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Savoldelli is on board

Hincapie is back for another season

Rabobank’s Sven Nijs has captured one of the cyclo-cross world’s most regardedtitles – that of Belgian national champion – for the third time in hiscareer on Sunday. Nijs dominated Sunday’s championship, finishing nearly a minute aheadTom Vannoppen and Ben Berden on the course in Wachtebeke. Defending nationalchampion, Bart Wellens, finished fourth at 1:21. The national title is the most significant in a discipline dominatedby Belgians on the world scene. Belgians consistently sweep the podiumat the world championships – even taking the top five spots at the world’sin Monopoli, Italy in

Americans Rebecca Quinn and Jenny Reed won medals Sunday, the final day of competition at the third round of the track cycling World Cup.Quinn won the silver behind Australian Katherine Bates in the women's scratch race, with France's Virginie Moinard third.Reed claimed the bronze in the women's Keirin, which was won by Belarus' Natalia Tsylinskay. Germany's Susann Panzer took the silver.The British trio of Chris Hoy, Jason Queally and Craig Maclean won the team sprint in the final event of the World Cup leg at the Manchester Velodrome on Sunday to give the hosts enough points to win the

Nijs makes his move and that's it.

Hoy

That had to hurt... but Hayles was able to recover

Wellens: Can't celebrate 4th place when wearing this jersey

Enrico Franzoi won the Italian national cyclo-cross championship on Saturday. The 22-year-old finished more than a minute ahead of runner-up Marco Bianco on the course in Rovato, near Brescia in northern Italy. Third-placed Derik Zampedri claimed the U-23 title. In women's racing, Annabella Stropparo took the elite championship in 43:52, with Vania Rossi winning the U-23's in 47:40. Italian national cyclo-cross championshipsRovato, Italy. January 81. Enrico Franzoi, 1:01:492. Marco Bianco at 1:183. Derik Zampedri 1:47 Kupfernagel wins German titleHanka Kupfernagel won the women’s national

The British Guardian newspaper reported Saturday that Lance Armstrong had scored “a significant victory” in his libel suit against The Sunday Times and its chief sportswriter, David Walsh. The suit stems from a Times article published in June 2004 that repeated allegations made in the book, “LA Confidential: The Secrets of Lance Armstrong,” co-written by Walsh and Pierre Ballester and published in France. A judge in London’s high court struck down the newspaper’s defense, that the article was true, saying that the tone of the article was “sensational” and intended “to stir things up,”

Colby Pearce grabbed a share of the overall World Cup lead on Saturday in the men's points race with a bronze medal effort behind Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) and Nikita Eskov (RUS) at the penultimate stop of the four-race series. Pearce scored points in half of the 12 intermediate sprints and lapped the field once to score 35 points. Silver medalist Eskov also scored 35 points but bested Pearce in the final sprint to take the tiebraker. Kiryienka scored 39. Pearce's performance moves him into a tie for the overall world cup lead with 2004 Olympic gold medalist Russian Mikhail Ignatiev. The

Former Belgian cycling great Johan Museeuw took the blood-boosting drugs EPO and Aranesp in the 2003 season, the Belgian media reported on Friday, quoting judicial sources. The Belgian television station VRT and De Morgen newspaper carried excerpts from the official record of the prosecutor in the case that probed text messages sent between Museeuw and veterinary surgeon Jose Landuyt, who is under investigation for trafficking illegal drugs. "In the exchange of faxes and SMS (text messages), interrogations and admissions of Landuyt and other people, it is established that Johan Museeuw took

This is the start of a new year, and the start of this new column, so I thought it appropriate to start at the beginning. The beginning of what, you may ask. Well, the beginning of the chain of events that led to bike racing as we know it in North America. With today’s panoply of communication tools bringing you instant news of Americans winning races in the remotest corners of the world, with two Americans having won nine of the past 19 Tours de France, and with a roster of almost 20 professional teams in this country, it’s easy to forget that America was a distant member of the world

The South Asian Games, scheduled to be hosted by Sri Lanka in August, has been postponed as the Indian Ocean island nation concentrates on rebuilding after the recent tsunami tragedy, the sports minister said Thursday. Jeewan Kumaratunga, the minister of youth affairs and sports, said the eight-nation games would be pushed back by a year. Originally scheduled for August 15-25, the games are now being planned for the same period in 2006. “This is not a time to host the games with big celebrations so we decided to wait for another year," said Kumaratunga. "Once the country overcomes the

Oval Concepts expands its selection of high-end aero bars with its new super lightweight clip-on. The A910’s light weight is achieved with simple 26.0 forged aluminum clamps, carbon extensions with one-bend, and new oval-shaped armrest plates made of carbon. The new Oval pads provide 20 percent more surface area compared to the original rectangular pads, which remarkably improves comfort. Carbon pad holders absorb road shock and even allow angular adjustments. Replacement pads are available in 5 (standard), 8, and 10mm thickness. Extensions are upgradeable: choose from straight, double or

Wiggins wants to pursue his options on the road

The enterprising Percy Stallard, who revived massed-start racing in Britain

Museeuw at his final race

The A910

Record six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has hinted again that he may not bid for a seventh yellow jersey on the race this July as he wants to beef up his honors list with one-day classics wins. Armstrong, 33, will continue his hugely-successful career with his new Discovery team, the nucleus of which comes from the U.S. Postal team, when the season begins. However since eclipsing the likes of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain - all of whom won the Tour five times - Armstrong's desire to bid for a record seventh victory seems to be on the

AUSTIN, TEXAS - A former personal assistant of Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong who has been sued by the cyclist fired back Wednesday, accusing the cyclist of fraud, breach of contract and causing him severe emotional distress. Mike Anderson, 33, on Wednesday filed his counterclaim to a lawsuit Armstrong filed last month in Travis County District Court. In the original lawsuit, Armstrong said Anderson wanted $500,000 and other benefits under a claimed employment contract. Anderson said Armstrong's lawsuit ruined his reputation as a bike mechanic and publicly humiliated him. He is

Fuji Bicycles Joins the Tsunami Relief EffortDonates 50 Mountain Bikes to Health Care WorkersPhiladelphia, PA (January 6, 2004) – Fuji Bicycles joins theworldwide tsunami relief efforts by donating mountain bikes to the emergencyand disaster relief workers in Southeast Asia. Recognizing both the immediateand long-term requirements of this relief effort, Fuji will donate 50 bikeseach year for the next three years. Fuji hopes these bikes will help nursesand health care service providers reach the more remote and disaster-riddenareas in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the other countries whose

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS TO HOST 2005-2007 COLLEGIATE ROAD NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPSJanuary 6, 2005 (Colorado Springs, Colo.) – USA Cycling has namedLawrence, Kan. as the site for the 2005-2007 Collegiate Road National Championships.Hosted by the University of Kansas and the Lawrence Sports Corporationand managed by KLM Marketing Solutions, this year’s event is scheduledfor May 13-15.The event was originally intended for New Haven, Conn., but when thepromoter ran into some unforeseen issues, the ’05 Nationals were left withouta host. The KU Cycling Club and KLM Marketing Solutions admirably

First off, a while back in (almost) sunny Southern California for Christmas, I managed to pull Shimano PR guy Jasen Thorpe out of his cubicle for a morning of off-road riding and tech chit-chat. Thorpe came to the famed Aliso Viejo riding trails armed with one of his truly fish-out-of-water bicycle creations–a one-size-too-small GT Ruckus hardtail fully equipped with 2005 Shimano Hone components. “It is too early in the year to start riding fast, so I’d rather stick to my hucking bike for general trail riding,” Thorpe offered. Oddball or not, the point of the Ruckus was to show off

Tech Report: Hone-ing in on Shimano; High-fiber braking

Tech Report: Hone-ing in on Shimano; High-fiber braking

Subway team gears up for 2005McKenzie Bridge, Oregon, USA (January 4, 2005) – The Subwayteam returns this year as a US Continental Team with a mix of young talentand veteran racers. The team will kick off its season with a camp in Merced,California, February 25 - March 7, which will be open to additional guestsfrom March 1-7. The camp will also overlap the first NRC race of the yearMcLane Pacific, which will serve as the team’s first official race outing.Although managed by Express Racing and associated with the Express RacingClub, the team will shorten its moniker to Subway from last year’s

When Noel gave me the “time to go” nod from across our expansive 28-person table (all the riders, staff and their spouses/families) at the camp’s final steak-and-frite dinner, it seemed abrupt. The hour was early and we hadn’t yet seen the Belgian dessert tray. Ah, but this is cycling and late nights a la mode aren’t part of the plan. In fact, the end of Euro Cross Camp II took on very much the feel of unfinished business. In this case, some guys were staying on to prepare for a race in Spain two days later, and many of us were flying trans-Atlantic imminently, with the business end on our

JP throwing down in the Baal GVA Series race

Australian sprint cyclist Jobie Dajka will return to international competition later this week at the Manchester World Cup after serving a ban for lying to a doping inquiry. On Tuesday the former world keirin champion was named to a team of six riders slated to compete in the January 7-9 UCI Track Cycling World Cup. Dajka was thrown off Australia's Athens Olympics team last year and suspended until January 1 when it was found he had lied to a doping inquiry headed by Justice Robert Anderson.

The California Road Club (CRC), a San Francisco-based cycling team, has donated $1300 to Barb Howe, 28, of Larkspur, California, to help fund her trip to Belgium and Germany to compete in the UCI cyclo-cross world championships. Barb, in only her second year of racing cyclo-cross, has risen to the top level, and was chosen by USA Cycling to represent the United States at the annual world championship. "Barb works at A Bicycle Odyssey in Sausalito, which has sponsored the California Road Club since our inception," said Bud Napolio, CRC spokesman. "We are pleased to help Barb with her

Jobie Dajka

Tony Guffanti and Bud Napolio of CRC present Barb Howe with a check for $1300

Belgian Sven Nijs continues to lead the world cyclo-cross standings, according to world rankings released by the Union Cycliste Internationale on January 3. European-based American pro Jonathan Page is ranked 16th in the world. The rankings include points acquired at any UCI-sanctioned event, including a growing number in the U.S. UCI Cyclo-cross rankings – January 3, 20051. Sven Nijs (B), 2011 Points2. Sven Vanthourenhout (B), 14473. Ben Berden (B), 14044. Erwin Vervecken (B), 12105. Zdenek Mlynar (Cz), 11226. Richard Groenendaal (Nl), 9907. Tom Vannoppen (B), 9228. Petr Dlask (Cz), 9069.

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.We suspect biasDear Editor,Now there's a man who knows when he's taken a special picture!!! (see"ACasey Gibson Photo Gallery: A look back at 2004") Please tell Casey that his favorite picture of 2004 is also my favoriteand will always be for the remainder of my life. Best regards to all

Phonak cycling team officials announced Monday that manager Urs Freuler and director Alvaro Pino have been replaced by Belgian John Lelangue, an employee of the Amaury Sport Organization, which promotes the Tour de France. After a tumultuous season, in which three of Phonak’s top stars were charged with doping violations and the team excluded from the upcoming UCI ProTour, team owner Andy Rihs announced that the employment contracts of Freuler and Pino “were terminated by mutual agreement.” "The team's owner Andy Rihs has decided ... to install a new management at the heart of the Phonak

Happy New Year, everybody! It's 2005, training camp is less than two weeks away, the ProTour is going to make its debut and I get to speak English with my teammates again. Last year at this time I was studying my Spanish as much as possible while fretting about being at the dinner table and understanding nothing. I'll be riding for CSC this year, where we all speak English at some level. It makes life much easier on me, and the fact that the native English speakers only take up one-sixth of the team is downright strange, if not a dream. I'm very excited about sitting at the dinner table or

DAVID O'LOUGHLIN RINGS OUT THE OLD AND BRINGS IN THE NEWHackettstown, NJ - Navigators Insurance Cycling Team's new 2005recruit, David O'Loughlin of Ireland, finished up his 2004-racing seasonwith a victory in the An Ras Turcai, held in County Galloway, Ireland lastweek.  The 150 participants cruised leisurely for the first 3 of 6laps on the 10-kilometer circuit, before the racing began in earnest. With 1-lap remaining, David and Kurt Bogarts (Carrick Wheelers RC) leftMark Scanlon (ag2r-Prevoyance), the legendary Sean Kelly, and 146 othersin arrears as the duo picked up the

Monday's Mailbag: Happy grandma; Happy riders; Skeptical reader

John Lelangue - seen here before the prologue of the 2004 Tour de France - has been named as the new general manager of the Phonak team

Generalissimo Riis

Ivan Basso may have made the podium at the Tour, but here he's just another grunt

Belgian Sven Vanthourenhout (Rabobank) won the eighth round of the UCI’s cyclo-cross World Cup on Sunday, beating his compatriots Sven Nijs and Erwin Vervecken in Aigle, Switzerland. Vanthourenhout scored the win on a 2.6km course that encircled the World Cycling Center, the headquarters of the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s world governing body. Ben Berden and Italian Enrico Franzoi finished respectively in fourth and fifth places. It was those five riders who dominated throughout most of the race, staying together in a lead group until the penultimate lap when Nijs and

Sunday's EuroFile: Vanthourenhout wins in Aigle; Astarloa joins Barloworld

Nijs continues to lead the World Cup standings

Sunday's EuroFile: Vanthourenhout wins in Aigle; Astarloa joins Barloworld

LONDON (AP)- The Associated Press list of the top 10 international sportsstories of 2004, based on a worldwide poll of AP subscribers outside the UnitedStates (first-place votes in parentheses):1. Greece wins the 2004 European Championship, 444 points (10).2. Athens Olympics go off successfully despite security and organizationworries, 310 (21).3. Lance Armstrong wins sixth straight Tour de France, 259 (4).4. Michael Schumacher wins record 13 Formula One races for fifth straighttitle, 257 (0).5. Doping cases rock Athens Olympics, 189 (6).6. Swimmer Michael Phelps wins six Olympic golds and

It used to be that the most accurate measure of how busy Casey Gibson’s year had been was the odometer on his battered old pick-up truck. Times change, the Toyota has long since heaved its last sigh and instead of rolling the numbers on his dashboard, Casey is now racking up frequent flier miles. One thing that remains, though, is the man’s keen eye and appreciation for the sport. As the year winds to a close, we asked Gibson to sort through his files and pick a few of his favorite shots from 2004. Having covered everything from Redlands to the Tour to the Olympics, he had quite a bit to

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has defended the use of what he called "big brother" methods in the fight to catch doped athletes. "We have 'big brother' everywhere in the fight against doping," Rogge told the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung. "I don't have a problem with it, it's about punishing cheaters. If someone wants to sue for their right to privacy - then please, go ahead." Rogge said the tactics were necessary because athletes can cover signs of using banned substances during competitions. "We can test better now than six months ago, we can find EPO. Still

My favorite picture of the year. Bobby Julich shares his Olympic medal with his daughter Olivia. A wonderful reward for a guy that persevered through many hardships over the years.

The toughest guy in cycling, Viatchislav Ekimov, leads the Postal Service in the team time trial in abysmal conditions at the Tour de France.

Kevin Bouchard Hall takes a corner in the Redlands Criterium. Bouchard Hall was the best young rider at Georgia and impressed all this year.

Greg Henderson of New Zealand, Rob Hayles of Great Britain, and Stuart O'Grady of Australia battle for points in the Olympic madison. The rider's skill and maximum effort made it the most exciting track race I have ever seen.

Love him or hate him, Chris Horner was the best rider in the US this year, and he had the most remarkable one day ride at the Tour of Connecticut, where he pulled at the front or rode alone for over 100 miles.

Horner flies through a corner in the Tour of Connecticut criterium.

Tina Pic takes a corner in the Redlands Criterium. Great form in the corners and unbeatable speed in the sprints.

Sarah Ulmer displays her perfect form in the banking of the OlympicVelodrome in Athens. She set an Olympic and World Record every time she took to the track, and brought back memories of Rebecca Twigg.

The 'Big Blue Train' of the U.S. Postal Service came to the Tour of Georgia in April, and left everyone else fighting for second place.

Mike Creed leads the peloton through the hairpin turn at the top of the Sunset Loop during the Redlands Classic. A developer's plans will forever change this classic stage of Redlands, eliminating this part of the course.

Race leader Mark McCormack and Aaron Olson turn the park into a blur during the Tour of Connecticut.

On an especially hot day in the Alps during the Tour de France, riders sought relief from the heat... or tried to ignore it by turning their attention elsewhere.

In one of the most thrilling and frightening stages of this year's Tour, Armstrong and Basso negotiate their way through thousands of hysterical Basque fans.

Lance Armstrong in the prologue of the Tour de France, where he established himself as the greatest Tour rider of all time.

Trent Klasna descends through a turn at the Sea Otter Classic. Trent retired at the end of the year, taking his cheerful attitude and thrilling riding style with him.

Dear Bob,The three highest roads in New England all run on public land. However,the roads are operated by private entities that do not allow bicycles:1. Mount Washington Auto Road, Glen, New Hampshire2. Mount Mansfield Auto Toll Road, Stowe, Vermont3. Mount Equinox Skyline Drive, Manchester, VermontTwo of them (Mount Mansfield and Mount Equinox) do allow motorcycles.Might there be any basis to challenge this?SW,MassachusettsDear SW,First of all, thank you for your help in digging up some importantfacts that made an answer possible. After starting my research, I discoveredthat there was no

Joe and Dirk answer questions on four-hour trainer sessions and how to count weight training

Greetings, all, again,Not a whole lot of time to write when you're doing the Cyclo-cross Warped Tour. "Hellooooo, Surheisterveen ... thanks for coming to the show!" No, really, guys like Groenendaal are in the midst of a 1-3-3 block, as in seven races in nine days! Cyclo-cross stage racing, they call it over here. Tuesday, December 28 (race #3)The Hofstade World Cup was huge. Huge weather (as in Belgian "hard"); huge crowds (for weather that snotty); and huge for the impression it made on its participants. By that, I mean it was a day where you realize how far you've come and how far you've

Mt. Washington: Why not all the time?

Wicks at the World Cup

DeClercq in what may be his final Belgian 'cross

Your ballDear Velo,I enjoyed (I guess that's the correct word) the interview with Mr.Pound and appreciate the passion with which he approaches his charge(see "VeloNewsInterview: WADA's Dick Pound"). I'd like to also note that I disagree with Dr. Salmon (Letters,Dec. 27th) on the suitability of DNA testing for Tyler Hamilton'sblood doping case. Red blood cells are devoid of both nuclei andmitochondria and, consequently, DNA. The introduced foreign material islargely in the form of red blood cells and as a consequence there is likelyto be very little foreign DNA to be found, even when searched

2005 Sea Otter Classic – “A Celebration of Cycling!”On-Line Registration Available at SEAOTTERCLASSIC.COMMONTEREY, Calif. — The Sea Otter Classic is the most celebratedcycling festival in North America. Known throughout the cycling world as the grand season opener, the 15th annual Sea Otter Classic will be held April 14-17, 2005 at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California, USA.Nearly 10,000 professional and amateur athletes and over 50,000 spectatorswill attend the four-day festival. The outdoor cycling tradeshow will host over 250 vendors showcasing the latest trends and

Series leader Sven Nijs won the seventh round of the UCI’s expanded cyclo-cross World Cup in Hofstade, Belgium, on Tuesday. Nijs, who has dominated the discipline for much of the season, finished ahead of compatriot Erwin Vervecken and Italian Enrico Franzoi. Reigning world champion Bart Wellens and the Netherlands’ Richard Groenendaal finished in fourth and fifth respectively. Nijs dominated the race from beginning to end in classic Belgian conditions: mud, rain and a touch of ice. "It was a true cyclo-cross race,” Nijs remarked. “For me, it means a lot to do well in these conditions and

Where is that table?Dear Lennard,Where can I find the torque charts that the latest issue of VeloNewssaid were on the Web site?CharlesDear Charles,Hereyou go!LennardAsking SantaDear Lennard,I'm suggesting an inch pounds torque wrench from Santa for Christmasand I'm a little confused on which to put on my list. The one I want isa 1/4" twist knob type US, but they have a few options on the increments.Should I go with a 40-200 or 10-50? I'm most doing all the stuff onmy road and mountain bike, stems, cranks bolts etc.PaulDear Paul,Sorry if my answer is too late for Santa, but click on the torque

Nijs consolidates his World Cup lead

Classic conditions made this special for Nijs