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Giving it the gas

Omloop on the attack

Horner sprang to life on today's stage, too

CSC was having none of that

Neither was Quick Step

Tenth-placed Eisel and Boonen roll along

Zabel was in the hunt once again

But Boonen nipped him once again

Another Belgian and his French pal seem to be enjoying the racing

Dear Readers;In my most recent column, S.S., a Tennessee attorney, asked about hisinsurance company's refusal to compensate him for the loss of his bicyclewhen he drove into his garage while his Wilier was attached to his roofrack (see "Isit my garage or my car that's at fault?"). I've received a numberof interesting responses from readers, and I thought it would be helpfulto share them with everybody, so in this column, we'll be taking anotherlook at the situation.As you may recall, the insurance company refused to compensate S.S.for the loss of his bicycle, because,

World champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won the windy second stage of the Tour of Qatar Tuesday, a 138km leg between Doha's camel race track and the Al Khor Corniche. The 25-year-old Belgian, who also won the first stage on Monday and heads the overall standings, proved too strong for Italian Paride Grillo (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) and German veteran Eric Zabel (Milram) in a sprint finish. "It wasn't so simple today," said Boonen. "The wind and the sometime-dangerous roads made the course difficult. There were a lot of falls and punctures. You had to be careful." Frenchman Gilles

Aussie sprinter Baden Cooke started the 2006 season off on a winning note after taking the final sprint in Tuesday's Grand Prix de la Marseillaise in France to open the European racing season. Cooke - a former Tour de France green jersey winner now riding for continental team Unibet.com - out-kicked former FDJeux teammate Philippe Gilbert in the 140km race in southern France to open up the European calendar. Coming through third was Madrid world championship bronze medalist Anthony Geslin (Bouygues Telecom). GP de la Marseillaise, 140km1. Baden Cooke (Aus), Unibet.com 3h17:552. Philippe

Australia will be missing a host of established names for the Commonwealth Games road cycling events in March, but that is unlikely to deflate their bid to dominate as they did in Manchester four years ago. Australia will be without reigning Commonwealth road champion Stuart O'Grady and three-time world time trial champion Michael Rogers for the games, which fall right at the start of the European one-day classics season in mid-March. Cadel Evans, who also took gold in Manchester when he beat Rogers and fellow compatriot Nathan O'Neill in the road time trial, will also be missing as

The world champ is off to a strong start

The wind helped split the pack into thirds

Yes, that's exactly what it looks like

Just ask Finot of Arabia

O'Grady was enjoying his photo op, too

Later, the smile would get turned upside down

Zabel had his troubles, too

As did Boonen, who found himself chasing

Ghyllebert gets his day in the sun

And Horner gets a bottle

Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx has joined a growing chorus of experts tipping Jan Ullrich as the favorite for this year’s Tour de France. Merckx said Sunday that Ullrich would be the man to beat come July. “This year belongs to Ullrich,” Merckx told Agence France Presse. “He’s decided to compete in the Giro d’Italia before the Tour, which will allow him to arrive in excellent condition. Doing both the Tour and the Giro is an excellent idea. He’ll arrive in July in form with the necessary stamina for three weeks of racing.” The five-time Tour champion joins Lance Armstrong in predicting

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. Icky as it is, we especially liked Steve Zdawczynski’s “’cross til you drool,” a shot that seems to convey all of the … er… uhh… beauty of our favorite cycling discipline. Congratulations Steve! Drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.com to work out the details and we’ll send you a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes

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.Masters can help grow sport through schoolsEditor:I would like to offer my input on the subject of improving participation in the sport of cycling. I am a teacher at A. C. Flora High School. I am also a U.S. Cycling Federation racer and have been one for 25 years. During my 16 years of

World champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won the opening 131km stage of the Tour of Qatar between Doha and Al Khor Corniche on Monday. The 25-year-old Belgian proved too strong for German veteran Eric Zabel and Robert Hunter of South Africa in a sprint finish. Top 10 resultsStage1. Tom Boonen (B) Quick Step, 131km in 2:56:342. Erik Zabel (G), same time3. Robert Hunter (RSA), s.t.4. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), s.t.5. Fabrizio Guidi (I), s.t.,6. Aurelien Clerc (Swi), s.t.7. Nick Ingels (B,) s.t.8. Sebastien Lang (G,) s.t.9. Aart Vierhouten (Ned), s.t.10. Steven de Jongh (Ned), s.t.Overall (after

The 14th annual John Earley Memorial Valley of the Sun Stage Race kicks off next month in and around Phoenix, Arizona. The February 17-19 race, hosted by the White Mountain Road Club, boasts more than $15,000 in cash and prizes, a kids competition and a Special Olympics bike race. Last year’s event drew some 850 competitors; Kristin Armstrong (T-Mobile) took the elite women’s race while Ryan Blickem (Health Maxx) claimed the men’s victory. Stage 1 is the Buckeye Time Trial presented by Trillium, a 12-mile race at Sun Valley Parkway, west of Phoenix. "Buckeye is proud to be hosting the

Our man Casey Gibson has been tagging around with the Discovery Channel boys as they conduct a training camp in and around Solvang - including almost-daily climbs of Figueroa Mountain - in advance of the upcoming Tour of California. Like any veteran road-tripper, Casey takes a lot of snaps; here's a peek at his latest portfolio.

Ullrich - seen here training in Spain this month - is still the favoirte for the 06 Tour

VeloNews Photo Contest: A new winner and a new gallery

Boonen pips Zabel at the line

Michael Barry and George Hincapie are working hard, leading the riders preparing for the Tour of California

Tom Danielson checks with Johann during a ride

Viatcheslav Ekimov is working out alone, recovering from his terrible accident in the fall

Beltran and Azevedo put in the miles getting ready for the stage races later in the year

Danielson is working hard, getting ready for a breakout year

With 28 bikes to wash each day, even head mechanic Julien Devries pitches in

Newcomer Trent Lowe takes a turn at the front with Tom Danielson

Jose Rubiera climbs on toward the top of Figueroa Mountain

Training rides are always the same; pairs of riders rolling along lonely agricultural roads near Solvang

Assistant DS Sean Yates leads the boys in a training ride; not bad for a guy in his mid-40s

Giro winner Paolo Savoldelli and Pavel Padrnos chat as they put away the miles

Jason McCartney also preps for the Tour of California, looking to build on his first season with Discovery

Discovery heads for home after a cool ride in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley

For the second time in 24 hours the Dutch national anthem of Wilhelmus was played for the assembled crowds at Zeddam, in the Netherlands, as the host country celebrated another victory at the World Cyclo-cross Championships, after Marianne Vos outsprinted defending champion, German Hanka Kupfernagel, to take the women’s title on Sunday. Indeed, Dutch riders dominated the women’s event as Daphny van den Brand and Mirjam Melchers-van Poppel rounded out the top-four. The top North American result was recorded by U.S. champion Anne Knapp in ninth, while pre-race podium hopeful Lyne Bessette

Belgian pride was salvaged at the cyclo-cross world championships on Sunday when Erwin Vervecken led home countryman Bart Wellens to claim the elite men's title. Defending champion and pre-race favorite Sven Nys (Bel) did not finish, crashing on the final lap while in the lead group. American Jonathan Page put in a strong performance, moving up through the field to finish 10th. The Belgians were expected to dominate the men's 60-minute, nine-lap race, but the first half of the race was wide open, with riders from France, Holland and the Czech Republic all coming to the front. The

The trio of Van den Brand, Kupfernagel and Vos quickly gapped the rest of the field.

Knapp takes ninth...

... and Bessette rounds out the top-10.

Van den Brand looked strong... until she flatted

Vos merely had to sit on the defending champion's wheel

The podium

Vervecken wins, Wellens celebrates

Wellens seemed the strongest, but would up playing a defensive role

Not such a good day for Nys

The final escape

Page makes the top 10

The Dutch hosts wasted no time getting on the podium, with a win in the opening Junior Men's race at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Zeddam. The appropriately named Boy van Poppel dropped the rest of the leaders to solo across the finish line in front of a cheering crowd. Bjorn Selander was the top U.S. finisher in seventh place. The 40-minute race began, as expected, very fast, with eight riders gapping the rest of the field by the halfway point in the opening lap. Van Poppel was there, as was Selander. Others in the lead group included Robert Gavenda (Slo), the leading rider

Zdnek Stybar of the Czech Republic took his second straight world title in the under-23 category at the cyclo-cross world championships on Saturday, outsprinting Lars Boom (Ned) and a bitterly disappointed Niels Albert (Bel), the favourite going into the race. American U-23 champion Troy Wells went down in a crash at the start of the race, cutting open his forehead and nose and eventually finishing a lap down. This was expected to be a race between Stybar, Albert and Boom, and they did not disappoint. Albert opened a lead in the first half lap on the downhill, and had a 10-second lead over

Mayo eyes return to gloryIban Mayo – the once-mighty Basque who seemed to have Lance Armstrong in his sights for two years – is hoping for a return to form in 2006 after an abysmal season last year. In 2005, the dashing Euskaltel-Euskadi rider was a shadow of his former self that saw him surge to a stage victory up Alpe d’Huez in the 2003 Tour de France and later toppled Armstrong en route to the 2004 Dauphine Libere win. But he later abandoned the 2004 Tour in humiliation and limped through the 2005 campaign with poor form and injury, never to rediscover his spark in a frustrating

Van Poppel took advantage of his long stride.

Selander stayed up front throughout

Stybar

Stybar nips Boom at the line

The lead trio

Stybar on the front

Albert and Boom

The podium

Wells soldiers on despite a gash to the face

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany - Here we go again with Bode Miller. Just as the brash World Cup champion skier decided to skip this weekend‘s events to rest up for the Turin Games and get away from media scrutiny, Miller suggested in an interview with Rolling Stone that Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong took performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds‘ agent, Jeff Borris, declined to respond to Miller‘s comments. Telephone and email messages left with Armstrong representatives were not immediately returned Thursday. Miller, who competed in 136 straight World Cup races and last missed a race in

Michael Rogers, the promising Australian rider on T-Mobile, said he will hold his Tour de France ambitions in check to help team captain Jan Ullrich try for another maillot jaune. The three-time world time trial champion said the team would rally behind the German captain in his quest to win a second Tour crown. “My goals are the team’s goals,” Rogers said in an interview on the team’s web page. “Jan Ullrich is the leader and the team is 100 percent committed to supporting him.” Rogers has been hailed as a potential Tour winner himself, but has so far struggled to stay with the best

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.Don’t dilute the sport for fad fansEditor:Being an avid cyclist and motorsports fan/participant, I found the recent comparisons between the two interesting. When comparing NASCAR to cycling when it comes to spectator attraction, it is important to understand that NASCAR is successful

"I call 'em as I see 'em, and if I don't see 'em, I make 'em up." — George Carlin as sportscaster Biff Barf One of the bad things about traditional publishing is that once you’ve put something out there, whether it’s a story, a photo or a cartoon, well … you’re stuck with it, for good or ill. But with the Internet, all things are possible. Make a factual error? Fix it. Don’t like being seen in a photo with, say, Jack Abramoff? Make it go away. Got a couple different takes on a cartoon? Give the folks a look at all of them. Tom Toles of The Washington Post may not be the

With the world cyclo-cross championships this weekend in Zeddam, The Netherlands, I can’t help but pull for Canadian Lyne Bessette to bring home a medal. While the elite North American men may not have strong chances to podium this year, Bessette does. After dominating the North American circuit in October and November, Bessette has shown she can ride with the world’s best, taking third behind Daphny Van Den Brand at the January 15 World Cup in France and seventh last weekend at the World Cup final at Hoogerheide, The Netherlands, 1:14 behind repeat winner Van Den Brand. In a quick e-mail

At T-Mobile, Rogers knows he may not get too much podium time for the immediate future.

The first idea ...