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Massie was having an off day, too

The Brits rocked the team pursuit . . .

. . . the Netherlands were right behind them

It won’t be official until Friday afternoon, but no one at the world track championships was trying to hide the fact that the inaugural Tour of California will get rolling in February 2006. Big sponsors’ banners touting the event were draped all over the ADT Event Center velodrome, and a news release noting the looming announcement of a “significant international cycling initiative” was passed out to the press on Thursday, the first day of the 2005 championships being held in Carson, California. Attendees at Friday’s 3:30 p.m. announcement will include UCI president Hein Verbruggen, USA

The fans that almost filled Carson, California’s ADT Event Center velodrome on Thursday night had come hoping to cheer homeboy Colby Pearce to a world championship medal in the points race. But when the Colorado rider failed to break into the top 10, the crowd turned its attention to the last race of the night: the men’s team sprint. With no American team entered, locals chose Great Britain’s Jamie Staff (also a world BMX champion) who lives just down the road, near San Diego, as a local favorite. Staff has been something of a fixture at the new Carson velodrome, training two or three times

Liquigas’s Magnus Bäckstedt charged into the public eye last year when he won the most revered of all the spring classics, Paris-Roubaix, the Hell of the North. In preparing an in-depth feature for thecurrent issue of VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hoodsat down with Bäckstedt earlier this year at Liquigas's team camp.In this, the second part of a two-part interview (clickhere to see Part 1), Bäckstedt recalls the experience of winningwhat has become the most prestigious single-day bicycle race in the world.VeloNews: Were you tapped to be the guy for the cobbles? Magnus

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. Letter on Simpson was ‘sanctimonious bilge’Editor:I feel sure you have received many letters critical of Mr. Wilcockson's piece "Death on the Ventoux" that were suitable for publication. Shame on you for choosing to publish the mean-spirited, sanctimonious bilge attributed to Tim

Contador wins Setmana CatalanaSpaniard Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) won the Setmana Catalana on Friday. Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) edged American Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) by just seven seconds to won the fifth and final stage, a 17km time trial around Palau-Solita i Plegamans, near Barcelona. Contador crossed in fourth, good enough for the overall title. Danielson, meanwhile, wound up fourth overall. Setmana CatalanaStage 5, Palau-Solita i Plegamans1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), Fassa Bortolo, 17km in 19:292. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:073.

Morgan Hill, Calif. - Specialized Bicycles will bring Liam Killeen and Sid Taberlay, the British and Australian national mountain bike champions, to compete at the Specialized Morgan Hill Grand Prix, Sunday April 10, for a day's racing that is expected to attract over 1,000 spectators for events studded with top national and international racing cyclists. Amateur races are also scheduled. In a move to accommodate requests from pro mountain bikers looking for a pre-Sea Otter Classic leg-sharpener, this week organizers extended the race categories to include the Morgan Hill Fat Boy Crit, a

Inside Communications (parent company of VeloNews, Ski Racing and Inside Triathlon) seeks experienced, hands-on controller to run financial operations for complex multi-title operation. Ideal candidate will have monthly financial statement preparation, cash-flow & cash management, audit, budget, AP/AR, and management experience in a time-sensitive, deadline-oriented atmosphere. Publishing industry experience preferred but not required. Reports directly to company president. Resume and cover letter to Attn Human Resources, Inside Communications, Inc., 1830 N. 55th Street, Boulder CO

Horsepower: With two world kilo champs and BMX champion in the mix, the Brits came out charging.

Chris Hoy anchors the British Team Sprint to first place.

UCI President Hein Verbruggen is in attendance

USACycling president Jim Ochowicz

Pearce was disappointed with what might be his last world's

Pearce will do the Madison with Marty Nothstein

Tsylinskaya wins the women's 500 tt.

American Becky Conzelman finishes 13th.

Magnus Bäckstedt turned a childhood dream into reality at Paris-Roubaix last April. To just about everyone watching the Hell of the North that day, the big man from Sweden was a surprise winner, but when you listen to Bäckstedt and appreciate the hard work and focus he brings to his job, that win over the cobbles to Roubaix may not have been such a long-shot after all. In preparing an in-depth feature for the current issue of VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood sat down with Bäckstedt earlier this year. In a two-part interview on the eve of the spring classics, Bäckstedt recounts how

Lance Armstrong will return to European cycling next week in a bid to relaunch his Tour de France preparations following an early setback at Paris-Nice earlier this month. Armstrong dropped out of the French stage race, the first of the 27-race Pro Tour circuit, due to illness. However the 33-year-old will get his preparations back on track by racing Sunday's Fleche Brabanconne in Belgium, his Discovery Channel team announced Thursday. Two days later the six-times Tour de France winner, who will bid for a seventh yellow jersey in July, will ride the popular one-day Paris-Camembert race,

Editor's Note: Nineteen-year-old Larssyn Staley - the 2003 world champion in the junior women's points race - is the only American riding for theSwiss-based Andeer team. Throughout her first season on the continent,the Beaverton, Oregon, native will be sending us updates about life inthe women's peloton and providing a newcomer's perspective on racing in Europe.It’s spring here in Switzerland and the air is filledwith… with… well, it’s filled with fertilizer.It seems like every field I ride past is getting covered in fertilizerby the same means by which we water our fields.

The win. Bäckstedt's victory in the velodrome of Roubaix

At last year's Tour de France

Riding with Michi - By William Cass

Lance Armstrong will race the Tour of Flanders on April 3, but he’ll go as a “domestique” to help longtime teammate George Hincapie, said Discovery Channel sport director Johan Bruyneel. Armstrong hasn’t raced since March 9 when he pulled out of Paris-Nice with a slight fever, but has been building his fitness in training near his European base in Girona, Spain. Armstrong is expected to return to action at Paris-Camembert on March 29, though he still might race at Brabantse Pijl two days earlier. “He’ll go to Flanders as a ‘domestique,’ but not to win,” Bruyneel was quoted on the Spanish

While everyone’s attention was focused on the finish-line scrum in Saturday’s Milan-San Remo, many missed an interesting back story at the “classicissima” that will underscore the 2005 season. Coming off the Capo Mele, there was 38-year-old Andrea Tafi sticking his nose in the wind. Giving it the gas with 2km to go was 1997 world champion and French mullet man Laurent Brochard, who turns 38 later this month. Lion King Mario Cipollini, who turned 38 on Tuesday, was happy just to finish in the main bunch while Der Kaiser Erik Zabel, a mere youngster at 34, seemed to be losing his spark. And

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.Rest in Peace Tom SimpsonEditors, What an excellent story with which to start the day (see “Inside Cycling with John Wilcockson: Death on the Ventoux”).). It was a touching and sad cautionary tale. I was only 4 1/2 when Tom Simpson died, yet I have read much about him over the last few

Colby Pearce has a great chance to set the standard for the home country when the 2005 UCI World Track Championships get underway Thursday in the ADT Event Center, Carson, California. Pearce, 32, has had a successful World Cup season, with second and third places in the points race at two rounds of the competition. His chance to claim a world’s medal comes Thursday evening. The final of the men 40km points race is the likely highlight of this opening session of the March 24-27 track world’s, and Pearce is going to need all the vocal support the home crowd can muster. Earning a medal will be

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is seeking a self-motivated, full-time advocacy staff member with experience in grassroots organizing. I appreciate any referrals you may have.JOB RESPONSIBILITIES* Organize campaigns to preserve mountain bike access* Volunteer recruitment and leadership development* Expand and enhance IMBA coalition partnerships* Develop and organize local affiliate programs* Expand and enhance public land management agency partnerships* Design and develop advocacy campaign materials, program manuals and public education resources* Organize and provide

Armstrong last appeared at Paris-Nice

Pearce last year in Athens

Davide Rebellin admits it will be all but impossible to repeat last year’s winning streak, when he took a rare treble with a sweep of the Ardennes classics. Coming into the 2005 season, the Gerolsteiner rider is instead hoping to spread the wealth, targeting wins from March to October as he eyes cycling’s new ProTour. Rebellin came up short in last weekend’s Milan-San Remo, but he was one of the main protagonists on the ill-fated attack over the Poggio. That new aggressiveness will be the hallmark of the Italian’s 2005 campaign. Earlier this year, VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood

The ABCs of tire sizeDear Lennard,What does the c stand for on a 700c rim and or tire? What unit of measurement is this and how is it determined?BWDear BW,The “c” is not a unit of measurement. It merely designates a certain international rim/tire standard. A 700C rim has a 622mm bead-seat diameter (diameter of the tire bead circle), and you will often find this number imprinted on 700C tires and rim strips. Obviously, there is nothing you could measure on the wheel or tire and come up with 700 units of anything (the outer diameter of a 700C X 23mm road tire is about 668mm).To illustrate the

Chris Horner (Saunier Duval) let his presence be known in dramatic fashion in Tuesday’s second stage of the Setmana Catalana, starting an early sprint and nearly sneaking away with the stage victory. Horner was part of a larger group that chased back on to a front group of 25 riders with 2km to go in the mountainous 168.8km stage from Lloret de Mar to Empuriabrava. Horner started an early sprint, but was swarmed by Italian Claudio Corioni (Fassa Bortolo) at the line to take eighth in his best result so far in his European return. Corioni held off Aitor Perez (Spiuk) to score his first

Rebellin celebrates a glorious win at Liege in 2004

Rebellin at a chilly Paris-Nice earlier this year

The finally finally shone on Southern California's San Dimas Stage Race on Sunday as Ivan Dominguez (Health Net-Maxxis) and Tina Mayolo Pic (Quark) won the closing criterium in Old Town San Dimas. Our man Casey Gibson was on the scene, and below is a sampling of what he saw through his lens.

O'Loughlin gets some payback in IrelandReport by Tommy CampbellAfter the crafty Carrick Wheelers rider Rory Wyley, outfoxed NavigatorsCiaran Power earlier in the week in Limerick and slipped up the road ina small group, Power's team-mate O'Loughlin showed up on Wyley's home sod,and exacted a little revenge yesterday (Sunday) in Sean Kelly's hamletof Carrick-on-Suir. Famed Irish sports reporter Tommy Campbell describesthe outcome:National Road Race Champion and professional with the New Jersey basedNavigators Insurance team in America, David O'Loughlin was a surprise

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.Pros should remember that others work hard, tooEditor:Keith Williams is dead-on about the pros bugging out early (see Friday’s Mailbag: “What kind of pro passes on a podium shot?”). Assuming the promoters put on a safe, well-run event that lived up to what they promised, it really is in

Talk of major changes in the Milan-San Remo route look closer to becoming reality after race officials publicly acknowledged that the Cipressa and Poggio climbs just don’t pack the punch they used to. Race director Angelo Zomegnan told reporters “we’re thinking about” adding another major climb in the final run of the 294km Milan-San Remo which ended Saturday in a bunch sprint for the sixth time in seven years. “A race as long as this and it’s decided in the final meters, does that seem normal?” Zomegnan said. “If you think about it, in 10 years nothing much has happened or not much, except

Many of the stories I’ve told in the first 10 weeks of this new column have concerned people and events that few Americans had known about. The story I’m going to tackle this week is one about which most cycling fans think they know all they want to know: The death of Tom Simpson on Mont Ventoux at the 1967 Tour de France. “Oh, yeah,” I can hear some of you saying. “That drug cheat.” I’m not going to detail everything that led to Simpson’s collapse just before the summit of the mountain in southeast France. Whole books have been dedicated to the purpose. But in these 1500-or-so words I want

Kim Baldwin takes a corner

Leadout man Gord Fraser celebrates the stage win with Ivan Dominguez

Advantage Endeavour masses at the front

Fraser chases down a break

Lara Kroepsch at the front

Tina Mayolo-Pic wins as Laura Van Gilder cheers

Erinne Willock in the leader's jersey

Heavy Traffic: Milan-San Remo organizers would like to see a smaller crowd fight it out on the Via Roma.

Pantani's attack on the Cipressa in 1999 didn't get far.

Simpson was gone before anyone could offer help.

Simpson's monument remains a pilgrimage for many.

Imagine that you are a fireman stationed in the small town of Amer in Spain. Now if you really didn't know anything about cycling, I can guarantee thatyou'd think the sport is pretty weird. You’d probably be right, too.You see, the Amer fire station sits at the bottom of one of the veryfew quality climbs within a short distance of Girona. So on any given day,in addition to the usual hard-working firemen washing the trucks and coilinghose, you’re bound to see a steady parade of bike riders, even a grandtour winner or two: Roberto, Lance, George, Tyler, Levi, Floyd, Fred, Michael…need I

Gord Fraser (Health Net-Maxxis) and Erinne Willock (Webcor Builders) took the rain-soaked second stage of the San Dimas Stage Race on Saturday. Fraser won a 24-man dash to the line at the end of the 98-mile Incycle-Cannondale Road Race, run on a 7-mile loop with a flat 1km straight to the finish line. Willock had a wider margin of victory in the 56-mile women’s race, crossing 19 seconds ahead of the raging pack. Tina Pic (Quark) took the bunch sprint with Magen Long (The Bicycle Store) third. General-classification standings were not available. Racing concludes Sunday with the San Dimas

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) doubled up at round two of the Shimano NORBA National Mountain Bike Series on Saturday, adding victory in the short track to his win in Friday’s time trial. Setting the pace early on at McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Fountain Hills, Arizona, was a small group containing Kabush, Subaru-Gary Fisher teammates Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Trent Lowe, Adam Craig (Giant), Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-VW), Sid Taberlay and Liam Killeen (Specialized). Kabush, Horgan-Kobelski, and Killeen then tore open a gap and went to work. With just a few laps remaining, Kabush shot off the

Alessandro Petacchi is now the undisputed king of the sprints following his emotional victory down the Via Roma in Saturday’s Milan-San Remo. Mario Cipollini, who finished with the lead bunch in what he promises will be his last Milan-San Remo, was quick to tip his hat to Petacchi in a clear passing of the baton in the power rankings of the Italian sprinter hierarchy. “I can imagine what he feels at this moment,” Cipollini said Saturday on the Via Roma just three years after he won. “It’s his consecration as a rider of high quality.” It’s also chaos at the finish when an Italian wins the

Vande Velde's View: Once upon a time in AMERica

Fraser outkicks Dionne and the rest of the bunch

Willock en route to victory

Health Net in pursuit of Wohlberg

Moninger and Fraser

A Symmetry rider enjoys the deluge: I think he was screaming, but I'm not sure, says photog Casey Gibson

Did we mention it was raining?

Petacchi gets the one he's been wanting for some time now

[nid:30483]There is no longer an asterisk next to Alessandro Petacchi’s palmares. For the sprinter who’s dominated the speed game since his breakthrough 2000 season, Petacchi was being pegged as a man who couldn’t win a mass gallop in long-distance races. The naysayers only pointed to the 2004 Milan-San Remo and the 2003 Paris-Tours, two occasions when the “gentleman sprinter” died – or some say choked – at the line.

Germany’s Trixi Worrack (Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung) won the seventh edition of the 118km Primavera Rosa, the women’s Milan-San Remo, on Saturday. The 23-year-old Worrack jumped in the last kilometer to win the third round of the women’s World Cup by a second over Britain’s Nicole Cooke (Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan) and Australian Oenone Wood (Nurnberger) on the Via Roma de San Remo. In the World Cup competition, Wood leads with 85 points, followed by Worrack with 80 and Netherlander Suzanne De Goede (Van Bemmelen) third with 78.

Sue Haywood (Trek-VW) and Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) won their respective time trials on Friday as round two of the Shimano NORBA National Mountain Bike Series got under way outside Fountain Hills, Arizona. The twisting, 8.2-mile loop at McDowell Mountain Regional Park featured short climbs and steep switchbacks. Haywood stopped the clock at 32:09, just 15 seconds quicker than Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher). Luna racers - Katerina Hanusova, Alison Dunlap and Shonny Vanlandingham – snagged the next three spots. In the men’s race, Kabush collected his second NORBA time-trial victory of the

Petacchi celebrates his biggest win to date

Petacchi collects his first epic one-day classic

Bettini and Kashechkin had a go

Casagrande and Zaballa have a go

Casper leads an escape

Petacchi and his podium-mates

Freire had good legs - until the final 500 meters

Rodriguez was still feeling the effects of his Paris-Nice crash

Vicioso took his best shot

Fassa on the hunt

Rebellin on the attack

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.Belgians right to oppose witch huntEditor:Finally, a voice of reason from inside cycling. I applaud the letter Belgian sports officials wrote to De Standaard pointing out that the fight against doping is become a moral crusade, or witch hunt (see “Belgians attack anti-doping rules”). I