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Team Fuji-Salamander teammates Shane Kline and Nik Reinert both collected their third national titles of the week Monday as the 2007 USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships continued at the 7-Eleven Velodrome in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Kline won the men's 17-18 sprint and later teamed up with Reinert to win the Madison, adding a second and third stars-and-stripes jersey to the one he won in Sunday's kilometer time trial. For Reinert, the victory in the Madison complemented his earlier wins in the individual pursuit and the points race. Kline posted the fastest time in

Seated at the foot of Colorado’s rugged Tenmile range, the Summit County town of Breckenridge will once again host its marquee fat-tire event, the July 4 Firecracker 50 mountain-bike race. For 2007 the event serves as USA Cycling’s national marathon cross-country mountain-bike championships. The race traces its roots back to 2000 when current race director Jeff Westcott and Mountain States Cup organizer Mike McCormack thought of ways to spice up Breckenridge’s Independence Day parade. “We were hanging around on July 4 watching the usual parade of real-estate agents and commercialism,”

Québec’s Mont-Ste-Anne resort has hosted a stop on the UCI’s mountain-bike World Cup for 17 years, and Chantal Lachance has been there since day one. As the vice president for Gestev, the event’s production company, she has helped the Mont-Ste-Anne race grow into a three-weekend-long festival. Now called Velirium (www.velirium.com), the festival brings tens of thousands of spectators, amateur racers and partiers to Mont-Ste-Anne each year. IThe World Cup has ventured sparingly onto North American soil during the pst half-decade; however, it has always come back to Mont-Ste-Anne. VeloNews sat

Day 3 of the B.C. Bike Race: The Pacific Traverse saw a repeat of stage 1 and 2, with all five categories featuring back-to-back-to-back winners, including the Trek-Volkswagen teammates Jeff Schalk and Chris Eatough. The Trek duo strengthened their grip on the overall standings Tuesday, finishing the 83km run from Port Alberni to Cumberland in 4:00:10, 8:05 ahead of Manuel Prado and Jason First (La Ruta de los Conquistadores-Sho Air). Andreas Hestler and Kevin Calhoun (Rocky Mountain-Haywood Securities) were third on the stage, ceding 10 seconds to the La Ruta team. Trek now leads the

Boogered starts his final Tour de France on Saturday

Tour de France 2007: Boogerd’s last, Dekker debuts; Barloworld feeling aggressive

Tour de France 2007: Boogerd’s last, Dekker debuts; Barloworld feeling aggressive

Boogered starts his final Tour de France on Saturday

Tour de France 2007: Boogerd’s last, Dekker debuts; Barloworld feeling aggressive

Tour de France 2007: Boogerd’s last, Dekker debuts; Barloworld feeling aggressive

Lachance and Gestev president Patrice Drouin

At the start

A day with many logging roads on the menu

The long climb

It was one of those days for some.

Taking in the view

Schalk and Eatough still tops in B.C.

Michelle Newton, one half of top women's team.

French team Ag2r will be hoping it can repeat its successful 2006 Tour de France, when it pushed Cyril Dessel and recently crowned French champion Christophe Moreau into the top 10 overall. The team’s dream run through the 2006 Tour – which also included a one-day run in yellow by Dessel and a stage victory by Sylvain Calzati into Lorient in stage eight – helped take the sting out of losing the services of team leader Francisco Mancebo, who was implicated in the pre-Tour Operación Puerto purge. While many of the other French teams are on a youth movement, the 36-year-old Moreau seems to

Alessandro Petacchi, who produced a suspicious urine sample when tested for doping at the Giro d'Italia in May, attended a hearing at the headquarters of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) in Rome on Monday. The 33-year-old Milram sprinter was quizzed by CONI's anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri for two hours as he attempted to clear his name by explaining how his use of the asthma drug Salbutamol was purely therapeutic. Petacchi hopes to prove his innocence so that he can take his place at the Tour de France, which starts next Saturday. The team has named Petacchi to its team,

Sunday was a big day for Team Fuji-Salamander at the 2007 USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Colleen Hayduk collected her second national title of the weekend at the 7-Eleven Velodrome with a victory in the women’s 17-18 sprint. Nik Reinert also captured a second title, in the men’s 17-18 3km individual pursuit. And Shane Kline won the men’s 17-18 kilometer time trial. After earning the top seed with a 200-meter qualifying time of 12.273 seconds, Hayduk took two straight rides from Dana Feiss (Young Medalist Cycling) in the final to claim another

Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) outsprinted Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) in the final stretch of Sunday’s Manhattan Beach Grand Prix criterium. Bahati’s teammate Kayle Leogrande hit two birds with one stone by towing Bahati into the final sprint and finishing third overall. Successful Living teammates Curtis Gunn and Daniel Ramsey dominated the first half of the race. A three-man breakaway containing Gunn formed in the first lap, and when a prime was announced for the second lap, Gunn picked up the pace, leaving the other two to be caught by the peloton. The second big attack came from

Tour No. 1 bib missingThere won’t be a No. 1 bib in this year’s Tour de France typically handed out to the previous year’s winner. With the legal status of last year’s Tour winner Floyd Landis still in limbo, the 2007 Tour will start without having an official winner. With runner-up Oscar Pereiro waiting in the wings, the Tour has decided to skip the prestigious No. 1 bib. “We wanted to make a symbolic gesture,” Jean-Francois Pescheux told AFP. It’s the first time in Tour history there won’t be a No. 1 bib in the race, Pescheux said. Instead, Tour officials have decided to remove numbers

Former Telekom director Walter Godefroot has stepped aside from his role as consultant to the Astana team following doping allegations by one of his former riders. Godefroot was accused of complicity in systematic doping by former Telekom rider Jörg Jaksche, who gave a no-holds barred interview with Der Spiegel over the weekend. Astana team boss Marc Biver announced the news of Godefroot's absence from the Tour, starting this weekend, while also ruling out an internal inquiry within the Swiss-based Kazakh team amid doping allegations against two of their riders. "Walter has a contract

It's all in the details. Below you'll find links to each stage of the 2007 Tour de France. Each page contains maps and details of the course. STAGE - DATESTAGE DETAILS Prologue - July 7London (7.9 km) Stage 1 - July 8London > Canterbury (203 km) Stage 2 - July 9Dunkirk > Ghent (168.5 km) Stage 3 - July 10Waregem > Compiègne (236.5 km) Stage 4 - July 11Villers-Cotterêts > Joigny (193 km) Stage 5 - July 12Chablis > Autun (182.5 km) Stage 6 - July 13Semur-en-Auxois > Bourg-en-Bresse (199.5 km) Stage 7

Trek-Volkswagen teammates Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk made it 2-for-2 at the B.C. Bike Race: The Pacific Traverse on Monday, taking a convincing win on stage 2 of the seven day race and increasing their overall lead in the seven-day event that finishes on Saturday in Whistler. The American east coasters now own two stage wins and a 6:02 advantage in the G.C., with North Vancouver teammates Andreas Hestler and Kevin Calhoun (Rocky-Mountain-Haywood Securities) again settling for second place. Eatough and Schalk covered the 118km from Lake Cowichan to Port Alberni in 4:34:06, with

Moreau wore yellow at the Dauphiné. Can he dream of the same color in July?

Tour de France 2007: French teams dreaming big

Tour de France 2007: French teams dreaming big

Tour de France 2007: French teams dreaming big

Tour de France 2007: French teams dreaming big

Tour de France 2007: French teams dreaming big

Pereiro will probably have the lowest number at the Tour, but it won't be No. 1.

Another day at the office kicks off

What was your commute like this morning?

Heading for home...

... and Trek wins again

Eatough cleans up.

It’s no surprise that cycling analysts proclaim the 2007 Tour de Franceto be a wide-open contest.No former winner will be on the start line, and only three men in thisyear’s race — Alexander Vinokourov (third in 2003), Andreas Klöden(second in ’04 and third in ’06) and Oscar Pereiro (second in ’06) — haveever reached the podium. While he may still be young enough to win cycling’sgreatest race, 35-year-old Lance Armstrong hasn’t entertained any rumorsof a comeback since retiring after taking his seventh Tour title two yearsago. And 1998 Tour winner Marco Pantani died of a cocaine overdose in

Four national champions were crowned on Friday as the 2007 USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships kicked off at the 7-Eleven Velodrome in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Colleen Hayduk (Team Fuji-Salamander) set a national record in the women’s 17-18 500-meter time trial and earned an automatic nomination to represent the United States at the UCI Junior Track World Championships later this summer in Mexico. Hayduk’s time of 36.656 seconds surpassed the old record of 37.280 previously held by Missy Thompson. Behind Hayduk, Dana Feiss (Young Medalist Cycling) took second in 38.740, while

France — AG2R team leader Christophe Moreau continued to display his race form ahead of the Tour de France by winning his first-ever French road-race crown Sunday in Aurillac. The 36-year-old winner of last month’s Dauphiné Libéré escaped late in the race and finished with a two-minute lead on Pierrick Fedrigo and Patrice Halgand. The Netherlands — Rabobank rider Koos Mourenhout won the Dutch national road race championship Sunday in Maastricht. Mourenhout finished ahead of Sebastien Langeveld and Maarten den Bakker after a solo attack in the final lap of the race. Switzerland —

1903 - Maurice Garin, (F) 1904 - Henri Cornet, (F)* 1905 - Louis Trousselier, (F) 1906 - Rene Pottier, (F) 1907 - Lucien Petit-Breton, (F) 1908 - Lucien Petit-Breton, (F) 1909 - Francois Faber, (Lux) 1910 - Octave Lapize, (F) 1911 - Gustave Garrigou, (F) 1912 - Odile Defraye, (B) 1913 - Philippe Thys, (B) 1914 - Philippe Thys, (B)Suspended due to war 1919 - Firmin Lambot, (B) 1920 - Philippe Thys, (B) 1921 - Leon Scieur, (B) 1922 - Firmin Lambot, (B) 1923 - Henri Pelissier, (F) 1924 - Ottavio Bottechia, (I) 1925 - Ottavio Bottechia, (I) 1926 - Lucien Buysse, (B) 1927 - Nicolas Frantz, (Lux)

One week before the Tour de France begins without Floyd Landis defendinghis title, the U.S. cyclist who tested positive for exogenous testosteronecan only wait to learn his fate.Landis, who could become only the second winner in the 104-year historyof the famed French race to be stripped of his title, made several appearancesin suburban Philadelphia last week, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.A three-member arbitration panel heard Landis' appeal of his dopingban in May. The panel is expected to issue a ruling sometime in the nextweek or so and the result could be appealed to the Court

It is becoming clear that there are two dominant riders in this year's cross country World Cup series - Julien Absalon (Orbea) and Irina Kalentyeva (Ergon-Topeak). Both won their respective men's and women's races at the fifth round in St-Felicien, Québec, on Sunday. It was the fourth win for Absalon and the third for Kalentyeva. With one race remaining, Absalon has mathematically won the men's series, while Kalentyeva increased her lead over Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain-Haywood), virtually assuring herself of the women's title. St-Felicien is a new venue for

Saunier Duval-Prodir riders will carry a bit less weight over the big climbs than other teams, since their innovative Castelli Superleggera jerseys weigh a mere 70 grams (in size L), less than half the weight of a traditional cycling jersey when dry. And a soaked Superleggera jersey (due to perspiration or rain) weighs only 140 grams, compared to 400 grams for a standard team jersey. Castelli claims that a Superleggera jersey would provide a one-minute advantage over the course of a five-hour mountain stage. Keep an eye on those jerseys in coming weeks.

If history is any indication, the 2007 Tour de France will be full of surprises. Whenever there are no former winners on the start line — as will be the case this year — anything can happen. That was certainly the case with last year’s race, which had the largest number of surprises since Lance Armstrong took the first of his seven victories in 1999 — the only other time in the past 30 years when there were no previous winners in the field. While uncertainty is a given, there are still favorites for the overall. The Astana team is led by two former podium finishers, German Andreas Klöden

Trek-Volkswagen teammates Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk grabbed a hard-fought sprint victory over local favorites Andreas Hestler and Kevin Calhoun (Rocky Mountain-Haywood Securities) on Sunday in stage 1 of the B.C. Bike Race on Vancouver Island. Eatough and Schalk covered the 67 miles from Sooke to Lake Cowichan, primarily gravel road with a pair of swoopy single-track sections, in 4:22:32. Hestler and Calhoun were five seconds back on Canada Day, with Manuel Prado and Jason First (La Ruta-Sho-Air) taking third at 2:14. The race features teams of two riders who must stay within two

Landis won't be wearing No. 1 in London on July 7

Times have changed in 104 years. Maurice Garin celebrates his Tour win with a smoke

No one - especially Landis - knows who will eventually be listed as winner of the 2006 Tour de France.

Moreau collects his first French road crown

TourTech: The advantage of lightweight jerseys?

The mountains may play an even bigger role than usual

Eatough and Schalk

Hestler and Eatough chat before the start

Home sweet home: The tent city in Lake Cowichan

Did we mention it was Canada Day?

Kalentyeva takes her third win

Premont said she was making little mistakes on the descents

Absalon collects win No. 4 and locks up the series

A late mechanical ended Hermida's chances

The cross-country mountain bike World Cup resumes on Sunday in St-Felicien, Quebec, a small town 300 kilometers northeast of last weekend's race at Mont Ste Anne. St-Felicien is a last minute replacement for Angelfire (New Mexico), after the organizers of the planned triple there abruptly pulled the plug last December. The area is a beautiful but sparsely populated region in the wilderness of eastern Quebec (roads, literally, end not far from St-Felicien). The area has never held a race of this magnitude before (they do have held a well-regarded Canada Cup race), however, Mont Ste Anne

German Jörg Jaksche, one of dozens of cyclists implicated in the Operación Puerto doping scandal that erupted last year, admitted Saturday that he used banned substances for years. In an interview published in Saturday's edition of the German weekly Der Spiegel, Jaksche admitted his involvement in the blood-doping network run by Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, where he was known by the pseudonym "Bella." "I'm Bella. It's my blood which was found in three bags (at Dr Fuentes offices). I was a client of Dr. Fuentes from 2005 to 2006 in Madrid," admitted the 30-year-old former

The newest player in mountain-bike stage racing debuts Sunday on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, when the B.C. Bike Race: The Pacific Traverse kicks off with a 67-mile run from Sooke to Lake Cowichan. It’s the first of seven stages that will see the inaugural event’s 200 racers make a 324-mile single-track-laden trip north and then inland toward the stage-7 finish at the famed Whistler ski and mountain bike resort. Total elevation gain for the week is in excess of 36,000 feet. A ferry ride will get the race caravan across the Strait of Georgia. Taking its cues from the likes of Costa

Jaksche won Paris-Nice in 2004.

Chris Eatough prepares for his 'taxi' ride . . .

. . . to Vancouver Island

Victoria

In an apparent vote of confidence, the Milram team has named Alessandro Petacchi to its Tour de France team despite suspending the sprinter for a suspicious doping test at the Giro d'Italia. The 33-year-old Petacchi won five stages at this year's Giro, however last week it was revealed he tested positive for elevated levels of Salbutamol, a substance primarily used to treat asthma.Salbutamol is a banned substance but riders suffering from asthma are allowed restricted use of the drug if they can provide a medical certificate. The World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list notes,

German Jörg Jaksche, one of dozens of cyclists implicated in the Operación Puerto doping scandal which erupted last year, is set to make a series of stunning revelations about current doping practices. Jaksche's lawyer Michael Lehner said on Friday the German, who has protested his innocence but been suspended from all competition due to his alleged links to the affair, will reveal all in German weekly magazine Der Spiegel on Monday. The Tour de France begins in London on July 7, and organizers and the sport's world ruling body have taken serious steps in a bid to finally bring an

Vinokourov has a lot riding on this team

Petacchi may be celebrating in July.

Giro d'Italia winner Danilo Di Luca and Milram sprint star Alessandro Petacchi have been asked to appear before the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) next week as part of two separate doping investigations. Petacchi hopes to to clear his name in time for the Tour de France, which begins a week from Saturday in London. The 33-year-old Italian sprinter, who as a precautionary rather than an official measure has been suspended by his team, will be interviewed on the morning of Monday, July 2 by CONI's anti-doping prosecutor, Ettore Torri. CONI is the governing body for all sport in

The lightest buckle road shoe on the market, a 184-gram helmet worn by five ProTour teams and a host of new and refined bicycles were just a few of Specialized’s planned road offerings for 2008, shown to the international media late this week in Navacerrada, Spain. There was plenty to gawk at, including the Transition time-trial rig with hidden rear brake and the new Tarmac SL2 featuring a beefy 1.5-inch lower steerer tube and massive chainstays. The Tarmac SL2 also offered the first semi-public glimpse of the upcoming top-shelf road group from SRAM, dubbed Red. Although none of the demo

Petacchi hopes to get the Salbutamol issue settled by next week.

The Tarmac SL2

Every little bit counts. The Transition tucks its rear brake where it produces the least drag.

S-Works Ruby

Specialized unveils ’08 goods, plus a peek at SRAM Red