Michael Turton posts on his latest Northern Cross Island Expedition. An excellent ride report with stunning photos. Give it a look HERE. I know for a fact that a couple of the riders who joined him were just getting started on bicycles only one year ago.
- A big congrats to Sean Smith, from Taichung's own Team Caffe Terry, won the Elite classification in the Alishan Challenge. Smith climbed 7541ft over the course of 47 miles in 2:45:29. Smith averaged 17.1 mph on his climb and walked away with a USD$22,500 purse. Not bad for a day's work.
- A new study shows Taiwanese women prefer walking to cycling. Whereas Taiwanese men are far more interested in showing off their gadgets. The New York Times reports this is not just a Taiwanese phenomenon.
The Stage 2 Team Time Trial was won by Team Garmin-Cervelo with Contador's Saxo Bank finishing in 8th behind his challengers in Team Leppard, Radioshack and BMC. Team HTC-Highroad, partially sponsored by Taiwan's HTC electronics juggernaut is also in good position to make an impact. What does all this mean? Not much as a lot can happen, but it does put pressure on the reigning champ, especially if the competition is in fine form and can avoid crashes or mechanicals.