French decry malaiseRecriminations are flying as French cycling officials grapple for a reason to explain France’s less-than-stellar presentation in the 92nd Tour de France.
David Moncoutie was the only French rider to win a stage and Christophe Moreau, 11th at 16:26 back, was the only French rider in the top 20, enough to make any Frenchman cry in his pastis.
In an interview published in L’Equipe, French cycling federation officials are decrying a variety of reasons for France’s dismal showing.
Excuses range from too many foreign riders, a different attitude about training and winning,
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.Slackers Unite!I have really enjoyed your coverage. It has made it possible for me to follow the Tour while at work. Any plans for similar coverage for the world’s?Jack HalesTampa, FloridaYes, Jack, we plan to offer Live Coverage and race reports from the world’s and, of course, daily
Great Britain’s Court of Appeal has dealt a setback to Lance Armstrong’s ongoing suit against London’s Sunday Times newspaper over the publication of a story suggesting the American has used performance-enhancing drugs.
In overturning a lower court decision, a three-judge appeals panel ruled Friday that the paper was entitled to argue that it was obligated to publish a story that triggered Armstrong's suit. In a story publish in June of 2004, the paper outlined allegations against Armstrong that he had used a variety of doping products, both before and after his 1996 cancer
I am glad to see Armstrong go. With him there are no heroes, only victims.A German fan on the Col du Galibier
I got a good laugh out of this, even if I didn’t actually hear it in person. My buddy Kirk, who was over at the Tour de France with some pals riding the cols of the Alps and Pyrénées alongside the race, relayed the quote to me. But I think the sentiment was shared by many fans along the roads of the Tour, as well as by a majority of journalists I spoke with during the week I spent in France.
As amazing as Lance Armstrong’s feats at the world’s biggest bike race have been, the same
Trek and SRAM team up on relief effortOn December 26, 2004, a massive earthquake off the Northern coast ofSumatra created a Tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean. It hit thesurrounding countries with waves ranging from 8 to 20 meters.In the affected coastal regions, villages were destroyed and lives endedquickly and violently. Current estimates indicate over 200,000 dead, 100,000missing, and over a million homeless. The survivors now face the long struggleof rebuilding their lives, families and communities.Disaster relief of this scale is broken into 3 phases. Phase 1: First two
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The Martinsburg circuit race has traditionally been the day for sprinters to steal the spotlight at the International Tour de Toona, giving GC riders to rest up for Saturday's mammoth road stage. Friday's 76-mile race featured four 19-mile circuits of ice-smooth roads through bucolic Mennonite farms and dairy pastures.
In the men's race Colavita-Sutter Homes played their hand right and swept the entire podium. Mark McCormack took the win, and more importantly, gained a 15-second time bonus. The effort paid off as McCormack moved from eighth to sixth on general classification,
Tom Danielson reports he’s fully recovered from knee problems that derailed his Giro d’Italia hopes and now the Discovery Channel rider is anticipating a strong ride at the Vuelta a España. Danielson returned to competition in July, finishing a strong fifth at the Tour of Austria (July 4-10) and 16th at the Sachsen Tour in Germany (July 20-24). Both results are encouraging for Danielson after coming off the painful knee injury this spring. “I just finished 12 days of racing for this last month. I did the Tour of Austria and the Sachsen Tour. Both races came directly after my month’s rest to
Thursday's fourth stage of the International Tour de Toona, a circuit race in Hollidaysburg - the only city in America where the Slinky is manufactured - was held on the same course that an up-and-coming Chann McRae beat a young Lance Armstrong for the national amateur championship title back in 1992.
Both men and women's fields seemed content to keep Thursday's fourth stage a status quo affair for the GC contenders and let the rest take their best shot. As a result, Webcor’s Christine Thorburn and Health Net’s Chris Wherry held on to their overall leads as Kori Seehafer
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A Colombian reporter was killed when his car crashed on a sharp mountain bend while he was doing a live broadcast Wednesday of a cycling race.
RCN radio said Alberto Martinez, 52, was riding in an SUV, watching riders compete in the Tour de Colombia when the brakes apparently failed and the vehicle hit a side barrier before flipping over.
Another two reporters, a radio technician and the driver were injured and rushed to hospital, RCN said.
"The pair riding out front are heading for the final stage ... it's (cyclist Mauricio) Soler, Soler!" were
No Vuelta for Freire, worlds in doubtThree-time world champion Oscar Freire will miss the upcoming Vuelta a España and is doubtful for the 2005 world championships.
According to a report in the Spanish sports daily AS, Freire is still recovering from an operation to remove a cyst in mid-June. Complications have kept the Spanish rider out of competition ever since and he says he’s in no shape to race the three-week Vuelta, scheduled for Aug. 27-Sept. 18.
“It’s impossible that I can get into form in time for the Vuelta. Without being able to train, I can’t start a three-week race,” Freire
In setting up what is sure to be one of the big battles of the 2006 Tour de France, Alexandre Vinokourov has inked a deal with the Spanish Liberty-Seguros team.
In leaving Jan Ullrich's T-Mobile squad, Vinokourov said he joined Liberty with the expressed goal of winning the Tour within the next two years.
The Kazakh-born Russian, fifth in last week's Tour after winning two stages, said he had realized in the third week of this year's Tour his career was going nowhere as long as he remained a part of Ullrich's support network.
"I've given myself two years to win the
CPSC, VisionTech USA, Inc. Announce Recall of Bicycle Aero BarsWASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission,in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recallof the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalledproducts immediately unless otherwise instructed.Name of Product: VisionTech USA SuperMax, TriMax, TriMax Plusand Pro model Integrated Bicycle Aero BarsUnits: About 280Manufacturer: VisionTech USA, Inc., of Auburn, Wash.Hazard: The centerpiece of these bicycle aero bars can crackor break, causing the bicycle rider to lose
Two of the Australian cyclists seriously injured in a road accident in Germany last week have surprised doctors with their recovery, the clinic where they are being treated said on Monday.
Alexis Rhodes and Louise Yaxley were hurt in the accident caused by an out-of-control teenage driver that killed their international team colleague Amy Gillett during training in eastern Germany for the Thuringen Rundfahrt last week.
Rhodes, 20, and Yaxley, 23, are no longer in intensive care.
“They are doing surprisingly well. They no longer need assistance to breathe and they are talking," said
Lance Armstrong's triumphant farewell to cycling Sunday in Paris with his seventh consecutive Tour de France victory brought praise from across America, including a call from U.S. President George W. Bush.
Bush telephoned Armstrong, a fellow Texan, shortly after the finish from his retreat in Camp David, Maryland, said White House spokeswoman Christie Parell.
"Our country and the world are incredibly proud of you," Bush told Armstrong, adding that his victory was "a great triumph of the human spirit" and "a testament not only to your athletic talent but to your courage."
Armstrong was
Off to the racesRacers (and writers) woke up with a tinge of a hang-over Monday following the big sigh of relief that comes at the end of the pressure-cooker that’s the Tour de France.
Lance Armstrong and his Discovery Channel teammates were feted at a private bash inside the posh Ritz hotel Sunday night in Paris. Some 600 invited guests celebrated Armstrong’s unprecedented seventh Tour victory.
Armstrong was scheduled to fly to the French Riviera on Monday to begin his life as a retired athlete.
“Come Monday morning," Armstrong said on Saturday, "we’re going to wake up in Paris and the
KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES, CIRCUIT GLOBAL SPORTS MANAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMAJOR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTMinneapolis, July 18, 2005—Kelly Benefit Strategies, (www.kellybenefitstrategies.com),a group insurance broker and consultant specializing in healthcare anda division of Kelly & Associates Insurance Group, Inc. (KELLY), hassigned a multi-year partnership agreement with Circuit Global Sports Management(www.circuitsport.com) to bethe title sponsor of the KELLY Professional Cycling Team. This new U.S. professional cycling team will concentrate on gainingentry into such 2006 events as the
Course: After looping around the Chevreuse valley south of Paris, the course heads into the city on the right bank of the Seine to reach the traditional Champs-Élysées finishing circuit after 92.5km. Eight laps of the 6.5km circuit complete the 2005 Tour just 400 meters after the final turn from the Place de la Concorde.
History: This is the 30th anniversary of the Tour first finishing on the Champs-Élysées. It previously finished in the velodromes at Vincennes (1968-74) and the Parc des Princes (1904-67). The first Tour, in 1903, finished at Ville d’Avray in the Paris suburbs.
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For a Tour de France finale that was supposed to be a fait accompli — with Lance Armstrong virtually guaranteed a seventh win and the stage supposedly promised to the sprinters — Sunday's stage 21 into the city of Paris hardly fit the bill.
That the 144.5km stage began under gray skies and with cold rain should have been a sign that the race that brought the curtain down on 3593km of racing would have something special to offer. And it did.
Foremost of the day's surprises was the winner on the Champs-Élysées, the most attacking rider of the peloton, the ever-popular Kazakhstan
Stick a fork in it – the 2005 Tour de France is over. It’s been a long, yet wonderful three weeks in France (with a day in Germany and time enough for a quick coffee in Spain). Sometimes the pace of the Tour leaves little time for reflection. So as Lance Armstrong celebrates a magnificent seventh win, we offer VeloNews’s annual web awards for the best moments of the 92nd Tour de France. IT’S A HORSE RACE Best Reason Why You Better Win a Sprint: Robbie McEwen, after Davitamon-Lotto gave chase for more than 100km in stage 13, catching Chris Horner and Sylvain Chavanel about 150m from the line.
The U.S.-based team Discovery Channel earned more than one half-millioneuros in the 2005 Tour de France, the most significant share being thewinner’s check for 400,000 euros given to overall victor, Lance Armstrong.Such prizes are traditionally divided among riders, with the overall winnerusually declining his share as a gesture of gratitude for the work histeammates turned in.At the other end of the spectrum, Spain’s Euskaltel team earned a scant9310 euros for its efforts over the three-week Tour.Current exchange rates - $1.20 per euro – mean that Discovery’s 545,640euros in prize money
In the Tour, the pay window can be found along the Champs-Elysees - and that's where Casey Gibson was staked out on Sunday as the jersey contenders came to collect what they'd earned during the past three weeks. Here's his final gallery for Le Tour 2005.
A weekend sweep, two first time winners, and another tough day for mountain cross, highlighted a full slate of racing at the Snowmass NORBA on Sunday in central Colorado.
Canadian Geoff Kabush made it 2-for-2 in Snowmass, taking a convincing short track victory a day after winning the cross-country by more than a minute. Kabush (Maxxis) is now the series leader in both disciplines, and is well on his way to duplicating his two-title effort of a year ago.
In the women’s STXC race, Dara Mark-Marino finally broke through with her first NORBA win. The former third-grade teacher has been
Zabriskie resurfaces for the end of the TourDave Zabriskie reappeared at the Tour de France, showing up in preppyclothes to join his teammates on the leisurely, ceremonial, post-race ridedown the Champs-Élysées.He has mostly been hanging out in Spain in the few weeks since a mysterious spill in the team time trial forced him to relinquish the yellow jersey. He said he had four or five stitches, and only watched a little of the Tour on television.“I was really tired,” said Zabriskie, asked about his feelings after the crash. “It took awhile to decompress and come back up.”The Utah native still
Course: Time-trial courses don’t come much tougher than this one. From downtown St.-Etienne, the course heads north toward a 7km climb through the village of St. Héand and into the Lyonnais hills. The first time check (17km) is close to the day’s high point at 2769 feet elevation (more than 1000 feet above the start) along a twisting ridge road. Around half-distance, a tortuousdescent drops to the village of St.-Romain-en-Jarez at 1598 feet before a 5km Cat.3 climb lifts the riders back up to 2454 feet at the Col de la Gachet (40km) for the second time split. The final 15km heads down a
Lance Armstrong roared to victory in Saturday's 55.5km time trial in the last real race of his remarkable 14-year career. And he did it with trademark panache, something that some journalists suggested he was lacking this year as he methodically picked apart the competition en route to an unprecedented seventh Tour crown. "Someone asked if you don't win a stage, they say you don't have panache," Armstrong said after beating Jan Ullrich by 23 seconds in the stage 20 time trial. "I came with the intention of doing one thing; that was to win the overall." Barring disaster, Armstrong
This is it: the final time trial of Lance Armstrong’s career. A time trial that offers him the chance to take his only stage win of this Tour, and his first victory of any sort in the 2005 season. If that is not motivation enough for the Discovery Channel team leader and six-time defending champion then there is the desire to impress some of the special guests, such as politician John Kerry and movie star Tom Hanks, who have already arrived at the Tour for Armstrong’s gala celebration banquet Sunday night in Paris.
Armstrong goes into his last truly competitive event — Sunday’s road race
Australian cycling is crippled in pain by the death of national road team member Amy Gillett and the injuries of her five teammates from an out of control car plowing into them while training in Germany on Monday.
The healing process for the sport and the many individuals affected by what happened has only just begun - if at all it can be ever completed.
So great are the ramifications likely to be from what must surely be one of the most unimaginably horrific tragedies to ever hit Australian sport.
It is a process that began within 24 hours of the incident when organizers of the event