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New York (AFP) - Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong poked fun at French critics and their accusations of doping here Saturday, playing the controversy for laughs while hosting "Saturday Night Live." The 34-year-old American cyclist retired after capturing his seventh title in July but considered a comeback after the French newspaper L'Equipe reported 1999 urine samples from Armstrong tested positive for the banned substance EPO. Armstrong, who has steadfastly denied taking any performance-enhancing drugs, said during the opening monologue that he was worried about doing

[nid:33141]With remnants of Saturday’s unexpected blizzard melting away under a balmy afternoon sun, Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau) ran her season win streak to eight and Ryan Trebon rode a daring and impressive solo to win Sunday’s fourth stop of the 2005 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, the Michelob ULTRA Grand Prix of Gloucester.

Recovered: Trebon was back in action on Sunday

8 for 8: Bessette has been unbeatable

Knapp and Simms could only race for second

Craig and Co. were nearly a minute down

The UCI - stung by the strong anti-doping message from ASO president Patrice Clerc during Thursday’s 2006 Tour de France presentation – has cut off ProTour talks with cycling’s most important race. UCI president Pat McQuaid, who sat uncomfortably through Thursday’s presentation in Paris, notified Tour de France officials Friday that ProTour talks are now tabled. “You decided to remove the conditions of serenity and without pressure for the ProTour negotiations,” McQuaid wrote in a letter, adding cycling’s governing body was “surprised” and “indignant” about the anti-doping discourse offered

World champion Sven Nijs of Belgium won round two of the UCI cyclo-cross World Cup on Saturday at Tabor, Czech Republic, and photographer Graham Watson was on hand to capture the action. Nijs, who took the series opener last weekend in Kalmthout, Belgium, narrowly beat Czech Petr Dlask, who finished three seconds behind. Dlask’s countryman Kamil Ausbuher was third at 14 seconds back. Dlask, Ausbuher and Netherlander Gerben de Knegt lit the race up early on, seizing a lead of 20 seconds and forcing the Belgian team to chase. Nijs and Bart Wellens eventually retrieved the leaders, and the

Every stereotype is grounded in at least a little bit of reality. And the tired old stereotype about the variable nature of New England weather proved all too true in Saturday’s Michelob ULTRA Gran Prix in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the third stop of the Crank Brothers US Gran Prix of Cyclocross.

McQuaid

Up we go

Dlask was one of the early animators . . .

. . . as was Ausbuher

But the Belgians went to work, and Nijs was soon up front . . .

. . . which is where he stayed

The podium

If you look at his record, you can tell that Johnson loves these conditions

Bessette is unstoppable this year

At the start

Johnson never looked back

American Floyd Landis announced Friday that he will prepare for next year's Tour de France by competing in the Giro d’Italia in May for the first time. "I hope that it will be a perfect warm-up for the Tour", said Landis, a leader on the Swiss-based Phonak team. "I'll begin my training in the United States and continue it in Europe from January. I'll check out the Tour (de France) route in June." Landis’s announcement comes a day after the route of the 2006 Tour de France was announced in Paris and two weeks prior to the announcement of the Giro route. The American finished in

Gone but not forgotten. I guess that’s as good a way as any to describe seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong, who, three months after he walked away from his racing career, is still the most-talked-about cyclist in the world. At Thursday’s 2006 Tour de France route unveiling, Armstrong went nearly unmentioned in a 10-minute highlight video recap of the '05 Tour — an omission Tour officials admitted was not accidental, given investigations into Armstrong’s alleged EPO use at the 1999 Tour. Even in his physical absence, Armstrong’s presence was felt throughout the Palais de Congres in

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.Radios for the fans, tooEditor:Radios must stay, and of course helmets. The sport of cycling must evolve with the rest of the modern world if it expects to maintain any kind of media presence and network coverage. Technology is a fact of life now and you can either lead or get run over by

The Michelob ULTRA Grand Prix of Cyclocross races this weekend at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, Massachusetts, marks the East Coast debut of the 2005 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. The traditional seaside venue, long one of the highlights of the New England circuit, attracts riders from throughout North America with its guarantee of big crowds, fast racing, and a grab bag of autumnal weather conditions. Whether soaked in late-October sun or blasted by ocean-driven rain, Gloucester’s sweeping, sandy course never fails to foster back-and-forth racing with thrilling sprint

Zero Gravity is stepping up both its component development and its support for the sport in 2006, signing a three-year deal to co-sponsor the Jittery Joe’s road team and bringing a new crank project to market. Regarding last week’s sponsorship deal, Jeff Stewart, Zero G’s director of sales and marketing, said the boutique brake manufacturer has been "super happy with Jittery Joe’s." "We really have a great relationship with them. We put products on their bikes and get real world feedback," Stewart continued. As for the new Zero G cranks, which debuted at Interbike, Zero Gravity hopes to

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong made a stinging reply to the latest put-down by Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc over doping accusations against the American star. Leblanc said Thursday that he felt "disappointed and let down by Armstrong", who retired last July after his seventh consecutive victory in the gruelling stage race across France. Allegations by the French newspaper L'Equipe claimed Armstrong used the banned hormone EPO (erythropoietin) in 1999 during his first Tour triumph, claims Armstrong has denied while the International Cycling Union

Whenever a dominant Tour de France champion like Lance Armstrong retires or is absent because of injury, the vacuum is nearly always filled by at least one, probably two, very open, exciting editions of the race. That should be the case in 2006, which might recall the dramatic Tours of 1987 and 1989 (post Bernard Hinault), or 1997 and 1998 (post Miguel Induráin). Perhaps that’s why the Tour organizers, ASO, have chosen for the emblem of their 2006 edition a yellow jersey pulled into the hexagonal shape of France by six gloved hands. Figuring out whose grip is the strongest on that yellow

NORBA stars Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and Shonny Vanlandingham scored impressive finishes at the Xterra off-road triathlon World Championships October 22 on Maui, Hawaii. Kabush, the reigning NORBA cross-country and short-track champion finished 16th in the men’s pro category with a time of 2:51:29. Vanlandingham, who won the women’s cross-country overall and finished second in the short-track finished seventh in the professional women’s field in 3:20:01. Not surprisingly, both Kabush and Vanlandingham struggled a bit in the swim. Kabush’s 26:18 for the 1-mile swim placed him in 195th place

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. — Ecclesiastes 3:1 For the first time since 2000, Lance Armstrong wasn’t the star of the show as Tour de France organizers unveiled the 2006 route on Thursday in Paris. The seven-time Tour champ, who was stateside preparing to host this weekend’s edition of NBC’s "Saturday Night Live," played only a bit part in a short highlight video prepared for the annual ceremony in Paris — and Tour organizers said that was not a simple oversight. "Of course, I cannot pretend this is just accidental," Patrice Clerc,

Landis knows what challenges he'll be facing in next year's Tour

Is Armstrong ready for prime time?

Armstrong and Crow on 20-20

Radio Armstrong

The Zero G crank

Watson displays the Touareg's tail section . . .

. . . and the sound gear hidden within

Vestal and his goods

Campy gets BIG

Kabush's Turner prototype

The speculation is over. Some of it was right, much of it was wrong. Either way, the organizers of the Tour de France on Thursday unveiled the route of the 2006 race, officially kicking off the post-Armstrong era at France's national tour. It will be the first Tour since 1999 not to feature seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, who is now retired, but the American was nonetheless a hot topic despite the presence of several of his potential successors. Ivan Basso, of the CSC team, was present and was largely favorable to a race route which will feature the two traditional individual time

Paris (AP) - Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc has predicted an exciting 2006 race in the absence of Lance Armstrong and taken another shot at the seven-time champion. Leblanc announced the 2006 Tour route Thursday, with the notable points being the absence of a team time trial, the return of L'Alpe d'Huez, and the matter of which rider takes the start line in the No. 1 jersey now that Armstrong has retired. “It is a classical, well-balanced course. There are five wonderful mountain stages,” Leblanc said. “It is a change of era. A period of long domination is over. There

The expansive Palais des Congrès came to life just as soon as the dimmed lights were turned back up following a slick, highly produced introduction to the 20-stage, three-week route of the 93rd Tour de France. No team time trial, longer-than-usual individual time trials and a wide-open race without the presence of dominator Lance Armstrong were among the many topics on the tongues of cycling’s elite that gathered for the annual autumn rite. VeloNews reporters Ben Delaney and Andrew Hood culled these reactions from the main protagonists. Here’s a sampling of what was said: Floyd Landis

A crowd of 2000 poured into the cavernous Palais des Congrés in Paris Thursday for details on the 2006 Tour de France route, but the race’s directors first gave them a lecture on doping. In fact the majority of the early presentation focused on combating the problem in order to preserve the sport’s integrity. “We hope and pray that we can solve not only the problem of doping, but also the suspicion, which severely damages the sport,” said Patrick Clerc, president of Tour organizer ASO. “Doping remains the number one enemy.” After showing a 2005 Tour highlights video, Clerc and Tour

Lance Armstrong wasn’t at Thursday’s 2006 Tour de France presentation, but the recently retired seven-time champion was still on everyone’s mind. Riders talked of a wide-open race without Armstrong’s dominating presence while race organizers tried not to talk about him at all. Armstrong, who is in New York preparing to host this week’s edition of "Saturday Night Live," chose not to attend the annual ceremony in Paris. If he wanted to relive moments of past glory, he didn’t miss much. The American was largely ignored in a slickly produced 10-minute highlight film to introduce the 93rd

The 2006 Tour de France could well be called a tour of western Europe,with stages venturing into Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland and Spain.Long heralded as an international event, the Tour begins this year in thetown of Strasbourg, arguably a symbol of European reunification.Home of the European Parliament, Strasbourg first hosted a Tour stagein 1919 following the Treaty of Versailles, which returned Strasburg andthe surrounding Alsace region to France from German control.This isn’t Strasbourg’s first time hosting the Tour’s start, either.In 1953, the year the green jersey competition

Lausanne, Switzerland (AP) - Former UCI president Hein Verbruggen was among five candidates nominated Thursday for IOC membership. Also put forward by the IOC executive board were: International Tennis Federation chief Francesco Ricci Bitti; Beatrice Allen, vice president of Gambia's national Olympic committee; Nicole Hoevertsz, secretary general of Aruba's Olympic committee; and Prince Tunku Imran, president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia. The five will be up for election to eight-year terms at the International Olympic Committee assembly in Turin on the eve of the Winter

Just in time for the announcement of the route for the 2006 Tour de France, VeloPress's annual wrap up of the Tour is now ready for delivery. "The2005 Tour de France: Armstrong's Farewell," by John Wilcocksonand Andrew Hood, tells the fascinating story of Lance Armstrong and hisride to his history-making seventh-straight victory. But this plot encompasses21 teams and 188 other riders battling for stage victories and hoping tounseat the American champion. VeloNews reporters Wilcockson and Hood provide a detailed accountof the action in each stage, capturing the color and character of

Bruyneel Reaction to 2006 Tour De France Route Announcement While Lance Armstrong may be retired from professional cycling and focusing on his future away from the sport, his apparent influence on Johan Bruyneel remains as relevant now as it did when he was winning seven Tours de France. Following today's grand unveiling of the 2006 Tour de France route in Paris, the Discovery Channel team's sports manager left the Palais de Congres still smarting from what was widely perceived as a slap to Armstrong's legacy by Tour organizers during its route presentation. However, Bruyneel

2006 Tour route unveiled

Leblanc and heir-apparent Christian Prudhomme outline the 2006 Tour route

Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich - Who will this Tour favor?

Bruyneel: Felt targeted

The Tour will hit the Galibier next year

Some remember Armstrong this way...

... and others remember this.

VeloPress Book Selection: The 2005 Tour de France

2006 Tour route unveiled

Speculation about the route for the upcoming Tour de France is always high in the days before it is officially announced. This is particularly so this year because for the first time in eight years the Tour will start without its dominant champion. So the layout of the 2006 Tour course, to be announced Thursday, will play a much bigger role in determining what type of rider will emerge as the successor to Lance Armstrong. Will the course favor a time trialist like Jan Ullrich, a climber like Ivan Basso, experienced challengers like Levi Leipheimer, Francisco Mancebo or Alexander Vinokourov,

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.The story behind that photoHello,Becky Brandt's dad here. Becky is at school right now, so I am writing in on her behalf. She took that photo at the WORS Ultimax Challenge in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on October 9th of this year. It was the citizen/beginner race in the area simply called

Alberto Contador of Liberty Seguros has been hailed in Spain as the rider most likely to bring back the stage-racing glory days of Miguel Indurain. If such a thing is even possible, it may well be that Contador is the man to do it. And if not him, it may well be his younger teammate Luis Leon Sanchez. Able to climb as well as time trial, Contador is a big prospect for team director Manolo Saiz, who gave him his first pro contract with ONCE in 2003 and just signed him again for an extended contract. Contador, 22, and Sanchez, 21, made the trek from Spain to Boston in late September, with

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Calvin Straathof, PresidentToll Free: 1-800-700-4797Victoria, B.C. October,  2005 – Team Giga-Bike is presentinga “Day in Yellow with Dave Zabriskie” on Saturday, November 19, 2005. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be one of thirty cyclists tojoin professional racer Dave Zabriskie on a brisk and scenic 50-km rideduring the annual Team Giga-Bike fundraising ride in Victoria, B.C. TeamGiga-Bike offers you a rare opportunity to ride shoulder-to-shoulder withthe fastest Tour de France stage winner in history while supporting yourlocal Vancouver

Will this Tour be decided in the mountains?

Cipo' won four stages in a row in '99. The last was here in Thionville

Riis will be in the CSC team car on Hautacam this time around

A final showdown? It sure made for an exiting finish last time.

A chance for Ullrich to strut his stuff?

Luis Leon Sanchez generates between 500 and 550 watts in this position

Minor tweaks have further refined Sanchez's position

The route for the 2006 Tour de France will be unveiled Thursday in a glittery ceremony in the Palais des Congrès in Paris. That is, if the leaks appearing in the European press don’t ruin the surprise before then. What’s officially known is that the 93rd edition of the French national tour will run from July 1st to the 23rd, with a 7.5km prologue along the Rhine in Strasbourg to get the party started. A road stage starting and finishing in Strasbourg on July 2 will dip into Germany. Beyond that, reports in a variety of European newspapers have the Tour route pushing north into Holland and

PRESS RELEASE: Remembering Tom CuthbertsonSanta Cruz, California - Friends and relatives of longtime SantaCruz resident and cyclist, Tom Cuthbertson, the author of “Anybody's BikeBook” plan to honor him with a memorial bike ride and fundraiser on November13.The ride is scheduled to leave Santa Cruz’s SprocketsBike shop (1420 Mission St.) at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 13,2005. Cuthbertson, who died of cancer on October 10, began work in thebike business at that shop in 1969, when it was known as the Bicycle Center.Cuthbertson had a big influence on cycling in Northern California andwas

Health Net extends sponsorship for three years.Oakland, CA – On the heels of the most successful season everby a domestic professional cycling team, Health Net and Momentum SportsGroup have reached a three-year agreement to continue sponsorship of theHealth Net Pro Cycling Team.“In its three years of existence, the team has continually built uponits successes,” said Dave Anderson, Chief Sales Officer for Woodland Hills,CA-based Health Net. “In that same time, we’ve also seen excitement forthe team growing within the Health Net family. Team Health Net has notonly created external marketing

Leblanc and Prudhomme will unveil the 2006 route on Thursday

What we do know: The rest is just speculation

Miguel Martinez

PRESS RELEASE: Remembering Tom Cuthbertson

Olympic kilometer champion Chris Hoy is planning an attempt on Arnaud Tournant’s world kilo' record in 2007, The Scotsman reported Monday. Tournant became the first man to record a sub-minute time in the kilometer track event when he clocked 58.875 seconds at 3,658 meters altitude in La Paz, Bolivia in October 2001. “Bolivia is the only place to do it,” Hoy told The Scotsman newspaper. “It needs to be at altitude because it’s just not feasible to try at sea level.” Hoy said first he’ll try to win the kilometer title at the Commonwealth Games and the world championship in 2006, events

Lynn Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau) and Ryan Trebon (Kona) won the Wooden Wheels Cyclo-cross on Saturday. The race at A.I. DuPont’s Granougue estate near Wilmington, Delaware, part of the Verge Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross Series, was a slippery, muddy mess. Bessette took the lead by the end of the first lap, accompanied only by Maureen Bruno-Roy (Independent Fabrications). Idaho’s Georgia Gould (Kona Bikes) got a slow start, but made steady progress through the field, working her way into second place and then setting off after Bessette. As the last lap began, the light rain that

Italian cyclist Dario Frigo received a six-month suspended sentence and 12,000-euro fine Monday for doping during the 2001 Giro d’Italia. The former Paris-Nice and Tour of Romandie winner was forced to pull out of the 2001 Giro, while in second place overall, after Italian police found drugs in his hotel room following the San Remo stage. Judge Paolo Luppi also handed down similar sentences on riders Giuseppe Giuseppe Di Grande and Alberto Elli after the duo were found guilty of using banned substances found after police and drug squad officers raided the hotel rooms of all competing teams

It's an annual event that even armored car drivers now fear. VeloSwap attendeeson Saturday, October 22, drained some $175,000 cash from ATM machines at the National Western Complex in Denver because they had quickly run out of money snapping up deals from the hundreds of vendors selling an incomparable selection of bikes, parts, accessories and clothing. It's no surprise since over the course of its 17-year history, VeloSwap has developed a reputation as the place to go if you need a variety of cycling items as varied as a vintage-condition still-in-the-box Campagnolo Gran Sport

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.He blames it on MarioDear Velo,I've been following JohnWilcockson's stories with great interest the last few weeks. Istarted following bike racing just before the start of the "English" invasion,so they are bringing back lots of fond memories.The other thing I've noticed is