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The ageless Steve Tilford contemplates another podium in his long career.

Pic wins a fifth title

Holloway takes the V

A clash of generations is theatening to usurp an anticipated Italian win at the Hamburg one-day cyclassics Pro Tour race this Sunday. But for reasons perhaps better explained by the Italians, the likelihood of up-and-coming German sprinter Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile) claiming victory ahead of aging compatriot Erik Zabel (Milram) appears an outside bet. In 11 previous editions Italian riders have won five times, and always made it on to the podium of a race which, thanks to its mainly flat profile, is favored by the sprinters and late breakaway specialists. If a bunch sprint is on the cards at

Defending champion Jens Voigt (CSC) sealed his second consecutive victory in the Tour of Germany and German sprinter Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile) picked up his third stage win as the 2007 race concluded Saturday in Hanover. The 35-year-old Voigt had all but sealed victory after winning Friday's time trial in Fuerth. The German finished the 1292.5 km tour in 30 hours, 57 minutes and 21 seconds, 1:57 ahead of American Levi Leipheimer (Dscovery Channel). Third was Spaniard David Lopez Garcia (Caise d’Epargne) at 2:10 back. "I enjoyed a pretty quiet day today, I was able to appreciate the

Colombian Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) won the 29th edition of the Vuelta a Burgos on Saturday. Vasil Kiryenka (Tinkoff) won the fifth and final stage, a 158km leg between Ona and Burgos. Vuelta a BurgosStage 51. Vasil Kiryenka (Blr), Tinkoff, 158km in 3:39:422. Francisco Perez Sanchez (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:093. Stefano Garzelli (I), Acqua & Sapone, at 0:114. Daniele Nardello (I), LPR, same time5. Antonio Olmo Menacho (Sp), Andalucia-Cayasur, s.t.Final overall1. Juan Mauricio Soler (Col), Barloworld, 14:31:372. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:023. Carlos

Horizontal sleet, rime ice, 87-mph gusts of wind and freezing temperatures forced the cancellation of this year’s Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb on Saturday. Six hundred cyclists had come from all over New England and from as far away as the West Coast for the chance to race the 7.6 miles to Mt. Washington’s summit in what is called, all too aptly, “the world’s toughest hillclimb.” Now they’ll wait another year to battle the Auto Road’s 12 percent average grade. “We have agonized over this decision,” said Howie Wemyss, the general manager of the Mt. Washington Auto Road, noting

Fans lining Second Street in downtown Fernie, British Columbia, greeted Roddi Lega and Tim Heemskerk with makeshift signs and cheers as the two rolled across the line to take their sixth win of the seven-stage 2007 TransRockies Challenge. With the victory, the duo, racing under the sponsorship of United Cycles, solidified their GC win over Costa Ricans Federico Ramirez and Ivan Amador of the La Ruta de los Conquistadores team, and Rocky Mountain Bicycle’s third-place team of Matt Hadley and Matt Green. “I think the biggest advantage we had was our recovery — we got a massage and rest and

Can the up-and-coming Ciolek . . .

. . . upstage the wily veteran Zabel?

Voigt wins his second consecutive Tour of Germany

The winners

And a well-deserved beer to celebrate

If Jens Voigt hangs on after Friday’s decisive 33.1-kilometer time trial and wins the Deutschland Tour, he can be grateful to reigning world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara and the rest of his CSC teammates. It’s thanks to victory in the 42.2km team time trial in stage 2 that Voigt was able to defend the yellow jersey in Wednesday’s climbing blitz up high in the Austrian Alps. Powered by Cancellara, Team CSC took 25 seconds out of runner-up Discovery Channel and 57 seconds out of Caisse d’Epargne. Those seconds gave the renowned rouleur Voigt an invaluable head start as he faced off

Ben Ollett and Simon Koster did not come to British Columbia’s TransRockies Challenge harboring hopes or dreams of winning the seven-day, 600km stage race. Heading into the 93km third stage slog around Nipika mountain resort, the duo sat in 32nd place, nearly three hours off of the leading United Cycles team of Canadians Tim Heemskerk and Roddi Lega. The two Americans, roommates and collegiate racers together at Rutgers, came hoping only for a physical challenge. “We needed another goal to train for this year,” said Koster, 26. “I was coming home from collegiate road nationals and

A TransRockies Gallery - Day 4

Jens Voigt of CSC surprised several time trial specialists by winning the Tour of Germany's eighth stage Friday and all but ensuring a repeat of last year’s overall victory. Voigt, the defending champion, dominated the penultimate stage, a 33.1km time trial, in a time of 39:42 to hold off Laszlo Bodrogi of Hungary and American Levi Leipheimer. Bodrogi finished second at 14 seconds while Leipheimer, who finished third overall in the Tour de France thanks mainly to his efforts in the race's second time trial, was third at 25. Leipheimer, who is on the lookout for a new team following

Several elite ProTour riders, who have built solid reputations in the European peloton, are slated to compete Labor Day weekend in the Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Championships. Medalist Sports confirmed that George Hincapie (Discovery Channel), Bobby Julich (CSC), Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel), and David Zabriskie (CSC) are among the athletes who will compete in one or more of the dual championship events September 1-2. "We are very pleased to see George, Dave and Levi return along with many of the top Pro Tour riders who don't often compete in the United

Brad Huff will be facing some serious competition if he intends to keep his stars-and-stripes jersey at Sunday’s USA Cycling Professional Criterium Championship in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, Illinois. National criterium titles will also be awarded in the elite men’s and women’s categories, while various amateur events will be held over the 1.2-mile course throughout the day on Saturday. Although it doesn’t offer prize money like this month’s earlier top-dollar races in Charlotte, North Carolina or neighboring Elk Grove, Illinois - overall prize money for all 13 races held over

With a kilometer to go in the sixth stage of the 2007 TransRockies Challenge, a brutal 116km journey from Elkford to Sparwood, Frederico Ramirez and Ivan Amador looked to have the stage win in their hands. The Costa Ricans, sponsored by their homeland’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores, held a 30-second advantage over GC leaders Tim Heemskerk and Roddi Lega (United Cycle) all day. The Ticos, who sat second in GC, 21 minutes down on Heemskerk and Lega, dropped the Canadians early, hoping to win the longest and hardest stage of British Columbia’s seven-day, 600km mountain-bike stage race. It

Voigt finished 4:46 behind Leipheimer in the 55km Cognac - Angoulême TT at the Tour de France last month, but he has extra motivation this time.

Ollett (left) and Koster prepare for another TransRockies stage.

A high calorie breakfast gets the riders through the day

Life ain't always easy on the TransRockies, but what the heck... they could be riding the subway in New York.

Lining up for another round

The ad hoc community waits at the finish

Koster finds his gear bag at the finish line

The dinner tent

The ability to pull off a river crossings is part of an essential skill set.

Sue Haywood tip-toes across slippery river rocks

BC has a whole lot of water...

...and the mud that accompanies that water.

But in the absence of rain means dust is a factor, too.

Share the road

Home is where the heart is...

.. and the massage tent.

Voigt put in a big effort to defend the jersey.

Huff was the top U.S. finisher at last year's event.

A couple of disappointed Costa Ricans

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the latest edition of The Prologue, the weekly summary of news from the world of competitive cycling by your friends at VeloNews.com

On Sunday, August 12, the TransRockies Challenge sent riders off on a seven-day off-road journey for the sixth consecutive year. This year, some 300 teams of two left the Panorama Mountain Resort in the Purcell mountain range and embarked on the trip, which traces a 600km route through eastern British Columbia’s craggy Kootenay Rockies. By Wednesday the race’s demanding route had begun to take a toll. For the midway stage, 30 fewer teams took the line to ride the 113km route from Nipika Resort, just west of Banff National Park, to Whiteswan Lake. The attrition rate serves as testimony to

Soler keeps lead at BurgosJuan Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) finished safely in the pack at Thursday’s 158km third stage to maintain his slender grip on the overall lead at the Vuelta a Burgos in northern Spain. French rider Aurélien Passeron (Acqua e Sapone) nipped Aivaras Baranauskas (Agritubel) after a seven-man break held off the peloton in the rolling stage into Aranda de Duero along some of Spain’s best wine country. Soler finished 31st with the main pack that roared in 54 seconds off the winner’s pace to retain the leader’s jersey a day after winning the decisive climb up Laguna de

T-Mobile’s Gerald Ciolek won his second consecutive stage on the Tour of Germany on Thursday after holding off a determined challenge from sprint specialist Erik Zabel (Milram). The 20-year-old German was again the first home after covering the predominantly flat route from Kufstein, Austria, to Regensburg, Germany, in 4 hours, 8 minutes and 20 seconds. In damp conditions with persistent drizzle, the under-23 road world champion had to hold his nerve and battle all the way to the line as Zabel, who had pushed Ciolek close on Wednesday, again threatened in the final meters. CSC's Jens

At least the start is easy...

... but things get difficult rather quickly.

Another day's start

The goal for each day is to get some rest.

Ciolek makes it two in a row

Juan Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) still had enough gas in the tank after winning the polka-dot jersey at the Tour de France to claw his way to victory in the grueling stage at the Lagunas de Neila on Wednesday and slip into the overall leader’s jersey at the Vuelta a Burgos. The Colombian climber dropped the favorites on the final ramps of the always-decisive climbing stage in the five-day race in northern Spain. He soloed across the line 17 seconds ahead of Carlos Castaño (Karpin-Galicia) and José Ángel Gómez Marchante (Saunier Duval-Prodir), with pre-race favorite Alejandro Valverde

The Belgian-Swedish Unibet.com team will cease operations at the end of the season, Belgian TV network Sporza reported on Wednesday. “We knew it was coming,” general manager Koen Terryn told Sporza. “Unfortunately, we need to tell our riders that they have to look for new teams next year.” While it had successfully obtained a ProTour license at the onset of the 2007 season, Unibet.com soon became the focal point of an ongoing power struggle between the sport’s governing body and the organizers of the three grand tours, the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. In

The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company,

T-Mobile speedster Gerald Ciolek won the sixth stage of the Tour of Germany after a sprint finish through the foothills of the Austrian Alps into Kufstein on Wednesday. The 20-year-old German was the first home after covering the largely flat route from 175km from Laegenfeld in three hours, 57mins and 40 seconds as CSC's Jens Voigt retained the yellow jersey. Ciolek had to work hard to hold off a challenge from the chasing pack including strong finishers such as Italians Danilo Napolitano, Paolo Bettini and German Erik Zabel which pushed him hard to the line. "I waited until the last

Voigt did the jersey proud on Tuesday.

Even Unibet's effort to circumvent the whole betting issue didn't work.

Ciolek held off some of the best.

Alberto Contador is on vacation this week, but he’ll probably be spending more time than he would like working the phone after last week’s news that his Discovery Channel team is disbanding at the end of the season. The standing Tour de France champion is without a secure future – not to mention most of the other riders and staff on the Discovery Channel payroll. Where Contador could likely end up depends on what kind of reception his new manager, Tony Rominger, receives from prospective ProTour teams. Doubts over Contador’s alleged links to the Operación Puerto investigation could

What say we give tire rolling resistance a rest this week?First, I wanted to tell you a little about the party we threw on August5 for the 25th anniversary of Zinn Cycles. Such a milestone does not comealong too often, and it was very interesting putting together the memorabiliacollected over a quarter of a century for the party. While it became brutally clear that the people who tell me and my wifethat we look the same as we did in college are stretching the truth, afar more interesting thing was to see how bikes have changed since 1982.I hope this doesn’t bore you (if so, skip to the

Caisse d'Epargne’s David Lopez Garcia won the fifth stage of the Tour of Germany between Sonthofen and the 2671-meter hors categorie mountain-top finish on top of Austria’s Rettenbachferner climb. Lopez Garcia took the win, but CSC’s Jens Voigt rode impressively to retain his grip on the overall race lead. The Spaniard moved out of a strong lead group some three kilometers from the finish and resisted a strong effort by defending champion Voigt to cross the line at 2670 meters altitude alone after 157.6km of racing. Voigt, wearing the yellow jersey since Saturday, finished just 12

Contador faced Puerto questions last week.

More than bikes, Zinn Cycles produced a lot of friends and tons of memories...

It was the '80s.

One of VeloNews's younger editors checks out a vintage MTB.

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - Happy Anniversary!

Lopez Garcia handles the toughest climb of the Tour with style.

Voigt was inspired by the jersey.

Zinn Cycles isn't the only thing 25 years older. Both the company and its owner seem to be doing just fine.

Alejandro Valverde headlines this week’s Vuelta a Burgos starting Tuesday in northern Spain in a race that’s replete with Vuelta a España favorites. The likes of Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and José Ángel Gómez Marchante (Saunier Duval-Prodir) are using the five-day stage race as a trampoline for the Vuelta podium, but Valverde is skipping the Spanish grand tour to prepare especially for the world championships. Valverde disappointed Vuelta organizers last week when he said he would be skipping the September 1 start in Vigo, leaving the Spanish tour bereft of its 2006 podium

Valverde will skip the Vuelta a España to concentrate on world's, but the Vuelta a Burgos fits into his plan.

The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company,

Lampre’s Damiano Cunego enjoyed his first stage win at the Tour of Germany Monday, grabbing victory on the fourth stage as the tour entered the foothills of the Alps. The 25-year-old Cunego claimed victory on the 183.8km route between Singen and Sonthofen, which featured two rated climbs – the Category 3 Linden berg and the Cat. 2 climb up the 1420-meter-tall Riedbergpass. had two climbs, winning in a time of 4:28:06. Cunego, who moved ahead of the main field on the day’s final climb, stayed away with an elite group. The Lampre rider finished in a time of 4:28:06, narrowly edging out

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now ready for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of our most recent contest. This last round of photos offered up a nice selection, but Andy Berry’s “El Diablo in London” caught our eye. We’ve known the irrepressible Didi Senft for years and we consider him to be a real asset to cycling. For one thing, cycling fans can tell fans of nearly any other sport “our crazy superfan is cooler than your crazy superfan.” Andy, please drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.comto work out the details and we’ll

Cunego gets his first win at the Deutschland Tour.

El Diablo in London.

Swiss cyclists Christoph Sauser (Specialized) and Petra Henzi (Fischer-BMC) took the 2007 UCI marathon cross-country world championshipson Sunday in Verveirs, Belgium. The rolling 105km course sent riders on a fire-road and single-track tour of Belgium’s Ardennes forest. Sauser, a three-time World Cup cross-country champ, rode at the front with defending marathon champ Ralph Naf of Switzerland for the opening 80km. With 25km remaining, Naf suffered a chain malfunction and let Sauser slip away. While he eventually remounted his rig and gave chase, an untimely puncture knocked Naf out of the

World championship silver medalist Erik Zabel (Milram) won the third stage on the Tour of Germany Sunday in Offenburg while defending champion Jens Voigt (CSC) retained the yellow jersey. Zabel, 37, proved quickest over the 181.8km course between Pforzheim through the stunning Black Forest to Offenburg to claim the 13th tour win of his career. Zabel sealed the victory in a tight sprint, winning in a time of 4 hours, 49 minutes and 25 seconds to finish just ahead of Spaniard Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Caisse d'Epargne) and Australian Bradley McGee (Française des Jeux). Defending champion

Zberg opens Tour de l’Ain with winSwiss national champion Beat Zberg (Gerolsteiner) soloed to victory on Sunday in the first stage of the Tour de l’Ain, a 154km run between Montluel and Hauteville. Zberg takes the yellow leader’s jersey going into Monday’s second stage, a 159.5km leg from Lagnieu to Bellignat. Tour de l’AinStage 11. Beat Zberg (Swi), Gerolsteiner, 154km in 3:24:502. Niels Brouzes (F), Auber 93, at 0:063. Giovanni Visconti (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, same time4. Joahnn Tschopp (Swi), Bouygues Telecom, s.t.5. Bauke Mollema (Nl), RB3, s.t.6. Stijn Devolder (B), Discovery

Health Net-Maxxis rider Nathan O’Neill kept up his winning ways over the weekend at the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove, held outside of Chicago. The Australian time-trial specialist took the overall at the two-day, three-stage event as he has done many times this season, by winning the race against the clock and defending his lead over the two remaining stages. The event, now in its second-year with a prize purse totaling $152,000, changed its format from a one-day criterium to include a 4.5-mile prologue and an 80km circuit race held on Saturday, August 11, and a 110km criterium over a

Katerina Nash and Geoff Kabush used last-lap surges to claim the men’s and women’s short-track races at the 2007 National Mountain Bike Series finals on Sunday in Snowmass, Colorado. In doing so, both athletes narrowly wrapped up the short-track series overall. Nash, a former Olympic Nordic skier and current Czech national cross-country champion, came into the NMBS finals nursing a slight lead on Luna teammate Georgia Gould. The two traded short-track wins throughout the 2007 season, with Gould taking the first and third rounds and Nash grabbing the second, fourth and fifth. With riders