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The 61st Vuelta a España kicks off Saturday with a different twist. Rather than a short opening prologue or a road stage, the season’s third grand tour debuts with a team time trial that’s only 7.2km long. The pancake-flat course should create some interesting splits in what’s sure to be a wild first week of the Vuelta, with two summit finishes and a series of hard, flat stages across the stinking heat of Spain’s western plains before the second weekend closes. Nine-man teams will start at 7 p.m. in four-minute intervals on a course that’s expected to take about eight minutes at speeds

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The race goes on…BMC sponsors Astana professional road racing team.New team will have office in Switzerland and be led by Marc Biver.BMC, the leading innovative high-end bike manufacturer based in Grenchen/SO,has signed a contract to supply the Astana professional cycling team throughto 2009, seamlessly continuing their engagementin the international race circuit.The Astana cycling team, based in Neuchâtel is being assembledunder the leadership of Marc Biver and will be one of the strongest teamson the international race circuit.BMC is proud to provide the Astana team with the best

Avery has been getting a lot of attention in Rotorua

After a tumultuous season, will Vinokourov still be considered a favorite?

With a short 7.2km course, teams will have to get into their TTT rhythms quickly on Saturday evening.

Denis Menchov admits he won’t be the five-star favorite to win the Vuelta a España while Rabobank teammate Oscar Freire confirms he won’t be taking Saturday’s start. Menchov – who was named winner of the 2005 Vuelta after Roberto Heras tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO – said his efforts from the Tour de France could cost him in the mountainous Vuelta. “I’ve love to win, but the Vuelta is a secondary objective this year after the Tour and I don’t feel as fresh this time,” Menchov told the Spanish daily MARCA. “I think I have a chance, but psychologically I don’t feel as sharp

Ren Chengyuan and Ying Liu ushered in a new era for Chinese women’s cycling Wednesday, as the duo annihilated the field in the debut world U-23 women’s cross-country championships, in Rotorua, New Zealand. Chengyuan, the current U-23 points leader in the World Cup, took the win and the rainbow stripes, crossing the line with a 1:38 gap on her teammate. The win marks the first-ever world mountain-bike championship win for China. The closest pursuer, Sarah Koba of Switzerland, finished nearly five minutes in arrears. Tereza Hurikova of the Czech Republic, winner of last year’s junior world

The Eneco Benelux Tour ended bitterly for George Hincapie on Wednesday after arch-rival Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) hooked him in the final 50 meters, sending the Discovery Channel leader sprawling to the ground and causing him to lose the race on time bonuses. Schumacher started the 201km seventh and final stage three seconds behind race leader Hincapie, but the German rider bounded ahead to finish third behind winner Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) and runner-up Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval-Prodir) to earn a four-second bonus that nudges him into overall victory in the eight-day

Discovery Channel officials said they felt “robbed” of victory in the Eneco Tour following the controversial finish to Wednesday’s finale when German rider Stefan Schumacher caused George Hincapie to crash less than 100 meters from the line. Schumacher barged Hincapie’s line and sent the race leader toppling to the ground in disbelief and anger as the Gerolsteiner rider took four bonus seconds with third-place to claim overall victory by one second. “It was so unfair what happened to him,” Discovery Channel sport director Dirk Demol told VeloNews. “George felt so strong and the team did an

Menchov will get the jersey back before the start on Saturday

Chengyuan built an early lead and kept it.

Chengyuan set a hard pace at the start and was joined by Liu

Gilbert sails to the stage win as Hincapie sprawls behind

Schumacher charges ahead for a time bonus and the overall win

Hincapie seems disinclined to hear Schumacher's explanation

New Zealand's winter weather on Tuesday offered up a wet and chilly combination before 14 teams took on the first event of the 2006 World Mountain Bike Championships, the 9.2-mile team relay, won in solid fashion by a strong and consistent Swiss team. Held near Rotorua, a geothermal resort community on New Zealand's north island, the world's got off to a somewhat stormy start on Tuesday as a strong downpour and subsequent ice storm left the course on the slopes of Mt. Ngongotaha covered with a glaze of slick mud. Conditions, however, did nothing to slow the Swiss team of Florian

It’s been 17 years since the world mountain bike championships debuted in Durango, Colorado. Since then, the discipline’s marquee event has ventured out of the mountains of North American and Europe only once, for the 1996 world’s in Cairns, Australia. For 2006, the world’s again head south of the Equator, this time to the resort town of Rotorua, on New Zealand’s north island, where a host of championship events will run through Sunday. The move underscores the UCI’s professed commitment to develop mountain-bike racing outside of traditional European and North American markets. The sport’s

Tour de France winner-in-waiting Oscar Pereiro said he expects Caisse d’Epargne teammate Alejandro Valverde to win the Vuelta a España, which is set to start on Saturday in sunny Málaga. He said Valverde will have fresher legs and more motivation for the season’s final three-week grand tour following the chaos that’s come in the wake of the Floyd Landis doping scandal. “I bet that Valverde will win the Vuelta,” Pereiro said in an interview with the Spanish daily AS. “Alejandro and I are good teammates and good friends. The circumstances of the road will put us in our place and dictate if

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. Maybe it’s because these past few weeks of cycling news have been so depressing that we gravitated to Doug Manno’s “Colorado Color - Kenosha Pass.” No post-race dope test here, just a reminder of why we all ride. Nice work! Drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.com to work out the details and we’ll send you a copy of

German David Kopp (Gerolsteiner) sprinted to victory in the sixth and penultimate stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux on Tuesday. Italy's Marco Zanotti (Unibet.com) and Belgian Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) crossed second and third in the 213km stage from Bornem to St. Truiden, a nervy racec marked by numerous falls. "Normally I should launch the sprint for my leader (Stefan Schumacher), but I found myself alone on the front and decided to attack and go for the win," explained the 27-year-old Kopp. George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) holds the overall race lead going into

Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis doesn't believe Ivan Basso can race again for his squad unless he is acquitted in the doping scandal that barred the Italian cyclist from the Tour de France. CSC suspended Basso after he was among nine riders pulled from the Tour on the eve of the race. The cyclists had been implicated in an alleged blood-doping program in Madrid. "I have difficulties seeing a future for Basso with CSC unless he is totally cleared," Riis told the Politiken on Tuesday. "I feel really bad about this case. Basso is the worst that could happen to me – it has ruined my image. I

Mountain-bike racer Jose Antonio Hermida has been ordered home by the Spanish cycling federation just four days before the elite men’s world cross-country championships race, after documents emerged linking his name to the ongoing Operación Puerto doping investigation. As a result of the order, Hermida left Rotorua, New Zealand, site of the 2006 World Mountain-Bike Championships, on Tuesday. According to a statement released by Hermida, the federation made the decision after concluding that a nickname found in documents related to the doping investigation referred to Hermida. The

Unlike last month’s Tour de France, the Discovery Channel enters the Vuelta a España with a pre-designated leader, team manager Johann Bruyneel said Tuesday. During a conference call with reporters, Bruyneel said the entire team, which lacked a clear leader at the Tour, will be built around enhancing the general classification hopes of American Tom Danielson, who joined his team manager in the call on Tuesday. Bruyneel, joined by Danielson, discussed the team’s strategy and approach for the Spanish grand tour, which begins in Málaga Saturday, August 26, with a 7.2km team time trial, and

Vogel led the first charge for Switzerland.

Colorado Color - Kenosha Pass

Kopp takes the stage

Three-time world champion Oscar Freire said he is unsure he will be able to take Saturday’s start of the Vuelta a España as he continues to suffer the dizzy spells that forced his departure from the Tour de France. The Rabobank sprinter won the Vattenfall Cyclassics in late July, but was forced to skip the Clásica San Sebastián as the problem worsened. He’s been taking medication, but is worried he won’t be stable enough to race the vertiginous Vuelta. "I don’t know if I can start. My head hurts and I suffer dizziness. I am training and I will decide in the next few days, according to how

Two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Julien Absalon of France is the man to beat in the world mountain-bike cross-country championships this week in Rotorua, New Zealand. Absalon, who won the European title at the end of July, heads the field contesting the 6km course along with third-ranked Jose Hermida (Spain) and second-ranked Christoph Sauser (Switzerland). The top-ranked woman in the cross-country is world and Olympic champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Norway), who will be trying to fend off a field including second-ranked German Sabine Spitz and Irina Kalentieva of

Tom Boonen made the most of home advantage when winning the fifth stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux Monday in Balen, Belgium. The Quick Step rider came out on top in a sprint just meters from the house where he lives, with New Zealand's Julian Dean (Crédit Agricole) and Italy's Simone Cadamuro (Milram) taking second and third. George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) retained the leader's red jersey with just two stages remaining. Germany's Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) is lying second with Vincenzo Nibali (ILiquigas) third. Boonen, who was adding this to his successes 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.Classifying the resultsDear VeloNews,I see that Tyler Hamilton has won the Mt.Washington Hillclimb again.Perhaps, for the sake of truth in reporting, you should note that whileHamilton came in first in the Suspended Doper division, good old Ned Overend won in the Non-Suspended-Doper

Cycling could be thrown into tumult yet again as the UCI said it’s poised to release more names linked to the ongoing “Operación Puerto” doping investigation in Spain. Reacting from pressure from the top ProTour teams - which met last week in Brussels to demand the UCI release all names linked to inquiry ahead of this weekend’s start of the Vuelta a España - the UCI is expected to reveal even more names connected to controversial Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. The French sports daily L’Equipe reported that the new list could include as many as an additional 50 names from 14 squads, seven

Boonen takes a soggy sprint at the line

American George Hincapie moved up from fourth to lead the overall standings in the Eneco Tour of Benelux after capturing Sunday's stage-4 time trial around Landgraaf in the Netherlands. The Discovery Channel rider took the leader's red jersey from Belgium's Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) after covering the 16.1km race against the clock in 19 minutes, 58 seconds. Up-and-coming Italian rider Vicenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Bianchi) came in second, only 36 one-hundredths of a second adrift, with Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) seven seconds back in third. Boonen trailed in 62nd,

Eufemiano Fuentes, the Spanish doctor accused of running an extensive blood-doping network, had contacts in France and Germany, doping expert Werne Franke charged on Sunday. "The Spanish investigation files mention houses in France and Germany that were involved in the doping," Franke said in Focus magazine. Former Olympic champ and Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich is alleged to have been given EPO and other banned substances by Fuentes, who was accused of running a blood-doping ring. The 32-year-old Ullrich has repeatedly denied all doping allegations and says he does not know

Pure insanity. That’s how the new national criterium champion Brad Huff (TIAA-CREF) described the final lap of the 100km USPRO championships on Sunday in Downers Grove, Illinois. Only the Navigators could muster any semblance of a lead-out, and their efforts were not in vain as Aussie Hilton Clarke blew past Toyota-United’s Tony Cruz and Huff after the decisive final corner to take the win. Huff charged to the front with 300 meters and held it until near the final corner at 150 meters when Cruz pulled even with him. The pair swung wide out of the corner, and Clarke took the inside line and

Casey Gibson was at it again this weekend, this time on our side of the pond, shooting the USPRO criterium championship in Downers Grove, Illinois. Here's what he sent us.

Hincapie rides the time trial

Clarke and Huff celebrate their respective victories

Cliff-Ryan shows she knows how to win on the big wheels, too

Leogrande can't believe he pulled it off

No, it's not an acid trip. It's an arty look at the start of the women's race

The elite men

Jason Allen out front

Adam Bergman drilling it

Tony Cruz takes the lead

Brad Huff on the road . . .

. . . and on the podium

Gord Fraser at the start

Tina Pic and Laura Van Gilder dicing

Theresa Cliff-Ryan on the podium

Kayle Leogrande leads . . .

. . . all the way to the podium

The first red, white and blue USPRO jersey of the year will on the line Sunday at the national criterium championships, and it will be U.S. cycling’s Big Three — Health Net-Maxxis, Toyota-United and Navigators Insurance — throwing the heaviest blows. But many of the men likely to win the100km race in Downers Grove, Illinois, are not eligible for the U.S. national jersey, which will go to the first American across the line. Gord Fraser, Health Net’s Canadian sprinter, will be retiring at the end of the season and will surely be looking to go out on a high note. His New Zealander teammate Greg

World champion Tom Boonen won a sprint finish to take the third stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux on Saturday ahead of Discovery’s Max Van Heeswijk and Australian Baden Cooke (UniBet). Quick Step team leader Boonen, who also won Thursday's first stage, extends his overall lead to an 11-second advantage over Liquigas’s Manuel Quinziato, who won on Friday. Boonen later revealed that he had initially set out to set-up victory bids for two of his teammates. "I decided to lead out the sprint for my teammates Wouter Weylandt and Steven De Jongh," explained Boonen after the 185km stage.

Julich season over after pulling plug at BeneluxBobby Julich’s season is likely over after the veteran American didn’t start the 185km third stage at the Eneco Benelux Tour on Saturday. Team CSC officials said the defending champion has been struggling with his form since coming back from a broken wrist suffered in the first time trial of the 2006 Tour de France. “You could see he was empty both in the head and in the body and he was afraid of getting caught up in a crash and decided it was just better to go home and prepare for next season,” Team CSC sport director Tristan Hoffman told

Pinkham Notch, N.H. (AP) Tyler Hamilton, who's been suspended from sanctioned races for the past two years, returned to the White Mountains Saturday to win the only race he has been free to ride the 7.6-mile Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb. Grosse Point, Mich.-native Aimee Vasse won for the women, coming in at 1:08:31 to place 22nd overall in a field of almost 600 riders. Hamilton's time was 52:21. His suspension over a blood doping offense ends Sept. 22, just in time for the World Cycling Championships on Sept. 24. For Hamilton, of Marblehead, Mass., the race was a

Pic will look to defend her '05 win at Downers Grove.

The arc en ciel, up front, where it should be.

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.An open letter from a Cat.4 regular guyDear VeloNews, fellow cyclists, my teammates and family,When I starting cycling three years ago, it was my ultimate goal toenjoy all that cycling had to offer. As of today, August 16th, 2006, Ihave achieved that goal.With the dedication and support

Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas) unleashed a late-stage attack to surprise the bunch to steal home his first career victory in Friday’s second stage while Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) finished safely in the main pack to retain the overall lead at the Eneco Tour. The 26-year-old Italian jumped clear with just over 2km to go go and held off the main pack to snatch the victory while scores of riders finished more than a minute off the winning time after a crash late in the stage. “When I saw there were just 40 riders on the last lap and that everyone was tired and no team was able to set the

The doping case against former road cycling world champion Oscar Camenzind has been reopened. The state court of Schwyz ordered investigative magistrate Martin Eichenberg to take such action. The decision was first reported in the Swiss news magazine Facts on Thursday and confirmed by Eichenberg on Friday. Camenzind rode for the Phonak cycling team, Floyd Landis's squad at the 2006 Tour de France. Landis tested positive for a skewed testosterone-epitestosterone ratio after winning the Tour and was fired. The team will shut down at the end of the season because of a lack of

Pereiro concedes he'll get no 30-minute gifts this time around

Quinziato has time to celebrate

UCI president Pat McQuaid has had his fair share of fires to put out since taking over as the head of cycling’s international governing body last fall. Squabbles over the ProTour and the shadowy undertones of the “Operación Puerto” doping investigation in Spain, however, have paled in comparison to the high-profile damage to cycling wrought by the Floyd Landis doping scandal. With the international media taking a mostly negative view at cycling, McQuaid has done his level best to react in a positive, constructive way to lead the sport through its darkest hours. McQuaid is calling for a

Dear Readers,Last week we looked at the process in an anti-doping violation case [See Thestraight dope on the Landis case]. I received more e-mail about this column than any other I have submitted for publication. Much (nearly all) of the correspondence was appreciative of the legal analysis (As always, I am grateful for the excellent research and brain power of my assistant Rick Bernardi ). Because there was so much interest in this subject I decided that I cannot possibly answer all these inquiries before leaving for the Vuelta. Instead, I’ll throw a bit more gas on the fire, by taking a

Boonen nails itWorld champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) won his first race since abandoning the Tour de France and surged into the overall lead Thursday at the Eneco Tour. Boonen earned a 10-second time bonus with the relatively easy sprint victory in the first stage and overtook Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) in the overall standings. The big Belgian received a textbook-perfect leadout and easily held off Simone Cadamuro (Milram) and Enrico Gasparatto (Liquigas), who came through third. “This is my first race after the Tour and after the problems that I’ve [had] in France, now

McQuaid calls Landis case ‘tragedy for the sport’

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.Won't get fooled againEditor,Impressive. We now have three strong cycling teams have folded dueto doping scandals, costing dozens of riders, mechanics and other personneltheir livelihoods. Two of the teams were basically sponsored by Americancompanies - Liberty Seguros [Liberty

Tom Danielson will headline a strong Discovery Channel team for the upcoming Vuelta a España. Team boss Johan Bruyneel revealed the starting lineup that’s a strong mix of veterans and ambitious younger riders hungry for success in the 61st Vuelta. “Selecting this team was not easy for me as we have a lot of guys that are riding very strong at the moment, but I feel that we have a very solid team in place that will work well together,” Bruyneel said in a team release. “Tom Danielson is set to be our leader for this race and I believe he has prepared very well. With the team that we have to

Leaders from the top ProTour teams huddled in Brussels on Wednesday and demanded swift action on a variety of issues, including the immediate suspension of the Phonak and Astana teams. In a communiqué released Wednesday evening by the AIGCP (International Association of Professional Cycling Groups), representatives from 17 ProTour teams insisted that the two controversial teams be kept out of further competition. “In light of the confusion and the disastrous image caused by the latest affaires, the ProTour teams unanimously demand that the UCI License Commission study the immediate

George Hincapie narrowly missed another big victory by the smallest of margins in Wednesday’s opening prologue to kick start the ENECO Benelux tour. Hincapie – who lost the Tour de France opening prologue by less than one second to Thor Hushovd – was once again on the wrong end of the bargain in the 6.1km prologue course Wednesday, finishing one second behind winner Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner). Schumacher, 25, covered the distance in seven minutes to achieved his fifth win of the year and 14th of his career. “It’s great to come in ahead of several time trial specialists, but I'm

Floyd Landis’s father-in-law was found dead in his car after committing suicide, coroner's officials said Wednesday. The body of 57-year-old David Witt was discovered at a parking garage Tuesday afternoon, said Paul Parker, an investigator with the San Diego County Medical Examiner. He had a gunshot wound to the head, and the death was ruled a suicide, Parker said. "The Landises are devastated by the news of David's death," family spokesman Michael Henson told The Associated Press. "They loved him dearly, and they miss him." Witt was the stepfather of Landis's wife, Amber

The Swiss Cycling Federation confirmed Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into doping allegations against Jan Ullrich. Ullrich, who competes with a Swiss license, is accused of being supplied with performance-enhancing drugs by the Spanish doctor at the center of the Operación Puerto doping investigation in Spain. A former Olympic champion, Ullrich was barred from competing in this year's Tour de France after being implicated in the scandal. Ullrich is alleged to have been given EPO, steroids and human growth hormone by Madrid physician Eufemiano Fuentes, who is accused of

Sastre, finishing Stage 17 at this year's Tour de France. He's ready for another round.

Danielson - riding last year's Vuelta - will the Discovery crew at this year's race.

Millar eyes Vuelta stageDavid Millar couldn’t score his dream comeback stage victory at the Tour de France, but he’s hoping to at the upcoming Vuelta a España. Millar survived the Tour in his first race back from a two-year racing ban for admitting to using the banned blood-booster EPO and enters the August 26 start of the Vuelta much stronger. “I would like to win a stage, a road stage or a time trial, it doesn’t matter,” Millar told VeloNews at last weekend’s Clásica San Sebastián. “I came out of the Tour feeling strong, stronger than I expected and I have recuperated well. I think the

Floyd Landis might be able to keep his Tour de France crown if he wins his doping case in arbitration, but his Phonak team won’t be around next season even if he does. Team owner Andy Rihs announced Tuesday that Phonak will fold at the end of the 2006 season after its new title sponsor pulled out of the deal in the wake of Landis doping scandal.

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. We were drawn to JF Sokolowski’s “In Floyd we trust,” largely because it captured that transient moment when we all did. Nice work! Drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.com to work out the details and we’ll send you a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes of Cycling."Go ahead and take a look at our latest gallery,decide

Following the announmentTuesday that the Phonak Cycling Team will cease operations at the endof the year, former team captain Floyd Landis posted an open letter tohis teammates, the staff, team owner Andy Rihs and manager John Lelangue.An Open Letter to the Phonak Professional Cycling TeamDear Andy, John, my teammates and staff:When I joined the Phonak Cycling team, it was our ultimate goal to winthe Tour de France. On Sunday, July 23rd, 2006, we achieved that goal.With the dedication and support of the entire team and staff, we overcameimpossible odds to make the 2006 Tour de France one of