Peter's Podium Pinch: a Quick Recap

By Sarah Esterman

It was the pinch heard (seen? felt?) around the world. Shortly after Cannondale racer Peter Sagan pinched podium girl Maja Leye's bottom at the Tour of Flanders, the photo—surely you've seen it, if not, it's included in Michael Hutchinson's tweet below—circulated the web and stirred up some controversy, even creating a healthy discussion on our own Facebook page.

Shame that Peter Sagan has so much class on a bike and so very little off it. twitter.com/vincentrenault…
— Michael Hutchinson (@Doctor_Hutch) March 31, 2013

Sagan's first apology came via Twitter later that day:

Was not my intention todisrespect women today on the podium. Just a joke, sorry if someone was disturbed about it.
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) March 31, 2013

The next day he uploaded this video to his Facebook page, offering up a more sincere apology:

Photo via uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

And Wednesday at the Brabantse Pijl, Sagan met with Leye before the race to apologize in person and give her a bouquet of flowers. It's probably a good thing he did it before the race, too, since he ended up winning—and this time, you'll notice, the 23-year-old kept his hands to himself.

Davis Phinney Foundation to Auction Off Signed 7-Eleven Jersey

By Sarah Esterman

Last week, while doing a little bit of spring cleaning here at BicyclingHub.com HQ, we found an old gem: a 7-Eleven cycling jersey. While we weren't sure what to do with it at first, our founder and boss, Doug, worked up a good idea and we just got word it's a go.

And so without further ado, we're very excited to announce that legendary 7-Eleven racer Davis Phinney will be signing the jersey and then auctioning it off for the Davis Phinney Foundation. We don't have all the details yet—like when this will be happening—but we just had to share. We'll let you know when we know more.

Congrats to Our Own Adrian on His Race Win Last Weekend

By Sarah Esterman

Adrian is third from the left

We are very proud of our very own Adrian Richardson—you may recognize him as one of our rock star customer service reps—for his win at the 2013 North Bend Criterium last weekend!

He cycled through awful weather to pull out the win, and he's even rocking the Castelli Free Aero Race Bibs.

Congratulations Adrian! You rock!

Sleek New Styles by Twin Six

By Sarah Esterman

The Ace by Twin Six

This season's new line of cycling jerseys by Twin Six is downright awesome. Keeping the high-quality performance value we can expect from a brand like Twin Six, the new looks feature bold vintage vibes that will definitely help you stand out from the rest.

"We're all about doing our own thing," Mark Fischer, from the sales and marketing division of Twin Six, told us in 2011, "The name Twin Six originally came from a 6 cylinder car engine invented by the Packard Brothers in the 1920's. When the concept was first introduced to larger, more established car manufacturers still using four-cylinder engines, they were dismissed. So the Packard brothers manufactured it themselves. The same attitude translated to this company."

No doubt it has. And it seems that this year's line was specially-designed for devoted cycling fans. Whether you rock the Ace, the Speedy Flanders or the Grand Prix for men or the Climber or Super Star for women, you will definitely be cycling in style.

Check out the rest of the 2013 jerseys by Twin Six below and click here for more info.

The Climber by Twin Six

The Grand Prix by Twin Six

The Speedy Flanders by Twin Six

The Super Star by Twin Six

BicyclingHub.com stocks a wide variety of high-performance cycling jerseys for men and women. Check 'em out here.

Dave Campbell's Paris Rouxbaix Trivia

April 2013

Of All the European Cycling Events that we cycling enthusiasts try to explain to the uninitiated, perhaps Paris-Roubaix presents the biggest conundrum. How can you make sense of bouncing expensive bicycles across ancient, cobbled, brutal roads for hours on end? Muddy if it is wet, dusty if it is dry…the riders say Roubaix presents a “special brand of torture” but then in the next breath they say how they would love to win it and how much passion they have for the history of the event. Somehow the suffering, the chaos, the potential for disaster all mesh perfectly with the rhythmic cycles of smooth roads and selective pave, the rugged beauty, and the immense challenge to make this April Classic one of Cycling

most unique and very special events. This month

what else could we focus on, but…

"Paris-Roubaix…The Hell of the North”

Q1. Especially if you followed cycling on the meager CBS Sports TV coverage in the 1980s you will remember this quote from a rider who had been in a racelong breakaway only to be dropped and cruelly drop out of the event:

“It’s a pile of s@#t, it’s just a whole pile of s@#t. You are riding in mud up to here and you are wet and miserable. It is just a pile of s@#t!” So, the commentator asks “will you ever race here again?” “But of course” the rider responds “It is the most beautiful race in the world!” Right there this man captured the very essence of this beloved, loathed, and feared event. The year was 1985, but can you remember the rider?

Q2. In modern cycling, riders fall into two very separate camps: Stage Racers and Classics Rider with minimal or no overlap during the Spring Classics such as Paris-Roubaix. In the history of the sport this is a relatively new phenomenon. Who was the last rider to win both Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France in the same year? And in what year?

Q3. Who is the ONLY RIDER to win Paris-Roubaix on his first attempt (in his second year as a Professional)? HINT: It was NOT Eddy Merckx!!!

A1. Dutchman Theo de Rooy of the Panasonic-Raliegh team, who went on to work for many years as a sports director for the Dutch Rabobank squad.

A2. Frenchman Bernard Hinault in 1981.

A3. Italian Felice Gimondi in 1966.

Male Cyclists Are Simple Creatures.

2014 Castelli Body Paint Skinsuit to Feature Actual Body Paint?

By Sarah Esterman

Via Castelli 2013 Summer Catalog

We've heard some rumors that Castelli's 2014 line will include an interesting update to the already high-performance Body Paint Skinsuit: it might be composed of actual body paint.

According to an unnamed source who claims to have found top-secret documents, Castelli has discovered a space-age polymer that temporarily adheres to the skin. If what these documents say is true, this new technology could be groundbreaking: "A cyclist becomes much more aerodynamic and the cyclist's speed can increase by approximately 5% when the pigment of the suit is applied directly on top of the skin."

We gave Castelli a call to see if there's any truth to the rumors, but they would neither confirm nor deny.

The source has alleged that Garmin-Sharp will be testing this new technology first at the Giro d' Italia in May and later at the Tour de France. If this is the case, riders on the team should expect to shave 30 seconds off every 40k of time trials. "That's the difference between first and second in a race like the Giro," said a representative from Garmin-Sharp.

But whether or not we'll actually see Garmin team cyclists decked out in the new bibs depends heavily on the UCI.

"We are concerned that one team could get such an advantage," said an official release from the UCI. "We are not saying we will ban the new technology, but we are not saying we will not until we learn more. But we will probably ban it."

Domenic Andrea from the Viento Italiano Nebbia Corridore Instituzioni weighed in on the controversy. "If the reports are true," Andrea said, "then much like the Gabba short sleeve jersey in the Milan San Remo, we expect that a lot of other pro teams are going to be scrambling to get their hands on this exciting new technology."

 Stay tuned to the BicyclingHub.com blog for more details. We'll update as we hear more.