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Italy will begin hosting the world road race cycling championships in earnestin Verona on Monday, although there will be no love lost between two ofthe country's contenders for the coveted rainbow jersey in the land ofRomeo and Juliet.With 10 titles in total up for grabs in the week-long championships- held near the scenic Lake Garda for the first three days and nearby Veronathe next four - the championships promises plenty of action.Italy is hoping that new Olympic road race champion Paolo Bettini comesto the fore in the men's road race, the main event held next Sunday over265.5km of hilly

If any question remained as to who the strongest cross-country racers in the United States were, recently crowned national cross-country champions Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Alison Dunlap erased those doubts Sunday with convincing solo wins at the national short track championships at Mammoth Mountain Resort, California. The wins brought the third national STXC titles for both: Dunlap took the stars-and-stripes jersey in 1999 and 2002, while Horgan-Kobelski took the title in 2001 and 2003.

The final stage of the CD&P Bermuda Grand Prix, the Cheerios Dockyard Criterium, was held at the old Naval Dockyard’s at the far end of the island. Cruise ships, quaint tourist shops, and various bars and restaurants now inhabit the Dockyards, at one time a base for the British fleet. The Elite women set off on a perfectly sunny afternoon for a 50-minute race with multiple sprints throughout. With both time bonus primes and sprint points in the Women’s Prestige Cycling series to contend with, the pace stayed hot throughout the event. Despite multiple chances to split the field the

Perez impressed many at this Vuelta

Perez - Goofy helmet; fast times

Heras did what he needed to do

Zabel kept his points jersey

Dunlap repeats...

... as does Horgan-Kobelski.

A new face on the block: Chris Del Bosco

The second stage of the CD & P Bermuda Grand Prix took place inSt. George Friday evening with a 700-meter time trial.  Racers sprintedup a cobbled alley before making a hard left and a swooping right intoa steep hill, then doubling back onto the fast finishing straight. Local marine insurance company, XL Capitol, sponsored an open bar and pastabuffet at a café along the course where racers mingled and unwoundafter the race..In the elite women’s event Gina Grain of Victory Brewing set the fastesttime and moved into third overall on the general classification. Grain,

The Vuelta a España is coming down to the final time trial once again. Saturday’s 178km 20th stage was the last chance for anyone to attack race leader Roberto Heras going into Sunday’s finale and Santi Pérez rose to the occasion on the steep road to Puerto de Navacerrada. The rail-thin Phonak rider started the Vuelta’s penultimate stage second at 1:13 back, but he trimmed Heras’s lead by 30 seconds after putting down a vicious acceleration with 2km to go that the defending champion couldn’t answer. Pérez couldn’t win his third stage of this Vuelta – his Phonak teammate Enrique Gutiérrez

The new-look ProTour cycling circuit will go ahead with or without the approval of Tour de France organizers, world cycling's governing body the UCI said on Saturday in response to criticism of the proposed format. The UCI reacted quickly after organizers of cycling’s three grand tours - the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España - have formally told the UCI that they will not take part in the new-look Pro Tour. Vuelta sporting director Victor Cordero told AFP on Saturday that the organizers of all three major tours have "grave reservations" about the current format of the Pro

Even though he’s facing a two-year suspension after testing positive for banned blood transfusions, Tyler Hamilton vows his racing days aren’t over yet. In an exclusive interview Saturday, Hamilton told VeloNews he “will race again” despite an admittedly uncertain future. The Phonak rider has staunchly defended his innocence against what officials say is the first positive to result from a new test designed to detect illegal transfusions. Because of the ongoing investigation, Hamilton declined to address specific question regarding the case, but he said he remains confident that he will

Gravity racing took center stage at the NORBA national championships Saturday, held at Mammoth Mountain Resort, California, with veterans Brian Lopes (Hyundai-GT-Oakley) and Tara Llanes (Giant-Pearl Izumi) claiming stars-and-stripes jerseys in the mountain cross event. The national titles brought a touch of redemption to each of the winners, who both spent much of their 2003 race seasons sidelined with injuries. In the men’s final, Lopes, the top qualifier, beat out recently crowned world Four Cross champion Eric Carter (Mongoose-Hyundai) with Chris Powell (Specialized) finishing third.

A demanding road course rearranged the general classification in boththe men’s and women’s fields at the CD&P Bermuda Grand Prix Saturday.The circuit, approximately 10 kilometers in length, contained shortsteep hills, brutal cross wind sections, and wild chickens to avoid nearthe finishing stretch.During the Women’s Elite race intermediate sprints were a main concern.With the overall classification tightly stacked together, almost twentyriders were within seconds of taking the lead. A sly counterattack after a time bonus sprint by Kenda Tire’s KateSherwin netted a large gap over the field

Perez makes his move

José Gutierrez managed to stay away

Postal's Cruz was in the day's early break

On the Puerto de Cotos

Jimenez jumped with 15km to go, but Gutiérrez fought back

The chase kept the break in check

Hamilton before this year's Olympic road race in Athens

A Giant day: Craig, Llanes and Decker all took national titles Saturday

Lopes leads the men's mountain cross

John Tomac leaves the mountain cross podium after presenting the winners with medals

A new, one-day “winner-take-all” format for crowning national mountain-bikechampions enjoyed its debut under sunny skies Thursday at Mammoth MountainResort, California, with veteran Dave Wiens (RLX Ralph Lauren) and risingtalent Gretchen Reeves (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) taking the 65-milemarathon cross-country titles.For the first time since the implementation of the NORBA National Seriesin the late 1980s, American racers are contesting a national championshipsolely without competition from foreign riders. The marquee event of theweekend, the pro cross-country race, will be held

Richard Virenque, the only rider to win the King of the Mountains in the Tour de France seven times, will retire at the end of the season when he turns 35. Virenque, who turned professional in 1991, will bow out of the sport as one of France's most popular riders although he never matched the success of five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault or double Tour winner Laurent Fignon. Once considered the bad boy of the sport for his role in the Festina doping scandal which rocked the Tour in 1998 and led to a later suspension, the Frenchman resurrected his career years ago. "I have been riding

Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) remains on track to win his third Vuelta title in five years with just two days remaining in the 59th Vuelta a España. Heras and the other favorites decided to save their energy for the exciting two-day finale and played the role of kingmakers. The main bunch only watched as such riders as Damiano Cunego (Saeco) and Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola) peeled away early in the stage to fight for leftovers. It was Constantino Zaballa (Saunier Duval) who fought the hardest and won a well-deserved solo victory, holding off pursuers on the final run into Collado

Cruz one more year with DiscoveryTony Cruz will ride with Discovery Channel in 2005. Cruz is on the cusp of finishing the 2004 Vuelta a España and told VeloNews he’s already penned a contract to race next year as the team switches title sponsors from U.S. Postal Service to Discovery Channel. “I got a better deal with the team and I’m ready just to start winning races,” Cruz told VeloNews after Thursday’s stage into Ávila. “I’m satisfied with this Vuelta and with how the season went. I will be more confident next year to win more races.” Cruz enjoyed a banner year in 2004 which saw the

Riders in the Paris-Correze cycling race went missing in central France on Friday after a prankster removed the signposts, local organizers said. The signposts went missing after the first breakaway group had passed by some 30km from the finish line in the village of Saint-Amand-Montrond. Local police had to search the roads of the Cher region after contact was lost with 80 cyclists who were some ten minutes behind the leading breakaway group during the first stage of the race. "It annoys me, but that is part of the shocking things about riding," said race organizer Max Mamers. "We can't

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Friday that Joseph D’Antoni of Raleigh, N.C., an athlete in the sport of cycling, tested positive at the Track World Cup Qualifier on Feb. 26, 2004. He tested positive for recombinant human Erythropoietin (rEPO), a prohibited substance under the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which is the international federation for the sport of cycling. rEPO is a synthetic hormone that stimulates the body’s production of red blood cells thereby increasing oxygen transport and aerobic power. D’Antoni, 27, accepted a two-year

The Bermuda Grand Prix kicked off Thursday evening in downtown Hamilton. Cruise ships sat stoically near the start-finish as racers sped down the main strip and tourists cheered from the balconies of bars and restaurants lining the course. While the island has a distinctly laid-back vibe, the race did not. With a steep climb, a 180-degree turn, and thousands of dollars in primes on the line, the course took a toll on both the men and women's fields. In the 30-minute elite women's race, Webcor, Quark, Genesis and Rona all took turns attacking the front, eventually splitting the field into a

The Mail Bag 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.Do you trust the test?Dear Editors,The letter by David J. Heard is right on the mark (see "Wednesday'sMailbag"). From my own experience as a biological scientist I canattest to the variable nature of many antibody based assays.I have read the paper by Nelson et al. and I think it is nice

This update is coming to you from Haven Hamilton. I'm Tyler's wife. I wantedto post a note of appreciation to all of you who are standing behind Tylerand I during this very difficult ordeal. The outpouring of support hasbeen overwhelming and is appreciated more than you can imagine. Tyler isinnocent of the charges against him and we will do everything we can, withevery resource we have to make this clear.I have known Tyler since 1996 and we have been married for almost sixyears. When I met him he was a neo-pro bike racer who competed primarilyin the United States. Back in the day, we had no

A pair of past national champions, Alison Dunlap (Luna) and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (RLX Ralph Lauren), again proved themselves as the strongest American cross-country racers with convincing wins at the new, one-day “winner-take-all” NORBA national championships at Mammoth Mountain Resort, California. Both winners found themselves threatened by just one main challenger over the winding 11.8-mile loop, held at 10,000 feet elevation: for Horgan-Kobelski, the competition over the men’s three-lap course came from Giant’s Adam Craig, while Dunlap was forced to push the pace over the women’s

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SRAM Corporation and Truvativ are pleased to announce that SRAM hassigned a Definitive Agreement to purchase Truvativ.  The transactionis expected to close by mid October.Stan Day, the President of SRAM said,  "Truvativ is a great companywith a remarkable track record of growth and innovation.  SRAM isexcited to bring the Truvativ Team and products into our organization. Cranksets and bottom brackets complete SRAM's drivetrain product line."Micki Kozuschek, the President of Truvativ said:  "Truvativ wasat a crossroads to eithermake a complete drivetrain ourselves or team

Zaballa's effort pays off

Heras and the rest of the key players finished a safe 6:25 back

JHK had time to inform the crowd it was his third national XC title

Only four days stand between Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) and his third Vuelta a España victory in five years. The quiet Spanish rider all but eliminated arch-rival Alejandro Valverde (Valenciana-Kelme) after taking more than two minutes in Wednesday’s summit finish and only has to worry about climbing sensation Santi Pérez (Phonak) going into Saturday’s penultimate stage. “We made a big stride toward winning the Vuelta but there are still some difficult stages to come,” Heras said. “We’ll still take it day by day.” Liberty Seguros is clearly the strongest team in the race, setting a

Racing again after the rest day is always a bit of a shock to the system. After a day without hard efforts in the legs, the body shuts down, therefore when the first attacks go the following day it feels quite painful. The other things that make these stages hard is that everybody is fresh, or fresher, and is eager to attack and race. We were faced with a fairly flat stage towards Careres, yesterday, the day after our rest day. As Petacchi went home on the weekend, and Zabel lost most of his teammates early in the Vuelta, there were no teams willing to control the race for a field sprint

It’s that time of year again, when the rumor mill starts spinning with tales of trades and transfers. And while the majority of domestic teams aren’t yet ready to make any official announcements yet, there appear to be a few “done deals” that should have a profound effect on next year’s North American road racing calendar. Sources indicate the biggest shakeup is taking place on the Colavita Olive Oil squad, as a pair of GC contenders, Will Frischkorn and Nathan O’Neill, as well as star-sprinter Ivan Dominguez are all reportedly moving on to different programs. Again, nothing’s yet been

The road to Madrid is always bumpy in the Vuelta a España. A day after Wednesday’s decisive stage to La Covatilla, Thursday’s four-climb 196.6km stage from Béjar to Avila was perfect for a breakaway. In fact, one stayed away with journeyman Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Valenciana-Kelme) hanging on for his team's fourth win of this Vuelta. But there was certainly no cease-fire among the favorites. While Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) was able to hold his 1:13 lead over Santi Pérez (Phonak), several challengers went on the attack on yet another blistering hot day. Fourth-place Francisco Mancebo

The B-sample taken from Olympic time-trial champion Tyler Hamilton at theVuelta a Espana earlier this month as come back positive, his Phonak cyclingteam announced Thursday.The team also reported that the B-sample for similar doping test bythe International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier in Athens was negative.Phonak said it was setting up a scientific board to check the validityof testing methods because of the apparently conflicting results shownby the IOC's procedure, and the one used by the Union Cycliste Internationale(UCI) in Spain.Hamilton has been suspended from racing by the Phonak

Tyler Hamilton's Olympic gold medal may be safe after the International Olympic Committee dropped disciplinary proceedings against him, but the Phonak rider could still face a two-year ban from cycling based on evidence of blood doping at the Vuelta a España. The IOC announced Thursday that it had dropped disciplinary proceedings against the Olympic time trial champion, begun after "an adverse analytical finding" on his A sample from the Athens Games, taken on August 19 in Athens. Tests on the B sample, taken the same day, proved "non-conclusive" because testers inadvertently placed the

McCartney

Where it all started: Ferguson and Wherry coming back from a surf at the Health Net team camp in January

Pascual Rodriguez takes Vuelta win; Heras still in charge

Hamilton at Wednesday press conference

American star Tom Danielson could be leaving Fassa Bortolo and joining up with six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong at Discovery Channel in 2005. Sources at Fassa Bortolo confirmed Danielson has opted out of the second year of his two-year contract with the Italian team and is expected to join the American team for next season. Danielson is the top American hope in a new generation of riders coming through the ranks and made the jump to Europe in 2004 with a high-profile contract with Fassa Bortolo. Danielson was frustrated, however, when he was left off both the Giro d’Italia and

The Mail Bag 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.It's all about the fiduciary responsibilityEditors,I was distressed to see that one of your readers thought that SCA isoff the mark with the Armstrong inquiry. First of all, they launchedtheir investigation after the Tour instead of before the Tour simply becauseif he had not won they

The hometown roads of La Covatilla high above his childhood home of Béjar were good to Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) in Wednesday’s four-climb 17th stage -- but perhaps not good enough. Heras gained valuable time on archrival Alejandro Valverde (Valenciana-Kelme) – 2 minutes, 10 seconds to be exact – but the verdict is still out on whether it will be enough for Heras to win his third Vuelta a España in five years. Even Heras cautioned that he’d like to have more time going into Sunday’s final time trial. “Today we made a big step toward my team and myself winning the Vuelta, but there

American Olympic time-trial champion Tyler Hamilton has been suspended by the Phonak team and will be thrown out unless he is able to prove he is innocent of blood doping charges, the Swiss team said Wednesday. "If Hamilton is not able to prove his innocence, then the contract will be cancelled effective immediately," Zurich-based Phonak said in a statement on its Internet site. The statement, which was released before the results of a second doping test sample were known, also announced the Phonak team leader's suspension until the proceedings on the charge are completed. The 33-year-old

Cardenas wins the stage...

... but Heras and especially Perez made the day's biggest gains...

... at Valverde's expense.

The break got away early... and shrank all the way to the finish.

Liberty had chase duty for the day

Once into the climb, the peloton continued to shrink.

Perez now sits in second

Valenciana-Kelme might be Spanish cycling’s red-headed step-child, but it’s taking the Vuelta a España by the throat once again. Despite getting recent setbacks that include doping allegations from ex-rider Jesus Manzano, struggles with its budget, the migration of major stars and the likely exclusion from cycling’s new super-league to debut in 2005, Kelme just keeps on truckin’. On a day that saw the news of a possible doping ban for Olympic time trial champion Tyler Hamilton overshadow the stage, little Kelme stepped up one more time. (See "Hamiltonblood tests show

Six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is already thinking about 2005, but he’s still not sure what races he’ll be starting. In an interview with The Oregonian newspaper during a visit to the Nike headquarters this week in Oregon, Armstrong said he’ll begin training in earnest in November. “At least I'm thinking of going heavier then,” Armstrong told The Oregonian. “That could get pushed back to December 1st. We have a kick-off camp the first week of December, so I know it won’t be any later than that.” Armstrong was in Oregon on Monday to attend a Nike stockholders meeting at the

Prosecutors demanded Tuesday that Italian sports doctor Michele Ferrari should be jailed for 14 months for doping offenses The Italian news agency ANSA said the public prosecutor Lorenzo Gestri asked that Ferrari be given a 14-month sentence, a 900 euro ($1100) fine and a one-year ban from medical activity. The doctor, who has worked with six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, has denied the charges and said he was being made a "scapegoat" for the drug problems in cycling. Ferrari's other clients include Mario Cipollini, Paolo Savoldelli, Gianni Bugno, Pavel Tonkov, Tony Rominger,

Phonak’s Tyler Hamilton, who won the Olympic time trial gold medal last month, said he was totally innocent of the charge of blood doping after it was revealed on Tuesday he had become the first athlete to test positive for it. The 33-year-old faces a two year ban after testing positive after winning the Tour of Spain's eighth stage time trial on September 11 and he pulled out of the Tour six days later apparently due to stomach problems. Hamilton's Swiss Phonak team confirmed the positive result and news of the second sample is expected within 48 hours. However Hamilton insisted he was

Heras: Still in charge... barely

Cruz joins the day's big move

Hamilton at the Vuelta

Lance Armstrong is suing an insurance company over a $5 million bonus supposed to have been given for winning the Tour de France, the Dallas Morning News reports. The lawsuit - filed in Dallas Count on Tuesday by Armstrong and Tailwind Sports Inc., which owns the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team - reportedly asked that SCA Promotions Inc. fulfill the contract. The company told the newspaper that it is withholding payment until it has been given some reassurance that Armstrong has not used performance-enhancing drugs as alleged in the book "L.A. Confidential: The Secrets of Lance

Vuelta wide open with week to goWith one week left, the Vuelta a España has what the Tour de France didn’t at this point of the race – suspense. Following Sunday’s action on the steep climbing time trial to Sierra Nevada, the Vuelta sees Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) holding a five-second lead over Alejandro Valverde (Valenciana-Kelme) going into the decisive six-day run to Madrid. The surging Santi’ Perez (Phonak), a winner of back-to-back mountain stages, is poised in third at 1:45 back while Spain’s “Mr. Steady,” Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears), is still in the hunt at 2:02 back.

Coming a week before the 2004 world road championships in nearby Verona, the 62nd annual Milan bike show, September 17-20, marked the beginning of the 2005 selling season for road bikes and products in Italy. In a season that’s packed with international trade shows, Milan 2004 set itself apart with a focus on improving the climate for cycling in Italy and worldwide. Maurizio Fondriest, one of several former world champions from Italy who showed up to speak about the future of cycling in Italy, stressed the need for better bike paths. The 1988 world champion, who hails from Cles in the

USA Cycling has confirmed its team for the 2004 UCI Road World Championships September 27-October 3 in Verona, Italy. Competing in the elite men’s road race will be automatic nominees Fred Rodriguez (Emeryville, California), Jason McCartney (Coralville, Iowa), and Chris Horner (Bend, Oregon) as well as discretionary selections Chris Baldwin (Boulder, Colorado), Kirk O’Bee (Ada, Michigan), Patrick McCarty (Allen, Texas), Michael Creed (Colorado Springs, Colorado), Tom Danielson (Durango, Colorado), Christian Vande Velde (Boulder, Colorado), Antonio Cruz (Long Beach, California), and Guido

Let’s pretend that your mountain-bike racing plans for next season include marathon and cross-country events — and you’re going to take on both the NORBA and World Cup schedules. Well you better buckle up for a long year. Starting March 5 in Boerne, Texas, the 2005 pro schedule includes nine NORBA stops, eight World Cup marathons and eight World Cup cross-country races. The last event of the year isn’t until October 7, when the marathon World Cup series wraps up in France at Roc d’Azur. Throw in the fact that there are races in Cyprus (marathon World Cup No. 1), Brazil (World Cup

Prescott, AZ – Inside Communications, publisher of VeloNews and other sports magazines, has teamed up once again with the Thunderhead Alliance for a celebrity event that will benefit Thunderhead’s 50 States, 50 Cities Project for bicycle advocacy. On Friday October 29th at La Strada – Top of the Plaza in downtown Chicago, Graham Watson, world renowned bicycle race photographer, will entertain guests with stories and the very first viewing of his 2004 race season photographs, 38 floors above Lake Michigan as guests enjoy hors d’oeuvres and a four course Italian dinner. Maxxis International

The Mail Bag 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.Drugs aren’t a black-and-white issueEditor:It is a shame that any professional cyclist feels compelled to use controlled substances to aid their performance. However, the harsh reality is that it is likely rampant in the pro ranks. If you were to take two athletes of equal physical