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Comunidad Valenciana – the continental team which has taken more licks than most in the fallout of “Operación Puerto” – received some good news late last week from the Spanish courts. The team was notified that none of 13 riders supposedly implicated in the ongoing police investigation have any pending legal action against them, essentially clearing them of allegations that have dogged the team since mid-May. Thirteen riders were cleared after a court secretary notified the team with an official document dated July 28. The riders cleared include: Vicente Ballesteros, David Bernabéu, David

Marga Fullana scored a big victory over the seemingly unbeatable Gunn-Rita Dahle by taking gold in Sunday’s European mountain bike championships in Italy. The rail-thin Spanish rider from Mallorca took 1:31 out of the Norwegian dominator to claim her biggest win in years. “I dedicate this win to all those who kept believing in me,” said Fullana, who scored silver at the Sydney Olympic Games, but faded out of the picture following a string of personal problems. “I have demonstrated that I am still here, that I have fully recovered and have confidence I can return to be on the highest steps of

Don’t expect any quick resolutions in the Floyd Landis doping case if his counter-analysis comes back as positive. The counter-analysis for the follow-up “B” sample is expected as early as this week, but the entire disciplinary and appeal process could last until late this year, meaning Landis will likely officially retain his Tour de France crown until that process is completed. According to the UCI, the process is well-defined if the 30-year-old returns a positive counter-analysis from samples taken after Stage 17 into Morzine of the Tour de France. Because Landis races with an American

The Union Cycliste Internationale demanded on Monday the “B” sample of Tour de France winner Floyd Landis be tested so that the doping scandal could be resolved sooner rather than later. The 30-year-old American is facing the loss of his title and a two year ban after he returned a positive test for abnormal levels of testosterone following his win in the 17th stage of the Tour earlier this month. However while Landis has protested his innocence the UCI moved on Monday to hasten up the process - by asking the laboratory Châtenay-Malabry to go ahead and test the “B” sample as Landis has

Madrid, Spain (AP) -- Tour de France champion Floyd Landis officially requested the testing of his backup urine sample Monday in an effort to clear his name of doping allegations. "We've sent the fax to the UCI this afternoon," said Jose Maria Buxeda, one of Landis's two Spanish lawyers. "Now we'll have to adjust to their calendar." Landis tested positive for an unusual testosterone/epitestosterone ratio following the 17th stage of the Tour de France, where he made a stunning solo breakaway in the Alps to put himself back into contention for victory after a poor performance the

The team has been cleared but not until after Belda's year had been ruined.

While Floyd Landis traveled back to the United States this weekend, his fate and the outcome of his counter-analysis are still pending in Europe. The test results of the “B” sample could be known as early as Monday, but a bank holiday in France could delay the test another day or two if it already hasn’t been carried out. Landis’s lawyers said in a Saturday press conference that they don’t expect any changes in the counter-analysis. “We’re expecting that [counter-analysis] will return positive because he produced it,” said José María Buxeda, one of two Spanish attorneys Landis has

T-Mobile said Sunday it would part company with manager Olaf Ludwig as it seeks to clean up the team's image following the drugs scandal that embroiled sacked rider Jan Ullrich. T-Mobile said in a statement that it would terminate its contract with Ludwig's OLC company, which is responsible for its men's cycling team, one year ahead of schedule after a loss of confidence in the organisation. "After long discussions before and after the Tour de France, we have decided to terminate our contract with OLC from October 31 this year," T-Mobile said in a statement. The contract had

Some of Oscar Freire’s biggest wins have come at the expense of one man: That perennial German warrior Erik Zabel. The Spanish sprinter took his third world title in 2004 in Verona in Italy with Zabel taking second, a win that came months after Freire out-stabbed Zabel on the Via Roma to win Milan-San Remo that spring. In Sunday’s Vattenfall Cyclassics, Freire once again revealed he has one of the best bike stabs in the game, sneaking away with a photo-finish mass sprint with Zabel getting the worse end of the bargain. Last year’s winner Filippo Pozzato came through third.FULLRESULTS “I

Sao Paolo, Brazil (July 29, 2006)—The United States Cycling Team capturedthree world championships and added four more medals to its medal countSaturday as the 2006 UCI BMX World Championships continued with cruiserclass competition.Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.) and Danny Caluag (Chino, Calif.) providedthe highlight of the day for Team USA as the duo threw a 1-2 punch in theelite men’s race to capture a world title and a silver medal respectively. Amanda Geving (Largo, Fla.) rode to a gold medal in the junior women’scategory and Joe Sowers III (Glendale, Ariz.) won the junior men’s

Normally, the final stage of a stage race is supposed to be more of a celebratory parade than a decisive day in the saddle. But that's never been the case at the International Tour de Toona. Coming into the final stage, the top-2 men overall - Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) and Chris Baldwin (Toyota United) - were separated by only 3 seconds on general classification with 52-seconds of time bonuses up for grabs. Any one individual could win a maximum of 30-seconds. Kyle Wamsley (Colavita - Sutter Homes) would take the stage win, but the battle for yellow continued throughout the

One year after he was forced to pull out because of gastro-intestinal issues and exhaustion, Chris Eatough (Trek-Volkswagen) claimed the solo National 24-hour Championship, beating second-place Nat Ross (Subaru-Gary Fisher) by one lap. Held at the 24-Hours of Nine Mile in Wasau, Wisconsin, organizers had to call the race after 22 and 1/2 hours because of severe thunderstorms. Eatough had lapped the field by that time, and was declared the winner. Taking the women’s race was Rebecca Rusch. Check back for a complete report from VeloNews.com's Fred Dreier. 2006 NORBA NATIONAL 24 HOUR

Landis faces the press in Madrid

Mass Gallop: Freire takes a close one in Hamburg

The Waseberg was the day's major hurdle.

Gilbert and Wegmann give it a go.

Rebellin on the attack

Hamburg

The usual suspects

Armstrong and Lagutin wrap up 'Toona titles

Armstrong and Lagutin wrap up 'Toona titles

Floyd Landis, fighting a doping scandal that could cost him the Tour de France crown, made his case on US television on Friday and received a vote of confidence from seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong. Landis, appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live" programme from Madrid, reiterated that his positive test for an abnormal testosterone-to-epitestosterone level "was a shock as much to me as anyone else." He said he would do everything he could to clear his name. "I'm going to do my best to defend my dignity and my innocence," said the American who rides for the Swiss-based Phonak

CNN’s Larry King LiveInterview with Floyd LandisJuly 28, 2006 LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Last Sunday American Floyd Landis won cycling’s biggest race, the Tour de France. He did it after one of the most dramatic comebacks in the history of the event but a doping test which showed an abnormality has cast a major doubt over the victory and today in his first public appearance since the controversy broke, Landis proclaimed his innocence and he joins me now from Madrid. Was all this, Floyd, a shock to you? FLOYD LANDIS, BICYCLIST: Good evening, Larry, and yes, it was a shock as much to me as to

T-Mobile boss Olaf Ludwig on Saturday denied speculation his cycling team's sponsors had demanded his dismissal for his apparent defense of tainted star rider Jan Ullrich. "There has been no sacking or breaking of contract," Ludwig said before a meeting of sporting directors on the eve of the HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg. "There have been discussions and there will be more in the days to come." The former professional cyclist, the team's owner via his OLC company, has a contract until 2008 with phone company T-Mobile. But Ludwig angered the sponsors by suggesting things could

Saturday's epic 145.9km point-to-point road race was all it was cracked up to be - causing a decisive shift in the men's overall classification, although not without controversy. Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) won the race from a 6-man group sprint, snatching a 20-second time bonus and the yellow jersey along with it. Chris Baldwin (Toyota United) finished second, taking a 15-second time bonus, and putting him into second overall. Baldwin now trails Lagutin by only 3 seconds in general classification going into tomorrow's criterium, which has a total of 52 seconds of time

Landis at a Friday press conference in Madrid

Lagutin wins

Mezies is forced to give a hard chase after missing a turn on the route

Tea Time: Armstrong's Lipton squad patrolled the front

Van Gilder gets a stage win

Floyd Landis is poised to make the wrong kind of history if his counter-analysis comes back positive: he could become the first Tour de France winner to lose his crown for a doping violation. On Thursday, Landis vehemently denied allegations he doped en route to winning the wild 2006 Tour, but if results of his “B” sample confirm initial tests that revealed “unusual” testosterone levels in his urine, Landis could lose his Tour victory. “All I want to do is ask that everybody take a step back,” Landis said. “All I'm asking for is just that I be given a chance to prove that I'm

The first ProTour cycling event since the Floyd Landis positive doping test, the Vattenfall Cyclassics, takes place in Hamburg, Germany, on Sunday when team and UCI officials will surely be talking about the matter. Though Sunday's 250km, 11th edition of the HEW Cyclassics in theory should be the main event, it is likely that the cycling world will still be taking stock of the news of the positive test for testosterone by the Tour de France winner which broke on Thursday. Of course Landis will not be present at the race but team staff, sponsors, UCI officials and riders will have

Dublin, Ireland (AP) -- The president of the world governing body for cycling pledged Friday he would wage "a crusade against doping" after Tour de France winner Floyd Landis tested positive for elevated levels of performance-enhancing testosterone. UCI president Pat McQuaid cautioned that while Landis' first urine sample tested suspiciously positive with the substance, "we have to wait for the B sample before we can start the sanctioning process." Nonetheless, McQuaid agreed with a suggestion that the cloud of suspicion over Floyd was the “worst possible outcome” for this year's

Questions of possible use of a banned steroid by Tour de France champion Floyd Landis were raised because of a urine test that spots elevated levels of performance-enhancing testosterone. The test detects both testosterone and a related steroid called epitestosterone, which is not performance-enhancing. Both are produced by the body and are also made in synthetic form. Landis's Phonak team said his urine sample showed "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone" when he was tested after his amazing come-from-behind performance in the 17th stage of the race on July 20. The usual

UCI ready to release ‘Puerto’ documents Amid the Floyd Landis doping scandal, the UCI released a communiqué late Thursday outlining the next steps in the “Operación Puerto” doping investigation in Spain. With Spanish authorities continuing its investigation, the UCI is moving forward with its own process to discipline riders with alleged contacts with the suspected blood doping ring operated out of Spain. “The UCI is preparing to send the files of riders involved in [Operación Puerto] to the national federations concerned and has asked for disciplinary proceedings to be started in

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.Balance neededEditor,Thanks for printing such a narrow spectrum of self-righteous anti-doping pander in your letters section. If this news about Floyd is true it is not disgusting or offensive as your readers claim, only heartbreaking.Jon GrabenstatterColumbus, OhioWhat next?Editor:Et tu,

Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, facing the loss of his title in a doping scandal, on Friday again insisted he was innocent. The 30-year-old rider said that his positive test for testosterone showed up levels which "are absolutely natural and produced by my own organism". Landis said he was in Madrid to consult with his legal team and added he was willing to undergo whatever tests the sport's authorities asked of him to establish his innocence. "Until such research has been carried out I ask not to be judged and much less to be sentenced by anyone," Landis told a news conference at

A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.Diane Arbus Doping is sport's photograph; Its dirty secret. And the more we see it, the more we think it tells us, the less we really know. By now you're either enraged, puzzled, mystified, or fed up with the latest installment of the seemingly never-ending saga of doping in cycling and its current poster boy, Floyd Landis. Photographs, illustrations, graphs, and reams of information broadcast and published have attempted to make sense of something that doesn't make sense. The more it tells you, the

The Astana cycling team, thrown out of the Tour de France when several of its riders were linked to a Spanish doping scandal, will compete in this weekend's Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg, the team announced on Friday. Led by Kazakh star Alexandre Vinokourov and directed by Australian Neil Stephens, the team will also take part in the Tour of Germany on August 1-9. The UCI on Thursday announced the team, formerly known as Liberty Seguros, could continue competing as long as none of its riders or officials were linked to Spain's Operation Puerto investigation. The UCI's

Floyd Landis, facing the loss of his Tour de France crown in a doping scandal, won't appear as scheduled Friday on comedian Jay Leno's "Tonight Show," but will appear via satellite on CNN's "Larry King Live." "Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is no longer scheduled to appear on'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,'" a statement from "Tonight Show" network NBCconfirmed on Friday. In fact, Landis was still in Europe on Friday, giving a press conference in Madrid in which he protested his innocence. Landis tested positive for an abnormally high Testosterone/Epitestosterone

Friday's fifth stage at the International Tour de Toona ended in breakaway finishes for both the men and women with no effect on general classification. The men raced four 20-mile circuits through the Mennonite farmlands of Martinsburg, Penn. Bernard van Ulden (Navigators Insurance) outsprinted Mark McCormack (Colavita/Sutter Homes) in a 3-up breakway that was out in front for 79 of the stage's 80 miles. For the women's race, it was Brooke Miller (Palo Alto Bicycles/TIBCO) who nipped Webcor's Felicia Gomez at the line in The pro men's race started off aggressive from

Landis may become the first rider in 102 years to be stripped of the yellow jersey

Speculation and rumors are flying over which name might be behind the positive doping test from the Tour de France after overall winner Floyd Landis pulled out of a pair of lucrative post-Tour criteriums Wednesday and Thursday. Protocol designed to protect the anonymity of involved parties until a second “B” sample can confirm a doping violation hasn’t stopped media around the globe from going into overdrive, many suggesting that the unnamed rider could well be Landis. The UCI revealed Wednesday that the anti-doping laboratory at Châtenay-Malabry in Paris discovered an “adverse analytical

The Phonak Cycling Team confirmed Thursday that Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is the rider who submitted a positive "A" sample following the 17th stage of this year's Tour de France. Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said in a statement issued Thursday. The statement came a day after the UCI, cycling's world governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the Tour. And the statement came just four days after Landis stood on the victory podium on the Champs-Elysees, succeeding seven-time winner

Comunidad Valenciana saw its wild-card bid to start the upcoming Vuelta a España revoked late Thursday by race officials. Citing the team’s alleged links to the ongoing doping investigation in Spain, race officials said the continental team is no longer invited to the season’s final three-week stage race, set for Aug. 26-Sept. 17. The team will not be replaced. Vuelta officials based its decision on tough anti-doping language in the ProTour’s Ethics Code – the same rationale cited by Tour de France officials last month when it left out nine riders from four teams ahead of the start in

The managers of Germany’s ZDF said Thursday the public television network might cease broadcasting the Tour de France in reaction to winner Floyd Landis testing positive for testosterone. "We signed a broadcasting contract for a sporting event, not a show demonstrating the performances of the pharmaceutical industry," ZDF editor-in-chief Nikolaus Brender said. "We are going to think about our future as broadcaster and maybe refuse to broadcast this event." Even before the race started on July 1 it was engulfed in doping controversy, with top German contender Jan Ullrich, his T-Mobile

Last Thursday, after he witnessed the phenomenal solo breakaway by Floyd Landis into Morzine that put the American in position to win the Tour de France, UCI president Pat McQuaid was quivering with excitement. “I followed Landis in the car of [race director] Jean-Marie Leblanc and I’ve never seen anything like it,” McQuaid told VeloNews. “That was cycling at its most beautiful.” One week later, speaking by phone from Sweden, where he had just taken part in a 50km fun ride with former world team time trial champion Erik Petterson and 700 other cycling enthusiasts, McQuaid was in a very

There was universal shock and dismay following news that Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is the rider behind the A sample. Here is a sampling of reactions from key players in the sport: Jonathan Vaughters, ex-pro, CEO of Slipsteam Sports and manager of the TIAA-CREF, to VeloNewsI believe Floyd is innocent. The majority of T/E tests are over-turned at the CAS level. The guy will probably be proven innocent in eight months time, but in the short-term, the media is killing him. Floyd is basically paying for the sins of all the morons who came before him, who have denied, denied, denied. He’s

The Landis family does not appreciate being mobbed. Floyd Landis’s mother left her Farmersville, Pennsylvania house after being swamped by reporters in the wake of the Tour de France winner’s over-the-limit testosterone A sample news. Then, late Thursday night, Floyd Landis held a telephone press conference where he declined to disclose his location. “Not to be elusive, but I have to figure out a way to get home and stay anonymous,” the California resident said from Europe. Landis and his sports agent held the telephone conference to address the testosterone question, and to deny he had

(Hollidaysburg, Penn.) - The Tour de 'Toona's fourth day of racing took place Thursday in Hollidaysburg - where the Slinky toy is manufactured - and did not result in any significant changes on general classification, allowing the sprinters to take center stage. Juan Jose "JJ" Haedo (Toyota United) easily took the uphill sprint, scoring the team's second stage victory. The men's race saw several mutt breakaways go up the road, but none posed a serious threat on the undulating course. In the women's race 4-time national criterium champion Tina Pic (Colavita) maintained

Preliminary indications suggest that at least one rider at the Tour de France did not follow this young woman's advice.

The respective federations of all three podium finishers deny contact from the UCI

Landis on the attack on Stage 17

Landis in yellow

It's been an emotional roller coaster for Landis

Juan Haedo

A day of frantic attacks

Hi-speed 'toona

Pic avoided the crash and took the stage

Armstrong's Lipton crew kept a close watch on GC threats

Levi Leipheimer will join Discovery Channel next season, the American cycling team confirmed Wednesday. Leipheimer had finished 13th overall and claimed second place in one of the Pyrenees stages of this year's Tour de France with German team Gerolsteiner. "I am very excited about riding for this team," said the winner of the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré. According to a release issued by Specialized, the bike sponsor of Leipheimer’s current team, the American notified the company that he was leaving at the end of the year. "My best results, wins at the Tour of Germany and Dauphiné Libéré,

Mariano Friedick (Toyota United) scored a 10-second winner's time bonus to take the lead at the International Tour de Toona on Tuesday. Meanwhile, four-time national criterium champion Tina Pic (Colavita) took the stage-2 field sprint ahead of Lipton's Laura van Gilder, but Alison Powers (Advil-Chapstick) retained the yellow jersey heading into Wednesday’s decisive 98-mile stage, which features a Category 1 climb over Blue Knob ski resort at mid-race. In the men’s race, a five-man breakaway got away early and nearly made it until the end. Stefano Barberi (Toyota-United) and Bernard

Americans returned from the 38th Tour de l'Abitibi this weekend where some of the nation’s best junior cyclists claimed three stage wins and fifth place overall. One of the most prestigious junior stage races in the world, the 2.HC rated UCI event is the only North American junior race on the UCI Calendar and is often referred to as the "Tour de France for juniors." More than 160 junior cyclists, including 54 Americans, from seven countries lined up for eight stages in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northern Quebec. U.S. National Team rider Kevin Soller (Breckenridge, Colorado)

Frankie Andreu, co-director of the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team has been fired, purportedly for missing a trip to Nevada's Tour de Nez in late June. Andreu, who just completed a month-long reporting assignment at the Tour de France for the Outdoor Life Network, said he learned of his dismissal soon after returning to his home in Michigan. “On July 25th, 2006, the day after I returned home from the Tour de France, I was informed that my contract was being terminated by the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team," Andreu said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday. "I was very surprised and

Anti-doping tests conducted during the recently completed 93rd Tour de France have turned up an “adverse analytical finding,” the UCI confirmed Wednesday. The name of the rider will not be released to the public until further tests are conducted. The rider and their team, national doping and cycling federations as well as the World-Anti Doping Agency have been notified. Under anti-doping rules, a second “B” sample will be tested to confirm the results. If both samples come up positive, the rider will face sanctions for a failed doping test. If the “B” sample comes back negative, no sanction

Five Astaná riders who were forced out of the 2006 Tour de France because of alleged links to a blood doping investigation have been formally cleared by Spanish courts. Joseba Beloki, Isidro Nozal, Sergio Paulinho, Allan Davis and Alberto Contador have all received a written document officially clearing them of any links to the ongoing “Operación Puerto,” the Spanish newspaper El Diario Vasco reported Wednesday. The five riders received a legal document signed by Manuel Sánchez Martín, secretary for the Spanish court heading up the “Operación Puerto” investigation, stating, “there are not

Wednesday’s 96-mile point-to-point road race took the riders through four counties starting from the Johnstown Galleria Mall and finishing at the Logan Valley Mall in Altoona. The yellow jersey would change hands in both the men's and women's race on a day of attrition over an undulating course. Frank Pipp (Target Training) was the surprise winner in the men's race, nipping prologue winner Karl Menzies (Health Net) and Ciaran Powers (Navigators) at the line. The 20-second time bonus was enough to put Pipp into second place overall. But Menzies second place finish was good enough

Friedick (left) and Haedo celebrate their one-two punch

The break nearly stuck

Health Net chases

Pic gets the stage

Beloki, leaving the Tour last month

Armstrong tears up the road on her own

Pipp takes it in the sprint

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. Take the time to wander through that gallery and see if you agree or disagree with our choice of winner. While bicycles and bicyclists are not the dominant images in Lonnie Shull’s “What a long strange trip it's been,” we kept coming back to it for precisely that reason. Sometimes being on a bike takes you to a place that reminds you of just how small and insignificant you are (and, no, that doesn’t always have to occur

Karl Menzies (Health Net-Maxxis) and Alison Powers (Advil-Chapstick) scored the opening victories on Monday as the International Tour de Toona got under way with the Altoona Beasley prologue in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania. Organizers welcomed a record number of pre-registered participants to central Pennsylvania for the evening 3.1-mile (5.6km) time trial, which saw riders leaving the start house every 30 seconds. Just over five seconds separated the top five pro men contenders. Menzies turned the fastest time of the day, 5:09.19, followed by Shawn Milne (Navigators Insurance) in

I promised in my July 3 column to follow up about bruising, inflammation, Tyler Hamilton’s lower back and heart attacks. I set it aside for the Tour, but I’ve been reminded enough that it’s time to spell it out. I was in Europe at the time, having come over with my wife to visit a dear friend in Germany who had just barely survived a massive heart attack a few weeks before. He is an extremely strong man, former Olympian and many-time German national champion in judo who was almost never sick. He was one of the last people you might expect to suffer a heart attack, as is Hugh Walton, another