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More than a frickin' jersey: At País Vasco you get a cool hat, too.

Belgian Tom Boonen has worn many race numbers over his young career, but he may just pin the number 172 he wore at Sunday’s Tour of Flanders on his wall. Boonen, along with the overwhelming majority of the region of Flanders, got what both had collectively wished for when the QuickStep sprinter rode himself into the history books with the biggest win of his young career with a win at the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, or Tour of Flanders.

The second stage of The Cape Epic from Saasveld to Herbertsdale was by far the longest and toughest of the Epic ride. 144.6 grueling kilometers with a total ascent of 2720 meters drained everyone, even the pros. Due to the length of the stage the leading Men teams decided not to ride attacks today – in contrast to the leading women who did the exact opposite.Hannele Steyn-Kotze (RSA) of team Fiat/ Bianchi/ adidas 2 loves the heat. And she loves hills. So today’s weather condition and route were the perfect match for the multiple SA MTB champion, who pushed her team partner Zoe Frost (RSA) to

Petacchi retains ProTour leadDespite Tom Boonen’s stylish victory in Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, Italian sprint ace Alessandro Petacchi retains the overall lead in the ProTour series. Boonen moved into fourth on the point’s scale with 62 points, but Petacchi remains comfortably in the lead with 93 points thanks to his Milan-San Remo victory and success at Tirreno-Adriatico. T-A winner Oscar Freire, who did not start Flanders, remains in second in 78 points. Bobby Julich, winner of the first ProTour event at Paris-Nice, sits fifth at 50 points. UCI ProTour Standings, after four events1.

It wasn’t easy, but after fending off serious challenges in Sunday’s Sunset road race, both Webcor’s Christine Thorburn and Health Net’s Chris Wherry held on to the leaders’ jerseys they’d won in the opening prologue to take the overall titles at California’s Redlands Bicycle Classic. Despite heading a team weakened by illness, injury or plain old attrition, Wherry managed to protect a slim seven second advantage over Australian Trent Lowe of Jittery Joes/Kalahari to earn his first overall title in two years. After marking a late move by Lowe, Wherry threw his arm up in victory as he

The day's first break formed at 21km

Zabel was aggressive for much of the day

Ballan tried to go off on his own at 50km to go, but was eventually joined by five others, making up the day's winning break.

The winning combination

Big, big crowds on a sunny spring day

Hincapie on the Grammont

Armstrong put in a big effort after the Boonen group got away, but the hills eventually took their toll.

Boonen's gamble with an early attack paid off

Boonen was thrilled... Van Petegem loooked a bit shocked

Wherry in yellow.

Health Net worked to protect Wherry's jersey

Fraser throws in a big effort.

Pate gives it a go.

Colavita comes to the front for...

... another Haedo win.

Beutler leads the break

If it comes down to a sprint, who else would take it?

Lance Armstrong is seeking at least $125,000 from a former personal assistant who contends he found a banned substance in the cycling champion's apartment last year. In court documents filed Friday in Austin, Texas, Armstrong called Mike Anderson's claim "below the level of tabloid journalism." Armstrong, in Europe preparing for a bid at a seventh straight Tour de France title, has maintained he does not take illegal drugs. The cancer survivor frequently notes he is one of the most drug-tested athletes in the world. Armstrong asked a judge for the monetary award for legal fees,

Team Giant’s Bart Brentjens and Roel Paulissen won the first stage of The Cape Epic in South Africa on Saturday. The twosome won the 128.5km stage from Knysna to the Saasveld Forestry Training College in Saasveld in 4 hours, 31 minutes and 16.58 seconds, more than 21 minutes ahead of Siemens Cannondale’s Christoph Sauser and Fredrik Kessiakoff. “Roel was very strong in the beginning, I was strong in the end,” said Brentjens. “During the first 80 kilometers I really had to suffer. The track was very difficult with lots of short and steep climbs. It was a constant up and down and very

Coming into Saturday’s Beaver Medical Group downtown criterium, the day’s objective for both the men’s Health Net squad and the Webcor Builder’s women’s team was not to gun it out for glory points, but to protect the yellow jersey at all costs. With that in mind, the tactic opened the door up for more opportunistic teams to light up the 1.6-km course that winds its way through downtown Redlands. The day did not disappoint. Early in the women’s race it appeared the duel would be between the sprint-heavy Quark and T-Mobile teams. On the second lap T-Mobile’s Laura Kroepsch attacked down the

Northwestern Belgium, also known as the region of Flanders, was brimming with excitement Saturday as the biggest race of the Flemish racing calendar was set to kick off at 9:40 a.m. Sunday morning in the historic city of Brugge. After 256km of racing, 17 hills and 21km of cobblestone sections, the race will end in the city of Ninove, with a new king of Flanders crowned at its 89th running since 1913. An estimated 15-20,000 enthusiastic cyclists participated in an amateur ride over the undulating course of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) Saturday, with a majority consisting of

Ina Yoko Teutenberg (T-Mobile) takes the women's race

Andrea Ratkovic (The Bicycle Store) crossed second

All in a bunch

Some days are better than others

Colavita comes to the front with five to go

Health Net was out front most of the day . . .

. . . in defense of Chris Wherry's lead

Brice Jones (Jelly Belly) had a go, and hung on for third

But the win went to Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - With speculation building that Lance Armstrong will retire, the six-time Tour de France champion finds himself facing yet another doping allegation. On Thursday, attorneys for Armstrong denied allegations made by a former personal assistant that he found a steroid in Armstrong's Spanish apartment early last year. “It's a shakedown and it has been from the very beginning,” Armstrong's attorney, Timothy Herman, said. Mike Anderson, who worked for Armstrong for about two years, has been in a legal fight with the cycling great over alleged promises Armstrong

You will eat, bye and bye,When you've learned how to cook and to fry;Chop some wood, 'twill do you goodAnd you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye (that's no lie).- from “The Preacher and the Slave,” by Joe Hill The announcement that a Tour of California is planned for 2006 has triggered an interesting discussion in the VeloNews.com mailbag about race promotion, particularly as it pertains to Colorado. I had the great good fortune to live in Colorado when the Coors Classic was still on its wheels, and managed to catch an occasional stage in person. Watching high-gloss

A chance encounter at an airport, a heated exchange of words and hastily issued challenge… and the cycling world may never be the same. UCI president Hein Verbruggen on Friday announced plans to resign his post at the end of June – on the eve of the world’s premier cycling event – and hand the reins of the organization over to his arch nemesis, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) boss Dick Pound. “I think it’s clear that I don’t like the man,” Verbruggen said at a press conference at UCI headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, on Friday, “but, frankly, this is not about my liking or disliking

T-Mobile TeamDirector: Mario Kummer1. Steffen Wesemann2. Rolf Aldag3. Andreas Klier4. Daniele Nardello5. Jan Schaffrath6. Stephan Schreck7. Serguei Ivanov8. Erik ZabelBouygues TelecomDirector: Christian Guiberteau11. Laurent Brochard12. Chavanel Sébastien13. Mathieu Claude14. Anthony Geslin15. Christophe Kern16. Franck Renier17. Thomas Voeckler18. Unai Yus KerejetaCofidisDirector: Alain Deloeuil21. Jimmy Casper22. Jimmy Engoulvent23. Peter Farazijn24. Jans Koerts25. Thierry Marichal26. Stuart O'Grady27. Staf Scheirlinckx28. Matthew WhiteCredit AgricoleDirector: Serge

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.NORBA should provide neutral supportEditor:I personally don't what the big deal is in trying to figure out the appropriate level of support for NORBA racing. The most equitable solution seems clear. Allow neutral support only so that the aspiring independent racer isn't put at a

German sprinter Danilo Hondo has been suspended by his Gerolsteiner team in the wake of a failed anti-doping control taken March 1, team manager Hans-Michael Holczer confirmed Friday. Team officials said Hondo will remain on suspension until results from a B-test are received. Hondo, 31, faces a two-year racing ban if found positive. Officials have refused to reveal the name of the substance. Hondo, second at Milan-San Remo last month, failed a test during the Vuelta a Murcia in early March where he won two stages. “Danilo swears he cannot explain the positive sample,” Holczer told the

Armstrong delivers another win for PostalLance Armstrong may be riding for the Discovery Channel now, but the six-time Tour de France winner recently delivered another win for the U.S. Postal Service – with a little assist from the rising price of gasoline. Faced with spiraling costs due to rising energy prices, USPS has been experimenting with mail delivery via bicycle in a few select cities – San Francisco, Denver and Boston – and the savings have been such that the agency is considering expanding the pilot program to other communities. Armstrong’s bike sponsor, Trek, has supplied

The buildup for the April 19-24 Dodge Tour de Georgia sure took some interesting turns this week. First, cycling’s biggest star announced that he … okay, well, he didn’t actually make an announcement, but he said he would make an announcement about something important at the Tour de Georgia. Everyone’s buzzing about the possibility that Lance Armstrong will either announce his impending retirement, following the 2005 Tour de France, or, given his recent visit to Italian magistrate Giuseppe Quattrocchi, announce an attempt at a Giro d’Italia-Tour double this year — and then ride off into the

French Alpe d'Huez resort has the pleasure of inviting you to Alpe d'Huez climb promotional cocktail from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. at the TRATTORIA GIRASOLE restaurant, 1430 Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday April 6th. At this occasion, Jean-Louis LEGER-MATTEI (Alpe d'Huez Tourist Office manager) will show you some videos on the mythic Alpe d'Huez climb where Lance ARMSTRONG and Greg LEMOND wore the yellow jersey of the TOUR DE FRANCE race. Different assets and cycling activities of the Alpe d'Huez resort will be shown and an organized free drawing with

Positive changes continue to be implemented for USA Cycling’s track program as the national governing body revealed today a qualification process that will be in place for the 2005 USCF Elite National Track Cycling Championships later this year in Carson, Calif. Riders who want to compete on the track for stars and stripes jerseys must qualify for nationals through the 2005 Velodrome Championship Series, a schedule of 17 races to be held at 22 velodromes across the nation. This initiative is a major step toward tying together all of the nation’s facilities and forming a true national

While bike racing in the British Isles was making breakthroughs into continental cycling through the late 1950s and early ’60s, most American road racers were still using fixed-gear track bikes. I recently had an e-mail from VeloNews reader Prosper Bijl who said that when he began road racing in the Washington, D.C., area in 1963, it was on a single-gear track bike with a front brake. It wasn’t until 1966 that the Amateur Bicycle League of America ended the use of fixed-gear bikes in road racing. No wonder riders from North America were slow in making an impact on the world scene. Across the

Health Net-Maxxis rolled into stage 2 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic as the clear favorites for a stage win. After putting four riders into the top 10 at Thursday’s time trial up Mt. Rubidoux, Health Net seemed a sure bet to defend Chris Wherry’s 12-second overall lead, and even extend its dominance over the Redlands field, in Friday’s 107-mile Oak Glen road race. That is, until luck and Trent Lowe (Jittery Joe’s-Kalahari) took a hand. The former left Health Net bruised, battered and ill, and the latter took the stage win. Scroll down for a photo gallery from Casey Gibson Luck launched

A souvenir of the good old days

Pound: Anything Hein can do, I can do better

Verbruggen on Friday: Wait until (Pound) gets the reality check

Leipheimer's crossing the pond to go marching through Georgia

Lowe on the ascent

Beutler heads for the hills

Wherry and Moninger couldn't hold Lowe back

The young Aussie soloed to the win

Fraser at the front

Candelaria takes the lead

Kileen on the climb

On the road again, with Lake Mathews in the background

Just a slight hazard at the base of the climb

Thorburn has a dig

... as do Thorburn and Baldwin

Lance Armstrong voluntarily appeared before an Italian magistrate in Tuscanyon Wednesday in an effort to “clear up questions” regarding an unusualexchange between the American and Filippo Simeoni at last year’s Tour deFrance. The Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Thursdaythat Armstrong requested a meeting with magistrate Giuseppe Quattrocchiin order to clear up threatened charges of “witness intimidation” afterArmstrong chased down a break that included Simeoni for the express purposeof bringing the Domina Vacanze rider back into the peloton. (see "Mercadowins, but

Green will likely be the dominant color at the 21st edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic, as it kicks off Thursday and runs though Sunday in and around Southern California’s “Inland Empire,” the San Bernadino Valley. The usually brown valley – normally dried out by dry Santa Ana winds and the burning SoCal sun – shows something of an emerald tint this year, largely a result of the wettest California spring in recent memory, with more than double the region’s usual annual precipitation in just three months. But green hills aside, the moisture has brought unwelcome hardships to the race

USA CYCLING HIRES GARY WEST AS HEAD TRACK COACHVeteran Enjoyed Success During Career with Australian and JapaneseProgramsColorado Springs, Colo. (March 31, 2005)—In a move expectedto significantly bolster the competitiveness of USA Cycling’s nationaltrack program, the national governing body announced today the additionof distinguished track coach Gary West to its staff.  As head trackcoach for USA Cycling, West hopes to revive a modest program that was onceconsidered one of the strongest in the world.West’s name has become synonymous with success in the internationaltrack cycling arena

Discovery Channel successfully defended its title at the Three Days of De Panne and barnstormed through the final stage to score important victories ahead of this weekend’s Tour of Flanders. Rising Belgian rider Stijn Devolder scored a major win with the overall title while veteran workhorse Viatcheslav Ekimov proved yet again he’s still one of the best after taking the win in the afternoon time trial. Devolder went into the time trial finale trailing Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Caffita) by four seconds following the morning road stage won by Belgian national champ Tom Steels

He lived the frenetic life of a celebrated sports icon. He died the solitarydeath of a drug-dependent depressive. Marco Pantani’s ending faithfully reflected his star-crossed life andtimes. The quirky, pugnacious Italian climber was frequently alone at theend of punishing mountain stages in cycling’s greatest races, minutes aheadof the opposition. And he was alone again, tragically so, when he diedin the fifthstory room of a hotel called Le Rose in the afternoonof a somber St. Valentine’s Day in February 2004. Outside his window, lifestill bustled in the streets of Rimini, while waves

USA Cycling chief executive officer Gerard Bisceglia confirmed Thursday that he and the organization’s vice president for marketing, Bryan Cook, have “reached a mutual agreement” resulting in Cook’s immediate resignation. Cook’s departure comes less than a year after he was hired, largely on the strength of his business background. Cook had more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience, most recently as associate director of sales and planning for a Kellogg's Corporation division. But Bisceglia said that over the past few months it became apparent that Cook’s background, rich as

Following what could only be described as a disastrous effort at the world track championships last week in Carson, California, it was clear something had to change with the U.S. national team. On Thursday what is being called the first of many changes came, as USA Cycling announced the hiring of Australian Gary West to serve as the program’s new head coach. The 44-year-old West comes to USAC after a four-year stint with the Japanese Cycling Federation, where he helped lead the lightly-touted cycling nation to a team sprint silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Prior to his stay in Japan,

Rising like a rocky turret from the flat floor of Riverside Valley, Mt. Rubidoux – site of Thursday’s Redlands prologue – was battered by constant westerly winds that gusted up to 50 mph. It took a combination of strength, perseverance and the right equipment to give Health Net’s Chris Wherry and Webcor’s Christine Thorburn the honors on a more-than-blustery day in Southern California. For the nearly 200 riders who worked their way up the 5km asphalt corkscrew to Rubidoux’s summit, the trip up the mountain was like rolling into a sandy tornado. Riders were initially greeted by a strong

The incident that has developed a life of its own.

At age 14, Marco rode his red Vicini racing bike to his very first victory.

Pantani’s hair was still thick when he won the amateurs’ Giro d’Italia at age 22.

Wherry picked the right equipment, too

Thorburn's TT gives the team a boost going into Oak Glen on Friday

Moninger rides into second

Clinger is here in all of his splendor

Pic takes ninth at 32 seconds