Bettini and Paulinho work their gap
Bettini and Paulinho work their gap
Bettini and Paulinho work their gap
Merckx gave it all he had, but had to settle for bronze
Germany chases
Racing past the Acropolis
Laurels for the podium
The big man, Backstedt, had an early go
And then there were three
A wiseguy suggested that the course was designed to show off the monuments ... like the Acropolis
It certainly suited Paolo Bettini
Defending Olympic champ Jan Ullrich crossed 19th
Just in front of Ullrich was Tyler Hamilton, the top U.S. finisher
Bobby Julich had himself a go
As did Levi Leipheimer
The Germans and Aussies chased everything with a pulse
The top three and their laurels
Four years ago she was the toast of Olympic cycling, after winning three gold medals at the 2000 Games in Sydney. But this time around Dutchwoman Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel brings more modest goals to the Games in Greece, where she’ll focus on the time trial and individual pursuit. “I don’t want to take too many risks [in the road race] because the other races are more important to me,” said Zijlaard-Van Moorsel, three days before the women’s cycling events kicked off with the 118.8km road race in downtown Athens on Sunday. “The individual pursuit is my first aim for sure. That’s what I
My bosses may not approve, but I took a little me time on Thursday to check a few of the sights in Athens. And that meant a trip to the Acropolis. Set on a rocky hill, high above the city center, this is definitely one of the most amazing places you’ll ever come across. It’s dubbed the sacred rock in the brochure they hand out at the entryway, which also tells you that for centuries this was one of the most important religious centers in all of Athens. Parts of it date back to the Neolithic period, and it’s centerpiece, the Parthenon, was built in the middle half of the fifth century BC.
Just 24 hours before some of top European road pros get down to business in the hunt for Olympic medals, confusion was the order of the day after the UCI attempted to conduct drug tests on several high profile teams at the Olympic Village in Athens. According to a report on the T-Mobile Web site, Germans Jan Ullrich, Andreas Klöden, Erik Zabel, Jens Voigt and Michael Rich arrived for the test, but after an hour-long wait it became clear that it wouldn't take place. It was cancelled because the Italian and Dutch team management objected to the UCI conducting drugs tests at the Olympic
Tom Danielson, who returned to European racing at the Tour of Portugal last week, will race in two of three one-day races next week in Italy for his Fassa Bortolo team. Danielson returned to the United States for a mid-season break in July and raced in the tough 10-day Portuguese tour, finishing a solid seventh in the final day time trial en route to 31st overall. Danielson is building his form for a run at the Vuelta a España in September, which will mark his first three-week grand tour. Fassa Bortolo for 84th Tre Valli Varesine, August 17: Dario Cioni, Massimo Codol, Tom Danielson, Dario
Tom Danielson, who returned to European racing at the Tour of Portugal last week, will race in two of three one-day races next week in Italy for his Fassa Bortolo team. Danielson returned to the United States for a mid-season break in July and raced in the tough 10-day Portuguese tour, finishing a solid seventh in the final day time trial en route to 31st overall. Danielson is building his form for a run at the Vuelta a España in September, which will mark his first three-week grand tour. Fassa Bortolo for 84th Tre Valli Varesine, August 17: Dario Cioni, Massimo Codol, Tom Danielson, Dario
The Acropolis.
The Parthenon.
The city below.
The Porch of the Caryatids.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus.
Looking back to the Acropolis.
The U.S. team addresses the media.
The final selection for the U.S. road team has been made, and it will be Christine Thorburn joining Dede Barry as America’s representatives in the Olympic time trial on Wednesday (August 18), a team source confirmed to VeloNews Thursday morning. Thorburn, who rides for the Webcor team back in the States, grabbed the spot ahead of T-Mobile rider Kristin Armstrong. Thorburn is the reigning U.S. national time trial champion, a title she won at the Olympic trials in Moreno Valley, California in mid June. On that day Thorburn stunned the heavily favored T-Mobile squad, taking an eight-second win
Mountain-bike racer Janet Puiggros Miranda was kicked off of the Spanish Olympic team on Thursday after testing positive for erythropoietin (EPO), Spain's Olympic Committee said. Puiggros Miranda failed the test on July 17 at the national mountain bike championships in Candanchu in northern Spain. Puiggros Miranda is the second Spaniard to have been sent home from the Games after a positive test. On Monday, canoeist Jovino Gonzalez was also dropped for failing a random test for EPO. "After notifying the affected party, who waived the right to a 'B' test, the Federation informed the
Jean-Patrick Nazon (Ag2r), winner of a stage in the Tour de France, won the morning sector of Thursday's action at the Tour de l'Ain in France. Nazon won the 83.5km stage from Izernore to Saint Genis Poully ahead of compatriot Jerome Pineau (Boulangère) and Saulius Ruskys. Earlier in the stage, Benjamin Noval (U.S. Postal Service) was part of a breakaway that included David Moncoutie (Cofidis) and Mikel Astarloza (Ag2r) that went over the Col de Cuvery. The trio was reeled in 9km to go to set up the mass gallop. American Tony Cruz, a winner on Wednesday, came through sixth for another fine
Spent a good chunk of Wednesday at the Olympic Village, the main housing location for all the athletes here in Athens. Reporter types like myself are only allowed in the International Zone, but you can still get a pretty good idea of what it’s all about. Besides providing sleeping quarters for most of the athletes, there’s a huge dinning hall, rec room, post office, Internet café, photo shop, flower shop and a big outdoor sound stage. Throughout the day groups of well dressed dignitaries file up onto the stage for pomp-and-circumstance presentations. This forced an NBC TV crew that was there
More sights from the lead-up days to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Tyler Farrar (Health Net-Maxxis) won the national under-23 individual time trial championship on Thursday as the Park City Cycling Festival got under way in Utah. Farrar outpaced a pair of TIAA-CREF/5280 riders to win the title on the hilly, 36km course at Antelope Island State Park in Syracuse, finishing nearly 45 seconds up on Timmy Duggan with 11-time national champion Blake Caldwell third. On Friday, the U-23s tackle the 193km road-race championship on the same course used in 1991 when Lance Armstrong won his first national title. Stay tuned to VeloNews.com for more on the racing in
Voeckler will be on the team in '05
Hamilton does an interview near the Olympic Village sound stage.
Info at the fingertips
Path of least resistance.
The torch makes its rounds.
A third of the Greek population calls Athens home.
Four Spanish team riders get in some training near the base of the Acropolis.
The cobbled section of the road course.
Team Norway fighting traffic.
Guys like this are all over the city.
A shadowy side street.
The backside of the road race course.
Farrar en route to a national title
American Antonio Cruz (U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor) won the second stage of the Tour de l’Ain on Wednesday, outsprinting Théo Eltink and Jerome Pineau (Brioches la Boulangère). Pineau remains the overall leader. The undulating 141.7km stage from Lagnieu to Oyonnax was marked by an 80km break that included David Moncoutié (Cofidis), Didier Rous (Brioches la Boulangere), Sylvain Calzati (RAGT Semances-MG Rove) and Pablo Lastras (Illes Balears). Once the break was caught with 20km to go, Cédric Vasseur (Cofidis) and Franck Renier (Brioches la Boulangere) tried to escape, but the
Yasas (or yasu if we know each other) from Athens. It’s Wednesday afternoon local time — nine hours ahead of the East Coast back in the States — and your intrepid reporter has found his way to the Olympic Village for a 1:30 appointment with Tyler Hamilton. The Phonak pro is out on a training ride at the moment, but assuming he shows up afterward we’re going to snap a photo of him in U.S. team kit for his column in VeloNews. In the meantime here’s a little rundown on my first days in Greece. The whole adventure (I’m calling it that because this is my first go round with the world’s biggest
With just three days until the first of 18 cycling gold medals are handed out at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Tyler Hamilton and the rest of the U.S. team were set to get their first look at the Olympic road race course late Wednesday afternoon. But no matter what they found on the streets of the downtown Athens course, both the men’s and women’s squads like their chances. Six of the team’s eight riders spent part of the afternoon in the International Zone (where the media is allowed) at the Olympic Village, doing interviews. Hamilton was the first to show up, and says that though
The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is looking for its next executive director. The Boulder-based non-profit organization has retained the search firm T. Malouf & Company, Inc., to find a replacement for outgoing executive director Tim Blumenthal, who will become executive director of Bikes Belong in September. With 32,000 members, 500 affiliated clubs and hundreds of corporate and retail members, IMBA is the world’s largest mountain-biking organization, dedicated to creating, preserving and enhancing trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide. Blumenthal’s
Here's a look at some of the sights on the days leading up the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Photographer Casey Gibson is in Athens for the 2004 Summer Games and sent us these glimpses of the U.S. team as they practice for the weekend's road races.
Doping is cheating, periodEditor:I've been reading the exchanges on doping in your mailbags. Some interesting points are being raised on both sides, but it seems to me we're making this issue more complicated than is necessary. Doping is cheating, period. There are plenty of good reasons for a person to cheat on final exams (better grades), aptitude tests (better college), performance reports (bigger profits), the Friday poker game (bigger winnings), or the weekend bike race (better results). But the plain truth is, it's still cheating. Period. One who cheats to get something does not
Not a bad spot.
The commuter train.
The media compound is well fortified.
The new digs.
The starship v-drome.
Office space.
The U.S. women's road team.
Hamilton's back bears the scars of the Tour.
Julich meets the press.
Teammates in '05?
Hamilton sporting Tugboat's tag.
Hincapie doing a phoner interview.
The Olympic mascot thingy.
One of the country's leading exports.
Sunset from the burbs of Athens.
The king of the pin collectors.
Don't bring the Amex here.
U.S. softball starlet Jennie Finch.
The torch is passed.
Striking a pose.
The U.S. men get ready to reconnoiter
Levi Leipheimer and Tyler Hamilton lead the way
VeloNews diarist Dede Demet Barry joins the Dutch women for a spin
Bobby Julich and Michael Rasmussen get in a few miles
Cunego wins Due Giorni Marchiagiana-GP Fred MengoniDamiano Cunego (Saeco) was back to his winning ways on Tuesday, outsprinting Team Italia’s Daniele Nardello and Cristian Moreni to win the Due Giorni Marchigiana-GP Fred Mengoni in Castelfidordo, Italy. It was the 11th win of the season for the young winner of the Giro d’Italia, who now is looking forward to the final part of the season, with his big objective the world championships in Verona. “Even I didn’t think I’d get back to form and win so quickly, even if I rode well at Camaiore and San Sebastian,” said Cunego, who capped his
Master cycling technician, Lennard Zinn, will make a special presentation at the REI Oakbrook Terrace at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 20th. Visit the REI Oakbrook Terrace to get the inside scoop on your bike fit, physical conditioning and have Lennard sign your copy of Zinn’s Cycling Primer. Admission is FREE. Seating is limited. REI Oakbrook Terrace17W160 22nd St.Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181Phone: 630.574.77007:00 PM About the book:Lennard Zinn does it again, taking you through the basics and particulars of bicycle maintenance and skill building to refine your bike and body. Zinn evaluates