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- 2012 Tour of California Stage 8 Live Online Coverage Guide -

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This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

A tired Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) reached the summit of Pian dei Resinelli 39 seconds down on Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) but he remained upbeat about his chances in spite of losing the maglia rosa on stage 15 of the Giro d’Italia.

The Canadian was defending a narrow 9-second lead overall coming into the day’s stage, a testing 171km into the heart of Tour of Lombardy country that was made all the more difficult by constant rain and treacherous roads, including the descent of the Valcava.

While Liquigas-Cannondale succeeded in controlling the tempo of the pink jersey group most of the way up the final climb above Ballabio, the racing ignited inside the final three kilometres, as first Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) and then Rodriguez attempted to jump clear.

Mindful of his own qualities as something of a diesel, Hesjedal understood immediately that the best option was to continue at his own pace rather than attempt to match the ferocity of Rodriguez’s acceleration.

“I can’t get sucked in to trying to accelerate with those guys, especially today as I didn’t feel that good,” Hesjedal told reporters shortly after wheeling to a halt beyond the finish line. “But if today was my bad day then I can be happy with that.”

As Hesjedal covered up his mud-splattered pink jersey with a jacket, Rodriguez was preparing to mount the podium to accept a pristine version. However, with just 30 seconds separating them and with a 30km time trial still to come in Milan, Hesjedal was bullish about his chances of staying in the hunt through the Dolomites.

“It was a good finish for him again today, very explosive at the end of a hard day,” Hesjedal said. “It’s clear that he’s in good shape and we’ve got quite the little battle shaping up here.”

Hesjedal explained that he was still suffering the effects of his acceleration on the previous day’s stage to Cervinia, when he had upset the odds by clipping off the front of the group of contenders and moving back into the pink jersey. In such circumstances, he declared himself satisfied to have limited his losses in the mountains overlooking Lake Como.

“I didn’t feel that good today all day so I’m pretty pleased with the ride today,” he said. “I had some problems. I had to ride my spare bike today and it was wet and cold. Plus it was a big effort yesterday. Tomorrow’s the rest day so I’m happy because I don’t think I lost too much time.”

The weight of defending the jersey now passes to Katusha, while Hesjedal’s brief will be to stay as close as he can to the Catalan and the other favourites in the troika of stages in the Dolomites next week. The strongest of the overall contenders in the time trial, he is aware that he has a 30km test to come in Milan to try and recoup any additional losses.

“The team was awesome again on a real tough day to be in the jersey and I enjoyed it again,” Hesjedal said. “It was exciting to take it back yesterday and I’ve got no problems giving it back.”

There was a brief moment of levity as Hesjedal prepared to ride off to his team bus, parked at the foot of the final climb. Asked if his Norwegian ancestry had helped him to cope with the mountains and the cold, Hesjedal managed to raise a smile in spite of his fatigue. “Yeah, probably it’s in the genes.”

Victoria Pendleton, one of the UK's leading cyclists, will be going for multiple gold medals at this year's Olympic Games in London. A top favourite for the women's track sprinting events, Pendleton wants to crown her career with success in front of her home crowd.

"It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. I can't wait to get out there and get it done," she says in this video, taken at the launch of the Samsung Hope Relay, a free app for logging miles that Samsung will turn into charity donations.

After the Olympics, Pendleton says she's hanging up her wheels after the better part of a decade as the world's leading female track cyclist. Then what?

"First of all I'm going to go on holiday beause I never allow myself to go on holiday and really relax," she says. "I always end spending my time in the gym, finding a gym, going for a bike ride. Also I want to plan my wedding and finally get married so that's something that's going to take a little bit of time too."

For the full interview, click on the video below (click here for a larger version).

Garmin-Barracuda’s Andrew Talansky got the attention of the racing world in late April, when he finished less than a second behind Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins in the final time trial of the Tour de Romandie. That performance earned him second place on the stage, second overall in the race and the Best Young Rider award.

 It also earned him a new ride. At the Amgen Tour of California, Talanksy’s Cervélo P4 from Romandie was hanging on the team rack, but inside the team truck a new Cervélo P5 awaited him.

Cervélo’s P5 comes in two styles: a triathlon edition and the UCI-approved TT model. Both share the same frame but differ in forks; the tri bike has a fairing over the front brake. The P5 was introduced in January, and only a handful have been made thus far.

The 3T Aduro handlebar comes in three heights; Talansky is running the shortest option, with the arm-rest clips bolted in nice and narrow (14cm apart at the center of the pads).

The two most remarkable features of the P5 are the Magura hydraulic rim brakes and the completely integrated Shimano Di2 package. While many team mechanics are still bolting Di2 batteries under down tubes and taping wiring down along the length of tubes, the P5 has completely internal wiring, from the tips of the handlebars, down through the stem and into the frame. Much more impressive, however, is the battery solution — it is tucked inside the down tube, accessible via a panel that faces the rear wheel.

Can you see the Shimano Di2 battery here? Sure can't - and that is exactly the point

Tom Danielson and David Zabriskie are the Garmin-Barracuda team leaders at California, but Talansky could well give them a run for the money in the time trial on Thursday. Talansky starts as the 98^th rider, two minutes behind Danielson and two minutes ahead of defending race champion Chris Horner (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek).

Check out all the details of Talansky’s Cervélo P5 in the gallery at right above, and be sure to follow all the action from the Amgen Tour of California on Cyclingnews.com.

Complete bike specifications

•     Frame: Cervélo P5
•     Stem: 3T Aduro
•     Handlebar: 3T Aduro, 38cm (c-c); pads 14cm (c-c)
•     Front brake: Magura RT8 Hydraulic
•     Rear brake: Magura RT8 Hydraulic
•     Brake levers: Magura RT 8TT Hydraulic
•     Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 FD-7970
•     Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 RD-7970
•     Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
•     Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-7900, 11-23T
•     Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CN-7900
•     Crankset: Rotor 3D+ TT, 172.5mm, 55/44T
•     Bottom bracket: Rotor
•     Pedals: Garmin Vector (without the power-meter internals)
•     Front wheel: Mavic CC80
•     Rear wheel: Mavic Comete
•     Front tire: Mavic Yksion GripLink tubular
•     Rear tire: Mavic Yksion PowerLink tubular
•     Saddle: Fi'zi:k Arione Tri 2
•     Seatpost: Cervélo P5
•     Bottle cages: Arundel Chrono
•     Computer: Garmin Edge 500

Critical measurements

•     Rider's height: 1.75m (5ft 9in)
•     Rider's weight: 63kg (139lb)
•     Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 73.5cm

Slovak speedster Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) won the first and second stages of the Amgen Tour of California aboard a Cannondale SuperSix EVO Team with custom geometry.

Although the expense of carbon molds has made custom geometry cost-prohibitive for some companies, Cannondale had created a “54x58” mold for former Liquigas rider Daniele Bennati. Now used by Sagan, the frame size features a 54cm seat tube with a relatively long 58cm top tube.

BikeRadar test rode the Cannondale SuperSix EVO last year, and came away generally impressed by its light weight and smooth ride. 

The claimed frame weight of 695g is impressively light. In fact, Cannondale love to point out that production bikes are “illegally light”. Team liaison Rory Mason was quick to point out the custom solid steel spindle used on Sagan’s bike to bring it up to the UCI’s minimum weight of 6.8kg (14.99lb).

Can you spot the steel?

“Last year we added the weight inside the seat tube,” Mason said. “But some riders – Ivan Basso, in particular – felt that the bike’s handling was affected by having the extra weight that high in the bike, so we moved it down.” 

Aside from the Cannondale SL Hollowgram crankset, Sagan’s bike is completely spec’ed with SRAM Red 2012. Well, almost completely. The front derailleur is ‘old’ SRAM Red, with a SRAM Force steel cage marked SRAM Red. The SRAM Red cages are titanium, and some riders and mechanics prefer the feel of steel for shifting. (The 2012 Red front derailleur features an aluminum outer cage and a steel inner cage.)

This bike is Sagan's second race bike. His first bike – which he won on twice in California – is identical except that it also has an SRM power meter, which provides information for the rider and coach, and more heft for the UCI.

To keep things tidy, Sagan has clear stickers on his crank arms to avoid scuff marks from his shoes. After all, one must keep things looking good when the bike is coming first across the line so often.

Complete bike specifications

•     Frame: Cannondale EVO, custom geometry
•     Headset: SuperSix EVO, 1-1/4in lower bearing, 1-1/8in upper
•     Stem: FSA SL-K 120mm
•     Handlebar: FSA Traditional Bend Alloy Energy, 42cm (c-c)
•     Front brake: SRAM 2012 Red
•     Rear brake: SRAM 2012 Red   
•     Front derailleur: SRAM Red (not 2012 Red) with a Force steel cage
•     Rear derailleur: SRAM 2012 Red
•     Shift/brake levers: SRAM 2012 Red
•     Cassette: SRAM XG 1090 11-23
•     Chain: SRAM 2012 Red
•     Crankset: Cannondale SL Hollowgram with custom solid-steel spindle, 53/39t (note: his race bike also has an SRM power meter)
•     Bottom bracket: Cannondale
•     Pedals: Speedplay Zero Team Edition
•     Wheelset: Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate
•     Front tire: Mavic Yksion GripLink tubular 22mm
•     Rear tire: Mavic Yksion GripLink tubular 22mm
•     Seatpost: FSA K-Force
•     Saddle: Fi'zi:k Aliante
•     Bottle cages: Elite Pase Custom Carbon (2)
•     Computer: SRM (not shown)

Critical measurements

•     Rider's height: 1.84m (6ft)
•     Rider's weight: 73kg (160lb)
•     Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 75cm
•     Saddle setback: 95mm
•     Seat tube length, c-t: 54cm
•     Top tube length: 58cm (horizontal)