Colnago C59 Disc

The C59 Disc looks clean, with hydraulic cylinders tucked seamlessly into the hoods and internal routing for both the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 wiring and the rear brake hose. The absence of brake calipers at the fork crown and seatstay bridge is striking. On the road, the system worked okay, but there are still some glitches that will likely be worked out by the time production rolls around in late summer.

As any mountain biker who's made the switch from rim brakes to disc brakes knows, discs work better. Surprise, surprise. Vezzoli lent us his bike with a sheepish apology about the rear brake not being properly adjusted. The first hard pull on the rear lever went all the way to the handlebar, then subsequent pumps required less pull. After a few minutes without braking, the situation would repeat. The front brake, however, perhaps because of better bleeding, worked much better, with less throw required to activate full hydraulic pressure.

Lack of proper adjustment aside, the brakes lived up to the promise of hydraulic discs – hard, fast stopping from high speeds was safe and easy. We took the bike up and down the steep hills surrounding the Laguna Seca Recreation Area where Sea Otter is held, and repeatedly stopped as quickly as possible. Modulation was good enough to rapidly slow down at the bottom of hills without locking up the wheels, although the power was certainly strong enough to lock the rear if desired.

Colnago are specifying their Artemis wheels with carbon fiber rims on the C59. Our test ride took place on a sunny day, but braking in wet conditions should be markedly better than on a bike with full-carbon wheels and standard rim brakes.

However, while slapping disc brakes on a carbon-rimmed wheel might immediately improve some things, it also introduces new dynamics to frame and fork construction. The braking forces generated by a disc brake at the bottom of the fork leg require a fundamentally different fork design than that required by a rim brake at the crown. Vezzoli found that out the hard way when forks on early samples of the C59 quickly broke under the braking load of the 140mm discs.

Colnago addressed the situation by heavily reinforcing the fork legs and also the rear triangle of the frame. In addition, the dropouts on the fork face slightly forward, to counteract the torsional forces from the hub under braking load.

Formula’s levers are so new they don't yet have a name. The working title is RR1. As with the name, the functionality of the levers is a work in progress. Ergonomically, the hoods and levers on the whole are good. The absence of mechanical innards frees up the design considerably. The hoods are slightly thinner – and on the underside, longer – than SRAM or Shimano mechanical systems. We were able to wrap four fingers around the hood between the lever and the bar.

The shifting, however, doesn't work well. The two parallel and slightly overlapping shift levers are far too thin, which resulted in misshift after misshift. A wider surface area for each, or a redesign with paddles, would help greatly. When riding on rough chip-seal roads, the levers also vibrated noisily when our hands weren't wrapped around them. Their pronounced curve back towards the handlebar made for good braking ergonomics while in the drops, but the upper protrusion away from the hoods limited leverage when riding on the hoods.

Colnago may have been the first major manufacturer out of the gate with hydraulic disc brakes on a road bike, but they certainly won't be the last. With SRAM’s hydraulic systemjust around the corner, Colnago expect to see multiple competitors with such bikes by the time the Eurobike trade show opens in the fall. By then, the Italians expect to have final versions of their C59 Disc out on the road under customers. They haven't yet set pricing.

BMC Gran Fondo GF01

BMC have taken their ‘tuned compliance concept’ (TCC) – the process of optimising the carbon layup in each part of the chassis, adding flex and stiffness where each is needed – to new levels here.

The head tube is oversized and tapered – and taller than the race RM01 as the GF01 has BMC’s ‘endurance fit’ – the down tube is massive, and there’s a burly BB86 press-fit bottom bracket shell, complete with integrated chain catcher, and huge chainstays. 

The top tube is radically slim in comparison, and BMC’s signature low-set seatstays have a noticeable kink to the brake bridge; this ‘angle compliance’ is evident at the top of the chainstays too, and effectively lengthens both, resulting in a rear end that’s as supple as anything that we’ve tried.

The seatpost is similarly kinked, with a carbon layup that allows it to flex forward and back under your weight over broken surfaces. It works remarkably well; we even had to move our saddle up a little to take into account the flex when seated.

Up front, BMC have radically redesigned the fork. The steerer tube still tapers to its massive 1 1/2in lower diameter, and retains the broad and deep crown, but the legs slim down towards the dropout, with the final couple of inches of the forward facing ‘angle compliance’ even slimmer still. The effect is a fork that’s strong and stiff at the top but flexes at the dropouts to take the sting out of bumps and cobbles.

We could wax lyrical about the benefits of the drivetrain from Ultegra’s Di2 electronic groupset, but that’s really just the icing on a very smooth cake. Faultless gear changing and compact gearing make the moving parts the perfect companion to the GF01’s exceptional frameset.

It all adds up to a ride that’s so far beyond the currently considered benchmarks of comfort/endurance orientated road bikes that the GF01 sets a whole new standard. But there’s more to the BMC story: the whole concept is designed around running 28mm tyres.

The tyres look huge, absolutely dwarfing standard 23mm tyres. Plenty have already expressed their doubts about running such a fat tyre on a race machine, but after putting a few hundred miles into riding them we’ve been impressed. 

BMC and tyre manufacturer Continental recommend running the 28s at 80-90psi, which is much lower than we’re used to, and this lower pressure combined with Easton’s new RT wheelset with its wide 17.5mm rim makes for a ride that’s beautifully cushioned and smooth rolling.

That’s kind of what you’d expect in such a high volume tyre, but what is surprising is the cornering ability they offer: throw the GF01 downhill and the levels of grip are way beyond anything we’ve experienced before, and we mean anything. You can simply descend as quickly as your nerve will allow.

The downside is that there is a bit more weight at the rim, meaning an increase in inertia when setting off, and it’s hampering on climbs where the gradient starts to get towards double figures, but aside from on some serious Alpine climbs, where we would revert back to skinnier tyres, this is something we could live with for the rolling benefits, comfort and grip.

Cannondale SuperX Hi-Mod Disc

Its powerful and highly controllable disc brakes let us enter the corners hotter and more consistently, its incredibly silky ride quality is easier on the body, so you can stay on the gas longer and feel less beat up at the end of the hour, and it's impressively efficient and enviably lightweight. 

By far the Cannondale SuperX Hi-Mod Disc's defining characteristic is its smoothness. It's a positively creamy ride on rough courses that might rattle your hands numb aboard a less forgiving machine, especially when you run the tires at suitably low pressures. While it's arguable whether that comfort even matters for a race lasting only an hour, it's undeniable that the SuperX Hi-Mod Disc's cushy demeanor also lets you stay on the gas more consistently and simply go faster than racers that might be forced to stand up and coast.

According to Cannondale, our disc-specific SuperX tester is actually even softer in terms of ride quality than the rim brake-equipped version we sampled two years ago.

The SuperX Hi-Mod Disc's fantastic ability to soak up the bumps pays dividends in tricky corners, too. In addition to cushioning your body up top, the soft frame helps keep the tires' contact patches more firmly affixed to the ground. Instead of skittering through a turn, the Cannondale's more planted personality helps you hold your desired line – which, again, helps you go faster.

That awesome ride out back doesn't translate quite as fully up front, however – something we've noted on some road bikes with similarly silky ride characteristics. That said, the stock tapered SuperX Hi-Mod Disc fork is admirably comfortable overall, especially compared to other forks with larger lower steerer diameters and enormously oversized crowns and legs.

More importantly, that stout fork is connected to an awesomely stiff front triangle for fantastically precise handling that seems especially suited to American-style courses. 

Together with the smart frame geometry – including a relatively low 67mm bottom bracket drop, 71.5-degree head tube angle, and reasonably tidy 430mm chain stays on our 52cm tester – the result is excellent agility through tight and slow 180-degree hairpins. We also experienced quick transitions from edge to edge when linking corners together, and the ability to confidently drift the whole bike through slippery, high-speed sweepers.

The comfort-tuned rear end doesn't seem as tremendously stiff as the front triangle. Nevertheless, the SuperX Hi-Mod Disc is efficient when you apply the power, surging forward with each mad stab at the pedals but in a curiously 'quiet' way – almost as if the flattened chain stays are damping vibrations but rounding the peaks of your power output, too. 

Make no mistake – this bike will certainly go when asked, and there's lots of pop. But the feedback in this department isn't as visceral as from bikes that are more unyieldingly rigid.

Cyclocross-specific features abound on the SuperX Hi-Mod Disc, and it's clear that Cannondale has done its homework. Mud clearance is excellent all round, the slightly sloping top tube leaves an open triangle for easier run-ups, and while the top tube itself isn't flattened underneath, its huge diameter is surprisingly comfortable to rest on your bony shoulder.

BMC TeamMachine SLR01

BMC’s TeamMachine SLR01 is one of the best ProTour inspired bikes we’ve ever ridden. It hits the UCI weight limit of 6.8kg and is comfortable enough for any level of rider to enjoy, so long as they can handle its pro-inspired angles.

Ride & handling: A dreamy ride with a good balance of weight, pedaling efficiency and comfort

The SLR01 is far from the stiffest professional-level bike we’ve ridden, but it’s one of the best at balancing all of the coveted features of a top-level carbon fiber bike – stiffness, low weight and a degree of comfort.

In fact, it's one of the lightest bikes we’ve ridden lately – our 53cm test frame weights 905g with all of its hardware including titanium water bottle cage bolts, and the complete bike as pictured weighs just 6.812kg (15.01lb) – and it offers an incredibly forgiving ride.

It was the perfect ride for our tester, a 150lb all-rounder who enjoys climbing and descending the twisty, elevation-intensive roads around Boulder, Colorado.

Despite the TeamMachine's smooth ride – which is similar to that of Specialized’s 2011 Roubaix SL3 – it offers stiff and confidence-inspiring steering precision. This is rooted in the large down tube, tapered head tube (1-1/8 to 1-1/4in) and the way the top tube gently tapers towards the seat tube. It means that subtle shifts of bodyweight aren't muted by the frame's built-in flex.

The well designed front triangle is mated to a rear end punctuated by notably svelte seatstays. Because of BMC’s focus on producing a relatively comfortable ride, the TeamMachine feels noticeably softer to pedal than other bikes in the category. Nonetheless, pedaling efficiency was adequate for our test rider, who was happy to sacrifice a little stiffness for lighter weight and improved comfort. The TeamMachine may not be the highest performing machine on paper or on the test bench, but it's stronger than the sum of its parts. Companies that focus too much on one attribute – such as weight or stiffness – often fail in producing a bike that rides well. That's certainly not a mistake BMC have made here.

In the past we’ve ridden bikes with ultra-rigid front-ends and super-comfy rear-ends that have a sort of disconnect between the two halves; Cannondale’s half-carbon, half-aluminum System Six bike is an infamous example of this. The TeamMachine, however, feels very much like a complete package.

Garmin-Sharp

Garmin-Sharp (UCI Code: GRS) is a UCI ProTeam established in 2007 out of the TIAA-CREF and 5280 development squads and based in the United States. The directeur sportif and general manager is Jonathan Vaughters, a former rider.

The team has been invited to UCI World Calendar, UCI ProTour and UCI Continental Circuits races such as Tour of Flanders, Gent–Wevelgem and Paris–Roubaix and the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia.

The team's most important victory was in the 2012 Giro d'Italia when Ryder Hesjedal won the general classification. Garmin has previous placed Bradley Wiggins third in the 2009 Tour de France.

Vaughters founded the team for 2003 as a junior development squad. Its sponsor was 5280 magazine in Denver. The following year TIAA-CREF became sponsor and Vaughters fielded professional and amateur riders. 5280 and TIAA-CREF continued to sponsor Garmin's youth riders in subsequent years, followed by the restaurant chain Chipotle.

In 2007 Slipstream Sports LLC took the management and the team raced under the name Team Slipstream. In 2008 Chipotle Mexican Grill began to sponsor the team and the team name was changed to Team Slipstream by Chipotle. The name was changed again in June 2008 after the navigation system manufacturer Garmin was announced as main sponsor, a week prior to the 2008 Tour de France. Their first major Tour was the 2008 Giro d'Italia, where they won the Team Time Trail and Christian Vande Velde wore the pink jersey for one stage. In the Tour de France Vande Velde finished fourth and the team was leading from stage 3 until stage 6. Garmin remained sponsor in 2009 and the team was renamed Garmin-Slipstream. In the 2009 Tour de France Bradley Wiggins was the major surprise, finishing fourth overall, while Vande Velde finished 8th. In the 2009 Vuelta a España the sprinter Tyler Farrar, the time trial specialist David Millarand the Canadian Ryder Hesjedal took stage wins for the team. In 2010 Transitions Optical became co-sponsors of the team. Hesjedal was the best rider for the team in the 2010 Tour de France, finishing 7th.

On August 28, 2010, Garmin-Transitions announced it was switching working agreements from Felt Bicycles to Cervélo bikes, and that it would change its name to Garmin-Cervélo for the 2011 season. Felt chose not to exercise its option with Garmin-Transitions after a four-year working agreement. The Cervélo TestTeam folded and seven riders moved to Garmin-Cervélo, including then world champion Thor Hushovd. Ahead of the 2012 season, the team again changed names to Garmin-Barracuda, after Barracuda Networks joined the team as a sponsor. Despite giving up the team's second name, Cervélo will remain with the team as its official bicycle supplier. In June 2012, the Sharp Corporation became the second team name sponsor, although Barracuda remained a named member of the organisation.

Team Liquigas-Cannondale

Liquigas-Cannondale (UCI Team Code: LIQ) is an Italian professional road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. The current title sponsor is Liquigas, a provider of liquified gas products in Italy. The second sponsor, Cannondale, is an American bicycle manufacturing company, whose sponsorship has led to a small American ridership on the team. In 2005 the team was co-title sponsored by Liquigas and Bianchi and was named Liquigas-Bianchi.

The team was founded under the name Liquigas in 1999, and was long in the second division team, slowly making a name of itself. From 2005 the team was combined with Team Bianchi for the Pro Tour.

In 2007, Cannondale replaced Bianchi as the bicycle sponsor. This marked Cannondale's return to the ProTour after discontinuing sponsorship of the Lampre-Caffita team at the end of the 2005 season.

On 11 July 2008 the news broke from the French sports paper L'Equipe that Spanish rider Manuel Beltrán had tested positive for EPO after the first stage of the tour. It was blood abnormalities before the start of the tour that led France's Anti-Doping Agency to target the rider. According to AP a spokesperson for Liquigas confirmed the same day that Beltrán had been thrown off the tour. It was also reported that the police had picked Beltrán up from his hotel where he had been staying with the rest of the Liquigas team, as well as searching the rest of the hotel for more doping. It was later confirmed that his B-sample also tested positive.

From the 2009 Giro d'Italia until the 2012 Tour de France, the team finished every Grand Tour with all nine riders, a total of 11 such events in succession.

For the 2013 season Liquigas-Cannondale will become Cannondale Pro Cycling as Cannondale take over as the title sponsor in partnership with Brixia Sports.

                        The leaders(best riders) Vincenzo Nibali, Peter Sagan and Ivan Basso(from left to right).

Colnago

Colnago is a manufacturer of high-end road-racing bicycles founded by Ernesto Colnago in 1954 near Milano in Cambiago, Italy. Instead of following his family's farming business, Ernesto Colnago chose to work in the cycle trade, apprenticing first with Gloria Bicycles at 13, subsequently taking up road racing. After a bad crash ended his racing career, he began subcontracting for Gloria, opened his own shop (1954) and built his first frames the same year. Much in demand as a racing mechanic, he was second mechanic on the Nivea team Giro d'Italiaunder Faliero Masi in 1955, eventually being employed as head mechanic for the Molteni team of Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx.

The company first became known for high quality steel framed bicycles, and later as one of the more creative cycling manufacturers responsible for innovations in design and experimentation with new and diverse materials including carbon fiber, now a mainstay of modern bicycle construction. 

From the late 1960s through the 1970s, Colnago was generally regarded as one of the builders of the world's best custom road race frames. In 1960, Colnago saw fame as Luigi Arienti rode to a gold medal at the Rome Olympics on a Colnago bicycle. In 1963, Colnago joined the Molteni team as head mechanic, and riders such as Gianni Motta raced on Colnago bikes. A win on a Colnago in the 1970 Milan-San Remo race by Michele Dancelli for the Molteni team inspired Colnago to change his logo to the now-famous 'Asso di Fiori' or Ace of Clubs.

After the demise of the Faema team, Eddy Merckx joined the Molteni team, and what ensued was mutual innovation—as Colnago describes it: "Merckx was an up and coming champion, and I was an up and coming bike builder. So it was a real honour to work for a great champion like Merckx. It helped us to grow... when we made special forks, and special bikes." This included the super-light steel frame used by Merckx in 1972 to break the world one hour record.

With a growing reputation from their racing wins, Colnago plunged into the market for production bikes. In the U.S., the early seventies witnessed another bike boom, and Colnago "pumped out bikes as though the future of humankind was at stake." The mainstay of the Colnago line in the 1970s was the Super, followed by the Mexico, named in honor of the successful hour attempt. Other models were added including the Superissimo and Esa Mexico. While the finish on these early Colnagos could be variable, they were great riding bikes and developed a cult-like following.

In response to criticism that his frames were not stiff enough, next Colnago experimented with ways to change the behavior of frame components. In 1983, he introduced the Oval CX with an oval-shaped top tube to add stiffness. He then experimented with various crimped-tube frames which became production models as their top of the range frames, beginning with the "Master." Later "Master-Light", Master Olympic and Master Piu extended the range. Colnago built a frame from Columbus tubing used by Giuseppe Saronni to win the world professional road race championship in 1982, and afterwards a short-lived collection of bikes were badged with the Saronni name.

Since the 1980s, while Colnago continued to produce high-end steel bikes, they began to produce bike frames using material other than steel including titanium, aluminum, carbon and mixed material frames. One unique frame from this period, the Bititan, has a dual titanium down tube. Crimped and oversize tubes appeared on the Tecnos–one of the lightest production steel bikes produced, and the same oversize tubes and crimping were used on the aluminum Dream frame. In 1981 Colnago prototyped the CX-1–a full monocoque carbon fiber bike with disc wheels that was shown at the Milan bike show. Subsequently, Colnago worked with Ferrari in developing new carbon fiber technology, and Ernesto also credits their engineers for challenging him regarding fork design, which led to Colnago's innovative Precisa straight-bladed steel fork. They also experimented with multi-material frames, including the CT1 and CT-2 constructed with titanium main tubes, carbon fiber forks and rear stays, and a similarly constructed (although short-lived) Master frame constructed with steel main tubes, carbon forks and stays.

Colnago's early attempts at carbon fiber frames were not commercially successful, but the lessons learned were embodied in their flagship frames, such as the C-40 (1994) and its successor, the C-50–respectively named for Colnago's 40th and 50th years in bike building. These carbon fiber frames set new standards of excellence. Interestingly, they were built using a modified form of traditional bike frame construction, substituting carbon fiber lugs for microinfusion cast steel, and carbon fiber "tubes" for the complex steel tubes used for steel frame construction. Similar building techniques are used in the latest offering, the C59, named (as before) for its year of production.

Cervélo

Cervélo Cycles is a Canadian manufacturer of racing bicycle frames. Cervélo uses CAD, computational fluid dynamics, and wind tunnel testing at a variety of facilities including the San Diego Air and Space Technology Center, in California, USA, to aid its designs. Frame materials include carbon fibre. Cervélo currently makes 3 series of road bikes: the R series, featuring multi-shaped, "Squoval" frame tubes; and the S series of road bikes and P series of triathlon/time trial bikes, both of which feature airfoil shaped down tubes. The company also manufactures T series track bikes.

Cervélo's sponsorshi1p of elite athletes has led to widespread recognition of the brand.

In 2003, Cervélo became the bike supplier to Team CSC, at the time the 14th team on the world ranking. Cervélo was by far the smallest and youngest bike company to ever supply a team at this level. Team CSC has been crowned the world’s #1 pro cycling team aboard Cervélo for three years. The partnership lasted for six years, until the end of 2008.

In 2009, Cervélo became the first bike manufacturer in the modern era to have its own cycling team at the highest levels of racing, Cervélo TestTeam. The team had a stated goal of not only competing successfully on the international level, but also encouraging collaboration between the team members, Cervélo, and other product sponsorship partners in order to develop better products. There was also a strong focus on fan interaction and experiences. The team's most renowned riders were 2008 Tour De France winner Carlos Sastre and 2010 World Champion and 2009 TdF Green Jersey winner Thor Hushovd. Heinrich Haussler also took many of the team's headlines, with his impressive performances at Paris–Nice, Milan – San Remo, and his stage win in the 2009 Tour de France (Stage 13, Colmar).

In 2010, Emma Pooley and Thor Hushovd won the UCI Women's Timetrial and UCI Men's Road Race respectively. Success was also achieved in a number of ITU Triathlon Races and the Ironman 70.3 and long distance events.

For the 2011 season Cervélo have joined forces with Slipstream sports to form the Garmin-Cervélo team which also includes a women's team.

Cannondale

The Cannondale Bicycle Corporation, is an American division of Canadian conglomerate Dorel Industries that supplies bicycles. It is headquartered in Bethel, Connecticut with manufacturing and assembly facilities in China and Taichunghe company was founded in 1971 by Joe Montgomery, Jim Catrambone and Ron Davis to manufacture backpacks and bags for camping and later bicycle trailers for bicycle touring. One of the most successful products was the Bugger, a child trailer, although Cannondale's marketing department seemed unaware of the connotations of the name in British English (some were, nevertheless, exported to the UK). Today, Cannondale produces many different types of high-end bicycles, few of which are handmade in USA, specializing in aluminum (rather than steel or titanium) and carbon fiber frames, a technology in which they were pioneers. The name of the company was taken from the Cannondale Metro North train station in Wilton, Connecticut.In the late 1990s Cannondale attempted to move into the motorsports business, producing a line of off-road motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. According to an interview with Cannondale Communications Director, Tom Armstrong, the company was unable to drive down the cost of their motor vehicles fast enough. Sales took off when the company was still losing money on each motorbike they shipped. This gap drove the company to seek bankruptcy protection in 2003, and to sell off the motorsport division. Cannondale's bicycle division was purchased in 2003 by Pegasus Capital Advisors, which supported the company's renewed focus on bicycle production. In February 2008, Cannondale was purchased from Pegasus Capital Advisors by Dorel Industries. In April 2009 it was announced that all production would be transferred to Taiwan. 

-Sponsorship

Cannondale's sponsorship of Division 1 road racing teams began with the Saeco team in the late 1990s, highlighted by Mario Cipollini's four consecutive stage wins in the 1999 Tour de France. The team notably won the Giro d'Italia five times, in 1997 with Ivan Gotti, in 2003 with Gilberto Simoni in 2004 with Damiano Cunego. Saeco became Lampre-Caffita in 2005, and the relationship with Cannondale was severed.

In 2007, Cannondale became the bicycle sponsor to Liquigas, and counted fourth and fifth Giro wins as Danilo Di Luca in 2007 and Ivan Basso in 2010 rode to victory. In 2011, they became a title sponsor under the name Liquigas-Cannondale. They also sponsored UCI Professional Continental team Barloworld in 2007 on the Tour de France and UCI Continental team Bahati Foundation in 2010.

Trek

Trek Bicycle Corporation is a major bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Gary Fisher, Bontrager, Kleinand until 2008, LeMond Racing Cycles. With its headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, Trek bicycles are marketed through 1,700 dealers across North America, subsidiaries in Europe and Asia as well as distributors in 90 countries worldwide.Trek's domestic high-end frames are manufactured in Waterloo, Wisconsin with assembly in Whitewater, Wisconsin — with the majority of company's bicycles manufactured in Taiwan and China.

In December, 1975, Richard (Dick) Burke and Bevil Hogg established Trek Bicycle as a wholly owned subsidiary of Roth Corporation, a Milwaukee-based appliance distributor. In early 1976, with a payroll of five, Trek started manufacturing steel touring frames in Waterloo, Wisconsin, taking aim at the mid to high-end market dominated by Japanese and Italian made models. Trek built nearly 900 custom hand-brazed framesets that first year, each selling for just under $200. Later that same year Trek Bicycle was incorporated. In 1977, Penn Cycle became the first Trek dealer in the world. Within three years, Trek sales approached $2,000,000.

Trek becomes a business

Hampered without additional manufacturing capacity, Trek sales plateaued in the late 1970s. In just a few short years Trek had outgrown its original “red barn” manufacturing facility—a former carpet warehouse. Recognizing the need for expansion, in 1980 Trek broke ground on a new 26,000 sq ft (2,400 m²) corporate headquarters on the outskirts of Waterloo. Company co-founder Dick Burke would later recall that “it wasn’t until we built the new factory that we became a business.” With more factory space available, Trek expanded its manufacturing to include complete bikes. In 1982 Trek entered the steel road racing bike market, introducing the 750 and 950 models, and in 1983 Trek built its first mountain bike, the 850. In 1984 Trek ventured into the aftermarket parts and accessories business, launching its Trek Components Group (TCG) department.

The most famous team to use the Trek bikes is Radioshack Nissan Trek Team from USA.

Giro d'Italia part.3

A few riders from each to aim to win overall but there are three further competitions to draw riders of all specialties: points, mountains, and a classification for young riders with general classification aspirations. The oldest of the four classifications is the general classification. The leader of each aforementioned classifications wears a distinctive jersey. If a rider leads more than one classification that awards, he wears the jersey of the most prestigious classification. The abandoned jersey is worn by the rider who is second in the competition

-General classification 

The most sought after classification in the Giro d'Italia is the general classification. All of the stages are timed to the finish, after finishing the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times; so the rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race. The leader is determined after each stage's conclusion. The leader of the race also has the privilege to wear the race leader's pink jersey.The jersey is presented to the leader rider on a podium in the stage's finishing town. If a rider is leading more than one classification that awards a jersey, he will wear the maglia rosa since the general classification is the most important one in the race. The lead can change after each stage. The winner of the 2012 Giro d'Italia wasRyder Hesjedal.

The color pink was chosen as the magazine that created the Giro, La Gazzetta dello Sport, printed its newspapers on pink paper. The pink jersey was added to the race in the 1931 edition and it has since become a symbol of the Giro d'Italia. The first rider to wear the pink jersey was Learco Guerra.Each team brings multiple pink jerseys in advance of the Giro in case one of their riders becomes the overall leader of the race. Riders usually try to make the extra effort to keep the jersey for as long as possible in order to get more publicity for the team and the sponsor(s) of the team. Eddy Merckx has worn the pink jersey for 77 stages, which is more than any other rider in the history of the Giro d'Italia. 

-Montain classification 

The mountains classification is the second oldest jersey awarding classification in the Giro d'Italia. The mountains classification was added to the Giro d'Italia in 1933 Giro d'Italia and was first won by Alfredo Binda. During mountain stages of the race, points are awarded to the rider who is first to reach the top of each significant climb. Points are also awarded for riders who closely follow the leader up each climb. The number of points awarded varies according to the hill classification, which is determined by the steepness and length of that particular hill. The climbers' jersey is worn by the rider who, at the start of each stage, has the largest amount of climbing points. If a rider leads two or more of the categories, the climbers' jersey is worn by the rider in second, or third, place in that contest. At the end of the Giro, the rider holding the most climbing points wins the classification. In fact, some riders, particularly those who are neither sprinters nor particularly good at time-trialing, may attempt only to win this particular competition within the race. The Giro has three categories of mountains. They range from category 4, the easiest, to category 1, the hardest. There is also the Cima Coppi, the highest point reached in a particular Giro, which is worth more points than the race's other first-category climbs.

The classification awarded no jersey to the leader until the 1974 Giro d'Italia. From 1974 to 2011 the green jersey was given to the leader of the mountains classification. In 2012 the jersey color changed from green to blue as the classification's sponsor, Banca Mediolanum, renewed its sponsorship for another four years.Matteo Rabottini won the first blue jersey at the 2012.

-Points classification 

The points classification is the third oldest of the four jersey current awarding classifications in the Giro d'Italia. It was introduced in the 1966 Giro d'Italia and was first won by Gianni Motta.^] Points are given to the rider who is first to reach the end of, or determined places during, any stage of the Giro. The red jersey is worn by the rider who at the start of each stage, has the largest amount of points. The rider whom at the end of the Giro, holds the most points, wins the points competition. Each stage win, regardless of the stage's categorization, awards 25 points, second place is worth 20 points, third 16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10, and one point less per place down the line, to a single point for fifteenth. This means that a true sprinter might not always win the points classification.The classification was added to draw the participation of the sprinters. The 2012 winner of the classification was Joaquim Rodríguez.

In addition, stages can have one or more intermediate sprints: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points are awarded to the first three cyclists passing these lines. These points also count toward the TV classification (Traguardo Volante, or "flying sprint"), a separate award.

The first year the points classification was used, it had no jersey that was given to the leader of the classification. In the 1967 Giro d'Italia, the red jersey was added for the leader of the classification. However, in 1969 the red jersey was changed to a cyclamen (purple) colored jersey. It remained that color until 2010 when the organizers chose to change the jersey back to the color red; in a return to the original color scheme for the three minor classifications, which reflected the colors of the Italian flag. 

Also like on the Tour de France this race has the White Jersey for the best young rider.

Giro d'Italia part.2

The 2012 Giro d'Italia was the 95th edition of Giro d'Italia. It started in the Danish city of Herning, and ended in Milan. The complete route of the 2012 Giro d'Italia was announced in mid October. For the first time since the 2007 edition no climbing time trial was included in the route. The colour of the jersey for the mountains classification was changed for this year's edition from green to blue. The move came at the behest of sponsor Banca Mediolanum, who renewed its support of the mountains classification for a further four years.

The race was won by Canada's Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin-Barracuda, becoming the first rider from the country to win a Grand Tour event and the second non-European rider to win the Giro (the first being Andrew Hampsten in 1988); he also became only the second rider to take the leader's jersey from another rider on the final day, after Francesco Moser did so in 1984. Hesjedal won the general classification by 16 seconds over runner-up Joaquim Rodríguez of Spain, representing Team Katusha – the closest race-winning margin since Eddy Merckx beat Gianbattista Baronchelli by 12 seconds in the 1974 edition – who also won two stages and the points classification title, edging out Team Sky sprinter Mark Cavendish by one point. Third place was taken by Vacansoleil-DCM's Thomas De Gendt of Belgium, after he put in strong performances on the final two stages of the race; he won the race's queen stage, finishing at the high-point of the itinerary, at the Stelvio Pass and also finished in the top five of the time trial. As such, he gained sufficient time to move up from ninth to third over those stages, becoming the first Belgian rider to take a Grand Tour podium since Johan Bruyneel finished third at the 1995 Vuelta a España.

In the race's other classifications, Team Sky rider Rigoberto Urán of Colombia finished as the best rider aged 25 or under in the general classification, finishing in seventh place overall; the mountains competition was won by Italy's Matteo Rabottini of the Farnese Vini-Selle Italia team, scoring almost double the number of points that his nearest rival in the standings accrued. Rabottini was the only Italian to feature on the podium, as for the first time since 1995, no Italian riders finished in the top three overall, as Lampre-ISD's Michele Scarponi – the defending champion – could only finish fourth overall.

Giro d'Italia part.1

The Giro d'Italia is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1909 to increase the sales for the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport; however it's now currently run by RCS Sport. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909 except for when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend around the globe. The peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders from all over the world now participating each year. The Giro is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI Proteams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers can invite.

Along with the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, the Giro makes up cycling's prestigious, three week-long Grand Tours. The Giro is usually held during late May and early June. While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same with the appearance of at least two time trials, the passage through the mountain chains of the Dolomites and the Alps, and the finish in the Italian city of Milan. Like the other Grand Tours, the modern editions of the Giro d'Italia normally consist of 21 day-long segments (stages) over a 23-day period that includes 2 rest days.

All of the stages are timed to the finish, after finishing the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets to don the coveted pink jersey. While the general classification gathers the most attention there are other contests held within the Giro: the points classification for the sprinters, he mountains classification for the climbers, young rider classification for the riders under the age of 25, and the team classification for the competing teams. The 2012 edition of the race was won by Canada's Ryder Hesjedal; the first Canadian winner in the history of the Giro d'Italia.

The idea and the first race

The origin of the Giro d'Italia is similar to that of the Tour de France. It began because of a competition between two newspapers, La Gazzetta dello Sport andCorriere della Sera. La Gazzetta dello Sport wished to boost its circulation by holding a professional road race, like the Tour de France. Corriere della Sera wanted to increase its circulation by holding an organized car rally. On 7 August 1908 the newspaper's founder Eugenio Camillo Costamagna, director Armando Cougnet, and its editor Tullio Morgagni announced the inaugural Giro d'Italia to be held in 1909. Corriere della Sera offered a winners bonus of 3,000 lire.

On May 13, 1909 at 02:53 am 127 riders started the first Giro d'Italia at Loreto Place in Milan. The race was split into eight stages covering 2,448 km (1,521 mi). A total of 49 riders finished, with Italian Luigi Ganna winning the inaugural event. Ganna won three individual stages and the General Classification. Ganna received 5325 Lira as a winner’s prize, with the last rider in the general classification receiving 300 lira. The Giro's director received only 150 liras a month, 150 liras less than the last placed rider.

Tour de France part.3

Riders aim to win overall but there are three further competitions: points, mountains and for the best young rider. The leader of each wears a distinctive jersey. A rider who leads more than one competition wears the jersey of the most prestigious. The abandoned jersey is worn by the second in the competition. The Tour's colours have been adopted by other races and have meaning within cycling generally.

The yellow jersey (maillot jaune) is worn by the general classification leader. This is decided by totalling the time each rider takes on the daily stages. The rider with the lowest overall time at the end of each stage receives a ceremonial yellow bicycling jersey and the right to start the next stage of the Tour, usually the next day, in the yellow jersey. The rider to receive the yellow jersey after the last stage in Paris, is the overall winner of the Tour.

The very first rider to wear the yellow jersey from start to finish was Ottavio Bottecchia of Italy in 1924.Nicolas Frantz (1928) and Romain Maes (1935) are the only two other riders who have done the same. The first company to pay a daily prize to the wearer of the yellow jersey – known as the "rent" – was a wool company, Sofil, in 1948. The greatest number of riders to wear the yellow jersey in a day is three: Nicolas Frantz, André Leducq and Victor Fontan shared equal time for a day in 1929 and there was no rule to split them. 

The riders with most wins:

Jacques Anquetil in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964

Eddy Merckx in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974

Bernard Hinault in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985

Miguel Indurain in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 (the first to do so in five consecutive years).

In this pool would also be Lance Armstrong but with the ban that he recived, he isn't(resulted with lossing all the titles).

The green jersey (maillot vert) is given to the leader of the points classification. At the end of each stage, points are earned by the riders who finish first, second, etc. More points are given for flat stages and fewer for mountain stages. The points competition began in 1953, to mark the 50th anniversary. It was called the Grand Prix du Cinquentenaire and was won by Fritz Schaer of Switzerland. The first sponsor was La Belle Jardinière. The current sponsor is Pari Mutuel Urbain, a state betting company. Currently, the points classification is calculated by adding up the points collected in the stage and subtracting penalty points. Points are rewarded for a high finishing position in a stage or at an intermediate sprint. One rider has won the points competition six times - Erik Zabel 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 (consecutive years).

The King of the Mountains wears a white jersey with red dots (maillot à pois rouges), inspired by a jersey that one of the organisers, Félix Lévitan, had seen at the Vélodrome d'Hiver in Paris in his youth. The competition gives points to the first to top designated hills and mountains.

The best climber was first recognised in 1933, prizes were given from 1934, and the jersey was introduced in 1975. The first to wear the mountain jersey was Lucien Van Impe, who earned the honour en route to his third mountains title.

Between 1975 and 1989, and since 2000, there has been a competition for young riders. The rider aged under 26 who places highest in the GC gets to wear a white jersey (maillot blanc).

Since the young rider classification was introduced in 1975, it has been won by 29 different cyclists. Of those, six cyclists also won the general classification during their careers (Fignon, LeMond, Pantani, Ullrich, Contador and Schleck). On four occasions a cyclist has won the young rider classification and the general classification in the same year—Fignon in 1983, Ullrich in 1997, Contador in 2007 and Schleck in 2010.

And at the end one of the most famous wins on the tour.

Tour de France part.2

-The idea for the tour

L'Auto was not the success its backers wanted. Stagnating sales lower than the rival it was intended to surpass led to a crisis meeting on 20 November 1902 on the middle floor of L'Auto's office at 10 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, Paris. The last to speak was the most junior there, the chief cycling journalist, a 26-year-old named Géo Lefèvre. Desgrange had poached him from Giffard's paper. Lefèvre suggested a six-day race of the sort popular on the track but all around France. Long-distance cycle races were a popular means to sell more newspapers, but nothing of the length that Lefèvre suggested had been attempted. If it succeeded, it would help L'Auto match its rival and perhaps put it out of business. It could, as Desgrange said, "nail Giffard's beak shut." Desgrange and Lefèvre discussed it after lunch. Desgrange was doubtful but the paper's financial director, Victor Goddet, was enthusiastic. He handed Desgrange the keys to the company safe and said: "Take whatever you need." L'Auto announced the race on 19 January 1903.

-The first Tour de France

The first Tour de France was staged in 1903. The plan was a five-stage race from 31 May to 5 July, starting in Paris and stopping in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes before returning to Paris. Toulouse was added later to break the long haul across southern France from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Stages would go through the night and finish next afternoon, with rest days before riders set off again. But this proved too daunting and the costs too great for most and only 15 entered. Desgrange had never been wholly convinced and he came close to dropping the idea. Instead, he cut the length to 19 days, changed the dates to 1 to 19 July, and offered a daily allowance  to those who averaged at least 20 km/h on all the stages. That was what a rider would have expected to earn each day had he worked in a factory. He also cut the entry fee from 20 to 10 francs and set the first prize at 12,000 francs and the prize for each day's winner at 3,000 francs. The winner would thereby win six times what most workers earned in a year. That attracted between 60 and 80 entrants – the higher number may have included serious inquiries and some who dropped out – among them not just professionals but amateurs, some unemployed, some simply adventurous.

The first Tour de France started almost outside the Café Reveil-Matin at the junction of the Melun and Corbeil roads in the village of Montgeron. It was waved away by the starter, Georges Abran, at 3:16 p.m. on 1 July 1903. Among the competitors were the eventual winner, Maurice Garin, his well-built rival Hippolyte Aucouturier, the German favourite Josef Fischer, and a collection of adventurers including one competing as "Samson".

The race finished on the edge of Paris at Ville d'Avray, outside the Restaurant du Père Auto, before a ceremonial ride into Paris and several laps of the Parc des Princes. Garin dominated the race, winning the first and last two stages, at 25.68 km/h. The last rider, Millocheau, finished 64h 47m 22s behind him.

Tour de France part.1

The Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1903 to increase paper sales for the magazine L'Auto it is currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except for when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the Tour gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend around the globe. Participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year. The Tour is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI ProTeams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers invite.

Along with the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, the Tour makes up cycling's prestigious, three-week-long Grand Tours. Traditionally, the race is usually held primarily in the month of July. While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same with the appearance of at least two time trials, the passage through the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, and the finish on the Champs-Élysées. The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments (stages) over a 23-day period.

All of the stages are timed to the finish; after finishing the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets to don the coveted yellow jersey. While the general classification garners the most attention there are other contests held within the Tour: the points classification for the sprinters, the mountains classification for the climbers with general classification hopes, young rider classification for the riders under the age of 26, and the team classification for the fastest teams. The 2012 edition of the race was won by Great Britain's Bradley Wiggins, the first British winner in the history of the Tour de France.

The tour typically has 21 days of racing and 2 rest days and covers 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi). The shortest Tour was in 1904 at 2,420 kilometres, the longest in 1926 at 5,745 kilometres. The three weeks usually include two rest days, sometimes used to transport riders from a finish in one town to the start in another.The race alternates between clockwise and anticlockwise circuits of France. The first anticlockwise circuit was in 1913. The New York Times said the "Tour de France is arguably the most physiologically demanding of athletic events." The effort was compared to "running a marathon several days a week for nearly three weeks", while the total elevation of the climbs was compared to "climbing three Everests."

The number of teams usually varies between 20 and 22, with nine riders in each. Entry is by invitation to teams chosen by the race organiser, the Amaury Sport Organisation. Team members help each other and are followed by managers and mechanics in cars.

Riders are judged by the time each has taken throughout the race, a ranking known as the general classification. There may be time deductions for finishing well in a daily stage or being first to pass an intermediate point. It is possible to win without winning a stage; this has occurred six times. There are subsidiary competitions (see below), some with distinctive jerseys for the best rider. Riders normally start together each day, with the first over the line winning, but some days are ridden against the clock by individuals or teams. The overall winner is usually a master of the mountains and of these time trials.