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As the Tour de France continues, so does our Tour De Tires! For every stage of the Tour, we’ll be bringing you a review of a tire. Since it’s just about time to start gluing up tubulars or deciding what type of clinchers you’ll be riding this season, the timing couldn’t be better.

Ideally, the tires we feature will be tires deemed advantageous to an off-road version of the stage of the Tour De France, though we’re more interested in the dirt than the roads of France!

Cyclocross in July? Sure, it’s been done before in densely-populated New Jersey. But at a resort in Central Washington, a good 90 minutes from the closest major city? It seemed like a harebrained idea by the folks at Raleigh that had little chance at drawing out all but the most hard-core cyclocrossers.

Cyclocross Magazine columnist Paul Warloski profiles his return to cyclocross after a near-devastating injury. Follow Paul as he takes us along for a ride of trials …

Summer heat is at it’s high point. Twitter accounts across the eastern seaboard keep referencing the 90 plus degree temperatures and more and more often the cyclocross hashtag comes up on twitter. So is anything exciting happening in the wide world of pro cyclocross?

Our newest addition to the Cyclocross Magazine staff, UK-based intern David Evans is unveiling his new bi-weekly column all about racing cyclocross “on the cheap.”

Raleigh goes from making one cyclocross frame to an impressive eight models in 2012.

It’s a cx-ers Midsummer Night’s Dream: a cyclocross race in July! Raleigh sponsors (and offers huge prizes) at Midsummer Night’s Cross in Washington State.

For as long as there’s been cyclocross, there has been a separation of the men’s and women’s fields. And while women’s payouts may not rival those of the men in most races, it is doubtful that women would ever complain about not being mixed into the men’s races. There are obvious performance differences between the sexes, and today’s column looks at some of the most recent research on those differences.

I’m almost done with road season for the year, thankfully, so it’s time to get cyclocross-specific. Between having a coach, having a new ’cross bike and having a pit bike being built up as I write this, I’m feeling pretty darn pro, and pretty darn prepared for the season.

The sad reality is that most catastrophic failures in cross racing result from very simple factors. I have compiled a small list of race ending mechanical problems that could have been avoided with a small dose of precaution and a dash of extra care. These are not all or even the most common mechanical issues in cross racing but these all have two things in common: 1. They can absolutely end your race, giving you a regrettable DNF. 2. They can easily be prevented.

Want to know what to look for on Cyclocross Magazine this week? Worried you might have missed something last week? Fear not, because we’ve got it all mapped out for you. Every Monday, we have a preview of what’s in store for the week, and we’ll let you know about some of the great articles that you might have missed last week. If there’s any story you’d like us to cover, any burning question you want answered, or any cool racer you’d like to hear from, let us know! Leave messages in the comments, find me on the Cowbell Forums or email molly [at] cxmagazine.com.

It’s been a few weeks since Rumors and Rumblings, but things have been going on in the rumor mills around the ’cross world. There are races going on, ’cross racers showing their mettle and other ’crossers building their form day by day. So, where are things?

Specialized has been working on a new line of cyclocross tubular tires for several years now, and with input from riders like 2010 National Champion Todd Wells, it developed several prototypes last season. The Specialized Tracer cyclocross tire comes in three configurations: the 290tpi, 423g Tracer Tubular, the folding 282g Tracer Pro clincher, and the Tracer Sport wire bead clincher (weights are average of early prototypes, as measured by Cyclocross Magazine) . All three models are listed at 33c to fall within UCI regulations. Our early tubular versions measured out at 32c, and Specialized informed us that the production versions will have slightly larger casings.

It’s that time of year again: time to start looking at cyclocross clinics, and time to start planning your race schedule for the Fall. Cyclocross Magazine will be publishing our 2011-2012 cyclocross calendar, complete with all races, clinics and cyclocross-specific events. However, while we will try to add as many races and clinics as we can, the best way to make sure that your event is listed on our calendar is to use our Submission Form and add your event, so it will go directly onto our calendar.

Adam Myerson is a bit of a cyclocross legend, especially on the east coast. Cyclocross Magazine publisher Andrew Yee distinctly recalls Myerson’s presence at his first race, and years later, he’s still a fixture in New England cyclocross and beyond. With an impressive set of palmares that come from 25 years of bike racing, Myerson is certainly an elite force to be reckoned with, even as some of his contemporaries abandon the Pro field for Masters races. Still, as Myerson (and his latest tattoo) will tell you, he lives by the motto “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.”

Death Before DNF (“Did Not Finish,” for those of you who’ve never been faced with the concept of dropping out of a race) may be a bit extreme for a title, but when I was falling off the back of a race on Sunday, I contemplated titling this column “Know When To Hold ‘Em and Know When To Fold ‘Em.” Not only is that an excruciatingly long title, it’s also total crap in cycling.

Collegiate athletics is an interesting arena: there are both ups and downs to being extremely athletic in college, though anyone reading this is sure to point out that the good surely outweighs the bad. However, sometimes collegiate athletic programs can cause high levels of stress in students, and sometimes the demands can hurt the students more than helping them. On the flip side, according to one study, students tend to have “perceived barriers” when it comes to physical activity, that is to say, they find excuses for not getting involved in sports. Today, we’re taking a look at three different studies about collegiate athletes, and how they can relate to various collegiate cycling programs.

Fortunately it was pretty easy to make one of my mountain bikes ‘cross worthy, and that was enough to get me by for a few seasons. I think any cross-country oriented mountain bike will work for cyclocross racing, with a few caveats. A hardtail is best, but a full-suspension bike isn’t a deal breaker. It’s like bringing combat boots to a 5K run. The equipment will work, but will probably put you out of contention for a podium spot. That being said, I’ve seen some sub-20lb, super-efficient, “no-bob” full suspension bikes with traditional front triangle designs, which would be fine to take to the starting line.

Summer has just begun and the road and mountain bike seasons are in full swing, but for those of us dedicated to cyclocross, the offseason is ending and training programs for the fall are coming together as the cyclocross bike is tuned up. Admittedly, my cyclocross bike never gets a rest and I’m always looking to tweak it to gain performance. In order to gain more performance, should I get a pair of carbon wheels, new tires, a sealed cable set, ceramic bearing bottom bracket? I hope that by reading Cyclocross Magazine, you will gain some insight to where your hard earned dollars should go.

This racer from New Zealand hit the cyclocross circuit in 2009, racing primarily in Europe, though she hopes to come to the States this season. First a mountain biker, now Whitson is trying her luck on the road circuit with an eye toward cyclocross in the fall. She took some time out of a travel-heavy road season to chat with us, and was particularly interested in talking about what it means to be a woman in our sport. It’s a topic that we don’t often think about, and the purpose of this column is to highlight great women in the sport, but also to focus on how women are looked at and treated within the cyclocross and cycling world.

For the past month and a half, I have lived and breathed cyclocross, as I took over as online editor for Cyclocross Magazine. And let me tell you, it is an extremely glamorous lifestyle.

Working in your pajamas is glamorous, right?

It’s that time of year when cyclocross racers are pulling their bikes out of basements and garages, getting ready to do some drills. However, before you jump into the season and hit your saddle the wrong way, you might want to consider starting a stretching regimen before practicing remounts and dismounts. Contributing author David Perez has got some easy stretches to make sure you don’t suffer any setbacks before the racing has even begun. (This article was originally published in our premier Issue 1.)

Want to know what to look for on Cyclocross Magazine this week? Worried you might have missed something last week? Fear not, because we’ve got it all mapped out for you. Every Monday, we have a preview of what’s in store for the week, and we’ll let you know about some of the great articles that you might have missed last week. If there’s any story you’d like us to cover, any burning question you want answered, or any cool racer you’d like to hear from, let us know! Leave messages in the comments, find me on the Cowbell Forums or email molly [at] cxmagazine.com.

When you invest in a set of tubular tires, you pray they never flat. Because let’s face it, repairing tubulars is a whole lot of trouble. However, while it’s tempting to just chuck flatted tubulars, there are a few options worth exploring first. The most obvious one is fixing the tire yourself, and it can be done if you’re a little handy with a needle and a patch kit.

It’s sometimes hard for me to get my head around this fact but, I’ve been racing cyclocross for over 30 years! That statement has me sitting at my keyboard shaking my head and laughing at myself. What is the world keeps me coming back? My last column explored the question of motivation. Here’s the next one: After doing cross for so long, what have I learned about how to get ready for the season? There are a few things that I’ve recently added to my list, and then there’s the processes that I’ve followed for years just to make sure I’m ready the first time I step off the bike and shoulder it over that first set of barriers.

Can’t get enough cyclocross? If the Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Series was interesting to you for the international appeal, this video of Kansai Cyclocross posted on the Cowbell Forums by pigmon_tatara will be equally intriguing.

USA Cycling has tried different methods for establishing start orders for National Championships the past few years. While Elite racers have a UCI point system that makes ranking and positioning easy, non-UCI and age-based racers first endured the “race to registration” – whereby the front row was determined by the previous year’s results, but everyone else got their spot on the grid based on when they signed up online – then for 2010 had a time trial the day before the main event determine lineup.

USAC has talked about implementing a point system for non-UCI races for a while now,

Ridley, a company based in Northern Flanders has deep roots in cyclocross. While the European pros primarily ride the flagship X-Night, the U.S. Ridley-sponsored riders are all on X-Fires, as they make for easier flying without the seatmast of the X-Night. Though in the new catalog, the 2012 Ridley X-Fire is so new it is not yet on their website, but we have an early edition that we’ve been riding and will be reviewed in Issue 13.

Pint-sized racer Emma White has a lot to be proud of. At 13-years-old, she’s already raced and beat a good portion of the women racing in the New England area. And when she races in just her age group, as she did at Nationals this year, she’s a serious force to be reckoned with. Now, she’s in the middle of an intense road season as a junior, but took some time out to answer some questions for us.

Dig Europeans? Cycling? Clubbing? Baguettes as race snacks? Then you’ll love this.