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It’s the eve of the third 2005 NORBA national mountain-bike race at Deer Valley, Utah, but it feels like the first race of the year. Cross-country pros shake hands and hug like they haven’t seen each other in months. Gravity racers roll out brand-new unscratched machines for their first taste of mud and rocks. Excitement is in the air – no one is sure who will have the biggest performance of the weekend. The antsy attitudes and uncertainty are well warranted for both cross-country riders and gravity racers. Although it’s mid-June, this is the first national gravity race of the season. Last

Few jobs can be as boring as that of manning a passport control booth at an airport. For hour after hour you open passports, look at the photo, match it with the person standing in front of you, and then date-stamp one of the blank pages. Next! About 20 years ago, I was in a short line at Madrid’s airport on a midweek morning. The Spanish passport control guy was a little overweight, chubby-faced and somewhat bleary-eyed (from a late-night party?). I could see him giving the passports a cursory glance and mechanically stamping them. It was as if he were in a trance. Then, with the

As expected, the 27km time trial has rearranged the general classification at the Tour de Beauce. Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) takes over the yellow jersey from Dominique Rollin (Equipe Quebec), but he is just five seconds in front of Nathan O'Neill (Navigators), who crushed the competition in the stage. O’Neill finished 52 seconds in front of runner-up Tuft, with his teammate Jeff Louder giving Navigators third place on the stage and in the overall rankings. The riders woke up to heavy rain, but by the time the first rider rolled down the ramp, it had backed off to drizzle, and halfway

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.You can’t choose what happens in an accidentEditor:This is just a note in response to the letter from Scott Hendricks, who wrote about feeling no need to wear a helmet if all the gear in the world couldn't save him from a runaway SUV (see Monday’s Mailbag: “No, he doesn’t”). Indeed,

In just his second year as a professional rider, Cody Warren (Haro) grabbed his first NORBA National victory by winning Friday’s dual slalom, beating Kiwi John Kirkcaldie (Maxxis) by less than half a second. With his mother and girlfriend in attendance, Warren rode almost a completely flawless five rounds on a turn-filled, gravelly slalom course described by guest announcer John Tomac as “very old school.” The label was repeated throughout the day, as the course featured a mellower incline, fewer berm turns and closer gates than most modern dual-slalom courses. “It reminds me of something

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Merckx at 60 (2005)

Gerdemann

Merckx on a 140km solo attack that put him eight minutes ahead in the '69 Tour

Winning Roubaix

Tuft rides into the lead

Warren tops the men's podium, claiming his first NORBA National win

Kintner came from behind - twice - to win the women's dual

Biking a bobsled run

Bishop ran a modified carbon-fiber single-speed

Controversial cyclist Jobie Dajka was suspended Thursday for three years by a Cycling Australia disciplinary tribunal Thursday that determined he had assaulted head track coach Martin Barras. Cycling Australia (CA) said the incident occurred last week at the High Performance Program offices in Adelaide. The suspension would take immediate effect. CA said in a statement that the tribunal took into account medical evidence relating to Dajka's state of mental health. As a result, CA said, the tribunal determined that Dajka, 24, may apply to have the penalty suspended and reapply for his

Everyone wants to ride faster. Last week wediscussed VO2max and natural ability. Now we get to the good stuff – lactate threshold (LT). The burn. The reason we enjoy talking about LT is because it is highly trainable.Don’t get us wrong, natural ability still plays a huge role, both withVO2max and LT, but for almost every individual, training properly willramp up LT. Lactate Threshold?Lactate is a by-product of anaerobic metabolism that, despite common misconception, is produced across all exercise intensities. In fact, even when you stand up from sitting in a chair, lactate acid is

In what marks an end of era in a year that’s seen more than its fair share of big names leaving cycling, German sprinter star Erik Zabel won’t be part of T-Mobile’s Tour de France plans. The 34-year-old Berliner has ridden in 11 Tours, winning 12 stages and six green jerseys, but the decisive to leave the German ace off its nine-man Tour roster reveals T-Mobile’s real ambition – to try to beat Lance Armstrong in what will be the six-time champion’s last race. “With three riders in the team who already stood on the podium in Paris, we are clearly aiming for yellow,” said future team manager

With a veteran’s tactics and the heart of a rookie, American underdog Chris Horner (Saunier Duval – Prodir) picked up his first major European victory Thursday, crushing the competition in the mountainous sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland. “I’m sorry I don’t know the names,” Horner said when an Italian reporter asked about the several riders he had dropped on the final climb. “This is only my eighth - wait, my fifth - race in Europe.” Michael Rogers of QuickStep took the yellow jersey away from T-Mobile’s Jan Ullrich, and now has a 20-second lead over the German in the general

Italian rider Alessio Galletti complained of breathing trouble and chest pain just moments before stepping off his bike and dying of a heart attack in Wednesday’s Subida al Naranco one-day race in northern Spain. “I feel bad, I can’t breathe,” complained the 37-year-old just 15km from the finish line in the hilly race in Spain’s Asturias region. Those were his last words as the father of one and another on the way stepped out of his pedals, sat on the side of the road and collapsed. Born March 26, 1968 in Pisa, Italy, Galletti wasn’t a natural-born winner. During his 12 years as a pro,

So here I am, back in the office after a great week of racing on the East Coast. I know, I know, Wachovia Week, culminating with the Wachovia USPRO Championship in Philadelphia, was almost two weeks ago – which equates to several light years in Internet time – but that’s about how long it takes me to unpack, catch up on riding, sleep and e-mail, and get through the magazine assignments that follow a trip of that magnitude. In addition to punching out my race story – here’s a sneak peek of the cover for issue 11 - I’ve also been working on a feature profile on USPRO second-place finisher

Dominique Rollin (Equipe Quebec) will hold onto the yellow leader's jerseyat the Tour de Beauce for a second day, after the field finished togetherin stage three.  Rollin, who won stage two on Wednesday, finishedsafely in the pack, three seconds behind winner David O'Loughlin (Navigators). Mark Walters (Navigators), who is second in the overall standings, managedto gain three seconds on Rollin after taking an intermediate time bonus,and is now only 12 seconds out of the lead.The stage was shortened from 180 kilometres to 140 due to road damage,a decision that everyone agreed

Figure 1- Courtesy Dr. Allen Lim

AFP file photo

Horner takes tough stage at Swiss Tour

VeloNews file photo

Horner escaped with Nibali, but left him at the halfway mark on the climb to Arosa

Ullrich slipped out of the jersey, but looks fit for the Tour

Horner celebrates

Horner takes it all in stride

A new leader

Wherry was justifiably thrilled... so were a lot of us.

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Memories of Philly

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Memories of Philly

Mr. Rogers hitches a ride

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Memories of Philly

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Memories of Philly

The inevitable question of what the future holds for Discovery Channel following the retirement of Lance Armstrong won’t include a post-Tour shopping spree. Discovery Channel team boss Johan Bruyneel said the team is unlikely to be on the market looking for another big-time name to take over the reins following Armstrong’s departure. “Every year you take some new guys, but for the moment it’s very quiet for us,” Bruyneel told VeloNews. “I think we have a great team, even without Lance we’ve been doing great. I won’t go desperately after another guy.” Bruyneel guided Armstrong to an

Lance Armstrong fans can breathe easy – cycling’s super-hero isn’t simply going to disappear from the scene come the end of July. Sure, he might not be slaying villains on his bike after this year's Tour de France, but Armstrong won’t ride off to his Texas ranch only to show up at reunion parties for ex-Tour winners 20 pounds overweight in 10 year’s time. No, Big Tex will be with us long after his final bicycle race as a professional. “I think we’ll see more of Lance,” says Bill Stapleton, Armstrong’s longtime right-hand man. “I don’t expect him to be out at the ranch for too

GO TO THE TOUR DE FRANCE AND BENEFIT THE DAVIS PHINNEY FOUNDATIONPhiladelphia, PA – Tour de France Filmmaker and fundraiser ScottCoady has pledged to donate $500 to the Davis Phinney Foundation for eachperson who signs on to any of the remaining spots on his 2005 Tour de Francetrips.  Scott created a travel company to take fans of his film –The Tour Baby! – to the Tour de France and has trips running this yearin both the Alps and Pyrenees. Scott Coady explains the connection to Phinney,“Davis provided me with the original inspiration that led to the makingof the The Tour Baby! when he

Liquigas’s Michael Albasini jumped out of a seven-man escape group to win the fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Wednesday. The win was the first in the 24-year-old Albasini’s professional career and one that was especially sweet as it took place on home soil and came by outsprinting his old Phonak teammate, Swiss national champion, Gregory Rast at the front of a small group that finished but 38 seconds ahead of the main field. “I never thought our group could arrive ahead of the peloton,” said Albasini. “But about 10 kilometers from the end, I began to believe we just might do

Italian rider Alessio Galletti died Wednesday after suffering an apparent heart attack during Spain's Subida Naranco cycling race, chief press officer Jose Ramon Rodriguez confirmed to AFP. The 37-year-old Galletti, a rider with the Naturino-Sapore di Mare team, died near the northern town of Oviedo after losing consciousness following a fall 15km from the finish line. Spanish media quoted other riders as saying that the 37-year-old had difficulties breathing at points leading up to the climb. "He was at the back of the peloton about to begin the penultimate climb of the stage. He

Lac Etchemin, Quebec - Quebec riders made it two-for-two in thesecond stage of the Tour de Beauce on Wednesday, with Dominique Rollin(Equipe Quebec) winning the 180 kilometer stage.  Rollin finishedsecond to Martin Gilbert (VW-Trek) in Tuesday's opening stage and, withthe time bonuses awarded for winning the stage, takes over the yellow leader'sjersey.The race took the riders on a long, hilly loop around Lac Etchemin,through the Beauce region south of Quebec City.  The weather playeda major factor in the stage, with cold rain and strong winds forcing theabandonment of many

Armstrong will be around for a while, says Stapleton

Ullrich stays in yellow

The seven escapees managed to fend off the field.

Tom Danielson is scheduled to start the Tour of Austria (July 4-10) in what will be his return to racing after pulling out of the Giro d’Italia with knee troubles. Danielson saw his Giro come to an abrupt end with pain and swelling in his knee made it impossible for him to continue. “The knee is good and I am back,” Danielson said in an e-mail. “I’ve been training just a little, but all is good. I’m healed it up and now I am strengthened the source of the problem. It is crazy how our bodies can just go out of whack from something we do everyday. Luckily, I am on the best team in the world,

There are serious concerns for the mental and physical well being of Australia's former world sprint champion Jobie Dajka as he awaits Thursday’s verdict from an inquiry into his attack on national coach Martin Barras. Whatever the outcome of the Cycling Australia disciplinary hearing, held and adjourned last Friday, still hanging over Dajka is the threat of assault charges stemming from an incident at the Australian Institute of Sport headquarters in Adelaide last Wednesday. As of Tuesday, Adelaide police said no charges had yet been laid. Since Dajka was taken to Adelaide's Lyell

After three stage wins and an early departure from last month’s Giro d’Italia, Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) resumed his winning ways on Tuesday, taking the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland. The Australian national champion easily beat Daniele Colli (Liquigas) at the head of a mass sprint finish in the town of Bad Zurzach. “A stage win here in the Tour de Suisse with this field is pretty worthy,” said the Australian winner, pointing out that many of the UCI Pro Tour’s top sprinters chose the Swiss stage race over the overlapping Dauphiné Libéré. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) held on to

Water, water everywhereDear Lennard,My Spinergy Xaero's quite literally fill up with water if I ride whenit rains even reasonably hard. Only way to get it out is to eitherdeflate the tire and pry it off at the valve hole when the hole's at thebottom, or remove the tube/tire and drain with the hole at the bottom.This drives me nuts! It's not a little water either.It makes a big puddle. Any suggestions?MattDear Matt,I can imagine why this might drive you nuts! It’s amazing how manyquestions about this exact thing I have gotten this spring, regarding manydifferent wheel brands.

A local Quebec rider, riding for a local Quebec team won the first stageof the Tour de Beauce, despite the presence of top-flite U.S. squads the likes of Navigators, Health Net and Jittery Joe's. Martin Gilbert (VW-Trek) took the leader's jersey after winning the sprint out of select group of 14 riders who finished just under a minute ahead of the peloton.The 169-kilometer stage started in light rain, and overcast skies doggedthe race all day.  The stage featured the long, rolling climbs whichthe region is famous for.  Jean Sebastien Beland (Equipe Quebec) startedthe action

Danielson at this year's Tour de Georgia

Dajka at world's in 2003

Ullrich is hoping to keep this color combination going through July, as well

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.A mistake of Olympic proportionEditor,I can't believe the kilois being dropped from the Olympic games in favor of BMX!Is this decision absolute? I've got nothing against BMX.In fact, I raced BMX as a kid before I grew up and raced on thevelodrome. What are the tree-trunk-legged

Francaise des Jeux's Bradley McGee won the third stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Monday ahead of Italy's Mirko Celestino and Patrik Sinkewitz of Germany. German star Jan Ullrich, who stayed tucked away in the peloton, kept hold of the yellow jersey after the end of the 154km stage from Abtwil to St. Anton. The 29-year-old McGee, a member of the Australian Olympic team pursuit gold medal winning team in Athens in 2004, also gave his team its second win of this year's race following Austrian Bernhard Eisel's victory in the opening stage. McGee said he was delighted with

Ullrich stays in yellow

The Dauphiné Libéré has been a race of reckoning for many. While Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Santiago Botero and Alexandre Vinokourov have clearly demonstrated they’re in top form, other big names have failed to leave any impression at all. One name lost deep in the daily result sheet is Spanish climbing sensation Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros), who hasn’t finished well in any of the big climbing stages. “There’s no reason to panic yet,” insists Heras, 52nd overall at 33:29 back. “There’s still a month to go before the Tour. I don’t come here to do anything in

George Hincapie put an emphatic exclamation point on what’s been a fête américaine during this year’s Dauphiné Libéré, winning Sunday’s exciting finale after a dramatic two-man breakaway with Discovery Channel teammate and protégé Yaroslav Popovych. Basque bomber Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi) hung on during the fast-paced 128km seventh stage to claim the 57th Dauphiné crown by a slender margin of 11 seconds to Santiago Botero (Phonak) while Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) finished third overall at 38 seconds back for his first major podium since his breakthrough at the 2001 Vuelta a

T-Mobile's Jan Ullrich, riding for the T-Mobile team, won the second stage of the Tour of Switzerland in Weinfelden on Sunday, a 36km time trial. Ullrich, using a new bike, edged Australian duo Bradley McGee and Michael Rogers by 15 and 18 seconds respectively. Many of the fans lining the course in this German-speaking canton of northern Switzerland were dressed in T-Mobile pink to show their support for Ullrich. Bernhard Eisel, who won the opening stage on Saturday, finished well off the pace in Sunday's time trial. "Naturally I'm happy. I was wondering if I'd be able to

PARIS (The Associated Press) - Jose Beyaert, the 1948 Olympic gold medalist in road racing and a longtime coach of Colombia's national team, died Saturday, his family said. He was 79. Beyaert died in a hospital in the western city of La Rochelle, where he had been treated a month for various health problems, said his son, also named Jose Beyaert. At the 1948 Olympics in London, Beyaert won a bronze medal in the team time trial for France as well as his gold in road racing. He was well-known in Colombia for winning that nation's tour in 1952. Beyaert stayed in Colombia for most

More than 3000 spectators came out in sweltering heat and humidity of Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, to watch Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) of nearby Chateau Richer, and Victoria's Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) win the2005 Canadian National Mountain Bike titles on Sunday against some of thestrongest fields ever assembled for a national championships. In past years, the national championships have often been missing key Canadian stars. Usually, it is because they have been pre-selected for international events (including last year’s Olympics), and the program they have put

STILLWATER, Minn. (June 12, 2005) -- Twenty-six seconds is all that separated Webcor Builder’s Christine Thorburn from Quark Cycling Team’s Tina Pic. That’s about as much time as it took to crest Chilkoot Hill, a short climb at a grade of 20-percent that the riders had to tackle 13 times in this final stage of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival’s Nature Valley Grand Prix. With eight turns, the 1.5-mile course also provided ample spots for breaks to sneak away out of sight. Thorburn’s team was determined not to let either of those affect who wore the general classification leader’s

STILLWATER, Minn. (June 12, 2005) – A spent Shawn Milne rolled through the finish line of the last stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, gasping for air after climbing the 20-percent grade Chilkoot Hill for the last time. “Today was a day you just talk with your legs, and obviously John’s spoke louder,” the Navigator Insurance rider said. For all the talk that transpired over the last two days between Milne and Health Net/Maxxis’ John Lieswyn over the way the leader’s jersey changed hands between the two of them, on Sunday everything was left on the road. Midway through the Stillwater

By George! Hincapie wins another at Dauphiné; Landaluze takes overall

Botero kept up the pressure...

That sprint got him the points jersey.

...but Landaluze held his own.

Leipheimer and Armstrong on the move.

Ullrich wins Swiss tour TT

The dynamic duo

The final podium

A one-two punch... a later, Armstrong takes third