Rollin'... Vegas Style

The return of Lance, and other notable tidbits from the show floor

Words by NSMB Team Vegas. Photos by Fergs, Cam, Ed.

The hits just keep on coming. Thursday kicked off with Lance meeting the press, engaging a notable critic and stepping up the fight against cancer; globally. As if that weren't enough for one day, there was tradeshow packed with literally thousands of cycling goodies just two doors down when were finished Cirque de Lance.

So with bugged out eyes, sore feet and the sounds of the slots ringing in our ears we offer up the latest from Interbike-land. Cam has the call on the return of Trek's golden boy:

Normally I'd never get out of bed early to attend a road press conference - but this seemed like a special opportunity. Lance was in Vegas, after racing in the Cross Vegas the night before, to announce more of the details of his return to pro cycling. We waited in ballroom J for about ten minutes when the proverbial hush came over the crowd of journalists. And there he was - tailed by even more cameras and an entourage worthy of an African head of state.

Lance responding to Greg Lemond's queries - before shutting him down.

Lance started out by outlining how he was going to subject himself to testing, who he would ride for (Team Astana on Trek bikes) and then opened the floor to questions. A hand shot up in the front row and Lance noted it was Greg Lemond - and after thanking him for being in attendance told him to go ahead with his question. I couldn't make out every word of the exchange but it was clear that Lemond was questioning Lance's chosen testing methodology - the implication being that he wasn't submitting to a sufficiently rigorous program. Lemond has been calling Lance a cheater for some time and this was his latest salvo.

Greg Lemond raining on Lance Amstrong's parade at an Interbike press conference.

Bad blood tainted the air and it felt like we were all witnessing something that should have taken place in the boardroom at a law firm. Eventually Lance cut Lemond off by saying "next question." It was much better drama than I expected and there's more to come . Astana's team leader - 2008 Giro and Vuelta winner Alberto Contador - has said that he won't race on a team with Lance. If only roadies could get along the way freeriders and downhillers do.

Eddy Merckx was in attendance as well. He and his son Axl - who lives in Kelowna B.C. - will manage the Under 23 team.

Thanks for the Lance highlights Cam.

After the morning press conference fireworks we hightailed it for the show floor and went to work. We have so much information it will probably take weeks to sort out. For now, here are teasers of the bigger goodies we'll bring to you in the coming days.

The new Boxxer from RockShox is incredible. Almost completely redesigned and coming in under 6 pounds for the top version. That is not a misprint. Believe you me, we will have a full write-up on this white wonder. By the way, the fork was crazy-glued to his hand. I know, because I tried to snag it and run.

Noel from Knolly Bikes is grinning from ear to ear because his new baby is being shown to the world. This is a prototype version and has yet to be named. Knolly will sponsor a naming contest once the bike nears the production stage (it is much closer than many protos I've seen) and the winner gets to ride the new beast on a multi-day freeride to the B.C. interior. Sharpen those pencils kids.

The new Fury DH bike from GT. They are going for strength, not light weight, in choosing to use carbon for the project. Weight is reported to be in the upper 30's range and rumor has it the frame is incredibly tough. If they had let this one off the stand we might have more for you, but that was nixed as there are only about 5 of these frames in existence right now.

Showstopper. More carbon, more prototypes... but these are on the way. Carbon mountain rims from Syncros. Oh so very, very sweet. We got the full scoop on these from Syncros Product Manager Marshall Cant. It takes a lot to get Marshall excited, and he was giddy like a school girl about these babies.

I had a nice long chat with Chris DiStefano from Chris King components and have tons of new stuff to show you, but no time to post it right now. For the time being here's a shot of the new bottom bracket along with the tools that let you service it at home, which will be available this December. The ring extractor is in the bb in this shot while the cup remover is in the background and the grease fitting is tethered (via the cable) in the foreground. It is a super clean system that is easy to use and very adaptable.

Did somebody say carbon? These RaceFace Next Carbon cranks are uber-drool worthy. Check out the rubber endcaps to protect the crank arm tips. We have tons of stuff from RaceFace on both the component side and the soft goods line.

Less creepy Fergs? I think not. More like "The Ferginator". New shades from Oakley's '09 line.

Forgive us dear readers, as we have been remiss. I give you in the way of apology, Fergs and a rather attractive young woman from Brazil. Little does she know that she is now firmly on her way to the "Fergs Boothbabe Hall of Fame".

So that, as they say is that, for today. So much more to come, so little time to do anything else about it right now. So it is on to the show's final day, and then homeward for your "Just about ready to be frickin' done with Vegas" NSMB.com Team.

So that is breakfast for you. Heartburn or satisfaction? Send it.