Paolo Bettini brings wife and daughter in tow for Friday's opening ceremony. With defending champ Ivan Basso out of the picture, the world champion will start with the No. 1 bib for Saturday's TTT
Giro d'Italia race director Angelo Zomegnan sports a cap from the Garibaldi aircraft carrier's crew
L-B-L champ Danilo Di Luca walks the walk
Riders hitch a ride back on a ferry to get back to hotels to rest up before Giro start
These sailors were happy to see the Giro's podium girls show up
French attacker Thomas Voeckler hopes to win a stage
No one was happy waiting for the ferry ride back from Maddelena Island
Team CSC's Dave Zabriskie carried the team banner on the walk down the launch pad on the Garibaldi
Could Simoni win his final Giro?
Fort Lewis's men took the Division 1 men's time trial
And the Fort Lewis women won their event, too
Abbott leads the Whitman women to a D-II victory
The UC-Santa Barbara mascot, the Gaucho, was out cheering on his team
CU rides to the runner-up spot
Defending champ UC-Davis rides to fourth place
The public prosecutor in the northern Italian town of Busto Arsizio has opened a doping investigation into Italian cycling star Ivan Basso, the ANSA news agency reported on Thursday. And the public prosecutor in the German town of Göttingen wants to hear from Basso regarding an inquiry involving a doctor suspected of supplying drugs to Eufemiano Fuentes, the physician at the center of the Operación Puerto blood-doping scandal that rocked last year’s Tour de France. The new investigations come after Basso admitted on Monday before the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) that he was involved in
The course for the 90th Giro d’Italia offers something for everyone — but the climbs in the final week should decide the winner. The May 12-June 3 grand tour has eight “flat” stages, five “mixed” stages, five mountain stages (with four summit finishes), two individual races against the clock (one of them a hill climb), and an opening team time trial that could see a bitter battle between the top teams — with CSC, starting with world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara and U.S. TT champ Dave Zabriskie, the favorite. Indeed, the opening stage TTT is a challenging 25.6km long, linking the
American continental road team BMC made history on Thursday when it won the team time trial at the May 9-13 Giro del Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy. It was a round of firsts for the team — its first European race, its first European win, and, according to team consultant and USA Cycling president Jim Ochowicz, BMC was the first all-American squad to win a team time trial in Europe. The win launched BMC’s Jonathan Garcia to the top of the general classification and landed Scott Nydam in second place overall. Both Garcia and Nydam were members of a 20-man breakaway during stage 1 that
The 2007 route
More than 500 riders will be on the roads of east Kansas this weekend,all vying for the title of “college cycling’s best” at the 2007 USA CyclingCollegiate Road National Championships. For the third straight year, racers will travel to Lawrence, hometo the University of Kansas, for the three-day event, held May 11-13.The University of California-Davis (Division I) and Whitman College(Division II) will look to defend their team titles in the event, whichfeatures a team time trial, road race and criterium. Awards are given tomen and women in the individual events, and teams in the TT and
Dear Monique,I just finished reading large sections of your book, which I find fantasticand will highly recommend to friends. With regards to supplements, onethat I take, but did not see mentioned is conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).Any thoughts on whether this is needed in a reasonably healthy diet? Iam an 80 kg, 46-year-old competitive road racer.Best regards,ChrisHi Chris,At this point there is no reason to add conjugated linoleic acid toa healthy diet or training diet as based on the current research. CLA hasbeen studied fairly extensively, but mostly in animals. In theseanimal
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,
USA Cycling has named Jess Schwartzkopf director of sponsorship and business development. Schwartzkopf comes to USA Cycling from EchoStar Satellite L.L.C., (DISH Network), where he had been marketing manager since April 2004. “The addition of Jess to our staff represents a major step forward in the continuing evolution of USA Cycling and our business development goals,” said Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling. “We are putting a great deal of emphasis on creating partnerships in the cycling industry and providing greater value for our members. Additionally, Jess’s appointment will greatly
Tyler Hamilton and Jörg Jaksche will not race the 2007 Giro d’Italia and have been suspended indefinitely “until the competent authorities ... have finally sorted out all the implication of the riders in Operación Puerto,” their Tinkoff Credit Systems team announced on Wednesday. In a press release, team management said the decision was aimed “at relieving pressure created around the Giro … and on the team itself” after statements made by other squads that decided to deny Giro starts to riders thought to have been implicated in the Spanish blood-doping inquiry. German sprinter Danilo Hondo
Carol Hutton, winner Mara Abbott and Anna Milkowski after last year's women's D-II event
Ft. Lewis drives to a TTT win last year
Hamilton is benched again
How can I record my bike position so I can duplicate it?
Making the transitionDear Lennard,I have spent a couple of years "tinkering" with my position on thebike. I feel like my position is now as close to perfect as possible.I am now worried that if I change shoes or damage my bike, etc. that Iam going to lose my "perfect position". What measurements shouldI record in order to duplicate my current setup on a new bike in the future?Also, I currently wear Sidi cycling shoes. How difficult is it toduplicate my cleat placement on a different manufacturer's shoes if I chooseto switch brands in the future?RyanDear Ryan,This is a perfect question for
Organizers of Costa Rica’s famed La Ruta de los Conquistadores mountain bike race unveiled an updated course Monday. For the first time in the event’s 15-year history, there will be a fourth day of racing. “We included a new stage on day 2 that will link the finish venue of day 1 with the start venue of day 3,” said La Ruta race director Luis Viquez during a press conference in San José, Costa Rica’s sprawling capital city. “Now we will truly cross Costa Rica from coast to coast.” Day 1 will depart from the Best Western Jacó Beach Hotel on the Pacific Coast, and finish 96km later at El Rodeo
Ivan Basso said Tuesday that even though he had planned to blood dope for the 2006 Tour de France, he had actually never taken banned drugs or used blood transfusions. Basso's comments at a press conference follow his admission on Monday to the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) that he was involved in the Operación Puerto blood doping scandal that rocked last year's Tour de France. "I have never taken banned substances and I have never employed blood doping," last year's Giro d’Italia champion told reporters in an emotional statement he read prior to the start of a press
"I experimented with marijuana a time or two. And I didn't like it, and didn't inhale, and never tried it again." — Bill Clinton, The New York Times, March 31, 1992 Anyone expecting great things following Ivan Basso’s solemn confession that he was the “Birillo” named in Operación Puerto should sit down, take a deep breath and a deeper drink, and recall how he or she felt when told that Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and compassionate conservative George W. Bush weren’t for real. This guy won’t even do a proper job of ratting himself out, much less anyone else. "I have never taken
Basso readies to meet the press.
Basso said he is willing to accept the consequences
Curtiss Gunn (Successfulliving.com) and Sarah Uhl (Cheerwine) won the finale to the USA Crits Southeast Series on Sunday, the Decatur Daily Downtown Criterium in Decatur, Alabama. Gunn spent most of the men’s race off the front with Mike Olheiser (Memphis Motor Werks), soaking up all the primes, then took an easy sprint win over the Cat. I from Huntsville. The women’s race saw Uhl and five other riders escape the field, with Uhl proving strongest at the finish, as the contenders for the overall sat on behind. When the final points were tallied, the overall titles went to Mark Hekman
Ivan Basso on Monday confessed to the anti-doping prosecutor of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) that he was involved in the Operación Puerto blood doping scandal. CONI said the 2006 Giro winner came to them of his own accord and offered to cooperate with their investigation and clarify his part in the scandal. Basso will face the media Tuesday at a midday press conference at Milan's Michelangelo hotel. The 29-year-old Basso now faces a ban from cycling of up to two years and an additional two-year exclusion from riding on ProTour teams. If his doping is connected to his 2006 Giro
Last Friday, we noted the impending limited release of the Graeme Obree biopic “The Flying Scotsman” and asked for your capsule reviews. We got that and more — several of you wrote to remind us of works we had overlooked in our abbreviated list of cycling films, including “6 Day Bike Rider,” a 1934 comedy starring Joe E. Brown; “Deux Secondes,” a Canadian film about an aging downhill racer who takes a job as a bicycle courier; “Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert,” a comedy-drama about the misfortunes of a Belgian cyclist; and “Tracks of Glory,” an Australian mini-series about the legendary champion
Giro d’Italia organizers on Monday released a preliminary start list for this year’s national tour of Italy, which is slated to begin on Saturday. In the absence of Ivan Basso, who on Monday confessed to his involvement in the Operación Puerto doping scandal, organizers have given the returning champion’s number plate – the No. 1 – to reigning world champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step). There are four North Americans on the 188-rider list, including Americans George Hincapie (Discovery), David Zabriskie (CSC), Aaron Olson (T-Mobile) and Mexican Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Ceramica Panaria –
Americans Georgia Gould (Luna) and Ryan Trebon (Kona) won the short-track cross-country at the National Mountain Bike Series stop at Southridge Park in Fontana, California. The May 4-6 event was the third round of the 2007 NMBS. Undefeated in 2007 NMBS cross-country races, Gould came into the race facing the toughest challenge from her Luna teammate Katerina Nash, Canadian great Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain-Haywood) and reigning American cyclo-cross champion Katie Compton (Spike). Compton, winner of the April 14 Sea Otter Classic short track, and Nash, victor at the second NMBS short track
'The Flying Scotsman': Your reviews
Gould hit the front and stayed there
Trebon tearing it up
Thousands of people beat the barriers lining downtown Anniston, Alabama, on Saturday as AEG-Toshiba-JetNetwork's Frank Travieso roared across the line to win the Sunny King Criterium. With several teams having abdicated their top-10 positions (among them Kodak Gallery's Dominique Rollin and Josh Thornton, Health Net's Kyle Gritters, and Rock Racing's Rahssan Bahati), the large crowd witnessed a decidedly revitalized field battling for points in the 2007 USA Crits Southeast series. Breakaway action came in the form of a quartet that included Yosvany Falcon
Argentina’s Juan Jose Haedo (CSC) won a sprint finish in Denmark’s Colliers Classic on Sunday. The Argentinean sprinter outkicked Alex Rasmussen (Team Odense Energi) and Jens-Erik Madsen (Team Designa Køkken) to win the 199.5km race, run around Aarhus. Top five1. Juan Jose Haedo (Arg), CSC, 199.5km in 4:41:102. Alex Rasmussen (Den), Team Odense Energi, same time3. Jens-Erik Madsen (Den), Team Designa Køkken, s.t4. Staffan Loffler (G), Team Sparkasse, s.t.5. Kurt Asle Arvesen (Nor), CSC, s.t.Complete results Nibali wins Giro di ToscanaItalian Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) won the 80th Giro di
Jonathan “Jock” Boyer may be best known as the first American cyclist to compete in the Tour de France. But these days, the 51-year-old has focused his passion on the central African nation of Rwanda. Along with longtime friend Tom Ritchey, Boyer is one of the key members of Project Rwanda, which aims to use cycling to accelerate Rwanda’s economic and social recovery from a brutal civil war and genocide. Ritchey’s involvement with the project centers on designing affordable bicycles to help Rwandan coffee growers distribute their crop. Boyer’s job is to establish and develop a team of elite
Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) won the final time trial and the overall on Sunday at the Tour of Romandie. The lanky Netherlander, who was Dutch time-trial champion in 2005, covered the 20.4km course around Lausanne in 26 minutes and 36 seconds to leap past overnight leader Chris Horner (Predictor-Lotto) in the overall standings. Horner’s 27:31 put him in seventh position on the day and dropped him to fifth overall. He could console himself with having correctly predicted the final outcome after taking the leader's jersey in Saturday's stage. "If I had to pick someone now, I would pick
The final stage of the 2007 Ben D. Altamirano Tour of the Gila ended with two pairs of winners — stage winners Scott Moninger (BMC) and Marisa Asplund (Tibco), and overall winners Nathan O'Neill (Health Net-Maxxis) and Mara Abbott (Webcor). The infamous Gila Monster stage began at Gough Park in Silver City and finished in Pinos Altos. The pro men’s field followed a 105.7-mile loop to its turnaround point at the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center, then went on to the finish in Pinos Altos, climbing 9131 feet. Pro women followed an abbreviated loop of 71.8 miles, bypassing the Gila Cliff
The men's podium
The women's podium
Boyer and Adrien Niyonshuti prepare for the first stage of the 2007 Absa Cape Epic
Team Rwanda riders Adrien Niyonshuti (right) and Rafiki Jean De Diu Uwimana
The team takes a training ride on Park Avenue in Moab, Utah
The team as it prepared to race the Tour of the Gila in Silver City, New Mexico
Dekker wins the finale and the overall
Horner rode well enough to stay in the top five overall
The men's podium
Moninger wins the stage and takes third overall
O'Neill celebrates his overall victory
Asplund wins the women's finale
The women's podium
Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid) scored his second victory in the 2007 USA Crits Southeast series on Friday, crossing the line with relative ease on a cool, cloudy night in Spartanburg, South Carolina. With some of the more well-known squads exiting the series for other races and rest blocks (among them Health Net and BMC), the dynamic throughout the SmithBarney Classic was a mixture of agitation and fatigue as tired riders looked for fresh opportunities in a shrinking assembly.
Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych will lead Discovery Channel during the Giro d’Italia following the departure of last year's champion, Ivan Basso. The 27-year-old heads up a team with great experience - 58 grand tours among them - with a view to winning at least one stage and wearing the overall leader's pink jersey at some point during the race, which runs from May 12 to June 3. Popovych, third in the 2003 Giro, replaces Basso after the Italian quit the team last Monday, saying that ongoing suspicions regarding his alleged connection to the Operación Puerto scandal were damaging the
Chris Horner (Predictor-Lotto) seized the overall lead of the Tour of Romandie on Saturday as Igor Anton Hernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) won the penultimate stage in Morgins. "The Tour of Romandie is a great race and this was a great mountain stage, so it's a great win for a climber like me," Anton told Reuters afterward. Anton Hernandez was off the front with a lead of some 10 seconds when Horner attacked with 3km remaining in stage 4, a rain-soaked, crash-marred 155.9km leg between Charmey and Morgins. Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) and John Gadret (Ag2r) quickly grabbed his wheel, and soon
Brice Jones (Jelly Belly) and Jill McLaughlin (Touchtone Climbing) took commanding wins at the Downtown Silver City Criterium, the fourth stage of the 2007 Ben D. Altamirano Tour of the Gila. The stage did little to shake up the general classification, with Nathan O’Neill (Health Net-Maxxis) and Mara Abbott (Webcor) retaining their pink leader’s jerseys. Wind and blowing dust assaulted both the professionals and amateurs who raced around the 1.1-mile downtown circuit, which included two short, punchy climbs. The small ascents created separations in both pro races — but the course’s long,
Georgia Gould (Luna) and Canadian Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) won the May 5 National Mountain Bike Series cross-country race at Southridge Park in Fontana, California. The two, who both won the NMBS cross-country rounds in Fountain Hills, Arizona, and Santa Ynez, California and claimed the April 15 Sea Otter Classic cross-country, are unbeaten this year on North American soil. As she has done all season, Gould simply rode away from the women’s field from the get-go. Her teammate Katerina Nash held Gould’s wheel for the first of two laps around the 7.5-mile course, but then Gould powered away on
The podium at Spartanburg
Dekker gestures as Anton goes for the win
Horner in yellow
Horner, Dekker and Gadret
Gould rode away from the competition
Kabush struggled on the climbs, but still had enough in the tank to take the win
While they may disagree about the structure of the ProTour, race organizers, team representatives and the UCI joined in what they called “a sacred union” to fight doping by excluding suspect riders and stepping up random drugs tests in the run-up to the grand tour season. Representing their respective constituencies, UCI president Pat McQuaid, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme, and Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere said there is near universal agreement that teams will at least temporarily bar riders formally implicated in the Spanish 'Operación Puerto' doping
After several close calls, AEG-Toshiba-JetNetwork finally cracked the code on day 5 of the 2007 USA Crits Southeast series. Taking a good 5-meter gap on Martin Gilbert (Kelly Benefits), Keith Norris blasted through a serious headwind that swept through Greenwood, South Carolina, during the final moments of Thursday's Uptown Greenwood Pro Cycling Challenge. "With 15 laps to go the wind started kicking up really bad, and going through the turn you could actually feel it catching your wheels,” Norris said. “At turn number four I jumped and started sprinting. The cookie crumbled the right
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,
Italian rider Matteo Bono (Lampre-Fondital) won the third stage of the Tour de Romandie on Friday, but his breakaway group narrowly failed to deprive Paolo Savoldelli (Astana) of the yellow jersey after they squandered a 19-minute lead. The experienced Savoldelli held on to his overall lead by just a handful of seconds over fellow Italian Marco Pinotti (T-Mobile) after his rivals tired and hesitated in the final kilometers. Pinotti had been more than four minutes behind Savoldelli in the overall standings, in 98th place, at the start of the day. Bono and third-placed Pinotti had led for
Michael Rasmussen’s road back from a career-threatening crash in last October’s Giro dell’Emilia continues in the Giro d’Italia. The Danish climbing specialist is hoping to be back in peak form in time for a run at a third consecutive King of the Mountains crown at the Tour de France, and the mountainous profile of the Giro provides the perfect training ground. “I am doing the Giro, only as preparation for the Tour, though,” Rasmussen told VeloNews in an e-mail. “If the legs are good, I might try something in a few stages. If not, I am prepared to take a beating. I guess the latter scenario
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