The Amgen Tour of California began on Sunday with a Prologue time trial in Palo Alto.
One of the more intriguing developments is the return of veteran sprinter Mario Cipollini to the ranks of active professional cyclists after a three year retirement. Cipollini retired on May 7, 2005 after a ceremonial 1.1km time trial at the Giro d’Italia. He has now joined the upstart U.S. team called Rock Racing.
BikeRadar.com reports that Cipo’s bike is not standard team issue and speculates on its componentry. They have a number of good photos of the bike. When I have covered pro cycling races in the past for Operation Gadget, I’ve always gone looking for the most unusual bikes, and this one certainly is.
I think the return of athletes like Mario Cipollini bodes well for the sport of pro cycling. It certainly needs some good news and some developments that take the focus away from the controversies surrounding testing for performance-enhancing drugs.