected Paris-Nice can credit part of its re-emergence to the Nice mayor, Jean Medecin, who again viewed the race as a way of promoting the community as a warm weather destination for the winter-weary French.

The new Paris-Nice was run by former Road and Track magazine editor, Jean Leulliot, who served as race director from 1951 until his death in 1982. In a sense, the new version of the race was a small family business run by several members of the Leulliot family all the way through the 1990s.  (International Herald Tribune writer Sam Abt offeres far more detail on the Leulliots’ contribution to the race – and to the sport – in his book “Off to the Races: 25 years of cycling journalism.”)

It was in those post-war years that Paris-Nice really began to shine and the list winners looks like a roster of some of cycling’s greatest. The list of Paris-Nice winners is full of Tour de France stars like Jacques Anqutiel, Eddy Merckx, Raymond Poulidor, Joop Zoetemelk and, of course, Sean Kelly, who won Paris-Nice seven times between 1982 and `88.

When Leulliot died in 1982, his daughter, Josette, took over the helm and ran it through the end of the 1990s. Through financial ups and downs, the future of Paris-Nice was in doubt until it was saved by two-time Tour winner Laurent Fignon in 2000, when he managed to put together a group of investors to carry the race through tough times. That deal, though, wasn’t quite enough and Fignon finally decided that the race would be better off being run by Tour de France organizer ASO. The infusion of cash and the logistical expertise of ASO seems to have benefited the race and it appears to be in relatively good financial health.

Reader Mary McDermott wrote in to ask:

“Is Paris-Nice really a good indicator of form for the Tour. How often does the winner of Paris-Nice end up winning the Tour de France that same year?”

Well, it’s not a bad indicator, that’s for sure, but it varies from year-to-year. There have certainly been Paris-Nice winners who have won the Tour, but not always in the same year.

Often Tour contenders don’t opt to compete, or their Tour preparation schedule doesn’t necessarily coincide with being a contender for the overall at Paris-Nice.

Alberto Contador sure seems to like the race. He won Paris-Nice in 2007, ahead of his first Tour de France victory that year. He came close (but-for that untimely bonk) last year on his way to Tour No.2. He’s certainly a favorite to win Paris-Nice this year and remains the odds-on pick for a third Tour win in July. Other riders? Let’s take a look.

In 2006, Floyd Landis became only the second American to win Paris-Nice (Bobby Julich won in 2005) and he then went on to stand atop the podium in Paris at the end of the Tour, but that result was eventually negated by a positive drug test. So, according to the record books, that one doesn’t count.

Indeed, you have to go all the way back to 1971 to see coincident wins in both by the same rider in the same year. Eddy Merckx won Paris-Nice in March of that year and then went on to win his third of five Tour titles. Of course, Merckx was pretty much winning everything those days. In fact he had already accomplished the Paris-Nice/Tour double in the previous two years.

Jacques Anquetil, who has five Tours de France to his credit, also won five editions of Paris-Nice. Like Merckx, he doubled-up for three years, winning both races in 1957, 1961 and 1963.

Other than those, I think the only other Tour winner to double up at Paris-Nice in the same year was Roger Lapébie, who won both in 1937.

There are plenty of Tour winners who have had success at Paris-Nice in years other than those in which they won the Tour. Miguel Indurain won Paris-Nice in 1989 and 1990, but that was before his string of five successive Tour wins began in 1991. Louison Bobet, who won three Tours, won only one edition of Paris-Nice, but that happened in 1952, the year before his first victory in the Tour. Interestingly, the year he won his third Tour de France, in 1955, his younger brother Jean won Paris-Nice.

Others include the great Jan Janssen, who won Paris-Nice in 1964, four years ahead of his only Tour de France victory. Stephan Roche won Paris-Nice at the age of 19 in 1981 and then went on to win the Tour in 1987. Joop Zoetemelk won Paris-Nice in 1974, 1975 and 1979 and then scored his only win in the Tour in 1980.

One other winner of note, of course, is Tom Simpson who won Paris-Nice in 1967. He was among the big favorites to win the big one that year, too, but Simpson died on the slopes of Mont Ventoux on July 13^th, the 13^th stage of that year’s Tour.

As I mentioned above, there are plenty of Tour winners who raced in, but never won, Paris-Nice. Fignon, who came to the race’s rescue in 2000, was among those. His old teammate Bernard Hinault, too, made regular appearances in the Race to the Sun, but never won it. (Okay, okay, I admit it. The only reason I mentioned that last one is because it gives me an excuse to include this terrific shot of Hinault tussling with demonstrators at the 1984 edition of Paris-Nice. Yeah, I’ll concede that it’s gratuitous, but you have to admit that it’s not your usual guy-on-a-bike racing shot.)

Reader Dean, in Harrisburg wrote in to ask

“how did VN decide on which race (Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico ) to cover ‘LIVE’ this week?”

I guess it is a question of time and resources. Of the two, Paris-Nice attracts a stronger field of Tour contenders and it’s often seen as an early indication of those riders’ early season form.

Given that those races are being contested at almost the same time — since both are in the same Central European time zone — it would be hard for us to do both. It’s worth mentioning, though, we will not be facing the same dilemma come May, when the Tour of California and the Giro d’Italia will be happening concurrently for a week. Given the nine-hour time difference, we’ll have no trouble offering Live Coverage of both. Of course, that may mean that those of you tuning in from the office will really not be getting a lot of work done on those days.

Uhhhh, sorry `bout that.

Reader William wrote in to ask

“What’s the status of radios at Paris-Nice this year? I thought I read that they are banned by the UCI now.”

The UCI ban extends only to lower-level events, those that do not have a UCI Category 1 or hors catégorie sanction from the international governing body. While there is a movement to ban race radios in all events, the response from ProTour riders has been mixed at best.

You might recall that the Tour had planned to ban radios on two stages in last year’s race. The uproar was such that they left it at just one stage and the issue is still the subject of some debate at this point.

Follow-up: As a follow-up to last week’s column (see “Why regulate at all?“), I wanted to thank those readers who reminded me that the UCI first tried to spell out the underlying philosophy to its technical rules in a document released almost 14 years ago.

The Management Committee of the UCI was beginning to wrestle with the question of technology and at a meeting held in conjunction with the 1996 world championships in Lugano, Switzerland, issued a one-page document known as “The Lugano Charter.” I have to admit, that one slipped my mind.

While very short on specifics, the Charter does attempt to outline the UCI’s general philosophy on bikes and bike design. You can tell by reading it that these guys were really bothered by the rapid rate of development in the sport:

The bicycle is losing its “user-friendliness” and distancing itself from a reality which can be grasped and understood. Priority is increasingly given to form. The performance achieved depends more on the form of the man-machine ensemble than the physical qualities of the rider, and this goes against the very meaning of cycle sport.

Whatever that all means. Anyway, it makes for an interesting read. It’s short and maybe someone out there can make a bit more sense of it than I can. Thanks again for the heads up and the reminder.

Charles

“The Explainer” is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a question related to the sport of cycling that our editors might be able to answer, feel free to send your query to WebLetters@CompetitorGroup.com and we’ll take a stab at answering. Not all letters will be published and some questions may be combined with those of other readers. Please include your full name and hometown.

I just finished reading the book Outliers. I think it is easy to believe that successful people like Bill Gates or Mozart were successful because of some extraordinary talent. And, some of their success was due to talent. However, as you read in the book you learn it was a combination of that talent, a passion to use it, and opportunity that propelled them to greatness. In fact, many of the stories that the book shares revolve around specific opportunities presented at specific times to individuals or groups. Obviously, they still had to seize it, grow it, and use it, but at some point there was an opportunity presented that helped pave their way.

I started to reflect a little on my own path from soccer through distance running to where I am as a cyclist. And please, do not take this the wrong way: I am not comparing myself to Mozart. However, looking back on my life, I see a path that took many twists and turns as different doors or opportunities opened while others closed. As a fifth grader, I dreamed of scoring the winning goal in the gold medal Olympic game, and as a freshman in high school, I led the county in goal scoring. However, also as a freshman, the cross country coach, who was my PE teacher, witnessed me running the mile in class and convinced me to come out for the cross country team. A new door was opened, a door that would have never opened if I had a different PE teacher. There was something God-given with the talent, and I still had to put in the hours of diligent and specific practice, but I first needed an opportunity and then a willingness to go through the door.

New goals

New goals were set. The dream shifted sports. I went on to run at the University of Nebraska on a cross country and track scholarship. I was always only a bundle of potential, though. Injuries eventually closed the running door. Opportunity lost? Maybe. Or maybe the process gave me the opportunity to develop the core mental, character, and faith intangibles that I have needed to reach a world-class level.

Years later in graduate school, I was introduced to cycling. The athlete in me had never left, and the dreams of gold and championships had never died, so when the new path appeared and the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, I took the risk and went that direction. Those pieces (or opportunities) involved me meeting my coach. They involved me transitioning from the mountain bike to the road bike at the same time as the new USAC national team (T-Mobile) started, which put me in the situation where I was surrounded by great riders and taken to Europe to race hard races against the best. What would have happened if I had never gone to a UC Irvine Cycling club meeting where I met my coach, or if USAC and Mr. Stapleton had never decided to help fund a national team project, or if they had done it five years earlier or later? Yes, I have had to be extremely focused and disciplined in the process of reaching and chasing my goals. However, I have also had opportunity that has been available at the right time that has matched my passion and abilities.

It is actually really fun for me to think about how I got to where I am now, and who has helped get me here. I definitely have not been the orchestrator of any of this, there is no way I could have planned such a path, but I have certainly enjoyed the journey. And now, as a veteran of many kinds of racing, experiences, successes and failures, I am excited to be in a position where I can help others find or recognize their own opportunities. Of course, at the same time, I am keeping my eyes open for the doors in my own life that I need to walk through.

New Zealand: opportunities present

For example, I just returned from the Tour of New Zealand, where I had the pleasure of working with a new, young group of American cyclists. We gelled as a team unit, and we helped Shelley win four stages and the GC. I had a chance to be involved with the leadership of the team and to share my knowledge with the next generation. I didn’t personally win the race, but I helped our team take advantage of opportunity and then to succeed. It was actually quite rewarding.

Going back to my own situation, many of you know that I am looking for that new door since I recently had one slammed shut. I raced for Nuernberger last year, and I had signed with them and their new sponsor for 2010. However, all of that collapsed back in late November. Since then I have been quietly searching, waiting, and listening. I didn’t want to jump just to jump. I have explored different ideas and promises that have failed to materialize. Now, however, I think things are starting to clear up. Part of the new opening will involve me racing with the national team for a good portion of the season while the other part will work itself out in the upcoming days.

So … Opportunity … I’ll ask you what I’ve been asking myself. Will you recognize it when you see it? Will you answer the door if it knocks? How can you help create opportunities for others to succeed? Hmmmm …

Amber Neben is a former world champion, Olympian, and seasoned international vet in her ninth year of full-time racing. In this column she hopes to give readers a different perspective on cycling, life as a cyclist, and the women’s pro peloton. You can all Amber’s column on VeloNews on her author page, follow her at www.amberneben.com or www.twitter.com/amberneben.