All Content

Lance Armstrong is thinking about more than just winning his seventh straight Tour de France title. The cyclist also is considering his future with rock star Sheryl Crow. Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer to win his first Tour in 1999, said he will retire after this year’s race, ending one of the greatest careers in cycling. Next up, a life with Crow and more kids? “Yeah. Sheryl and I are very happy. To me, when you have a relationship, you’re happy and in love, children are a natural part of the equation,” Armstrong told The Associated Press on Saturday after completing a stage

RED WING, Minn. (June 11, 2005) – Maybe a day’s delay helps puts things in perspective. Or maybe it was just the stage win talking. A day after losing the leader’s jersey in a wreck in the last three laps of the Minneapolis Downtown Classic, Health Net/Maxxis’ John Lieswyn was far less critical of race leader Shawn Milne of Navigator Insurance after the fourth stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. In fact, he was downright complimentary. “I’ve got to hand it to Shawn,” he said, describing how Milne organized a chase in the last four laps of the circuit at the Red Wing Road Race to catch

Botero takes his second win of the Dauphiné

Armstrong, Vino' and Gomez

Armstrong and Leipheimer gauging their efforts

Hary was hospitalized after a high-speed crash

Landaluze clings to that jersey, carrying a lead of less than a minute into Sunday's finale

Botero and Moncoutie

Vino' dueling with Landis

A beautiful afternoon in the Alps

Botero hopes he isn't peaking too soon

Mercado leads the escape

Hincapie and Armstrong on the ascent

Landaluze, too, had to measure his efforts

Up from Lac de Annecy

An epic breakaway in the 219km march across the foothills of the French Alps turned the Dauphiné Libéré upside down. Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer fell out of the overall lead – and fell off his bike in a high-speed crash – while Spanish rider Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi) slipped into the maillot jaune after hanging on as part of a 13-man breakaway. Results are posted It was Axel Merckx (Davitamon-Lotto) who took full advantage of the rollercoaster race across the torrid hills from Vaison-la-Romaine, in the shadow of Mont Ventoux, to Grenoble in the shadow of the Alps. “What I did

Jan Ullrich will fine-tune his preparations for next month's Tour de France by racing the Tour of Switzerland, which starts on Saturday. The 31-year-old T-Mobile captain, who has finished second five times in the Tour de France, is still dreaming of repeating his 1997 Tour win. And six-time winner Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel), who is competing in this week's Dauphiné Libéré in France, has once more designated Ullrich as his major rival for a seventh and final Tour victory. A major factor in whether Ullrich repeats his 2004 overall victory here will be his performance in the

ADELAIDE, Australia -- Former world keirin champion Jobie Dajka, suspended for four months last year for lying to a doping inquiry, faces a longer ban for assaulting the Australian cycling track team's head coach. Dajka said Friday that Cycling Australia had recommended a possible four-year suspension. Dajka has admitted assaulting coach Martin Barras and said he regretted doing so. He testified at a tribunal hearing Friday. Dajka, the 2002 keirin world champion, was suspended and dropped from the Olympic team last year when it was determined he had lied to a doping inquiry. He was

Health Net-Maxxis is riding a big wave of momentum, and John Lieswyn shot the curl on Thursday. The veteran rider and former champion of the Nature Valley Grand Prix overcame a deficit of more than two minutes to catch a break of 16 and then kept motoring to win the second stage of the Minnesota race, the 92-mile Mankato Road Race. It marked the fourth consecutive road-race win for Health Net, by four different riders. “It was a team victory of the greatest magnitude,” Lieswyn said. “Right now, it feels like we have a V-8 under the hood.” Lieswyn shared the spotlight with teammate Tyler

The latest Photo Gallery in our continuing photo contest has now been posted for your viewing pleasure. Last Week's WinnerWe’ve awarded a copy of Graham Watson’s Landscapes of Cycling to Steve Conli, for his stunning photo “Buffalo Stampede Antelope Island Utah 2004." Thank you Steve and congratulations. We'll be sending you a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapesof Cycling. This Week's ContestThe announcement of a winner also signals the start of a New Contest, so go ahead and take a look at the Gallery from this round.From all of the submitted photos, we will chose one

When Levi Leipheimer, Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis labored up Mont Ventoux on Friday, battling for the leader’s jersey at this year’s Dauphiné Libéré, their presence emphasized how far American cycling has come in this sport once dominated by Europeans. But the current generation of English-speaking riders is not the first one to produce contenders at the Continent’s leading stage races, especially the Dauphiné. In the early 1980s, America’s Greg LeMond, Australia’s Phil Anderson, Britain’s Robert Millar and Ireland’s Sean Kelly all won stages or challenged for overall victory at the

Phonak lends a hand to the chase

Rebellin drives the pursuit for Leipheimer

Leipheimer took a nasty spill on a fast descent

Landaluze and Mazzoleni chase Merckx

Whose wheel will Landaluze follow on Saturday?

Why, Armstrong's, of course

But Vinokourov is still in the hunt, too

Rebellin, who fought in vain to save Levi Leipheimer's jersey in Friday's stage of the Dauphiné Libéré, will not be riding this year's Tour

Leipheimer saw his jersey slip away . . .

. . . onto Landaluze's shoulders

VeloNews Photo Contest: A new winner and a new gallery

Lieswyn takes the stage

Thorburn rounds the final corner and heads for the line

Doctor's say a diagnosis of Epstein-Barr Virus has gone a long way toward explaining Damiano Cunego's less-than-stellar performance at this year's Giro d'Italia and also put his Tour de France plans in doubt. The 2004 Giro d'Italia champion, who has 18 career titles, will undergo further examinations at Milan's Raffaele hospital on June 20 to determine whether he can compete next month in France. The virus may explain the 23-year-old's disappointing performance for Lampre at this year's Giro in which he finished in 18th position, 24 minutes behind champion

Alexandre Vinokourov might not be the most exciting rider off the bike, but it’s what he does on the bike that’s so enthralling. Attacking is what the shy, soft-spoken man from Kazakhstan does best, not giving pithy quotes to the European cycling hacks that must crane their necks to hear what he has to say. The T-Mobile rider let his actions speak louder than his mumbled words in Thursday’s 182km fourth stage of the Dauphiné Libéré when he followed an attack from Belgian climbing phenom Wim Van Huffel (Davitamon-Lotto) to claim victory on the fearsome slopes of Mont Ventoux. “I made the

Dear Bob,I am a triathlete and do my bike riding with a training partner. We ride side-by-side a majority of the time. Last week when we pulled over at a convenience store a trucker told us we were breaking the law by riding “two abreast.” Is he right?AlbertDear Albert,Anyone who rides with a fellow cyclist is faced with a decision about how to arrange themselves on the roadway. I would guess most reader-no matter what state they live in- ride side by side a majority of the time. This is the best way to pass the sometime monotonous miles (of course there is nothing monotonous about riding

An officiating error and a late-race crash combined to shake up the men’s standings in the Nature Valley Grand Prix on Friday. Shawn Milne (Navigators Insurance) won the Minneapolis Downtown Classic and collected the leader’s jersey after a lap counter that read 2 for two laps gave him an unexpected edge over a small lead group confused about just when stage 3 of the NVGP was supposed to end. Milne sprinted for the line when the lap counter should have read 0, but his sprint turned into an attack when race officials began ringing the bell signaling the final lap. “I went for it, but I

Leipheimer keeps the jersey

Armstrong is focusing on July

Jakshe was among the strongest in the break

Landis, fifth on the day and fourth overall

Van Huffel on the go

Vinokourov and Gomez follow...

Milne wins a confusing crit

Teutenberg outkicks the bunch

A second is not very long, but less than one tick of the second-hand has cost Levi Leipheimer two important victories inside four days of racing at the Dauphiné Libéré. The 31-year-old lost Wednesday's windy, demanding 47km individual time trial to Santiago Botero (Phonak) by a narrow 0.70 seconds. That bitter disappointment comes after losing Sunday's prologue to compatriot George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) by an even more slender 0.17 seconds. So why was Leipheimer smiling after standing atop the podium in sunny Roanne? Because he was wearing the overall leader's jersey, and

Lance Armstrong unveiled a new time trial bike this week at the Dauphiné Libéré that he hopes will catapult him to a seventh Tour de France crown. Following its track record of developing new technology in time for Armstrong's annual summer Tour assault, Trek rolled out the new "TTX" time trial frame utilizing a cutting-edge software design program used to develop Ferrari racing cars and sail boats. "We turned six months of development into five weeks," said Trek's Scott Daubert, adding the project didn't get the green light until right after the Tour de Georgia in April. "We

Botero is enjoying the usual post-T-Mobile surge

Armstrong: On track for Tour No. 7?

Landis finishes in fourth, 13 seconds off of Armstrong's pace

Leipheimer looks primed for July. Is he ready for Ventoux?

Armstrong would like to win on Ventoux, but adds that Leipheimer is the favorite.

"Cycling in the News" is a regular service of VeloNews.com. Readers,reporters and friends are encouraged to send links to current stories aboutcompetitive cyclists and cycling that appear in the mainstream media. Ifyou come across a news item that you believe may be of interest to otherVeloNews readers, we would be grateful if you choose to send it to Rosters@InsideInc.com.Bernama.com - Malaysian National News Agency - June 6, 2005Mahathir Gets Award For Support Of Cycling EventsPUTRAJAYA, June 6 (Bernama) -- The International Cycling Union (UCI)Monday presented Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad with

U.S. Highway 36 cuts a straight line across the grassy eastern toes ofthe Rocky Mountains as it heads north from Boulder's overgrown outskirtsto the sleepy town of Lyons, Colorado.The rolling blacktop is the main vein between Boulder’s busy streetsand a twisting maze of lightly traveled farm roads to the north. It isalso is a starting point for host of narrow canyon rides that twist theirway high into the snowy Front Range. Needless to say, it’s arguably themost popular stretch of road for area cyclists and is regularly cloggedwith two-wheelers of varying shapes and sizes.Like most area

A man named Silver has likely ended any hope that Olympians will compete for gold in New York in 2012. Sheldon Silver and Joseph Bruno, two of three members of the New York state Public Authorities Control Board, abstained in a vote Monday to approve $300 million in funding for a proposed $2.2 billion Olympic Stadium. New York governor George Pataki cast his vote in favour of the project, but unanimous approval was needed for the stadium financing, so assembly speaker Silver and Senate Majority Leader Bruno's inaction crushed the Olympic dream. "This plan is at best premature,"

Ag2R's Samuel Dumoulin moved into the overall leader's jersey after winning the second stage of the Dauphiné Libéré, a 187-kilometer race from Givors to Chauffailles, on Tuesday. The AG2R rider prevailed in a sprint on what was the final, relatively flat stage ahead of Wednesday's 47km time trial – a stage in which Lance Armstrong is favored to win and thus claim his first victory of the season. Dumoulin takes over the race lead from Discovery's George Hincapie. Dumoulin - whose international fame has largely been confined to the distinction being the smallest rider at the

Alexandre Vinokourov said he's ready to ensure that Lance Armstrong's final stab at the Tour de France will not end with the Texan in the yellow jersey. Armstrong, 33, will bid for a seventh consecutive Tour crown before hanging up his bike for good on July 24 when the race arrives on the Champs Elysées. In recent years, Vinokourov's T-Mobile teammate Jan Ullrich has been the American's main rival, and this year again the German is hoping he can finally rob Armstrong of a successful swan song ahead of his retirement. However Vinokourov, who is having an excellent season

What about that tape?Dear Lennard,I think I do a pretty good job of gluing my tires securely, and I re-glueevery year. However, on some of my tires the actual tape is separatingin some places from the tire (the layer between tire and rim). Isthere any way to fix this, or is the tire done for?RyanDear Ryan,I have had good luck in the past using Bargecement. This is a contact cement I have been using since childhoodto patch rafts and I first got some from a shoemaker who used it to gluesoles on. I would guess that it’s widely available at hardware stores or whitewater equipment stores.

Often called the most grueling athletic event in the world, the 2005 Tourde France is professional cycling’s most well known race. With less thana month until the Tour’s opening, VeloNews is pleased to announcethe release of its 2005 edition of the "Official Guide to the Tour deFrance." A collaboration between VeloNews, the journal of competitive cycling, and the Société du Tour de France, the 2005 Official Guide is titled “Grand Finale: Armstrong Aims at Tour Win 7” and features:Detailed rider profiles of Tour hopefuls Jan Ullrich, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Ivan Basso,

How long can he keep it?

Not thought to be a threat, the peloton let this group get 20 minutes before starting the chase

Discovery takes a pull...

...Phonak lends a hand...

... but the escape proved to be successful..

... and Hincapie spends his last day in yellow.

Hincapie’s win marks near-American sweep at Dauphiné prologueGeorge Hincapie’s victory in Sunday’s opening prologue at the Dauphiné Libéré is a sure sign American riders are on-form for July’s Tour de France. Four of the five top spots went to American riders, with Hincapie just edging Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) by 1 second while Floyd Landis (Phonak) and Lance Armstrong (Disccovery Channel) rounded out the top five. Only Andrey Kashechkin (Credit Agricole) stopped the USA sweep. “Today was a great win by George,” Discovery’s sport director Johan Bruyneel said on the team’s web page.

Riding fast is a matter of natural ability, training and desire. All three factors play an important role in keeping the big ring spinning. When discussing natural ability, many people throw around the term “VO2max,” which means maximum oxygen consumption. Many of our clients can recite the definition of VO2max, but few have a good grasp of what VO2max really means. To help clarify things, we will be writing a two part series of basic exercise physiology articles. Today is the first installment and will cover VO2max. Next week, we’ll jump into the world of lactate threshold (LT).

For six Julys in a row, George Hincapie has been one man Lance Armstrong could always count on. The New Yorker is the only teammate who’s been on the Texan’s record six consecutive Tour de France victories. But it’s June, Hincapie is in the leader’s jersey at the Dauphiné Libéré, and this time the tables are turned. In Monday’s long, flat opening road stage pushing west away from the Alps where the real race will be decided later this week, it was Armstrong’s turn to help his ever-loyal lieutenant. The six-time Tour champion helped chase down a breakaway to set up a mass sprint and keep

Despite the three Category 1 climbs on the final stage, this year’s Mt. Hood Cycling Classic in and around Hood River, Oregon, was largely won (and lost) on the time trial stages. Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) set the stage for his overall win by breezing to victory in both the stage 1 prologue and the stage 3 time trial. His lead going into the last stage was enough to hold off the climbing prowess of challengers Andy Bajidali (Vitamin Cottage) and Justin England (Health Net-Maxxis). Scott Moninger (Health Net-Maxxis) was well positioned going into the stage 3 time trial, but a broken chain 50

Role reversal: Armstrong is the peloton's priciest domestique

Discovery gets a little Tour practice in.

Another day in yellow for Hincapie.