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The men roll out of Bisbee along Main Street . . .

. . . and exit the Mule Pass tunnel

Patrick Walsh (CCB-VW-Time) and Craig McCartney (Wild Oats-Al‚s) control the break

The Mule Mountains loom in the distance as the peloton starts to reel in the break

Walsh and McCartney hit the start of the first climb 1:30 up on the chase

The peloton hits the first of two final climbs

Walsh and McCartney were still out after the descent . . .

. . . but a group containing Drew Miller (Successful Living) and racer leader Phil Zajicek (Navigators) was chasing hard

And while everyone was watching Zajicek . . .

. . . Miller took off, and had time for one quick look over his shoulder before taking the stage

With the exception of the rain that plagued last year’s race, Saturday's 27th running of the Athens Twilight Criterium proved to be nearly a re-run of2005 edition.Under cool gray skies, the field of 20 teams kept up the traditionally fast pace associated with the .55 mile course throughout the evening.The initially prime-hungry pack saw a multiple rider pile-up by the third lap, and control of the race shifted hands often during the initialthird of the 80-lap event.

The second day of The 28th La Vuelta de Bisbee saw the lead change hands in both the men’s and women’s fields. Phil Zajicek (Navigators) pulled on the yellow jersey after Friday’s prologue, but found himself down by 18 seconds after Saturday morning’s Stage 1 Sulphur Springs Road Race, won by Joey Thompson (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Daniel Vaillancourt (CCB-VW-Time) was second and Mike Telega (California Giant) third, both in the same time. But Zajicek reclaimed the jersey after the Stage 2 Warren Time Trial, posting a time of 14:31, 14 seconds ahead of Curtis Gunn (Successful

Cadel Evans of Australia snatched victory at the 60th edition of the Tour de Romandie on Sunday, decisively winning the time trial that concluded the Swiss stage race and putting an exclamation mark on the statement his Davitamon-Lotto team made here this week. With his 22-second margin on the 20.4km course, Evans leapfrogged over the two Spaniards who preceded him in the standings at the start of the day. Those two men, Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears), finished second and third on general classification. "This morning I woke up

Punching yet another notch in his extensive victory belt, Gord Fraser recaptured his title at this year’s Nalley Historic Roswell Criterium, north of Atlanta, on Sunday with a markedly reduced squad of riders from his Health Net team. After 40 minutes of racing, a four-man break composed of heavy hitters Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly), Viktor Rapinski (Colavita-Sutter Home), Vassili Davidenko (Navigators Insurance) and J. J. Haedo(Toyota-United Pro Cycling) lead the field for much of the remainder of the evening with gaps of up to 20seconds. But during the penultimate lap of the 0.8-mile

Holden slots into the lead

The elite men's break goes up the road

Evans blazes the final time trial to take the overall

Evans celebrates his last-minute victory

Contador conceded nearly a minute and the overall win in the final stage

Julich had a good TT, taking third on the day

The 28th annual La Vuelta de Bisbee got under way Friday afternoon with the Mule Pass Prologue. Uncharacteristically cool weather greeted the cyclists for the 2.8-mile climb, but a stiff headwind on the course erased any thoughts of a course record despite the mild temperatures. Phil Zajicek (Navigators) posted a time of 10.25 in the elite men’s division to take the top spot on general classification. Jeremy Powers (Jelly Belly) stands three seconds back, with Corey Collier (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory) eight seconds down. The women’s prologue saw Felicia Gomez (Webcor) put 15 seconds

The young Spanish phenom’ Alejandro Valverde maintained the momentum of his outstanding April campaign on Saturday to win the monster climbing stage of the Tour of Romandie, setting up what is sure to be a dramatic showdown in Lausanne. This week-long stage race, now in its 60th edition, will finish up there on Sunday with a 20-kilometer individual time trial. Race leader Alberto Contador said he will do his best to hold off his talented countryman Valverde. “Tomorrow if I win that’s great, but if not I’m still content,” said Valverde, adding that he learned to respect the steep streets of

Phil Zajicek (Navigators) pushes the last 100 meters to the finish

Felicia Gomez (Webcor) starts her successful prologue

Jeremy Powers (JellyBelly) shows the pain of riding uphill into a headwind

Mari Holden (T-Mobile) looks ahead to a successful start to LVDB

Valverde makes it look easy

Contador's grip on yellow has been loosened a bit

A perfect day - and place - for a bike race.

Ullrich: riding into shape.

Garate leads the attack

Still Smiling: Horner leads the chase. The American now sits in 10th place at 1:14.

Kashechkin

PARIS, France -- It sounds unlikely, but even after the retirement of Lance Armstong, interest in the Official Guide to the Tour de France produced by VeloNews is considerably ahead of what it was at the same time last year. With two weeks left until space close, the 2006 Official Tour Guide has already sold more advertising pages, the newsstand draw has approximately doubled, bike shop interest is at a record high, and the issue looks likely to set an all-time record for paid circulation for the ABC-audited magazine. While VeloNews's long-time status as the official publication of

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.What a shot!Velo,I love the picture of Chris Horner crossing the finish line totowin Stage 2 at Tour de Romandie. That photo captures what I’ve alwaysthought of Chris Horner…loose in the saddle and guns-a-blazing! Congratulations,Chris.Scott WellsHampton, Virginia The year of the

Preliminary start list - 2006 Giro d'Italia(North Americans in Bold)DISCOVERY CHANNEL1. Paolo Savoldelli, (ITA)2. Tom Danielson, (USA)3. Manuel Beltran Martinez, (SP)4. Viatcheslav Ekimov, (RUS)5. Benoit Joachim, (LUX)6. Jason Mccartney, (USA)7. Pavel Padrnos, (CZE)8. José Luis Rubiera Vigil, (SP)9. Matthew White, (AUS)AG2R PREVOYANCE11. Sylvain Calzati, (FRA)12. Inigo Chaurreau Bernardez, (SP)13. Philip Deignan, (IRL)14. Renaud Dion, (FRA)15. Hubert Dupont, (FRA)16. John Gadret, (FRA)17. Yuriy Krivtsov, (UKR)18. Carl Naibo, (FRA)19. Tomas Vaitkus, (LTU)BOUYGUES TELECOM21. Giovanni

Alberto Contador Velasco, the 23-year-old Spaniard on the Liberty Seguros squad, won the third stage of the Tour de Romandie on Friday, attacking midway up the 9km climb to the finish at Leysin, Switzerland. Contador took the yellow jersey away from Chris Horner (Davitamon-Lotto), who had won the previous day’s stage. The American now sits in ninth, 57 seconds off the pace, with two more days of racing to come: a mountain stage on Saturday and a time trial on Sunday. The Spanish climber now has a fragile lead on a pair of dangerous men who finished second and third in Friday’s race:

There’s a lot of sniffling, sneezing, coughing and wheezing going on at VeloNews world headquarters lately. I suspect the first two ailments (sniffling and sneezing, that is) are due to the onset of Colorado’s allergy season two weeks ago. Our first bout with prolonged sunshine and balmy temperatures sent every flower, blade of grass and tree (not to mention college kid) into hormone hyper-drive, and the air is now a sea of pollen. One local news station suggests minimizing outdoor exposure on warm days and avoiding inhaling truck and car exhaust. Good thing you never encounter either of

VeloNews sees expanded interest for 2006 Official Tour de France Guide

VeloNews sees expanded interest for 2006 Official Tour de France Guide

Winning Horner style

Contador takes the stage and the lead

Horner's stay in the yellow jersey was a short one

Where'd you ride today?

The Evans group

Sevilla solo

Contador attacks

Paco chasing down national U-23 rider Colin Cares

The bad, black Scott USA Sportsmobile

Kintner, up close and personal

Lopes, in living color

Photo or sculpture?

With a name like Charles Bradley Huff, you might expect someone with the reserve and restraint of a character in a Victorian novel, rather than a guy who likes to mix it up in the rough and tumble world of bunch sprints. But the 27-year-old TIAA-CREF rider is clearly in the latter category and is already making his presence known in his first year as a pro. Huff – he goes by Brad – scored TIAA-CREF’s first European win of the 2006 season with a sprint victory in the Tour of Normandie in April. “I was in yellow for three days and three days in green, I won a stage and near-stage win. I

The folks at Bontrager took an opportunity at last week’s Tour de Georgia to introduce additions to the brand’s high-end road racing product lineup. Major additions include an expansion of the Aeolus deep-dish aerodynamic wheel line as well as a new time trial disc wheel – all produced under a partnership with HED Cycling Products. Why aero?For the last few years riders have put a premium on weight and all but ignoring aerodynamics. Recently, even at the sports top level, aerodynamic advantage has only been considered when it comes to time trialing. But whether you look at a grand tour

American Chris Horner (Davitamon-Lotto) attacked with perfect timing to win the second stage of the Tour de Romandie on Thursday and take the race leader's yellow jersey from prologue winner Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel). Horner completed the rainy, 171.2km stage beginning and ending in Porrentry in 4 hours, 16 minutes, 22 seconds. Germany's Jörg Jaksche (Liberty Seguros), who claimed second place at four seconds back, beat out local favorite Alexandre Moos (Phonak), who finished third. Spain's Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears) crossed fourth, seven

The Aeolus 6.5...

... and a closer look.

Tech Talk: Bontrager and the importance of being aero’

Tech Talk: Bontrager and the importance of being aero’

Horner seizes the stage and the lead with a late break

Think he's at all happy about how things turned out?

Loosli and Beauchat get things rolling early

Moreau has a go

Ullrich falls off the pace

The 28th La Vuelta de Bisbee gets rolling beginning Friday in the high desert country of southeastern Arizona. Racing in the three-day, four-stage race begins Friday, April 28, with the Mule Pass Time Trial, an uphill charge through the heart of Old Bisbee that gains 837 vertical feet in 2.8 miles. Malcolm Elliott set the elite men’s record of 9:18 in 1993; Leslee Schenk posted the elite women’s best time of 10:33 in 1987. Saturday, April 29, is a double stage day. The Sulphur Springs Road Race (79.3 miles for elite men, 45.8 miles for elite women) tours the rolling rural roads east of

Team CSC’s Jens Voigt has been making new friends all spring. Normally, the German marauder is off the front in some suicidal attack, nose to the wind, a tactic that’s served him well with an impressive haul of 11 wins before the end of April in both 2004 and 2005. This year, he´s been uncharacteristically quiet, hidden away in the bunch and getting a new vision on the peloton. “I´ve discovered riders in the peloton I´ve never seen before,” Voigt said. “I´m finishing in groups I´ve never seen before, so it´s like a whole new view of the world!” It’s not as if the 34-year-old is getting

Last season, Dr. Massimo Testa accepted two new clients: Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer and me, a cycling coach and amateur racer. Testa worked for over a decade as a sports doctor for pro teams including 7-Eleven, Motorola and Mapei, and is now a sports-medicine physician at the University of California-Davis. Under Testa’s coaching last year, Leipheimer won the Tour of Germany and finished seventh in the Tour de France. I didn’t reach all my personal goals, but did succeed in expanding my coaching abilities. I first tried to hire Testa years ago on an Andy Hampsten bicycle tour in Italy.

German Tour de France hopeful Jan Ullrich said Wednesday that he wouldgo "through the pain barrier" to ensure he is in top condition for theTour start on July 1.A knee injury forced T-Mobile captain Ullrich to postpone his startto the season but the German rider is taking part in the Tour of Romandiein Switzerland, which began on Tuesday, and hopes to get back to his bestover the next two months."The motivation is there but the form is not. But I am glad to be backand free of my knee problems," Ullrich said at his training camp on Wednesday."I have a lot of ground to make up but I have

Australian Robbie McEwen dominated a bunch sprint to win the first stage of the six-day Tour de Romandie Wednesday in Payerne, Switzerland. The Davitamon-Lotto sprinter burst ahead of a small group of contenders in the final 200 meters of the winding, rain-soaked 169km stage finale to cross the finish line in triumph. Italian Mirco Lorenzetto (Milram) finished second ahead of Lampre's Daniele Bennati. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) finished with the pack in his 2006 season debut, and former Romandie champion Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel), who won the prologue on Tuesday, retained the

Robbie McEwen of Davitamon-Lotto won the rainy first stage of the Tour de Romandie on Wednesday, the most important day of the race for the Australian sprinter. After his respectable finish in the previous day’s prologue in Geneva (he finished 29th, 12:53 behind winner Paolo Savoldelli), he spoke to VeloNews at length about his race, his rib injury last month, and his expectations for the Tour de Romandie. McEwen had gone early in the race, in order to leave more time for cooling down and getting a massage. The road was dry when he raced, and he said he hoped rain would arrive to impede the

Voigt finished more than 10 minutes back at Liège and he couldn't be happier.

McEwen notches another win

McEwen's back where he likes to be, in the thick of the action

Davitamon-Lotto on the front

Savoldelli retains the overall lead

Konyshev took a good, long dig