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The final straightaway is a clear, 300-meter shot to the line.

Bettini wants to add a rainbow jersey to his Olympic gold

Nice place to go for a bike ride, eh?

Couple enjoying a little lakeside breakfast in Hallstatt

Hallstatt Village and Hallstatter Lake

Lake Halstatter

Another perspective

The gardens at Mirabell, directly adjoining the start/finish area

The fortress and the Old town section of Salzburg

St. Wolfgang resort, on Lake Wolfgang

Alejandro Valverde is not among the riders implicated in the Operación Puerto doping scandal that rocked the sport in May, Spanish federation officials insisted Thursday. Valverde, who on Sunday will bid for the men's road race crown here at the world cycling championships, had been the subject of recent reports that he was among the riders implicated in the investigation. Ahead of the Spanish team's arrival on Thursday, Spanish federation president Fulgencio Sanchez, who was accompanied by the country's Minister for Sport Angel Luis de la Fuente, was adamant the Caisse

A rider with the Austrian under-23 men's team has tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) ahead of the world road cycling championships, the Austrian federation confirmed Thursday. Marco Leonardo Oreggia tested positive for the banned blood booster last week when the Austrian federation carried out random tests on the entire under-23 team. Oreggia has yet to demand a test on his B sample. If that turns out positive, or if Oreggia declines to challenge the results of the A sample, it would force a sanction from the Austrian federation. Even if he does demand a re-test, it's unlikely

There was never any doubt that Fabian Cancellara was going to win the world elite men’s time trial championship on Thursday. From his first pedal strokes along a cobblestone alleyway backing onto the Salzach River in the historic center of Salzburg, past the house where Mozart lived most of his life, and out into the green pastoral Austrian countryside, the 25-year-old Swiss simply flew around the 50.83km course. As he raced down the finishing straight, alongside the 17th-century Mirabell Palace, known as “the Taj Mahal of Salzburg,” Cancellara was still pedaling at more than 100 revs per

The globe-trotting Casey Gibson is in Salzburg, Austria, capturing all the action from the UCI road world's. On tap today: The elite men's individual time trial. Here's what he sent home.

The two-year racing ban of Tyler Hamilton ends officially Friday and the Olympic time trial champion can immediately return to domestic competition – for now anyway. The New Englander’s troubles seem far from over, however. He is facing a possible lifetime ban if documents found in the “Operación Puerto” dossier show proof of alleged doping practices and the UCI wants to keep him out of the elite ProTour league for another two years. “He can race in USA Cycling-sanctioned events as of tomorrow,” said USA Cycling spokesman Andy Lee told VeloNews. “Until USADA makes some sort of finding in

The Discovery Channel team will undergo major changes at the end of the current season, with 11 riders leaving the outfit for which Lance Armstrong won his last Tour de France crown. Discovery Channel team manager Johan Bruyneel experienced a painful three weeks without Armstrong on this year's Tour de France, where the team struggled in the absence of the now retired Texan. Imminent recruit, Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteiner, will lead the American team's 2007 Tour de France campaign, but Discovery have recruited with widening their scope for success elsewhere in mind. Slovenian

Cancellara blazes to the gold

Zabriskie heads for silver

Cancellara drills it

Zabriskie was second fastest

The Kazakh Attack roars to third

Millar had to settle for 15th, 3:22 back

The gold goes to Cancellara

Think he's at all happy about it?

The podium

Rogers was having an off day

The podium

Baldwin hoped for top 10, but finished 26th

Well, it didn’t take long before the 2006 world cycling championships got its first whiff of doping scandal. Three riders – two Argentines and one Brazilian – were ruled “inapt” to compete after pre-race blood screenings ahead of Tuesday’s opening day of competition. Brazilian Magno Nazaret and Argentines Martin Garrido and Matias Medici tested “unfit” after the UCI “vampires” screened 18 athletes early Tuesday morning from Brazil, Argentina, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. Garrido and Medici were due to take part in the men's road race this Sunday, with Medici also due

American women had their best-ever result in a world road championship on Wednesday when Kristin Armstrong was first and teammate Christine Thorburn third in the time trial at the 2006 world’s in Salzburg, Austria. On a welcome day of sunshine, Armstrong set a time of 35:04, averaging 44.638 kph for the difficult 26.12km course, to beat two-time defending champion Karin Thürig of Switzerland by 25 seconds, with Thorburn another four seconds back in third. “The course had a little bit of everything in it,” said Armstrong, 33, who finished third at the 2005 world’s in Madrid. “You had to stay

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now up for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of ourmost recent contest. Take the time to wander through that gallery and see if you agree or disagree with our choice of winner. Rick Paulos’s “Nice bike path in Amsterdam” caught our attention largely because of its great lighting and composition and because it reminded us of just how nice it is to ride a bike in Amsterdam. Great shot, Rick, and what a great town to explore on two human-powered wheels. Nice work! Drop us a note at

Belgian Dominique Cornu upset the favorites Tuesday to win the U-23 men’s time trial, giving Belgium its first medal of the 2006 world road cycling championships. Racing under mostly sunny skies with a slight breeze, the 22-year-old Belgian turned a time of 49:28.42 to beat defending champion Mikhail Ignatiev (Russia) by 37 seconds on the challenging 39.5km course. Jerome Coppel hung on to win bronze at 44 seconds slower, claiming France’s first medal in the U23 category since Frederic Finot took silver in 1998. “It was a difficult race, working from start to finish. In the beginning it

Italian police carried out searches of houses and gymnasiums across the country on Wednesday as part of a investigation into doping in cycling, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport's website. The investigation was prompted by the Spanish investigation into blood-doping, Operación Puerto. The blood-tampering scandal involves nine riders and led to the suspensions of Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso by their teams just before the Tour De France. The searches of 36 addressess across Italy were authorized by Bergamo prosecutor Cristina Rota and carried across in the early hours Wednesday. Among

Nice bike path in Amsterdam

Armstrong nails it.

Without missing a beat: Armstrong loses only a little time after dropping her chain.

Thorburn rides to the bronze

Cornu chows down on gold

The podium

Defending champ Ignatiev rode to second

Coppel claimed bronze for France

U.S. champ Bookwalter felt a little off form

Thurig took the silver

Kozlikova started fast, but faded

Neben made it three Americans in the top 10

Something to celebrate – two Americans on the podium

Road Race1927 Nürburg, Germany - Alfredo Binda , Italy1928 Budapest, Hungary Georges Ronsse, Belgium1929 Zürich, Switzerland - Georges Ronsse, Belgium1930 Liège, Belgium - Alfredo Binda, Italy1931 Copenhagen, Denmark - Learco Guerra, Italy1932 Rome, Italy - Alfredo Binda, Italy1933 Montlhery, France - Georges Speicher, France1934 Leipzig, Germany - Karel Kaers, Belgium1935 Floreffe, Belgium - Jean Aerts, Belgium1936 Bern, Switzerland - Antonin Magne, France1937 Copenhagen, Denmark - Eloi Meulenberg, Belgium1938 Valkenburg, Netherlands - Marcel Kint, BelgiumSuspended due to World War II1946

Ever since he came back to Europe in the fall of 2004 with Saunier Duval, Chris Horner has been making the most of his second opportunity at the big leagues. It took him a few years longer than he expected to return to Europe after an unhappy three-year run at Française des Jeux in 1997-99, but now that he’s back, the 34-year-old from Hood, Oregon, is taking maximum advantage of the opportunity. That includes racing in this week’s world championships, where he’ll be one of the team leaders for the American team in Sunday’s elite men’s road race. Fresh off finishing 20th in the Vuelta a

In a year that Salzburg is commemorating the 250th anniversary of its favorite son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the small alpine town is about to celebrate Austria’s second world road cycling championships in 20 years. And, extending the musical theme, competitors in the three time trials this week and three road races at the weekend will be racing through the hills made famous by “The Sound of Music.” Maria Van Trapp and her family are no longer Salzburgers, but their hills will be alive to the sound of Europe’s cycling fans with their Swiss cowbells, Dutch brass bands and Italian fan clubs. A

The world time-trial championships are on tap Thursday in Salzburg, Austria, and with that in mind our man Rupert Guinness, the editor and publisher of publisher of PelotonPress.net, had a chat with defending champion Michael Rogers. Here’s what T-Mobile’s Aussie speedster had to say. — Editor VeloNews: You are obviously in good form. How do you feel compared to last year? Michael Rogers: I certainly feel I am on par with last year, just from burning around in time-trial training. I haven't really raced a time trial for quite a while. It's probably not a bad thing – in the past I

Former Liberty Seguros team manager Manolo Saiz has been replaced by Roger Legeay, the manager of Crédit Agricole, on an UCI ProTour council. Saiz has become a pariah in the sport ever since he was implicated in an ongoing doping affair in Spain to which 58 riders are allegedly linked. The Spaniard was taken in for questioning by police in Madrid at the end of May after he was arrested with 60,000 euros and banned substances in his possession. His arrest was one of the first moves in the investigation dubbed Operation Puerto, and which led to the discovery of an alleged blood doping

Two time world pursuit champion Roy Schuiten has died at the age of 55 it was announced on Tuesday. Schuiten, who won individual pursuit titles in 1974 and 1975, died of a stomach haemmorhage in Portugal where he retired to and owned a restaurant.

Horner - seen here winning a stage at this year's Tour of Romandie - wouldn't mind striking another pose like this in Salzburg.

Horner chats with reporters at the Vuelta

Salzburg played host to Mozart's 250th birthday celebration in January.

World champ Rogers starts this year's Tour prologue

Tuesday afternoon on the TT course.

Alexandre Vinokourov, Alejandro Valverde and Paolo Bettini are just some of the big names who will be hoping to brighten up the cycling world by winning the rainbow jersey next week. The annual world cycling road race championships begin in Salzburg, Austria, on Tuesday in the hope they can overcome a summer of discontent which has placed huge question marks over some of the sport's biggest stars. Worried bosses at the UCI, the sport's world ruling body, will certainly be hoping the six-day event will finish on a more positive note than the season's signature race, the Tour de

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Let’s not muzzle those who come forwardEditor:It will be interesting to find out what actions, if any, the Discovery team plans against Frankie Andreu. I for one will be tremendously disappointed if the team were to take any action that would discourage others from coming forward. Cycling

Vuelta a España race director Victor Cordero expressed satisfaction Sunday in Madrid, calling the final podium "world-class, worthy" for the season’s final three-week grand tour. "I am happy with the Vuelta that we are enjoying, there are more people than ever and the racing has been spectacular," Cordero told VeloNews.com. "This year has been traumatic for all of us. This success reminds us all of what this sport have inside that we keep attracting people despite all the things we’ve done poorly, because this is a beautiful sport." The Spanish tour has paid perhaps the highest price after

The organisers of cycling's three grand tours have formally asked the UCI to sanction a professional racing series entirely separate from the two-year-old ProTour in an effort to secure more autonomy over their respective events. The three major organizers - ASO in France, RCS in Italy and Unipublic for theVuelta a Espana- have been at loggerheads with the UCI since it introduced thePro Tour for the 2005 season. The three wield a great deal of power in the series as they now run 11 of the 27 Pro Tour events and want more control over those. Insiders say the grand tours are seeking to

CABLE, Wisconsin – Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher) and his wife Heather Irmiger (Subaru/Gary Fisher) nearly became the first husband and wife to win the men’s and women’s races at the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. But while Horgan-Kobelski won the 24th edition of the 40-mile race after pulling away from breakaway companion and two-time champion Doug Swanson (Trek/VW) with five miles to go, Irmiger finished second to Sara Kylander-Johnson (Trek/VW) of Duluth, Minn. In the men’s race, Jeff Hall (Salsa) fought his way back into third, after struggling in the early

Heading to Salzburg, Vinokourov hopes to pick up where he left off in Madrid.

Cordero is content with his Vuelta

On you mark....

Horgan-Kobelski

Kylander-Johnson

The 61st Vuelta a España ended with a fiesta in Madrid as huge numbers of fans turned out Sunday to watch the season’s final grand tour come down to an exciting finale. Erik Zabel (Milram) proved that some things get better with age to win for the second time this Vuelta while Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) enjoyed an easy day on the bike to win his first major grand tour. “This Vuelta has been very hard and complicated and I am very happy with the victory,” Vinokourov said after sealing the success over Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) with Astana teammate and compatriot Andrey

Starting with the deluge after a night of hard rain combined with a strike by train and subway workers, getting to the 64th Milan Bicycle Show was by no means an easy task. Even more cars than on a normal day packed flooded roads, and the occasional vehicle stalled in water above its wheels brought urban traffic to a complete standstill in places. It is a good bet that many people who had planned to attend to the first day of Italy’s premier icycle industry trade show ultimately gave up in frustration. The sun came out in the afternoon, but the rain returned later to wash out the

The police who raided the Swiss home of Germany's 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich on Wednesday did not take DNA evidence from him, chief police officer Herbert Ammann said in a magazine article published Sunday. Ullrich's home was one of ten private and business addresses raided both in Germany and abroad as he and others are investigated further over connections with Spanish sports doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, the alleged head of a blood-doping ring. In an article in Sunday’s Focus magazine, Amman, however, denied earlier reports that the police had seized DNA samples in the

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) officials decided Saturday not to ban hypoxic tents, which may allow athletes to gain endurance-boosting results of altitude without the travel. WADA president Dick Pound announced the decision not to include the tents on the banned training method list, but said scrutiny on the matter will continue. Three WADA commissions examined the tents and suggested not banning them, conforming to the vast majority of committee members in saying they should not be on the prohibited list for 2007. "The biggest item for discussion was whether we should put on the list

American Floyd Landis, who tested positive for testosterone after winning the Tour de France, said Sunday he is confident of proving his innocence. Landis was making an appearance at the final stage of the Vuelta a España and was mobbed by journalists as he watched Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov secure the race's gold jersey on the final day. The American is facing being stripped of his yellow jersey crown after tests showed abnormal amounts of testosterone in his body after his stunning victory on stage 17 which allowed him to re-launch his bid for the overall victory. But following

Despite rolling in with a three-man roster at the September 15-17 Parker Mainstreet Omnium, the Health Net team showed why it’s been the top domestic dog for three years running at the final National Race Calendar event of the season. Scott Moninger and Karl Menzies went 1-2 in the road race after both placing well in the time trial, then Menzies won the concluding criterium Sunday to take the overall title with Moninger in the second podium spot. Priority Health time-trial specialist Tom Zirbel won the opening 7-mile time trial in conditions so windy many riders rode the final downhill

Vinokourov's golden moment.

New brakes, new crank, new bottom bracket... Campagnolo is making changes

This is what a No. 245 looks like.

Vittoria's Pit Stop Corsa is the solution for punctured tubulars.

When pedaling, the Equilink pulls down on the top lever to stop the suspension from bobbing.

Time's ASX monocoque carbon cranks combine an integrated spindle with an ISIS left arm attachment.

Zabel nabs another