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McCormack nearly caught up, but fell just short

Bessette raced twice: once with the guys, and again with the women

The UCI has upheld positive dope tests against Vuelta a España winner Roberto Heras and vehemently rejected complaints about its testing procedure. In a statement released late Friday, the UCI expressed its "full satisfaction with the way the procedures relating to this case were carried out and reaffirms its unconditional confidence in the method used to trace EPO." Heras tested positive for erythropoeitin after the 2005 Vuelta's 20th-stage time trial. On Friday a Spanish laboratory detected EPO in his second B sample. The 31-year-old Spaniard, who faces a two-year ban, insisted he

Starting his second Tour de France on June 28, 1985, Greg LeMond was ready to show his new team sponsor, Bernard Tapie, that he was worthy of the near-$1 million, three-year contract given him by the French businessman. Racing in the Mondrian-design red-yellow-and-black La Vie Claire team jersey, LeMond had already come in third at his debut Giro d’Italia while helping his teammate Bernard Hinault win the race for the third time. Now, after Italy’s maglia rosa, it was the Tour’s maillot jaune that was on the team’s horizon. Eighteen 10-man teams started the ’85 Tour with a hilly prologue

Heras leaving a Friday press conference in which he criticized the EPO test

The wily Hinault outfoxed his rivals in the Alps

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.Will Americans ever be ready for a great bike race?Editor:I may be being overly dramatic and Euro-worshipping, but don't you think the residents of Roubaix or Flanders may have had to "subsidize" those races a couple of times? This feels to me like another reminder that Americans may

Spanish cycling is reeling following the confirmation that Roberto Heras tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO in samples taken in the penultimate stage of the 2005 Vuelta a España. After the results of a counter-analysis conducted Monday by Spain’s Consejo Superior de Deportes were announced Friday, Heras – who will likely be stripped of his 2005 Vuelta crown and faces a two-year racing ban – charged that the test is flawed and promised a lengthy legal battle to clear his name. Heras is the most successful Spanish rider of his generation, winning the Vuelta a record four times

Heras faces a two-year ban

I got the galvanic corrosion and buzzin’ bottle boss bluesDear Lennard,I have a carbon frame road bike, and one of the water bottle bosseshas come loose. This makes for an irritating buzz, on any ride, and,I can't tighten the bolt sufficiently enough to stop the water bottle cagefrom bouncing a bit. Is there any type of epoxy, or other glue likesubstance that I can use to secure the boss?DaveHere’s an answer to your question from carbon guru Craig CalfeeMost carbon frames use aluminum Riv-nuts for water bottle bosses.The problem is that aluminum and carbon fiber don't get along well,

Prosecutors branded Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas "a coward" during a criminal trial in the Alpine resort of Bonneville on Thursday after describing how the third-place Tour de France finisher had allowed his wife to sit in jail as he avoided facing charges for the importation of prohibited doping substances. Rumsas finished third overall on the 2002 Tour de France, on the last day of which his wife Edita was caught by customs police with a car boot full of growth hormones, EPO (erythropoietin) and other banned substances. She claimed they were medicine for her mother and was

The organizers of the Thueringen Rundfahrt women's race have presented a check for 25,000 euros (USD $29,537) to the Amy Gillett Foundation at the official launch of the 2006 event overnight in Zeulenroda. The foundation was established in the wake of the tragic accident in July t when an out-of-control car ploughed into the Australian women's cycling team, who were training the day before the start of the Thueringen event. Champion cyclist and rower Amy Gillett was killed in the crash and her five teammates were seriously injured. Retired Australian cyclist Margaret Hemsley, a

Chances of a clear resolution to the Roberto Heras doping case seemed lost after doubt and uncertainty over Heras’s counter-analysis was raised this week in Spain. On Wednesday, Heras and his legal team demanded that charges that he used the banned blood booster EPO en route to winning the 2005 Vuelta a España be dropped after follow-up tests were inconclusive. Anti-doping authorities stuck by their guns, however, insisting that further tests were required to fairly conclude if EPO can be identified in Heras’s urine sample taken on the penultimate stage of this year’s Vuelta. Officials

Dear Bob;I commute to work every day, and other than the occasional "get offthe road!" I haven't had any problems until now. While riding to work afew days ago, I heard a vehicle approaching fast from the rear. Once thisguy was a foot off my rear wheel, he started laying on the horn. This guyhad two lanes free of traffic, but he insisted on riding my tail for nearlya mile before taking off … so he could catch another cyclist a bit fartherup in the right lane. This guy cut off two other drivers to get behindthe cyclist, who then got the same horn treatment.Next light I pull up to, this guy

Raimondas Rumsas works his way through a gauntlet of reporters on his way to court on Thursday. The Lithuanian rider could face three years in prison.

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.Why lose a great race?Dear Velo,Wow, it look's like we have to wait for another Lance Armstrong tocome along and bring cycling back to this gorgeous city (see “Chaunerpulls plug on `06 SFGP”). Sure, it cost money, but what doesn’t? On the other hand, I'venever seen a single

Levi Leipheimer, captain of the Gerolsteiner team, says he is one of "five or six cyclists" that can win the 2006 Tour De France. Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong retired after his victory last year and Leipheimer, sixth in this year's Tour, insists he is capable of following in his compatriot's footsteps. "I want to get on the podium at the Tour de France," said Leipheimer in a story from Agence France Presse. "I certainly think I am one of five or six riders capable of succeeding Lance Armstrong." Leipheimer, 31, showed his class by winning the 2005 Tour of

Those racers motivated enough to push away from a second helping of turkey and toe the line at the Gearworks Bay State Cyclo-Cross Saturday in Sterling, Massachusetts, will get a sneak preview of what to expect from December’s U.S. Cycling Federation Cyclo-cross National Championships in Rhode Island. Round four of the 2005 Verge New England Championships Cyclo-Cross Series, presented by Cycle-Smart, Gearworks will use a course designed by veteran Tom Stevens, the man also responsible for laying out the course at nationals. "The two courses are very, very similar and the weather conditions

Four-time Vuelta a España winner Roberto Heras and his attorney cried foul on Wednesday after a Spanish laboratory said there had been a delay in the analysis of his B sample from the 2005 Vuelta's 20th-stage time trial. Heras, whose A sample tested positive for EPO after that penultimate stage, has maintained his innocence, arguing that there had been a mix-up in the laboratory and that he was confident of being cleared. During a press conference Wednesday, Heras told the Reuters news agency that the lab was "unable to reach a conclusion." "I expected a negative test, but what has

UCI president Pat McQuaid says the sports governing body is considering putting a double circuit in place to try to resolve the ongoing conflict concerning the ProTour. McQuaid's predecessor, Hein Verbruggen, introduced the ProTour in the autumn of 2004 to help modernize and better organize the often-hectic professional cycling calendar. But it met with resistance from race organizers — including the ASO (Amaury Sport Organization), whose portfolio of events includes the Tour de France — who believe the reforms were rushed in too quickly and without their input. McQuaid, who took over

Heras faces a two-year ban if the B sample proves positive

One of the most adrenaline-inducing sounds at a track race, particularly in a European six-day, is the ring of the lap bell. Whether it’s for an intermediate prize in a Madison, a lap to go in a points race, or entering the very final lap of the six-day, the bell gets spectators on their feet and sends the racers into a sprinting frenzy For the last several years that exciting “clang-clang-clang” has been missing at Belgium’s Ghent Six (the Z6s Daagse Vlaanderen-Gent), replaced by an electronic buzzer. A fire caused considerable damage at the velodrome, including destruction of its old brass

It’s been almost a decade since Canadian cycling’s elder statesman, Steve Bauer, hung up his cleats and headed into retirement. Since that time, Bauer has kept himself busy on the bike, most notably running a series of successful international and domestic cycling tours. That’s right, for a pretty penny cycling fans can ride the Tour de France route with Bauer-Power himself. It’s a fruitful business, and one that has him putting a good number of miles on those 46-year-old legs of his. Now, filling the Steve’s trophy case are an Olympic silver medal, a handful of yellow jerseys from the

Jan Ullrich and his T-Mobile teammates are hoping a military-style training camp in the Austrian Alps will deliver stronger results in the coming season. T-Mobile recently concluded a team meeting that included two-and-a-half days of team-building exercises in the snowy mountains. Team members hiked through heavy snow, built a rope bridge across a canyon and prepared meals together. "We went into a lot of these challenges, thinking we would never manage it," Ullrich said on T-Mobile’s web page. "But everybody weighed in, so that we devised the right strategy to achieve our goals. It was

Promoters of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships have organized one final pageant for elite men in this 2005 season. The Liberty Cup, to be held Sunday, December 11, right before the elite women's championship, is a showcase for all the national champions. "Any national champion over the age of 15 will be invited to race with no entry fee," said Tom Stevens, race director. "The one caveat is that we ask them to wear their national championship jersey. If they do that we give them a front row start position. We will pay a good prize list and reward the top masters

German rider Danilo Hondo should find out in two weeks if an appeal against a one-year doping ban is successful, his lawyer said Tuesday after a lengthy hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Hondo, who has a Swiss racing license, was handed a one-year ban by the Swiss Olympic association in June after he tested positive for carphedon, a banned stimulant, twice during the Tour of Murcia in Spain in April. The 31-year-old won two stages in that race, following up on his second-place finish behind Alessandro Petacchi in the prestigious, season-opening classic Milan-San Remo in

A six-day is a special thing, especially in Ghent

Ring in the new

Ready, set go... Bauer takes on the (paved) downhill

Ullrich pulls an Indiana Jones in the Austrian Alps

Hondo maintains his innocence

Rumsas on the Tour podium in 2002

Tyler Hamilton's fight to clear his name will enter its final round in January, nearly a year-and-a-half after he was found positive for injecting donor blood at the Vuelta a España. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced on Monday it would listen to closing arguments on January 10 in Denver. A final decision will be made at the end of the panel's deliberations, which may last a few weeks. Hamilton has asked the CAS, world sport's top tribunal, to overturn a two-year ban imposed last year. Hamilton tested positive for illicit blood transfusions during the Tour of

There will be no San Francisco GP in 2006, the race organizer announced Sunday. An ongoing dispute with City Hall over police costs and billing practices has proved to be "a no-win situation, and we simply cannot go forward," said David Chauner, director of San Francisco Cycling LLC, which founded and ran the annual race. "There is considerable uncertainty regarding the amounts we will be billed after each year’s race, making it impossible to accurately forecast budgets or question charges beforehand," Chauner said. "On top of that, the periodic, emotionally charged Board of Supervisors’

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. While racing is our usual focus, Albert Raine’s “Tents and Bikes at Mt. Everest” reminds us of the great potential the bicycles have for bringing joy and adventure into our lives. On top of that, it’s just a beautiful shot, isn’t it? Congratulations Albert! 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

Tara Ross (Diet Cheerwine) and Jon Hamblen (Fiordifrutta) won the North Carolina Grand Prix Saturday in Hendersonville’s Jackson Park. The UCI event featured a fast, spectator-friendly 3km course dotted with many off-camber sections, a steep "wall," and a set of double natural step-ups. In the women’s elite field, Ross immediately strung out the field immediately. A chase group including teammate Laura Bowles, Samantha Williams (Alan Factory) and Kim Sawyer (Travel Girl) faded over the next few laps as Betsy Schauer (Fort–GPOA!) took over the pursuit. Cara McCauley (CCA-Kona) and Melanie

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.Supervisors to blame for SFGP’s demiseEditor:What a complete shame about the GP San Francisco. As a patron the last four years at the event, I will miss the sight of riders on Fillmore and Taylor, begrudgingly riding 25s when mere mortals would prefer MTB gearing. I will miss the sights

Now all Roberto Heras can do is wait. On Monday in Madrid, technicians conducted the counter-analysis on urine samples taken from the four-time Vuelta a España champion in the penultimate stage of this year’s race. The anti-doping test will confirm or clear Heras of charges he took the banned blood booster EPO en route to winning the 2005 title. On the advice of his lawyer, Heras waived his right to witness the procedure. In his place were two observers acting on his behalf: José María Buxeda, a member of his legal team, and Italian chemist Giuseppe Pierraccini, a specialist in the EPO test

Colby Pearce of Boulder, Colorado, has been named USA Cycling’s endurance track coach. Pearce, 33, will be involved in all phases of the endurance track program, including working with the elite men’s and women’s programs, the U23 program, and developing junior racers, said director of track cycling Pat McDonough. "He’s worked for the last year with TIAA-CREF as a rider-coach and has brought a number of athletes and top road talent to the track," McDonough said. "We hope he can take us to the next level." McDonough noted that Pearce, a former road rider himself, will be instrumental in

It looks like Taylor street will be a little less crowded on September 10, 2006

Tents and Bikes at Mt. Everest

Perhaps no doping test in Spanish racing history has as much at stake as Roberto Heras’s counter-analysis scheduled for Monday in Madrid. Many observers say the fate of the four-time Vuelta a España champion – who is facing allegations he used the banned blood-booster EPO en route to his 2005 victory – could have major impacts on the entire Spanish cycling community. Not only is Heras’s legacy and reputation at stake, but the credibility of cycling also hangs in the balance for many sport fans. If the follow-up tests on urine sample confirm the presence of EPO – and results are expected to

Four top cyclo-cross racers celebrated victories Sunday night after the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross series finale in San Francisco’s renowned Golden Gate Park. Two riders, Todd Wells and Wendy Simms, enjoyed victories at the scenic Clark Natwick Grand Prix, while two others, Barry Wicks and Lyne Bessette, were awarded overall series titles. Perhaps the biggest winner of the day was the Kona Cyclocross team, which scored both the elite men’s overall series win with 24-year-old sensation Wicks and also took an upset race victory when Simms became the first woman this season to

Nice jersey. Will he get to keep it?

Simms breaks the streak.

Bessette finally showed she was human.

Wells takes the sprint; Wicks takes the series

Johnson put in a good fight

Horner improves in his second outing

With bright sunshine and near-tropical heat, the Aloha spirit was alive and well Saturday in Santa Cruz, California, at round 5 of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. Hosted by the Northern Californian Velo Bella team, the final round of the Surf City Cyclo-cross series wasn't exactly a day at the beach - unless you count the weather, which inflicted mid-80s temperatures on a field more accustomed to snow, mud and bitter cold than to sweat, salt and baking heat. Instead of slick ice, racers were met with technically challenging loose and dry conditions, steep climbs and

Wicks wants the whole enchilada.

This is `cross season, isn't it?

Wells in pursuit

Horner tries something different.

Bessette's streak hits 12

Simms made it a real race on Saturday.

Why we love `cross: TIAA-CREF-Clif Bar's Troy Wells grimaces while a competitor gets a face full of dust.

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.Clay Mankin: Passionate, generous and gentleEditor:Last Sunday, cyclists and decent human beings everywhere lost a wonderful friend, advocate, instigator, visionary and an all-purpose do-gooder in Clay Mankin, loving father and husband, proprietor and icon of the San Francisco institution

An ambitious Jan Ullrich hinted Thursday he wants to win both the Tour de France and the Tour of Germany in 2006. Speaking via a video feed during the presentation of the 2006 Deutschland Tour, Ullrich said the nine-day, 1400km course better suits his style than the mountainous 2005 version, which saw Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) take the overall. "I rate the German tour almost as high as the Tour de France," Ullrich said via video during the presentation of the 2006 Deutschland Tour. "After finishing second this year, next time I want to win it." The 2006 German tour – featuring two

While it won’t make for the epic imagery usually associated with cyclo-cross, sunny, warm weather is expected in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend, the site for the finale of the 2005 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross series. Instead of the snowstorm conditions racers faced at race 3 of the series October 29 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, competitors will revel in the sunbathed tradition of West Coast cyclo-cross. Saturday’s Surf City Cyclocross, at the Watsonville Fairgrounds just outside of Santa Cruz, and Sunday’s Clark Natwick Grand Prix, in San Francisco’s Golden Gate

Greg LeMond had a surprise visitor at L’Alpe d’Huez during the 1984 Tour de France. He was relaxing in his hotel room after placing sixth on the stage up the fabled alpine climb when there was a knock on the door. He recognized the female visitor as a motorcycle driver on the race. She said to the young American, then 23, "Greg, do you know who Bernard Tapie is? He’d like to see you in private." Yes, LeMond did know that Tapie was the mysterious, ambitious French businessman who that year had started a new pro cycling team, La Vie Claire, which had hired four-time Tour winner Bernard

Ullrich doesn't want to finish behind Leipheimer in the 2006 Tour of Germany

LeMond in La Vie Claire kit

Ask your average die-hard cyclo-cross fanatic to comment on the burning social, political or economic issues of the day and you may not get much of a response. Ask, “Tubular or clincher?” and you’re bound to get an earful. Of course, much of what you hear is as likely to confuse as to enlighten. Old-school Euros will, without a doubt, defend their motto, “Tubulars or death!” North American racers with a mountain-bike background will thoughtfully explain that the tubular's advantages can be matched by superior rubber technology and the advanced tread patterns of today’s clinchers. No

Attorneys for Roberto Heras promise they’re ready for a fight if a counter-analysis scheduled for Monday confirms the four-time Vuelta a España champion used the banned blood-booster EPO. Andreu Garriga, the attorney for four-time Vuelta a España, is promising a lengthy legal battle if tests come back positive. “We will enter judicial and sporting (actions) and will support it with all the available resources,” Garriga told the Spanish daily AS. Heras is denying allegations that he used EPO en route to a record fourth Vuelta crown in September. Spanish cycling has been rocked following

Some days just beg for clinchers ...

... while others demand fancy tubulars.

Vittoria's EVO XG

Vittoria's EVO XN is designed for dry conditions and comes in both tubular and clincher (this one is a tubular)

The Dugast `cross Typhoon

The original Michelin Mud has taller knobs with no siping perfect for those really mucky days

Tufo's Elite LPS Tubular is a very popular tire

The suberb Michelin Mud 2. This tire is being run tubeless with sealent on a Shimano 7801-SL wheel set

Geax's Mezcal semi-slick

Hi Monique,Now that coffee has been recommended as a good source of antioxidants, in moderation, of course, do you have any information regarding how the decaffeinating process may affect the antioxidant effect of coffee?LW Dear LW,As you are aware there was a recent headline grabbing study, which was actually presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society this past summer. This study received widespread attention and Americans were informed that coffee is the number one source of antioxidants in the American diet. As is often the case, this study begs that we once again “read the

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.Small change for big eventEditor,This is disheartening. If San Francisco fails to continuewith its support of this imrpressive race I have lost hope in thiscountry ever truly caring for, or even respecting, cycling.Sad, sad, sad!I know that we need to run our cities efficiently, but

The UCI’s ProTour Council shot down plans for a final split-stage proposed as part of the 2006 Giro d’Italia, saying rules don’t allow for more than one stage to be held a day in ProTour races. On Saturday, Giro race organizers announced the route for the 2006 edition that included a final stage with a morning 11km time trial on the Ghisallo climb and a 116km road finale into Milan. The decision came after sharp criticism from the Italian cycling riders federation as well as other riders, who insist the 2006 Giro finale was too demanding after such a long and challenging course. Giro race

Oh happy days again. I’m glad to be back in Belgium this winter racing `cross. I am actually stoked to be here, but I wasn't so hot on the ass kicking I received this weekend at the Pijnacker World Cup in The Netherlands. The legs just haven't really wanted to turn over lately, but that is bike racing and I am sure things will turn around shortly. That’s the hope anyhow. Jeremy POOOWERS! (as the French like to say) and I decided we would head down to Chateau Bernard last Friday to do a C2 race there. It was kind of a long drive at 800km, but as they say, “When in France I guess you

Clay Mankin died Sunday November 13 of natural causes doing what he loved:riding his bike. He was just a week shy of his 50th birthday and to celebrate,Clay was treating himself to a solo ride from the San Francisco Bay Areato Santa Barbara when he died.Clay was a gift to cycling and as I pause to remember him – I feel honoredto have ridden with him. As the owner of CityCycle bike shop in San Francisco, he was legendary for his abilityto pull people into cycling.The last time I saw Clay he was also shoving off for a big ride. Hewas riding from our Bike Camp hotel in Tuscany to meet a former

Clay Mankin