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Cipollini says goodbye at a press conference on Friday

Contador solos to a stage win

Dekker leads the break

Moncoutie and Zberg on the move

Moncoutie

Garate and Voeckler give chase

Zberg leads

Going up

Piepoli attacks

And so does Cunego . . .

. . . en route to the overall lead

It seems international politics can even trickle down to stymie bicycle racers. Yaroslav Popovych, the promising grand tour rider in his first season with Discovery Channel, has been having problems getting the proper visa following the recent political upheaval in his native Ukraine that made headlines worldwide. After some early season racing, Popovych had returned to the Ukraine to settle some paperwork issues, an ordeal that won’t keep him from starting this summer’s Tour de France. “It’s been difficult for him to obtain the necessary visa due to the change in governments but I talked

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.The real issueEditors,Whether or not Tyler is guilty or innocent of blood doping is not thereal issue.The bottom line is that the test has not been scientifically validated.Nor, from any of the statements I've found or the press coverage I've read,does WADA claim that it is. On

Mexico’s Team Tecos crossed one-two in stage 2 of the Outside Magazine Tour of the Gila on Thursday, while T-Mobile’s Kim Baldwin collected both the stage win and the overall leader’s pink jersey. Ubaldo Mesa (Tecos) won the mountainous, 94-mile Silver City-Mogollon Pass Road Race in 4:11:43, 29 seconds ahead of teammate Gregorio Ladino. Ivan Stevic (Aerospace Engineering-VMG), second overall at last week’s La Vuelta de Bisbee stage race in Arizona, finished third. Andrew Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage), sixth on the day at 48 seconds back, moved into the overall lead, three seconds ahead of

Here is just a small reminder that the Outdoor Life Network will broadcasta two-hour summary of the best and biggest stage race in America, the Dodge Tour de Georgia this Sunday, May 1, starting at 5:00 p.m. (eastern time in the U.S.) (Not to spoil the surprise ending, but we think the kid from Colorado did pretty well.)

It was a comeback of sorts for both protagonists in Friday’s hard-fought third stage at the Tour de Romandie. Damiano Cunego – winless so far in the 2005 season – emphatically put to rest any notion that he’s not up to the task of defending his Giro d’Italia title. Santiago Botero, meanwhile, slipped into the leader’s jersey after two frustrating and unproductive seasons in the T-Mobile/Telekom team. For both, it was a return to the winner’s circle. And it bodes well for both riders as they look to larger goals later in the season. Cunego slipped ahead Russia's Denis Menchov

America’s “breakthrough” professionals in the early 1980s, Greg LeMond and Jonathan Boyer, both developed their stage-racing skills at Colorado’s Red Zinger Bicycle Classic, which became the Coors Classic in 1980. No other bike race in the United States has had so much influence on the sport. Not only did it develop riders, it brought new ones into the sport, provided untold publicity (local, national and international), and made Boulder one of the epicenters of American cycling. While it was the race that was responsible for all those important developments, it was the man behind the race —

Popovych at Paris-Nice

Al Capp's Joe Btfsplk

Cunego en route to victory

Botero seizes the lead

The peloton sails along

Inside Cycling: Aisner and the Coors Classic

Attorneys representing the U.S. Olympic Committee’s former medical director have subpoenaed a series of documents they allege contain the names of hundreds of athletes whose positive dope tests have been covered up by Olympic officials. Doctor Wade Exum, who until his “forced resignation” in 2000 served as the USOC’s director of drug control administration, filed an employment discrimination suit against his former employers in federal court that summer. A federal appeals court has since ruled that the case was not one that fell within the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary and so the

Oscar Pereiro kept the yellow jersey in Wednesday’s first stage of the Tour de Romandie despite Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) moving into a tie with the Spanish prologue winner. Pereiro won the opening prologue in Geneva by less than a half-second over the surprising Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel), but to Pereiro, it was no surprise at all that he won. “I told the team and also my wife that I'd celebrate my first win of the season in Geneva. I'm in good shape. Also, the course, which is very demanding technically, is ideal for me. The fact that I was the last rider to

Ryan Blickem and Geneviève Jeanson began their respective races at the Outside Magazine Tour of the Gila Stage Race on Wednesday with victories in the Dan Potts Memorial Time Trial. Blickem, racing for Healthmaxx-BOOM Enterprises, turned a time of 36:42 for the 16.15-mile, out-and-back TT, which started and finished in Tyrone, New Mexico, ascending 6394-foot Little Burro Pass in each direction. Andrew Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage) took second at 37 seconds slower, with teammate Jon Tarkington third at 0:52. Jeanson cranked out a 40:25.92 to take the win by 45 seconds over Kimberly Baldwin

If there was any doubt that Alessandro Petacchi wouldn’t be ready for the Giro d’Italia, he’s erasing those at alarming rate in the Tour de Romandie. The Italian won his second stage in a row and pulled on the yellow jersey in Thursday’s second stage. Italians Daniele Colli (Liquigas-Bianchi) and Mirco Lorenzetto (Domina Vacanze) were second and third, respectively. Overnight leader Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) lost his lead on time bonuses. “I’m feeling good,” Petacchi said. “I still don’t have the form I did at Tirreno or San Remo, but I have good rhythm for this time of year. I need to work on

American Lance Armstrong’s retirement from competition could be short-lived - though his next potential adventure may be on four wheels instead of two. The six-time Tour de France winner is bidding for a seventh yellow jersey in the July 2-24 race, after which he will retire from cycling. However, the 33-year-old Texan has been offered the chance to compete in the Dakar Rally, which will be held next January, alongside NASCAR driver Robbie Gordon. "I received an e-mail from Robbie Gordon two months ago offering me the chance to drive car number three in the next Paris-Dakar," Armstrong

Exum addresses a Denver press conference in 2000

Petacchi takes the stage and the overall lead

Landaluze takes a flyer

The Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León starts Wednesday in northern Spain, but don’t expect to see any big names among the 15 starting teams. Without ProTour status, the relatively minor stage race is verging toward extinction after being excluded from cycling’s new super-league. Like so many other smaller races left out of the 20-team series, event organizers are finding it difficult to keep the race above water. “We are facing a dark future for many of the races not in the ProTour,” said Gregorio Morena, president of the Spanish races association. “Without the ProTour, the races can’t

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.Keeping the faithDear Editor,I am responding to the article about Tyler's innocence or guilt by Fred Dreier (see "AFred's Eye View: Questions, questions, questions"). Why is it thata guy who finishes the 2003 Tour with broken collarbone all of a suddenthinks, “Geez, I think

An anonymous e-mail sent Tuesday afternoon quietly marked the end of an era in modern cycling. At 38, and definitely a pedal stroke or two past his prime, Mario Cipollini – the Lion King, Ruler of the Sprints and the Master of Kitsch – said it was time to hang up the cleats. “Announcing my withdrawal less than two weeks before the Giro d'Italia is a painful but honest decision. The public will understand," said Cipollini in a statement released by his team, Liquigas. "Maybe, an ‘old man’ like me, who has given a lot to cycling and has also received a lot, has to recognize when is the

Alessandro Petacchi continued on his winning ways, charging to his 15th win of the 2005 season in Wednesday’s first stage of the Tour de Romandie. And it’s not even May yet. The Milan-San Remo champion out-kicked Tom Steels (Davitamon-Lotto) on the 167km circuit course to snag a soggy victory in central Switzerland. "Winning is never easy when you're the favorite, but my team did a great job yet again," Petacchi said. “It was a tough stage because we raced hard and the weather was pretty bad all day. Fortunately we went through the finish area three times during the stage and so I knew

Casey Gibson hits the finish line

Cipo' makes a splash at the '99 Tour

At the 1993 Tour de France

Cipollini cultivates his fan base at the Giro

Winning in Qatar

Who else?

Pereiro

Ravaioli and Rosseler

Michele Scarponi won’t be among the starters for Tuesday’s prologue at the Tour de Romandie, the Italian rider who will lead Liberty Seguros in the upcoming Giro d’Italia. For many riders, the Romandie tour is the ideal warm-up before the season’s first grand tour, but that’s not the thinking of Liberty Seguros boss Manolo Saiz. Only Joseba Beloki will be racing this week in Switzerland among the Liberty riders heading to the Giro start May 7. “I believe the Giro will be decided between the second and third weeks, so I preferred (the Giro leaders) to come slightly short of form and they

It’s Sunday, a dreary and rainy afternoon. It’s far too wet for an enjoyable ride and a modest crowd of local cyclists has turned out to watch a delayed broadcast of Liège–Bastogne–Liège at north Boulder’s Amante coffee shop. Although the television is blaring Alexander Vinokourov’s exciting win, a quick eavesdrop into surrounding conversations reveals a more interesting buzz. The drama of the race is not exactly the subject for today’s talk, and familiar reoccurring questions bounce between conversations.Do you think he really did it?He couldn’t possibly have…but could he have?Do you

Just a year ago, Phonak rider Tyler Hamilton roared through the final time trial at the six-day Tour de Romandie to defend his title. The emotional victory gave the Swiss team a huge boost in the run up to what would be its first Tour de France. A year later, Hamilton wasn’t in Geneva for Tuesday’s short opening prologue for the 2005 edition. Instead, he’s fighting to save his cycling career after receiving a two-year racing ban for homologous blood doping. That left it up to unsung and under-rated Oscar Pereiro to save the day for the Phonak team in the second most-important stage race in

This time he means it. One-time super sprinter Mario Cipollini announced plans to retire from cycling on Tuesday, exiting the peloton before this year’s edition of the Giro d'Italia. The 38-year old, whose 42 stage wins in the Giro is a record, retired two years ago before coming back and breaking the Giro stage-win mark established by Alfredo Binda. However, this time, the flamboyant Italian, known as the “Lion King,” to many of his fans, appears to be serious about his decision. "Announcing my withdrawal less than two weeks before the Giro d'Italia is a painful but honest

Savoldelli: A difference of 0.23 seconds

Cipollini wins at this year's Tour of Qatar

Celebrating the new record at the Giro.

Many of the top contenders for next month’s Giro d’Italia will be looking to hone their form in the mountainous Tour de Romandie, the next stop on the ProTour series. With five stages and a prologue, the 656-kilometer Romandie race zips around Switzerland on a challenging course that provides a perfect setting for Giro-bound riders to test their legs. The race opens Tuesday with a short prologue in the narrow streets of Geneva before rolling over scenic farm roads on circuit courses in west-central Switzerland in stages one and two. Stage three is the most difficult day, with three Cat. 1s,

After leading La Vuelta de Bisbee through the first three stages, Ivan Stevic (Aerospace Engineering-VMG) and Maatje Benassi (Excel Sports) found their dreams of overall victory buried in the closing Tombstone Road Race. Stevic, who held a 30-second overall lead after sweeping all three stages going into Sunday’s 87.2-mile showdown, could manage only third in the finale, conceding more than two minutes and the overall win to teammate Clemente Cavaliere, who simply rode away from the field and leapt from 16th to first overall. Benassi, winner of the prologue Mule Pass time trial, took a lead

LVDB winner Cavaliere with Bisbee Mayor Ron Oertle

Final overall standings
1. Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel 26:53:44
2. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner at 4sec
3. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 9sec
4. Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 1min 10sec
5. Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 1min 41sec
6. David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 3min 4sec
7. Marco Pinotti (ITA) Prodir-Saunier Duval 3min 11sec
8. Nathan O'Neill (AUS) Navigators Insurance 3min 14sec
9. Michael Blaudzun (DEN) Team CSC 3min 51sec
10. Jose Azevedo (POR) Discovery Channel 3min 58sec

Jan Ullrich will be back to defend his title at the Tour de Suisse (June 11-19), meaning his first chance in a showdown with Lance Armstrong won’t come until the Tour de France. The 1997 Tour winner was debating between racing the Swiss tour or the Dauphiné Libéré (June 5-12), but finally opted to return to the friendly mountains of Switzerland, which he now calls home. Ullrich recently raced in the Vuelta a Aragon, where team officials said he looks buff, motivated and confident, the best since 1997. Up next he’ll return to Spain to race in the Volta a Cataluyna (May 16-22). Alexandre

Tom Danielson isn't all that interested in hearing the talk, but it is the inevitability that every great up and coming athlete must face. Following his overall victory at the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia, the young American cyclist who can climb and time trial with the best of them, must endure the reality that will come with riding for a Discovery Channel team that is about to lose its No. 1 rider. Whether Danielson likes it or not, the comparisons to Lance Armstrong begin now.

Alex Vinokourov’s exciting victory over Jens Voigt in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège not only ended the T-Mobile’s season-long losing streak, but also laid to rest the assumption that a long-range breakaway couldn’t succeed in this super-hilly classic. Vinokourov was not among the top favorites to win this 10th race of the UCI ProTour, but his rising form and savvy racing brain allowed him to take advantage of a race that was in flux after the trilogy of climbs that were restored to the 260km course.

As top road racers were taking on the ProTour’s edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, just down the road, the mountain bike World Cup season opened at the Formula One circuit in Spa Francochamps, Belgium. The rain that had been threatening all Saturday night was replaced by bright sunshine, and under that blue sky, Canada’s Marie-Hélène Prémont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) and Frenchman Julien Absalon (Bianchi-Agos) became the first in the 2005 season to don the blue leader's jerseys for the World Cup. The organizers made some modifications overnight to the 6.1-kilometer course,

Vino' had lots of time to celebrate.

Vino' beats Voigt to the line with a nicely timed charge through the final turn.

... and Vinokourov decides that this one needs to be followed

On the Côte de St. Roch (1km at 11.2 percent)

T-Mobile wisely sends Wesseman (r) into the day's first break

Di Luca didn't make the cut on Sunday, but holds the ProTour lead

The dynamic duo on the way up La Redoute

Rebellin didn't get to repeat any of his three wins from last year

Voigt makes his jump...

Absalon is back on track for another good year

One-Two punch: Fraser and Henderson take the sprint for Health Net

Tafi's racing career is coming to a close

Armstrong and another soon-to-be-retiree at the start

Pate and Tafi tried to animate the day