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When Christian Vande Velde lines up for the opening stage of the Tour of Switzerland this weekend, the 30-year-old American will be thinking beyond the nine-day ProTour race. He wants to show his CSC team boss Bjarne Riis that he has the fitness, climbing form and all-around strength that will make him a valued support rider for Ivan Basso at next month’s Tour de France. He certainly has the form, having won the Tour of Luxembourg last Sunday. Not only was that victory Vande Velde’s first win since he took California’s Redlands Classic in 1999 but it was also the first time he has won a pro

Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer rode a tactically perfect race Saturday to inch closer to overall victory in the Dauphiné Libéré during a dynamic 169km climbing stage that saw Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) return to the winner’s circle. With Russian challenger Denis Menchov (Rabobank) crashing on the tricky descent off the Cat. 2 Col du Mollard with about 30km to go, Leipheimer rode with calm confidence to finish fourth at 1:37 behind winner Mayo to widen his lead to 1:48 over Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) with just one stage to go. "Today was a big day and it turned out perfect," said

Belgian world champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) won a bunch sprint to claim the leader's jersey at the end of the first stage of the Tour of Switzerland, held over 154.8km around Baden on Saturday. Italian Daniel Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) was second with Spanish sprinter Oscar Freire (Rabobank) third. Boonen, 25, paid tribute to his Quick Step-Innergetic team for cranking up the tempo to dominate potential rivals such as Australian Robbie McEwen and Austria's Bernhard Eisel on the final slope. Lead-out man Matteo Tosatto took him to within 250 meters of the line. The

Since 1985, the image of an international peloton charging up Philadelphia’s Manayunk Wall, with a healthy prize list and a USPRO national title on the line, has become woven into the fabric of the national road-racing community. But in 2005 the event ran up against multiple walls of another sort, including the loss of its national-title status, the departure of its title sponsor and financial troubles with its organizer, Threshold Sports. Originally sponsored by regional bank CoreStates, the title sponsor behind the Philadelphia event evolved over the years, from CoreStates to First Union

Despite the murmurs about rain heard up and down the course at the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina, the second leg of this year’s NORBA national mountain bike series got under way Saturday under optimal conditions. Beginning just after high noon, the pro men took off across the gravelly start for the first of four loops around the 6.6-mile course. But the shape of the race remained essentially static once the riders got to the top of the first lap and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) launched an attack into the single-track. JHK kept the small gap he had on

Mayo celebrates atop La Toussuire

Boonen resumes his winning ways

Menchov following his crash

Moreau, Piepoli and Leipheimer

The Spanish armada: Sevilla, Valverde, Arroyo and Mayo

Valverde and Mayo

The Galibier

Moreau laying it down

No time to enjoy the scenery

Azevedo took a skidder, too, but finished strongly

Levi in yellow

The Philly race has always been a crowd-pleaser

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.Just look at the numbers?Dear Editor,The general public won’t appreciate it yet. In the eyes of the averageAmerican there are no pro cyclists other than Lance. Maybe thatwill change now. Just look at the impressive results with American riders taking thetop four spots in the TT at

Madrid (AP) – Manolo Saiz, the team director at the center of a major doping scandal in Spain, has resigned his position effective immediately. Astana-Würth, which took over sponsorship of the team formerly known as Liberty Seguros, announced Saiz's resignation in a brief statement. He will be replaced by Herminio Diaz Zabala, Marino Lejarreta and Neil Stephens. Saiz said he decided to quit in order not to damage the team and Spanish cycling going into the Tour of France. "I've taken the decision to guarantee the continuation of the team and welfare of cycling in

If you want to know how Discovery Channel is going to race in next month’s Tour de France, watch how the team performs during this week’s Dauphiné Libéré. While all nine Discovery Channel riders who will race the Tour aren’t here or not quite in top condition, this week’s French race provides a nice preview of what fans can expect in the Tour. With the retirement of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, the American team is no longer the dominator or the reference point in the peloton, but that hardly means the proud squad is ready to rest on its laurels. Just look how the

No more Mr. Nice Guy from Levi Leipheimer in the Dauphiné Libéré. After watching Denis Menchov (Rabobank) ride his wheel all the way up the final 6km of Thursday’s grueling climb to Mont Ventoux without taking one pull — only to pip him and Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) for the victory — Leipheimer wanted to see what the Russian was made of in Friday’s 155km roller-coaster over the Izoard high in the French Alps. The Gerolsteiner captain finished eighth at 48 seconds behind stage winner Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r) to retain his 28-second lead to Menchov, but this time he forced the stoic Russian to

Summer may be coming up, but the 2006 NORBA National Championship Series is headed back to the ski slopes this weekend at Sugar Mountain Ski Resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina. The resort, which has run its Showdown at Sugar event for more than a decade, steps into the national arena for the first time as it plays host to the second NCS event of the year June 8-11. Some 1200 riders are expected throughout the various classifications. The downhill riders will cast off from Sugar's 5300-foot peak, while cross-country racers will tackle a 6.6-mile loop. "Hopefully it'll be fairly

Bruyneel, earlier this week at the Dauphiné Libéré

Ludovic Turpin celebrates one of the biggest wins of his career

Moreau's move forced Menchov's hand

Leipheimer followed the wheels and preserved his lead

Gerolsteiner at the front

Landis didn't have the legs today

Leipheimer had plenty of American company

Hincapie rips the descent

It wasn't Vino's day

Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) surged into the overall lead Thursday at the 58th Dauphiné Libéré after a superb performance up Mont Ventoux on a day that saw many of the top favorites succumb to the giant of Provence. 2005 Vuelta a España winner Denis Menchov (Rabobank) grabbed the victory ahead of Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) in the 186km fourth stage after the pair rode Leipheimer’s wheel up the final 5km of one of cycling’s most feared climbs. “The most important thing today was taking the jersey,” said Leipheimer, who finished third at 15 seconds back. “I want to win the Dauphiné this year

Two victories in four days are helping David Zabriskie secure a return ticket to the 2006 Tour de France. Last year, Zabriskie won the opening stage in his Tour debut to become just the third American to wear the yellow jersey, but the 27-year-old finds himself on the Tour bubble because of the depth of talent on Team CSC. CSC manager Bjarne Riis is mulling which eight riders will support Ivan Basso in pursuit of July’s crown as the Italian aims to become the first rider since 1998 to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour in the same season. Zabriskie’s impressive victory in Wednesday’s 43km

Experience the 2006 Tour de France by riding it… from home!Carmichael Training Systems Launches New Interactive Training LineWithDo the Tour…Stay at Home.™ Audio Workouts, Presented by AMD COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – This July instead of sitting onthe couch watching the Tour de France on OLN, set your bike up on an indoortrainer and “ride” the Grand Tour itself. No plane ticket or world-classfitness level required. All you need are Carmichael Training Systems’ (CTS)Do the Tour…Stay at Home.™ audio workouts, presented by AMD, which canbe downloaded onto a digital music player directly

Coming off of a fractured hip suffered in March, Health Net-Maxxis sprinter Greg Henderson showed the domestic peloton that he’s back with a vengeance in Reading, Pennsylvania, Thursday, easily winning the Reading Classic, the second leg of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown, out of a 10-man group ahead of Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) and Danny Pate (TIAA-CREF). Henderson, the 2004 world scratch-race champion from Dunedin, New Zealand, chose to race at the Mt. Hood Classic stage race last week, helping teammate Nathan O’Neill take the overall win, rather than return to defend his title

Menchov Takes It: The 2005 Vuelta winner narrowly edged the hard-charging Moreau

Leipheimer has the lead

Zabriskie, with race leader Gilbert and KOM leader Joly, finished 50th

Mayo moved past Landis, who took the final stretch at a moderate pace

Menchov narrowly beat a hard-charging Moreau, but he did.

Moreau set an early tempo on the climb

Teamed up with Moreau, Mancebo could make trouble in coming days.

The early break seemed doomed from the start

Sevilla wants to make an impression as Tour selection nears.

Azevedo

With Leipheimer setting the pace, Azevedo would soon fade back

Finishing nearly 10 minutes back, Landis's attention is now on July

Hincapie looks primed for the Tour... as does Valverde.

Henderson takes the win

Henderson came out of Mt. Hood feeling strong

Taking third on the day, Lagutin now leads the Triple Crown standings

Johnson at the front fot Health Net

Ina makes these things look easy

Like Trenton... with a hill

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.A matter of perspectiveDear Editor:My route to work is eleven miles of rural roads and trails, and oneof the bonuses of the ride is being able to brag to my colleagues aboutthe various "hazards" I encounter. Usually it's a 25-mph headwind, oftenit's ornery redwings, sometimes

Editor's Note: We began corresponding with Major Jason A. Bryan during the Giro d'Italia. Bryan, a dedicated cycling fan, is currently stationed at a U.S. military compound, south of Mosul, in Iraq. Bryan's firstsubmission to VeloNews.com generated an overwhelming response, as well as offers of components, bikes and even socks (all of which have been forwarded). As a result we offered to make Major Bryan's Iraq diary a regular featureon this site...

Whew. That was a busy three weeks. For those of you who missed it, there was a ton of bicycle racing going on over the past few weeks, and much of it was on those heavy bikes with fat tires that them hippies ride around on dirt. The UCI mountain bike World Cup hit the meat of its season, with five big events in the last month. First, the world’s best cross-country racers hit the dry, dusty, urban course in Madrid on May 14. A week later they were in Belgium, splashing around in the freezing rain and hub-deep mud at Spa Francorchamps. Another week saw the endurance crew in the Scottish

Team CSC’s Dave Zabriskie did what he did best to lead an American sweep of the top four places in Wednesday’s 43km individual time trial at the 58th Dauphine Libere. Zabriskie was fastest to win for the second time in four days, but it was an American showcase in cycling’s Tour de France dress rehearsal, with Floyd Landis (Phonak), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) finishing two-three-four. “For some reason, the Americans are talented in time trialing,” said Zabriskie, who’s now among the best in the world now in the race of truth. “I have a theory.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEVELONEWS RELEASES 2006 OFFICIAL TOUR DE FRANCE GUIDEBiggest Ever Guide Available Now from Velo® GearBoulder, CO, June 7, 2006 — With less than a month to go beforethe July 1 start date, VeloNews has just released the OfficialGuide to the 2006 Tour de France. The Official Guide is a licensed collaboration with the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) and offers an insider’s look at the world’s most prestigiousbike race. This year’s guide features:Exclusive interviews with Tour hopefuls Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Dave Zabriskie,

Editor's Note: We began corresponding with Major Jason A. Bryanduring the Giro d'Italia. Bryan, a dedicated cycling fan, is currentlystationed at a U.S. military compound, south of Mosul, in Iraq.Bryan's firstsubmission to VeloNews.com generated an overwhelming response, as wellas offers of components, bikes and even socks (all of which have been forwarded).As a result we offered to make Major Bryan's Iraq diary a regular featureon this site... at least until he comes home, something we're all hopinghappens quite soon.Well, it’s official. Like Navin R. Johnson, I am

Frischy -cross-country's Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going and going and...

Adam Craig

Erwin Bakker at Angel Fire

Der Kaiser a.k.a. Jan

Zabriskie again showed that he is among the world's best time trialists

Great form - Zabriskie's form matches his strength

Landis got a big boost by Wednesday's ride

Third-place Leipheimer is in good position, too.

Valverde comes in 9th

Just back from the Giro d’Italia, I thought I’d give you a few photos from the Pontedera-Pontedera time trial and that you might not have seen elsewhere, including from the Piaggio (Vespa) museum in Pontedera, where the time trial (won by Jan Ullrich with Ivan Basso a close second) started and finished. David Millar came to the time trial to hang with his Saunier Duval teammates. He is very lean to the point that his pants also hang, ready to fall down at any time. My guess is he will be fit for the Tour prologue. It seemed to take me forever to ride from the 5K to go sign to the Monte

Christian Vande Velde (CSC) enjoyed a nice chilled bottle of Spanish cava Sunday night after his overall victory at the five-day Tour of Luxembourg. The win marked his first in Europe and signals a rebirth for the 30-year-old’s racing career. With new freedom to attack and hunt for victories at Team CSC, Vande Velde said he’s having more fun than ever racing a bike. The Luxembourg tour perfectly reflected this new attitude and Vande Velde’s aggression in Friday’s stage paid off when he attacked for a stage-win that put him in position to win the overall. “I was thinking about it.

Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) joined an early breakaway effort in the 203km second stage of the Dauphiné Libéré Tuesday and not only managed to stay away but now holds a solid five-minute lead in the traditional warm-up race for the Tour de France. Gilbert finished more than five minutes ahead of the peloton on a generally flat stage from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Saint-Galmier in eastern France. Gilbert, winner of this year's Het Volk in Belgium, joined a three-man break with teammate Sebastien Joly and Quick Step's Cedric Vasseur at the 44km mark, but was the only survivor,

The United States Cycling Team captured a continental title on Tuesday as Amber Neben (Irvine, California) rode to a win in the time trial at the Pan American Cycling Championships in Cabreuva, Brazil. Kori Seehafer (Louisville, Colorado) earned her second medal of the week, riding to a bronze in the race against the clock. On Sunday, Seehafer gave the U.S. its first medal of the championships with a silver-medal performance in the 87km elite women’s road race in Indaiatuba. Seehafer finished behind Ymari Gonzalez of Cuba among a final group of 15 riders. Teammates Sarah Uhl (Philadelphia,

Ivan Basso thoroughly trounced the field to the mountaintop finish of Monte Bondone using a 36-52 in front and an 11-23 in back.

Basso and his CSC domestiques were not the only ones riding Monte Bondone on compact chainrings. Among others were the Bouygues Telecoms...

... and some Euskaltel-Euskadi riders (inexplicably using FSA compact chainrings on Shimano compact cranks); Euskaltel-Euskadi's Anton Luengo Celaya stuck with a 39-53, though.

Carlos Sastre's TT rig. Riding the identical bike, Basso turned in a strong performance, finishing second only to Jan Ullrich