All Content

Freire's gamble paid off and he wasn't caught

St. Moritz

Sprick leads the break

The group stayed together until about 15km to go.

Commesso and Rogers put on a little pressure

..but the peloton is not far behind.

Freire's move paid off.

Freire snags Swiss stage; Gil still in jersey

David Haase, currently 6th in the traditional division, rides through one of the more scenic stretches of Kansas.

Even course set-up was hampered by weather

Cyclo-crossers at heart, maybe Tilford and Page had an advantage in crappy conditions.

Health Net at the front

The race was cut short after 17 minutes

30 minutes or 45, Van Gilder wanted this one

Fans braved the weather, too

Mactier takes an early flyer

A hard rain did fall

Weather was tolerable at the start

Faltus takes Beuce crit'

Kobzarenko in yellow

Pate covers 15km in 20:40

Kobzarenko takes over the jersey

Canada's TT champ, Svein Tuft, takes fourth

Dear Bob,In your recent article Whenis a bicycle more than a bicycle? you were writing with regardto California Law; is the law similar in Oregon? Mostly, I'm interestedin the distinction between infractions and misdemeanors. So, gettinga DUI on a bicycle doesn't “equal” a DUI in a car as far as penalty goes(no points on the driving record)? Does this apply to all movingviolations, too? Where is the cut-off'?Thanks,J.C.OregonDear J.C.,I’m glad you asked J.C., because it gives me a chance to take anotherlook at BUIs. I have covered thissubject before, but do not stay up on this

Phonak team manager John Lelangue said Floyd Landis will be ready for the Tour de France despite a lackluster Dauphiné Libéré that sent alarm bells ringing about the American’s form. After ripping through victories in Tour of California, Paris-Nice and Tour de Georgia, Landis finished 60th at nearly one hour behind winner Levi Leipheimer in the final tune-up race ahead of next month’s Tour. Team officials said Landis decided to use the Dauphiné as training once it became obvious he didn’t have the snap in his legs to follow the best on the decisive climbing stage at Mont Ventoux in stage

Saunier Duval's Koldo Gil won the sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, riding solo into La Punt on Thursday. The Spaniard rider made the break on the Albula pass, the third and final climb of this mountainous stage, some 14km from the finish, to cross the line 40 seconds ahead of German duo Jorg Jaksche (Astana-Würth) and Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile). Gil now holds the overall lead in the race by 34 seconds over Jaksche and 54 seconds over Ullrich. Two years ago, Ullrich won this tour, and this week he has looked in control, perhaps fully recovered from an April injury that derailed his

VeloNews to Produce the Official Guide to the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross(June 15, 2006) - The management team of the U.S. Gran Prixof Cyclocross announced today a partnership with VeloNews - the worldsleading competitive cycling publication - to produce the inaugural OfficialGuide to the 2006 U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross.Teaming with prominent promoters in strong cycling markets and workingin conjunction with USA Cycling and the UCI, the Crank Brothers U.S. GranPrix of Cyclocross includes six days of racing and attracts the best ridersin North America to the series. VeloNews is the

Gord Fraser and Mike Sayers each got something special for this year’s Tour of Georgia (April 19-23), new bikes from their sponsor Cannondale. Now approaching mid-June, it’s hard to miss the growing number of big neon green sixes adorning the head tubes of many of Health Net-Maxxis riders’ bikes. In April, both racers were on pre-production prototypes, but now in less than a month, Cannondale is set to have the new rig ready for retail. The new bike, which mates aluminum and carbon utilizing the same process as Cannondale’s Six13, combines a complete carbon front end with a new CAAD 9

Race Across America 2004 & 2005 champion Jure Robic succumbed to the 2006 RAAM with a viral infection which could have been fatal had he kept racing. After signing up for the new Solo Enduro division, where racers must take at least 40 hours of off-the-bike time - a division meant to emphasize bike racing prowess over sheer endurance - Robic led for much of the race until he was forced to withdraw with a viral infection in the mountains of Colorado, 886 miles into the 3,043-mile race. Reports say that Robic was not 100 percent prior to the race and his Slovenian doctor believes that Robic

Health Net/Maxxis director Jeff Corbet was in good spirits Thursday evening. His rider, New Zealander GregHenderson had just won his fourth road race in as many tries, grabbed another podium spot with a strong third-place finish by KarlMenzies and the team’s talented time trialist Nathan O’Neill held onto the leader’s jersey after the second stage of Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix. Oh, yeah, and it was Corbet’s birthday, as Menzies proudly announced afterdelivering Henderson to the line and holding for the podium spot in the 58.5-mile Cannon Falls Road Race. “That was gold,”

The second stage of Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix ended as expected, with some of the most talented and most experienced female riders in the world in a mad sprint for the finish. In the end, though, it was a rookie and a local amateur who stood atop two of the three podium places. Palo Alto Bicycle Works/TIBCO’s Brooke Miller seized the moment to capture the 58.6-mile Cannon Falls Road Race, ahead of Jazz Apple Cycling’s Sarah Ulmer and local women’s legend and Flanders/MBRC racer Teresa Moriarty. An overjoyed Miller was at a loss after the race. She screamed after

Stefan Parinussa (Team Sparkasse) managed to hold onto the yellow jersey after the crucial third stage of the Tour de Beauce, however, his lead over former leader Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators) was reduced by three-quarters, and Kobzarenko's team mate Sergey Lagutin won the stage and also moved into contention. Danny Pate (TIAA-CREF) continues to impress; finishing fourth on the stage, and moving up one place in GC to fourth. The third stage of Beauce is considered to be the Queen stage - finishing atop Mont Megantic after a five kilometer climb that averages close to 12%, with at least

Lelangue is happy with Landis's form

Gil has the lead. Can he keep it?

Vicioso spent just one day in the leader's jersey

A day highlighted by tough climbs, like Furka Pass.

Ullrich may in prime position for Swiss Tour win

Wurth leads the chase

Cannondale’s System Six, complete.

Cannondale’s fork tapers from 1.5 inches to 1.125 inches. Cannondale has done it’s design homework to seamlessly integrate the system’s fork, stem and headset.

The System Six has a massive 1.5 inch head tube, previously only seen on freeride and downhill bikes.

The windows in the rear triangle provide the aluminum a way to mechanically lock onto the carbon front triangle.

RAAM Update: Robic recovering in Colorado hospital

Henderson's favorite pose

Nathan O’Neill still in yellow

Health Net in control

Are we sensing a theme here?

Miller nails it

Miller celebrates her win.

Chris Horner rode out of the Dauphiné Libéré ready for next month’s Tour de France. The Davitamon-Lotto didn’t score a stage victory, but he was active on the hardest climbs in the week-long race to show his form is on the rise ahead of July. Horner’s second Tour will be in marked contrast to his debut last year with Saunier Duval. He’s been assured of a Tour spot all season long, eliminating the stress and doubt of last year of not knowing whether he had spot until he won a stage in the Tour de Suisse to sew up his place. “It’s completely different for me compared to last year,” Horner

Leukerbad, Switzerland, - Swiss rider Steve Morabito (Phonak) celebrated the first professional victory of his career, taking the fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Wednesday. That win was that much sweeter for taking place in the mountains where he grew up. His hometown of Les Troistorrents is just 58 miles away from Leukerbad, which is famous for its skiing and natural baths at the end of a steep and winding 16-kilometer road. “It’s astonishing that I had never ridden this road up here even though I lived so close,” said Morabito after nipping Discovery Channel’s Jurgen Van Goolen

Cycling produced the most positive tests for banned substances of any Olympic sport in the latest global statistics compiled by the World Anti-Doping Agency. WADA-accredited laboratories reported 482 positive samples for cyclists in 2005. Olympic-level international baseball was second with 390 positives, while soccer was third with 343. Track and field — the most tested sport — was fourth with 342. Cycling also had the highest percentage of positive tests, with 3.78 per cent out of 12,751 samples, followed by baseball (3.69 per cent out of 10,580) and boxing (3.41 per cent of 2,433) and

The Race Across America is all about numbers. The number 3048 for instance—the number of miles separating Oceanside from Atlantic City, a big number indeed. But there’s far more to winning this 25th edition of RAAM than mounting a bicycle in California and pointing it east with a hope of being the first to New Jersey. With this year’s addition of the “Enduro” category with a mandated 40 hours of off-the-bike time that must be logged during the course of the race, a new set of strategies and numbers have come into play as racers calculate speed averages and distances in their efforts to

Dear Monique, I am thinking of eliminating sugar from my diet, but can’t find anything to replace my energy drink or gel with, have you come across any products that fit the bill?Soured on Sweets Dear Soured,There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the best types of carbohydrates that should be consumed during exercise with some sports nutrition products promoted as containing “complex carbohydrates” versus the “simple carbohydrates,” often also referred to as sugars. But classifying a carbohydrate as simple or complex really doesn’t provide the complete picture regarding a

Stage two at the Tour de Beauce saw a change in the lead, with Stefan Parinussa of the German Sparkasse team able to get into the break for a second straight day while yellow-jersey holder Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators) missed it and lost two minutes. The 180km circuit, which started and finished in the town of St. Joseph, is the longest stage of the race, with three categorized climbs and nowhere to rest. Navigators went into the stage expecting the race to break up, but planning to get Kobzarenko into any important moves. Unfortunately for them, miscommunication and slow race updates

As this is being written, late on Wednesday night, the standings in the 25th Annual Race Across America have been shuffled just slightly since our last report. While a wide margin had separated the Enduro and overall leader Markoh Baloh from the Traditional category leader, that gap has narrowed, with Baloh holding a mere thirty-seven minute advantage over Switzerland’s Daniel Wyss, a RAAM rookie. Meanwhile Jonathon Boyer, winner of the 1985 edition, is firmly in second in the Enduro category, with mountain bike endurance racer Tinker Juarez holding onto third. Kenny Souza, formerly in

Morabito wins in Loeche-Les-Bains

Van Goolen (L) wasn't particularly pleased with Wednesday's finish

The T-Mobiles give chase

Ullrich, Jaksche and Totschnig

With the departure of Slovenian Army major Jure Robic, his countryman Marko Bahlo has assumed the overall lead.

Overend pays a visit to his old MTB rival, Juarez

While Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie continues on his evolution from sprinter to spring classics strongman to Tour de France super-domestique to Tour contender, world champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) says he has no intention of following in his footsteps. Responding to a question from VeloNews, Boonen said he won’t try to become a GC contender someday in cycling’s biggest race. The reigning world champion said he’s more than happy where he is right now. “I have no plans at all to become the next George Hincapie. Let me just do what I do best: riding the classics and

Fixing the unfixableDear Lennard,All Shimano chains now come with connection pin. Can a chain be safelyjoined with a regular pin? I have done that in the past by not pushingthe pin all the way through then pressing it back in when I had to replacea bent link or two. Is that safe with a 10-speed Shimano chain?Lloyd Dear Loyd,No, it is not safe with any 10-speed chain. The Shimano or Campagnoloconnector pin is double-length, with a front tip section designed to keepthe pin lined up straight while slowly opening up the two holes in anticipationof the part of the pin that will remain lodged in

Ryder Hesjedal (Phonak) has just finished the Dauphiné Libéré stage race in France, his second ProTour stage race in three weeks. He followed up his fourth overall at the Volta a Catalunya in Spain with a strong 17th overall at Dauphiné - the third North American and top rider on his team. After Dauphine, Hesjedal is ranked 45th in the ProTour - not since the glory days of Steve Bauer has a Canadian been so high in the international rankings. VeloNews contributor Rob Jones spoke with Hesjedal at his home base in Girona, Spain, where he is recovering from Dauphiné and preparing for next

Spain's Angel Vicioso gave a welcome boost to the beleaguered Astana-Würth team Tuesday as he held off a furious late charge from the peloton to claim the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Belgium's Nick Nuyens, Monday's stage three winner, retained the overall leader's jersey after finishing in the pack, one second behind Vicioso. Vicioso and fellow escapee David Herrero (Euskaltel-Euskadi) took off from the peloton with just 6km left to ride in the 161.3km stage and held firm until the finish line, with Vicioso just edging out his

Tour de France officials revoked its wild-card bid to Spanish team Comunidad Valenciana on Tuesday, citing alleged links to the "Operación Puerto" doping scandal broiling in Spain. The announcement comes after two weeks of speculation that the continental Spanish team would lose its Tour invitation when the team’s assistant sport director, José Ignacio Labarta, was among five people arrested last month. Others detained were Manolo Saiz, doctors Eufemiano Fuentes and José Luis Merino Batres, and former mountain biker Alberto Leon. "The implication of Comunidad Valenciana's deputy

The 21st edition of Canada's premier stage race, the Tour de Beauce, began on Tuesday with a 164 kilometer stage through the rolling hills south of Quebec City. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators Insurance) won the stage and yellow jersey of race leader after dropping three breakaway companions in the final five kilometers of the stage. Kobzarenko finished 21 seconds ahead of second place Fausto Esparza Munoz (Tecos Trek VH), who out sprinted Kobzarenko's teammate Sergey Lagutin and Stefan Parinussa of the German Team Sparkasse. The first of the small groups which made up the remnants

Boonen has mixed feelings about the Tour de France

The handy little Wipperman tool...

... holds a special gem inside.

Checking elongation with one of these is critical

Vicioso's win is a bright spot in dark days for the Würth squad

Rabobank chases with an assist from Der Kaiser

Sunday - There’s a new crater from an incoming rocket just off myroute on this morning’s ride.This afternoon, outside a company headquarters, there’s a makeshiftmemorial for a fallen Soldier, victim of a roadside bomb many miles away.The memorial - dog tags, rifle, boots, and helmet - were property of the Soldier only a day before. His teammates take turns standing guard, bravelymourning their loss.Sobering reminders of a reality we’d all rather forget.But life goes on. Cheers from a softball game echoed in front of the vigil at the company headquarters, the game a pleasant distraction from

Belgium's Nick Nuyens (Quick Step) won the third stage of the Tour of Switzerland at Arlesheim on Monday, also claiming the leader's jersey. Nuyens beat fellow escapees Koldo Gil (Saunier Duval) and Germans Linus (T-Mobile)Gerdemann and Jörg Jaksche (Würth) in a sprint finish. The peloton, led home by Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank), crossed the line 11 seconds behind the lead breakaway. Thanks to bonus seconds for winning the stage, Nuyens did just enough to overhaul Italy's Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital)to claim the leader's jersey. The breakaway group made their move

Relaxing in the shade alongside a mud splattered Kristin Danielson (Velo Bella) after the pro-women’s cross country event at the NORBA National in Banner Elk, North Carolina, was hubby Tom back from Europe and looking far better than he had on the days leading up to his withdrawal from this year’s Giro d’Italia. “I feel totally recovered now from being really sick,” said the Discovery man. “I’ve been on my bike for about a week now, and the first half was really bad. I was really struggling. When you get really sick it’s like you’re a different person and coming back to health is hard for