All Content

Stage 12. Can you blame anyone for leaving?

In a Giro d’Italia that’s being hyped as a showdown between the young guns, a pair of grizzled veterans stole the spotlight in Tuesday’s grueling 250km climbing stage sun-baked mountains above Genova. Leonardo Piepoli and Andrea Noè, two unsung workhorses in an age of millionaire GC captains, clawed their way to the podium at the end of an explosive battle that saw the end of Marco Pinotti’s pink jersey run.

German rider Danilo Hondo said on Tuesday he was abandoning his legal fight against a two-year suspension for doping and would concentrate on resuming his career next year. "There are too many uncertainties to continue with legal appeals," Hondo said. "I am now going to wait for the end of my suspension. I'm sure I can ride for another three or four years." His ban ends in January 2008. Hondo, 33, who rode under a Swiss license for the Gerolsteiner team, was suspended after he twice tested positive for the banned stimulant carphedon during the Tour of Murcia in Spain in March 2005. He

Michael Rasmussen hasn’t raced a mountain bike since the 2001 world championships, when he flatted 2km from what looked like an all-but-certain second world title. Since switching to the road, the Dane has evolved into one of the most consistent climbers in the peloton, winning back-to-back best-climber’s jerseys and a stage each year at the 2005-06 Tours de France. For 2008, Rasmussen will be taking another stab at the fat tires in a bid to earn a spot on the Danish Olympic team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. “I just received my mountain bike from Colnago yesterday at my bike

Side steppin'Dear Lennard,Regarding your April 10, 2007 article "Whatis it?", I was wondering if you had any thoughts or opinions on modern-daypedal systems which are attempting to bring the ball of the foot directlyto where the pedal spindle typically is. The two that cometo mind are SideMount pedal (SMP) of Pasadena, CA and VistaMagic X of France.DavidDear David,I have not used the Vista Magic X, but I’ve used Steve Lubanski’s SideMount Pedal and Tom Slocum’s HighSierra dropped pedal built into a Speedplay. Both of them feel absolutelyfantastic to pedal with; most riders would be amazed

Old Wives’ Tales; Traditions; Superstitions: Most people have a few they abide by, knowing that they’re not really factual, but they like the ideas or the story behind them. Euros, and particularly those in the cycling world, have a particular affinity to odd beliefs and one of the most joked about topics by Americans racing in Europe is “Euro Logic”. When a country is specified it normally becomes “Belgian Logic”. Most likely the fond memories of the time that most of our generation spent in Izigem with the u23 National team have something to do with this. While most people admit that

American Olympic cross-country hopeful Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Gary Fisher) of Boulder, Colorado, scored an impressive third place finish at the sixth round of Germany’s Budesliga national series in Albstadt on May 20. Irmiger finished four minutes down on Russian Irina Kalentyeva (Ergon-Topeak) and three minutes behind German national champion Sabine Spitz (Ghost International). “The course really suits me,” Irmiger said. “The long climb mentally is very [good] for me. The people were screaming so loud, it was amazing. I never had [a race] like this.” Irmiger’s podium performance came

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. We could probably come up with any assortment of artistic and aesthetic reasons for naming this week’s winning photograph. Hey, some of you might even buy it. Bottom line, though, is that after a week of tawdry doping news, the thought of heading to Moab with our young son had a lot more appeal than did a picture of some top-of-the-heap pro’ bike racer racing to the line for a paycheck. Sorry. So we’re naming Matthew

What’s more important, character or science? That was the principal question on the penultimate day of the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing, and could be the crux of whether or not Landis is found guilty of using synthetic testosterone to win the 2006 Tour de France. In one corner was USADA attorney Matt Barnett, who used most of Tuesday’s morning session to attack Landis’s integrity, wondering about the spate of doping offenses on his Phonak team, why he’d penned a hateful Internet post directed at Greg LeMond, and what motivated him to stand by when his business manager made a

German doctors Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid, implicated in systematic doping by a former Telekom team cyclist, were suspended on Tuesday by their employer, the University Hospital Freiburg. "This measure was taken in consultation with the two interested parties: it is provisional, the time for the independent commission of inquiry to make its conclusions known," the hospital said in a statement, adding that they were ending their association with the team that evolved out of Telekom, T-Mobile. Heinrich and Schmid ended their association with T-Mobile after revelations by a former

Piepoli held off some powerful climbers.

'Chicken' wants to race the road and the trail in Beijing

Di Luca reeled in and ultimately passed the young Schleck

Noè wasn't feeling too grumpy after the stage finish.

This was the second long break for Hincapie in this Giro

Liquigas put a lot into the chase

Parra tries to hold off the inevitable...

Piepoli makes contact first.

A good day for Saunier Duval

Hincapie has been busy.

The escapees

Irmiger is improving on the international scene.

My 14-year-old-son riding the porcupine 4X4 trail, Moab, Utah

In a nation that’s produces sprinters like Texas churns out linebackers, Danilo Napolitano hardly rated on the power rankings in the Italian sprinter hierarchy. All that changed Monday for the 26-year-old Sicilian when he bullied his way past Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto) and Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) to win the 177km ninth stage by a whisker.

Dr. Brent Kay, heretofore Landis’ personal physician, steps into Geoghegan’s role.

For the first time of his career, Dave Zabriskie is making a serious stab at the overall classification of a grand tour. Without putting too much pressure on himself, Zabriskie is hoping to be able to stay close to the Italian mountain goats for as long as possible and make a solid showing when the Giro ends June 3 in Milan. “I know I can finish a three-week tour. I am going to try harder than I have in the mountains,” Zabriskie told VeloNews. “We’ll see how I can do in the GC. I want to see how I can do, but I don’t want too much pressure, either.” Team CSC entered the 2007 Giro with a

In its first day of racing in Europe the Kodak Gallery Pro Cycling Team presented by Sierra Nevada Brewing came out swinging at the FBD Insurance Ras on Sunday, with young rider Jesse Anthony capturing the King of the Mountain jersey and team sprinter Dominique Rollin taking fourth place on the stage. On an uncharacteristically sunny day, the field set off from Naas after a brief morning transit from Dublin. Enthusiastic crowds assembled to greet the race as the riders took a neutralized parade ride through the village streets. Once outside of town, it didn't take long for the racing

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,

If Floyd Landis is cleared of charges that he used synthetic testosterone to win the 2006 Tour de France, Monday could go down as the arbitration-hearing version of stage 17. Bolstered by scientific testimony from a pair of defense side experts, the Landis team appeared to poke significant holes in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s allegation that he cheated his way to victory on the Champs-Elysees. Landis had been scheduled to take the stand on the seventh day of this nine-day hearing at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, but his turn didn’t come up until late afternoon, and the

Brad Huff and Jennie Reed scored two gold medals for the United States as the Pan American Road and Track Championships got under way Monday in Valencia, Venezuela. Huff won the men’s omnium with 15 points, narrowly beating Colombia’s Juan Arango (16) and the Dominican Republic’s Jorge Perez (16) in the five-event competition. In the omnium, the lowest score wins. Huff finished second in the 200-meter time trial, fifth in the scratch race, third in the individual pursuit and fifth in the points race before clinching his overall victory with a close win in the kilometer time trial. In the

Napolitano nails it at the line in Lido Di Camaiore.

Milram worked hard to deliver Petacchi to the line.

The piano ride up the Passo del Cerreto

The break never posed a big threat

Pinotti enjoyed another day in the lead.

What does tomorrow hold for Pinotti?

Zabriskie has won stages in each of the grand tours.

King Jesse

Landis looked calm and confident

Amory said he didn't think the results confirmed that doping occurred

Young tried backing down Amory

Meier-Augenstein said that based on what he had seen he 'would not have great confidence in the results'

Kurt-Asle Arvesen doesn’t win very often, but when he does, he has a knack for beating some pretty big names. The 32-year-old CSC rider scored his 15th professional win in Sunday’s 200km eighth stage ath the Giro d’Italia with style, out-sprinting reigning world champion Paolo Bettini (QuickStep) in a stinking hot stage that saw a 22-man breakaway featuring George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) take four minutes out of the main peloton.

Team Rocky Mountain-Haywood's World Cup pros Max Plaxton and Marie-HelenePremont dominated the cross-country today at the second round of the CanadaCup in Bromont, Quebec.  Both riders rode away from their respectivefields to win.  Premont leads the Canada Cup standings for women witha perfect win record, while another Rocky Mountain-Haywood rider - RaphaelGagne - takes over the men's lead from Neal Kindree (Kona) after finishingthird.The Bromont circuit is one of the oldest and most respected of the internationalcircuit, with a tradition stretching back to the world championships

Arvesen celebrates, as Bettini comes close again

Premont

Plaxton

Gagne now leads the series

Bettini has been trying to get in a break all week.

Hincapie was up there with teammate José Luis Rubiera

Once over the day's second climb, the group worked to keep its lead

T-Mobile worked to keep the gap to a minimum

Saunier Duval lends a hand with the chase

The leaders hit the Ferrari test track

Arveson has reason to celebrate.

Still in pink

Petacchi may prefer Monday's stage

It was a bike stab to turn the page on a year of suffering. Alessandro Petacchi jammed his bike across the line in Saturday’s seventh stage to win for the second time in a week and officially close the book on his long comeback from injury in last year’s Giro d’Italia. The Milram rider timed his move perfectly to win a high-octane sprint on the Mugello race circuit ahead of Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) and Paolo Bettini (QuickStep-Innergetic) by a half-wheel length.

George Hincapie is enjoying his first crack at the Giro d’Italia. The American national champion sat on the hood of the Discovery Channel team car Saturday morning as he soaked up the sights ahead of the start of the 254km seventh stage. The hilltop town of Spoleto was bathed in pink for the partenza and Hincapie was clearly digging the scene. “I am really enjoying the Giro,” Hincapie told VeloNews. “The racing is good but it’s a lot more relaxed here than the Tour. This is just what I needed.” Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that Hincapie’s never raced the Giro during his

“Everybody cheats. I just didn’t know.” — Dennis Christopher as Dave Stoller in “Breaking Away” Remember the scene in “Breaking Away” when the evil Team Cinzano rider stuffs a pump into goofy Italophile Dave Stoller’s spokes and shows him what big-time bike racing is really all about? That’s what happened Thursday in the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing. Unless I miss my guess, a whole bunch of bright-eyed contributors to the Floyd Fairness Fund suddenly found themselves sprawled in a muddy ditch alongside this race to the bottom, stunned by the revelation that the 2006 Tour de France

Floyd Landis took the witness stand in his own defense Saturday, saying that Greg LeMond misinterpreted his words and that he had nothing to do with a phone call his business manager made to the three-time Tour de France champion on the eve of his testimony at Landis’s arbitration hearing. Landis also denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs, and said his 2006 Tour victory was the product of hard work and determination. “It’s a matter of who I am,” said Landis during direct questioning from attorney Howard Jacobs, who concluded by asking Landis to explain why the three-man arbitration

Petacchi gets a second win.

Hincapie, before Saturday's start in Spoleto

Ah, for the good old days, when people just upshifted their rivals on hills or stuck pumps into their spokes

No way were these guys gonna get away.

Pinotti gets another day in pink.

Heading for the day's only hill.

Quick Step puts the hammer down.

American Aaron Olson

José Luis 'Chechu' Rubiera

Floyd on the stand

Catlin provides his perspective

The UCI is poised to appeal the Floyd Landis and Ivan Basso doping cases if stiff racing bans are not handed out. UCI president Pat McQuaid said Thursday cycling’s governing body would likely challenge anything less than two-year racing bans to the Court of Arbitration of Sport for the beleaguered Tour de France and Giro d’Italia champions. “We have to wait and see the evidence that comes forward, but if we don’t agree with the ruling, the UCI would appeal,” McQuaid told VeloNews. “If we think the evidence doesn’t support the decision, we can appeal it to CAS.” The Landis hearing opened

Danilo Di Luca called this one. Secure in his leader’s jersey at the end of Thursday’s stage to Frascati, the Liquigas rider said that Friday’s stage – with three moderate to tough climbs spread along the route – would be a prime opportunity for a break-away effort to succeed and perhaps relieve him of the pressure of defending the maglia rosa for a while. Right, on both counts.

Landis' friend and business manager Geoghegan admits to calling former Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, pretending to be his abusive uncle.

The rumors have been floating around for months that “Urko” — one of the infamous codenames found in the Operación Puerto dossier — could belong to Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro. No one dared touch it except a few anonymous web sites until Il Giornale, an Italian newspaper in Milan, published a story Wednesday without naming sources linking Pereiro to bags of blood with the pseudonym found in police raids last May. An angry Pereiro blasted the allegations Friday and said he would quit cycling if he’s forced to provide DNA samples to prove his innocence. “I have never spoken with Eufemiano

Day five of the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing started with a public admission of witness harassment and continued with a heartfelt doping confession by a suspended pro cyclist. In between it was more of the less sensational — but likely more critical — scientific testimony that will likely determine whether Landis is found guilty of using synthetic testosterone to win the 2006 Tour de France. The hearing continues Saturday with Landis himself scheduled to take the witness stand. If he beats the rap, he’ll hold onto his Tour title. Otherwise he faces a two-year racing ban, plus an