Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
Mistakes are a part of the dues one pays for a full life. - Sophia Loren
Current racing:
Upcoming racing:
- Nov 10: European Cyclocross Championships
- Nov 17: Flandriencross
Latest completed racing:
- Oct 27: Superprestige Gavere Cyclocross
- Oct 26: Cincinnati Cyclocross
- Oct 17-22: Tour of Guangxi
- Oct 20: Japan Cup
- Oct 20: Chrono des Nations
- Oct 13: Paris-Tours
- Oct 12: Il Lombardia
- Oct 10: Paris-Bourges
- Oct 10: Gran Piemonte
- Oct 9: Milano-Torino
Alberto Contador in Colombian hospital with food poisoning
Cyclingpub.com posted this report:
Alberto Contador has suffered from food poisoning in Colombia and has been admitted to a hospital in Bogotá.
The former professional cyclist is in the South American country because he was going to take part in the 'Giro de Rigo', an exhibition ride organised by Rigoberto Urán. But the former grand tour champion started suffering from fever that at the end forced him to be admitted to a hospital in the Colombian capital.
Alberto Contador at the start of stage five of the 2019 Tour de France. Sirotti photo
"I'm sorry to miss the 'Giro de Rigo', I've been training with a lot of spirit for it," said the former rider to the Spanish news agency EFE. "I travelled with a lot of happiness but during the trip, I started feeling bad, with a very high fever."
You can read the entire story here.
Carbon frame importers get a reprieve from tariffs thanks to Parlee request
Here's the update from Bicycle Retailer & Industry News:
WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — The U.S. Trade Representative has granted a tariff exclusion for China-made carbon fiber frames, an exclusion requested by Parlee Cycles, Inc. Importers of China-made carbon frames will no longer need to pay a 25% tariff; additionally, they can request reimbursement for the additional tariffs they've paid since the Trump administration imposed them last year. The exclusion expires Aug. 7, 2020, and applies only to frames that are imported separately, not as part of complete bicycles.
It is just the second product exclusion granted to the bike industry, which filed 94 requests by the time the USTR closed the filing window on Sept. 30. The other exclusion granted was for singlespeed road bikes, at the request of State Bicycle. There is hope that more exclusions will be granted, however, as only one request so far has been denied: that of Delta Cycle for bicycle storage racks.
"There is most definitely hope that additional exclusion requests will be granted, and we are optimistic that the successful applications so far bode well for the consideration of additional applications filed by our industry," said Alex Logemann, PeopleForBikes' policy counsel. "All other exclusion requests for bicycle products are still in Stage 2 of the process, which means they are undergoing their initial substantive review. It will be a very good sign if any of these requests advance to Stage 3, where they are reviewed for whether the exclusion can be administered by Customs and Border Protection."
Parlee, which is based in Beverly, Massachusetts, has also requested an exclusion for carbon forks. That request is in Stage 2. Parlee filed its request earlier than most: on Aug. 16. Most of the requests from the bike industry came in just before the Sept. 30 deadline. As of Oct. 29, one request has moved up to Stage 3: a request from CatEye America for an exclusion for its Velo 7 bike computer.
As with the singlespeed exclusion, the carbon frame exclusion is for a specific product type that is not called out in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule import codes. The frames excluded fall under HTS 8714.91.3000, which applies to frames of bicycles and other cycles valued not over $600 each — of any material.
Last year the U.S. imported nearly 500,000 frames, of all materials, under the code, for a total value of $32 million. Imports have declined significantly so far in 2019, with about 200,000 frames imported through August, valued at $21 million. There's no way of knowing how many of the imports are carbon.
Prior to last year the products were subject to a 3.9% tariff; that remains in place. The additional tariff started at 10% last September and increased to 25% in May. The administration had threatened to increase it to 30% on Oct. 1 and then on Oct. 15, but the increase has now been indefinitely postponed.
You can read the entire story here.
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary