Meet Tour of California Stage Winner Mark Cavendish at Helen's Cycles

Super-sprinter Mark Cavendish to Autograph Boy Racer in Santa Monica Bike Shop

Boulder, CO, USA - May 21, 2010 - After winning a stage and finishing this week's Tour of California, Mark Cavendish will appear at Helen's Cycles in Santa Monica on Monday, May 24th at 6 p.m. to meet cycling fans and autograph copies of his new book, Boy Racer: My Journey to Tour de France Record-Breaker.

Mark Cavendish Book Signing
Monday, May 24th at 6 p.m.
Helen's Cycles
2501 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA
(310) 829-1836, www.helenscycles.com

In Boy Racer, cycling super-sprinter Mark Cavendish explains his phenomenal rise to the top of the sport. Cav describes with riveting detail the sprint victories that propelled him into the history books. His first-person play-by-plays put readers wheel to wheel with the world's fastest cyclists. Cavendish describes his six 2009 Tour de France stage wins, his battle with sprint rival Thor Hushovd, and his overall win at Milan-San Remo. Boy Racer will be available in bookstores, bike shops, and online in late May, soon after Cavendish races the Tour of California and just weeks before he starts the Tour de France.

Written off as "fat" and "useless" in his youth, Cavendish has since sprinted to the front of the race peloton to become cycling's brightest start-and its most outspoken.

Boy Racer is a page-turning journey of pure exhilaration-candid, opinionated, and scrupulously honest-chronicling Cavendish's rapid rise from local hero to National Champion to Tour de France stage winner. Along the way, Cavendish takes us behind the scenes of the Tour de France to unmask the intrigue, the mayhem, the hysteria, and the adrenalin-fueled, all-out chaos of professional cycling.

Vivid, unflinching, and brilliantly conveyed, Boy Racer sweeps readers into the swirl of the racer's world and delivers them to the finish line with an insider's view from the freshest voice and most agile mind in bike racing.

Born and raised on the Isle of Man, Mark Cavendish became a world track champion as a teenager in 2005, a Commonwealth Games gold medalist a year later, and in 2008 regained his world title on the track with British teammate Bradley Wiggins. After switching his focus to the more glamorous world of road cycling, Cavendish set a new record of four stage wins in the 2008 Tour de France, and won the prestigious Milan-San Remo one-day classic in 2009. Widely regarded as the most exciting and charismatic young rider to join the sport in years, Cavendish rides for the American cycling team HTC-Columbia and will be the most closely watched sprinter in the pro peloton in 2010.

Distributors and specialty retailers please order through:
Jen Soulé, Sales Manager, (800) 811-4210 x2169, wholesale@competitorgroup.com

Media review copies, excerpts, author interviews and events:
Dave Trendler, Marketing and Publicity Manager, (303) 245-2138, dtrendler@competitorgroup.com

Photo caption: Mark Cavendish wears the green jersey of the sprint leader while holding a copy of his book in front of the Team HTC-Columbia bus at the AMGEN Tour of California, San Jose, Wednesday, May 26. Photo credit: Ben Pryhoda/VeloPress

Chris Carmichael Launches Nationwide Book Tour

Berkeley, CA - September 1, 2009 - In a joint statement, GU Energy Labs and Carmichael Training Systems today announced a 20-city author tour and ride-along series in support of Chris Carmichael's new book The Time-Crunched Cyclist.

Chris Carmichael, the personal cycling coach to Lance Armstrong and the founder of Carmichael Training Systems, is the author of the newly-launched The Time-Crunched Cyclist: Fit, Fast, and Powerful in 6 Hours a Week. Carmichael's book presents a new way to achieve superior fitness and power, by leveraging busy athletes' limited time to unlock the power of high-intensity workouts and get fast in less time. This revolutionary new training plan is presented in a time-efficient method through detailed training plans, case studies, nutritional guidelines, and proven success stories.

The Time-Crunched Training Program starts with the CTS Field Test, which is an established endurance, power and strength test used to assess a cyclist's initial personal training intensities. The book includes four detailed training plans and all associated workout instructions, strategies on how to properly fuel for these high-intensity or interval workouts, and tips on how to tweak riding style to capitalize on "time-crunched" fitness and power.

The Time-Crunched Cyclist Tour Energized by GU will visit Philadelphia, NYC, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Boston, Kona, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Phoenix, Tucson and the San Francisco Bay Area. Tour venues will include bicycle retailers, triathlon clubs and corporate appearances at Kaiser Permanente. For more information on locations, dates, and times, please visit trainright.com (http://www.trainright.com/info.asp?uid=4649).

GU Energy Labs, a staple in the cycling industry and the official nutrition supplier for Carmichael Training Systems, is a natural partner for such an energized tour. GU will provide samples and giveaways from its entire line of performance nutrition products, including the newly launched Chomps Energy Chews and GU Recovery Brew.

GU president Brian Vaughan said, "I'm a time-crunched cyclist myself, but thanks to CTS, I was able to not only compete in the BC Bike Race and the Death Ride this July, I was able to do so at the peak of my abilities. I can personally attest to the incredible benefits of this program. We are proud to support Chris' initiative to make peak fitness a realistic goal for every cyclist who wants to improve their fitness and lifestyle."

Chris Carmichael commented, "I'm really looking forward to this book tour, and talking to cyclists all around the country about the opportunities available for them in The Time-Crunched Cyclist. This is a new concept in endurance training that's going to make high-performance cycling accessible to athletes who have limited training time - like those of us balancing full-time jobs and families with our athletic ambitions.

I'm also very happy to have the support of GU Energy Labs. With 20 cities and rides connected to almost all the events in the tour, I'm going to need a lot of high-quality sports nutrition to see me through this tour successfully."

The tour runs August of 2009 through January of 2010 with additional book signing appearances to occur in conjunction with the SoCal MS 150 Ride, the Philly Livestrong Ride and the Austin Livestrong Ride.

For more information regarding The Time-Crunched Cyclist, please visit www.trainright.com.

About GU Energy Labs
GU's original Energy Gel was launched in 1994 in Berkeley, CA. To this day, GU remains the market share leader and the premium gel available to endurance athletes, GU's product line is designed to provide athletes with scientifically-proven, performance-tested nutrition. For more information about GU, log onto www.GUenergy.com.

About Chris Carmichael
Chris Carmichael was an Olympian and a professional cyclist before beginning his career as a coach, best-selling author, and entrepreneur. He has coached seven-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong since 1990, was recognized as the U.S. Olympic Committee Coach of the Year, and was inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 2003. He founded Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) in 2000 to deliver personal coaching, training camps, and performance testing to athletes of all abilities. For more information, please visit trainright.com.

Joe Friel on What's New in The Triathlete's Training Bible, 3rd Ed.

Triathlete magazine's Jay Prasuhn caught up with Joe Friel at TRIFEST in March to ask him about the new edition of The Triathlete's Training Bible. Here's what Joe had to say.

"Roadie" Named to Library of Michigan's 2009 Notable Book List

Library of Michigan’s 2009 Michigan Notable Books Recount State’s Triumphs, Trials and Tenacity

The Library of Michigan announced the 2009 Michigan Notable Books (www.michigan.gov/notablebooks), 20 books highlighting Michigan people, places and events. Giving life to the diverse experiences of Michigan’s people, this year’s selection runs the gamut from novels depicting characters persevering through life’s challenges, the 100th anniversary of the Model T and an historical account of a of Great Lakes shipwreck, to books that capture the local flavor of Michigan’s culture, tourism and recreation.

“The Library of Michigan is proud to celebrate the best in Michigan literature, which represents the breadth of our state’s culture and variety of our residents’ experiences,” State Librarian Nancy Robertson said. “This year’s Michigan Notable Books provide both an opportunity to enjoy reading at its finest, and a chance to explore the wonder of Michigan’s history, natural beauty and everyday life.”

Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer by Jamie O. Smith. Illustrated by Jef Mallett (VeloPress) – With a keen sense of humor and a wealth of experience as a cyclist, Smith explains the wonderfully addicting but equally strange world of bicycle racing, including many of its charming habits and obsessive practices. Training, diet, several of the Michigan courses, cycle repairs, race strategies, and the puzzling question of why cyclists wear Lycra are all outlined in this unique book. Mallett’s comic illustrations perfectly complement the narrative.

Each year the Michigan Notable Books (MNB) list features 20 books published in the previous calendar year that are about or set in Michigan or the Great Lakes region or are written by a Michigan author. Robertson explained that selections include nonfiction and fiction and typically have a wide appeal to audiences, covering a range of topics and issues close to the hearts of citizens of Michigan.

For more information about the MNB program, call 517 373-1300, visit www.michigan.gov/notablebooks or email michigannotablebooks@michigan.gov.

Media please contact:
Randy Riley, special collections manager
Library of Michigan, (517) 373-5860 or rriley@michigan.gov

Power Training Coaches Offering Free Power Data Analysis

January 28, 2009 - Roanoke, VA - Hunter Allen and Dr. Andrew R. Coggan are collecting data for the second edition of Training and Racing with a Power Meter via the www.peakscoachinggroup.com online power profile analysis survey. The first 250 applicants will receive a free power profile analysis and the first 1,000 will get a sneak preview of the results.

“Power is the tool for training endurance athletes,” stated Hunter Allen, cycling coach and co-author of Training and Racing with a Power Meter. “By comparing power results between cyclists, it gives insight into the athlete’s strengths and weaknesses, helping us improve our training and racing techniques and strategies.”

“Peaks power profiling system takes comparative data and builds a strengths and weaknesses analysis that allows self coached and/or coaches a way to utilize power data comparisons to build more effective training programs and produce better race results”, continued Allen. “I am hoping to collect over 1,000 data files to be part of a new comparative analysis which will be featured in the second edition of our book, Training and Racing with a Power Meter.

Bloggers Enjoying Joe Parkin's "A Dog in a Hat"

VeloPress gave away over 100 advance copies of Joe Parkin's new book, A Dog in a Hat, at BookExpo America in May and then shipped out 80 more advance copies to Amazon's Vine reviewer program (read the Amazon Vine reviews). The resulting early feedback on the book has been overwhelming. Here's a sampling of reviews of A Dog in a Hat from the blogosphere.

"Joe Parkin is a beautiful piece of work, and he turns out to be a better writer than I am a bike racer." - Bill Strickland, Bicycling magazine

"Whether you're a hard core cycling fanatic or are passingly aware of the Tour de France each year, you will enjoy this page turning chronicle of a young man's coming of age as a cyclist in Europe. It might even inspire you to dust off that old bike sitting in the closet and take it for a spin." - The Wisdom of Dre

"This book is a very short, entertaining read. It keeps up fast pace, moving from race to race and season to season smoothly and quickly." - Pete's Entertainment Reviews

"Parkin chronicles the years he spent training and racing in Belgium during the late '80s with brevity and candor, giving the reader plenty of breathing room to enjoy the behind the scenes look at professional bike racing." - Scott's Bookshelf

Edel Rodriguez is a cyclist and the artist who created the cover illustration for A Dog in a Hat. The book cover's illustration is not the only one Edel drew. Check out the early sketches on his blog.

The Athlete's Guide to Yoga by Sage Rountree on InsideTri.com

VeloPress author Sage Rountree has contributed content from her book, The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, to InsideTri.com.

The first article explains the benefits of Tree Pose (see left), which builds balance and opens tight hips.

The second article shows variations on Chair Pose, which builds strength in the legs and core.

Sage Rountree combines endurance coaching cred with yoga. Sage is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified coach and a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance. She's also an accomplished age group triathlete and marathon runner.

Gale Bernhardt Appearing on Denver TV Before Men's Olympic Triathlon Final

Tune into Denver's CW2 Morning News at 7:45 a.m. MT on Tuesday, August 19 to see VeloPress author Gale Bernhardt introduce viewers to triathlon and discuss the differences between your local sprint tri and the Olympic race format. Gale will be interviewed by Chris Parente.

Gale will compare a road bike and clip-on aero bars and an Olympic-legal time trial bike. She'll demonstrate the advantages of speedlaces. She'll also show off one of Jarrod Shoemaker's tri suits.

Root for Jarrod and Team USA triathletes during NBC's coverage of the men's Olympic triathlon finals.