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Bruno Roy found Bessette's performance daunting

When McCormack found a line that worked, he stuck to it

Johnson's rough start gave the steady McCormack an insurmountable lead

The new Sony Ericsson team headed up by cycling legend Giancarlo Ferretti looks to be on the verge of collapsing. The veteran Italian team manager is reportedly in Sweden for emergency meetings with Ericsson officials after it was learned that high-level officials were threatening to pull the plug on the recently announced six-year deal to sponsor the team. In fact, the mobile communications giant couldn’t have put it more bluntly Friday on its web page. “There have been a number of press reports across Europe speculating that Sony Ericsson will sponsor a cycling team. Sony Ericsson can

Reporters Without Borders said it was "concerned and shocked" after an examining magistrate in the Paris suburb of Nanterre placed five journalists under investigation after questioning them earlier this week. Three reporters from the weekly Le Point, Christophe Labbé, Olivia Recasens and Jean-Michel Décujis, as well as two from the sports daily L’Equipe, Damien Ressiot et Dominique Issartel, are accused of "violation of the confidentiality of investigation" in the Cofidis cycle team doping case. Ressiot has recently gained international attention as the reporter who linked positive test

When the Tour of Lombardy was first held in November 1905, bike racing was in its infancy. The Tour de France had just been held for the third time, while the Giro d’Italia was still four years away from its first edition. And the only one-day classic being organized on an annual basis was Paris-Roubaix, which had been held 10 times. The first Giro di Lombardia was held on an almost flat loop, starting and finishing in the region’s capital, Milan. The winner, in a long solo break, was a solid local with slicked-back straight hair, Giovanni Gerbi, who covered the 230km course in a little over

The leaves are orange and yellow and barely hanging on the trees. The morning chill stings a little more than usual. Everyone but the hardcore riders (and nutty cyclo-crossers) have already traded in the usual morning ride for some additional snooze time in the comforts of a warm bed. The mountain-bike season, my friends, is in the books. That’s not to say that our favorite fat-tire sport is unworthy of attention at the moment. After all, the off-season is when some of the juicier news comes out. And the biggest news for North Americans and Europeans alike is the release of the 2006 UCI

When Eddy Merckx recently commented on his being called the greatest cyclist of all time, he played down the description in typical “modest Eddy” fashion. “Comparisons between one generation and another don’t mean anything,” he told Vélo Magazine. “For me, the most important is to be the best of your generation.” Merckx, no question, was the best of his generation. And after he retired in 1978 there was a void waiting to be filled, just as there is today on the retirement of Lance Armstrong. The après-Merckx years were marked by some fierce competition for “best in class.” The first

Giancarlo Ferretti in more stable times

Harsh duty for the fat-tire set: The '06 World Cup opens in Curaçao

Bettini hopes for a Lombardia win

Kelly put in a huge effort to take the win

With Lance Armstrong firmly in cycling’s retirement home, Discovery Channel reloads for the 2006 with very different goals. The team won seven consecutive Tour de France titles, but without the Texan’s dominant presence, the team will ride into next season with the same ambition of being among the peloton’s main protagonists only without the assurance of a clear candidate for Tour victory. The team officially released its 2006 roster that includes 27 riders from 16 nations. The leading American team lost five riders, including Armstrong, but four new recruits bring fresh

Five journalists from the French sports daily L’Equipe and the weeklymagazine Le Point were summoned to the offices of an investigatingmagistrate on Wednesday and Thursday as part of an investigation into leaksthat triggered the Cofidisscandal last year. According to judicial sources, two journalists from L’Equipewere questioned on Wednesday and three from Le Point were slatedfor interviews on Thursday by judge Katherine Cornier who has been investigatingleaks within the French police.Earlier this year, Cornier ordered police to seize notes and computersin raidsconducted at L’Equipe and Le

Sauser Sides With SpecializedWorld Cup Champion Sauser Joins Liam Killeen and Sabine Spitzon Specialized’s Factory MTB Racing Squad October 13, 2005 – Morgan Hill, CA –29 year-old Swiss cross-countryracer and UCI World Cup Champion Christoph Sauser joins top XC talent LiamKilleen and Sabine Spitz with Specialized for 2006 and beyond. A veteran10 seasons as a professional, Sauser chose Specialized knowing they couldprovide him with a technological edge. “Once I saw Liam racing a CarbonEpic this season, I knew I had to connect with Specialized for the future,”says Sauser. “Plus, they have a

Sauser Sides With SpecializedWorld Cup Champion Sauser Joins Liam Killeen and Sabine Spitzon Specialized’s Factory MTB Racing Squad October 13, 2005 – Morgan Hill, CA –29 year-old Swiss cross-countryracer and UCI World Cup Champion Christoph Sauser joins top XC talent LiamKilleen and Sabine Spitz with Specialized for 2006 and beyond. A veteran10 seasons as a professional, Sauser chose Specialized knowing they couldprovide him with a technological edge. “Once I saw Liam racing a CarbonEpic this season, I knew I had to connect with Specialized for the future,”says Sauser. “Plus, they have

It looks like Brazil might have its first real break-out star on its hands after another thrilling victory by Murilo Fischer. Just last weekend, Fischer beat Paolo Bettini in the GP Beghelli and he quietly finished fifth in the world championships in Madrid last month. Taking advantage of his late-season form, Fischer shot to another impressive win in Thursday’s Giro del Piemonte in northern Italy. An early breakaway was reeled in with just 8km to go to set up the sprinters. The South American held off Steven De Jongh (Rabobank) to carve his eighth win on the year. “This win is very

Maine Hosts 2005 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series OpenerNew Gloucester, ME - October 13, 2005 - With one of the mostdemanding courses in New England, the Downeast Cyclo-Cross kicks off the2005 Verge New England Championships Cyclo-Cross Series, presented by Cycle-Smart,this Saturday in New Gloucester, ME. Known for its mix of fast descents,a leg crushing run-up, and sections of strength sapping mud, the Downeastcourse throws every challenge a UCI course can at the crowds of ‘crossracers anxious to kick off the Verge NECCS.The 2005 Verge NECCS opener will boast one of its best

Ride To ReuniteJoin the TEAM!!  Help bring awareness and aid to recent Gulfhurricanes victims by, supporting the Ride To Reunite.Our vision is to utilize the sport of cycling to demonstrate a commitmentto social responsibility and concern.We are uniting the cycling world in an effort to raise worldwide awareness,relief, and funds for the victims of the recent Gulf hurricanes. The RideTo Reunite specifically focuses attention on the critical need to reunitechildren and their families who were affected by Hurricane’s Katrina andRita. To quickly raise awareness we have joined forces with an

Insisting on an embargo until Thursday, the SRAM corporation has releasedadditional information on the shifting mechanism behind the company’s newroad components, first introducedat the Eurobike tradeshow in September.While show-goers and consumers have had a look at the group,bikes equipped with the new components were kept behind glass and thosewho who were allowed to play with the shifters were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Few chose to argue the point with SRAM's six-foot-five-inch media rep' Michael Zellman.Now that the embargo is lifted SRAM is touting what calls its

Hincapie and Savoldelli during this year's Tour de France

Magistrate Katherine Cornier , seen here exciting the offices of Le Point during a January police raid

Downshfting from the drops

Upshifting from the drops

Downshifting on the hoods

Upshifting on the hoods

Shifting during a sprint

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

Tech Report: SRAM offers more details on '07 road group

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.Great letter Prentice...Dear Velo,I was absolutely delighted to see Dr. Prentice Steffen's retractionon your site (see "Steffenretracts L'Equipe comments").Unfortunately, there are a few bad apples in the pro and semi-pro pelotons.However, it’s not fair to accuse riders of illegal

World Cup skiing champion Bode Miller of the United States and Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx have called for the clampdown on doping to be eased. Miller, double world champion and last year's World Cup series winner, supports the use of the blood-booster erythropoietin or EPO. "I'm surprised it's illegal, because in our sport, it would be pretty minimal health risks, and it would actually make it safer for the athletes, because you'd have less chance of making a mistake at the bottom and killing yourself," the 27-year-old American told VeloNews’s sister publication, Ski

The 92nd edition of the Giro di Piemonte is drawing a top field ahead of Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia to close the 2005 racing season. Big names to take the start in the 20-team field include Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita), Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears) and Oscar Sevilla (T-Mobile). Americans in the field include Christian Vande Velde (CSC) and Chris Horner (Saunier Duval). Damiano Cunego is on the provisional start list, but he’s doubtful with nagging health problems. The race winds in and around the steep hills in northern Italy’s wine country, taking in difficult climbs at Mango

Wednesday's Mailbag: The letter; The ProTour and more

Wednesday's Mailbag: The letter; The ProTour and more

Simoni is among the top names racing the Giro di Piemonte

Luca Paolini (Quick Step) won’t start Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia while ProTour leader Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) is in doubt for Saturday’s season closer. Paolini injured his hand in a collision with a T-Mobile team car in Sunday’s Paris-Tours and has pulled the plug on his racing season. Quick Step, meanwhile, will enter Lombardia looking to win the season’s last big race with a determined Paolo Bettini. Di Luca, meanwhile, promises to start despite a knee injury that prompted his early departure from Paris-Tours after 200km of racing. L’Equipe reported that Di Luca was scheduled

Kortrijk, Belgium (AP) - Former world champion Johan Museeuw and six other Belgian cyclists won't find out until early next year whether they will have to stand trial on drug charges. Museeuw, widely recognized as the top one-day specialist of the past decade, and the others are accused of possessing the endurance-boosting drugs EPO and Aranesp. Museeuw and the others have denied the charges. The 39-year-old Museeuw, who won the world road championship in 1996, says he has never failed a doping test. A judicial hearing into the case opened Tuesday at a local court, with defense lawyers

Dear Lennard,Regarding your TechnicalQ&A with Lennard Zinn: Carbon tubes and lubes the consensusis unanimous that no grease be used on carbon seat posts, one thingwas not shared is how you remove grease from a seat tube if you want tochange to a carbon post from an aluminum post. If solvents shouldn’tbe used what can be used to safely remove grease that has already beenapplied? And on new frames should any prep be done to ensure thatthe frame is free of any contaminates before assembly.I want to share what I personally ran into with a new frame and carbonpost. Knowing that no grease was

2005 Verge New England Cyclo-Cross Series Ready to RollFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 10, 2005Building up to the crescendo of December’s National Championships inRhode Island, the 2005 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Serieswill provide a perfect season-long proving ground for regional and nationalcyclo-cross talent. As always, healthy purses and excellent UCI courseswill greet the legion of racers that flock to New England Series, startingOctober 15 in New Gloucester, Maine with the Downeast Cyclo-Cross. Allsix Verge NECCS races boast prize lists of at least $5,000, with overallElite

DiLuca may not be in Lombardia on Saturday... but he really doesn't have to be

Viatcheslav Ekimov is like a good wine, he just keeps getting better with age. Or so he’s hoping after telling Eurosport he’s eyeing a spot on the Russian national team for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. If he scores a spot on the team, Ekimov would be the ripe age of 42. The Discovery Channel rider said he feels like a “25 year old” after his recent comeback from injury. “I going to keep racing because I feel great after coming back from injury,” the Discovery Channel rider told Eurosport at the Criterium of Astana in Kazakhstan. “I am full of enthusiasm and optimism and was

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.LeMond pieces are greatEditor:I'm really enjoying the John Wilcockson articles about Greg LeMond. This is great stuff. Thanks. John BrownOrange, Connecticut Wilcockson’s recollections deserve bookEditor:So John, when are you going to put this all down in a book? I'd buy it.

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. We really appreciated the intensity in “Breathing at St. Eti,” and almost felt like we were ready to ride down the starting ramp at the Tour ourselves. Congratulations to the photographer. Contact us and you win a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes of Cycling."Go ahead and take a look at our latest gallery,decide what you like and let us know what you think by dropping a noteto Rosters@InsideInc.com. If you would care to

Request for Participants in Research ProjectA researcher investigating the growth of personal brands such as LanceArmstrong is asking for participants who are willing to spend 3-5 minutescompleting anonline survey.  The survey is completely anonymous and can befound at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=420081328396

German sprint king Erik Zabel sensationally brought the curtain down on his career with the T-Mobile team by claiming a record-equallng third victory in Paris-Tours Sunday. Zabel, riding his last race for the German outfit after 13 stellar seasons, dominated a rare bunch sprint in the one-day classic to beat Italian Daniele Bennati of Lampre by half a wheel. Australia's Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros) finished third with Australian champion Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) fourth. Zabel, the winner here in 1994 and 2003, produced a powerful burst in the final meters of the 253.5km race to

Erik Zabel gave himself a going-away present on Sunday, winning his third Paris-Tours as he wraps up a 13-year stint with T-Mobile. Graham Watson was on the scene; here's a sampler of what he saw through the lens.

Two very different race stories developed at the Rad Racing Gran Prix of Cyclocross, held at Fort Steilacoom Park in Tacoma, Washington, on Sunday, the second round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross The first scenario, in the elite women’s event, held a similar plotline to that of one day earlier, as Canadian Lyne Bessette charged to the front of the race and never looked back, crossing the finish line comfortably ahead of an outclassed field. The second, in the elite men’s event, offered up more plot developments than a bestselling-mystery novel, as a six-man lead group

Zabel takes a narrow victory at the line

Zabel hoists his third Paris-Tours trophy

Gutierrez, Berges and Posthuma enjoyed a long break

Posthuma and Gutierrez

Scenic? Naaaaah. . .

The trees you can't see the forest for

Devolder and Gilbert dropped the lead trio and soldiered on together

The twosome looked a lock - until they were swallowed up 150m from the line

Gerolsteiner was chasing

So was Lotto

Levecot has a go

DiLuca couldn't care less - he sewed up the ProTour title last weekend

Zabel, on the other hand, cared very much

And he got to hoist this trophy for a third time

Bessette put on the gas early on the first run up...

... leaving the rest of the field to race for second.

McCormack, Bessette tops in Tacoma 'cross

McCormack

Bjorn Selander takes the juniors' race

The men's race was a battle among six

Dr. Prentice Steffen, interviewed last week in a sidebar to a dopingstory in the French sports daily, L’Equipe has “retracted andclarified” comments in which he characterized seven-time Tour de Francewinner Lance Armstrong as one of the “bad guys” and guilty of doping.Steffen apologized for his comments and resigned from his post as teamdoctor for the American TIAA-CREF team, a program with the expressed missionof proving that riders can compete and succeed without using performance-enhancingsubstances.Steffen’s letter of apology and resignation was e-mailed to reportersby team director

One winner of the opening round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross was last year’s defending series champion; the other was the only competitor, man or woman, to have won a World Cup cyclo-cross event. So when Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Canadian Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau) took convincing solo victories at the Cannondale Stumptown Classic in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise — except that both brought to the start line extenuating circumstances that led many to question whether either rider could dominate a