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As I sit down to write about Interbike for VeloNews, it seems a shame not to show you some of the things that there probably will not be room for in the print magazine. So here we go…. SDGSDG has forged ahead with its I-Beam saddle, which eschews the normal saddle rails for a longitudinal beam molded into the saddle shell. SDG also is offering new super-light carbon-fiber seat posts that grip the beam. Since a saddle is normally a suspension item, like a hammock suspended between two rails, it seems that a saddle with a single, unyielding center rail might be a little hard on the crotch. But

No wonder Mario Cipollini and his Domina Vacanze teammates have beenunhappy this season. According to information released by the team earlierthis month, the title sponsor hasn't paid its riders since June. According to team officials, the team’s title sponsor – Domina Vacanzeheaded up by real estate magnate Ernest Preatoni – hasn’t met or has refusedto pay its obligations, in part due to co-sponsors who have soured overthe poor form of 2002 world champion Cipollini. Team manager Vincenzo Santoni – which owns the holding company for theItalian team called Blu Sea Services – insists he’s

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Tech Report with Lennard Zinn: More from 'Vegas

Show me the money

Cipollini may be looking for a new ride

Damiano Cunego has plenty of reason to celebrate the 2004 season. The 23-year-old sensation barnstormed to victory in Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia to wrap what’s been a successful campaign highlighted by his overall victory at the Giro d’Italia. Many are already calling the Saeco rider Italy’s next breakout star to replace the fading Gilberto Simoni, Michele Bartoli and Stefano Garzelli. “Let’s avoid such incredible comparisons but here’s no doubt it’s been a great year for me. After winning in the spring I won the Giro in May and that was amazing, winning a World Cup race is incredible,”

Nat Ross (Subaru/Gary Fisher) and Kelli Emmett (Specialized) rode 450 miles and covered 40,800 vertical feet of climbing between them to claim respective wins in the men's and women's solo categories this past weekend at the 10th Annual 24 Hours of Moab. A long-time solo competitor, Ross arrived in the red rock desert south of Moab with a goal to win, but Emmett had only decided to enter the race less than 48 hours before the start. "I've never ridden my bike for longer than eight hours," said an anxious Emmett in a pre-race interview. "For me it was just the mental challenge of getting

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. Rody Kickham was a decent fellow… is O’Grady?Dear editor,Well, you asked! To me, reading Patrick O'Grady's rant this week (see"Friday'sfoaming rant: Trick or treat") reminds me of inadvertently sittingnext to a schizophrenic on public transit.You know what I mean. The guy is obviously

The "Weekend 'Cross Wrap" is a service of VeloNews.com.Stories and results are provided by race promoters and are not producedby VeloNews or VeloNews.com. Promoters are welcome to submit race reportsthroughout the cyclo-cross season to Rosters@7Dogs.com.Reports may be edited for length and clarity.PENNSYLVANIA: Fort-GPOA rules Evo CrossFort-GPOA teammates Betsy Schauer and Mike Yozell rode to wins in round two of the 2004 Verge Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Series on Sunday in Buckingham, Pennsylvania. Thunderstorms Saturday night heralded a cold front that brought low temperatures

Ph

Photo files - do not delete

Belgian Sven Nijs scored his 23rd victory in the famed Superprestige cyclo-cross series, taking an event in Ruddervoorde, Belgium, on Sunday. Nijs fought hard after an early strong start by Belgian rival Sven Vanthourenhout. But Vanthourenhout lost momentum when he misjudged his line, crashed and saw Nijs scamper past him. Vanthourenhout teamed up with Ben Berden to give chase and the pair was soon joined by a surprisingly strong Richard Groenendaal. Still, even with that kind of horsepower in the chase, Nijs managed to stay off the front, crashing only on the final lap, a mishap that did

Nijs

Big Daddy Page

Damiano Cunego ended his dream season much like he started it: attacking with panache and winning. The 23-year-old Saeco rider barnstormed through the 2004 Italian racing calendar, racking up 12 wins in one-day races, short stage races and the granddaddy of Italian racing, the overall title at the Giro d’Italia. And Cunego had one more surprise to cap his breakout year. Following disappointment in the road world championships two weeks ago in his hometown, Cunego couldn’t be beat in the Giro di Lombardia on Saturday. Cunego outsprinted Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) and compatriot Ivan Basso

Sven Vanthourenhout (Quick Step) won the Cyclocross Middelkerke in Belgium on Saturday, nearly a lap up on his nearest competition. Davy Commeyne was second with Peter Van Santvliet third. World champion Bart Wellens (Fidea) took a fall and stopped during the race. Wellens wasn’t seriously hurt, and will start Sunday’s Superprestige race in Ruddervoorde. Frank Vanderbroucke (MrBookmaker.com) started his first cyclocross today, finding himself lapped after three go-rounds, along with Nico Mattan (Relax-Bodysol). After his strong showing today, Vanthourenhout clearly is on the right track to

After the summer she had on the racecourse and in the courtroom, you could pardon Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles) for taking some time off from racing. But the 2004 Olympic mountain biker finds cyclo-cross in New England too fun to miss. In her first race on home soil in 11 months, the two-time defending New England series champion led the opener of the 2004 Verge New England Cyclo-cross Series in new Gloucester, Maine from start to finish. Showing the fitness that won the her the lone cross-country starting position for the U.S. at the starting line in Athens, McConneloug rocketed off the

Amber Itle (Yellow Breeches Racing) and Ryan Leech (Fort-GPOA) claimed victory on Saturday as the 2004 Verge Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Series kicked off in New Castle, Delaware. Rain on Friday made the Blue Diamond Park course even more treacherous in its second running, and a multi-rider pile-up in one of the muddy turns caused a split in the elite women’s field that sent Itle, Melanie Swartz (Squadra Coppi), Betsy Schauer (Fort-GPOA), Caroline Hacker (Evolution Racing) and First State Velo Sport teammates Josie Shew and Lisa Vible off the front. Itle took the lead on the

Cunego takes the World Cup finale

Tiralongo, Flecha and Quinziato in an early break

Basso, Evans and Boogerd on the Madonna del Ghisallo

Bettini wasn't letting Rebellin go anywhere without him

Nozal has a dig

There are worse places to wrap up a World Cup than around Lake Como

The champ enjoys a moment on the podium

Vanthourenhout puts the hurt on the field on Saturday

McConneloug in her first real 'cross ride of the season

McCormack has returned running to his training regimen

Finale to decide World Cup battleSaturday’s Giro di Lombardia marks the final stop in the 10-round World Cup series with the fight for the overall title coming down to a showdown between Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) and Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner). Bettini is nursing a 13-point lead over Rebellin going into the difficult Italian classic. A new course design has added some muscle to the climbs, making for what should be an exciting showdown in northern Italy. “My strategy is to stay glued to Rebellin’s wheel,” Bettini said. “The course is more difficult than it’s been in the past, but the

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.Is a DNA test too ‘CSI’ for cycling?Editor:If the claim is that Tyler doped with someone else's blood, seems like the lab could extract the DNA of the other person from the blood samples and prove it conclusively. Then again, maybe I have seen too many episodes of “CSI” on TV. Larry

All things on earth point home in old October: sailors to sea, travelers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken.–Thomas Wolfe, Of Time and the River It’s finally October, and like you I’m hoping for a few treats come Halloween, because we’ve already gotten more than enough tricks this racing season. Actually, the entire year has had a costume-party air to it, with dope fiends dressed up as pro bicycle racers, George W. Bush masquerading as the president of the United States and Iraq all tricked out like

Our editor at large dressed up as a journalist at Interbike ... a bit early for Halloween, it's true, but he drew cheers anyway

The past two months haven’t been easy for Phil Zajicek. On August 18, threeweeks after the easygoing 25-year-old Tucson, Arizona, resident took thebiggest stage race win in the 12-year history of the Navigators Insurancecycling team when he won the overall at the UCI 2.3 Tour of Qinghai Lake,Zajicek received word that he had failed a drug test after stage 6, onJuly 22, while wearing the leader’s jersey. No, Zajicek didn’t test positive for the red-blood cell boosting Erythropoietin(EPO). It wasn’t Human Growth Hormone (HGH), anabolic steroids or a diureticmasking agent, either. Zajicek

In this week’s column we explore Part 1 of a two-part answer to a reader’s question about professional sports contracts. While the analysis is a bit in-depth, should make for good and informative reading now that a lot of you are on break.Dear Bob,How is it that racers can negotiate deals for the following seasonwhen they are under contract with a team for the current season. When arider is thinking about jumping to another team it can't make for the bestteam chemistry.In professional leagues there rules against this, aren't there?J.R.New HampshireDear J.R,Yes, there are rules against it in

Australian sprinter Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros) has been getting close to a big one for the past several weeks, taking fifth at the recent world championships and fourth at last weekend’s Paris-Tours. On Thursday, he finally put all the pieces together, earning a breakthrough victory in the Giro di Piemonte in northern Italy. With fine support from his team – fresh off its victory in Wednesday’s Milano-Torino with Marcos Serrano -- Davis held off Italian duo Alberto Ongarato and Francesco Chicchi (both Fassa Bortolo) in a sprint for the finish line. The second race of the autumn

I am still settling back in from last week’s non-stop insanity - otherwise known as the 2004 Interbike International Bicycle Expo in Las Vegas. Sleep deprived, fighting a cold, I am only today regaining an ability to see in full color. But enough whining… I thought I would share a few notes I gathered while attending all five days Interbike. After two days at Outdoor Demo and three days in the Sands Convention Center, I knew what the standard question would be: “So what was cool this year?” I would usually find myself responding with something like, “well, it’s not like it used to be in

Climbing sensation Cesar Grajales is the latest addition to the Navigators Insurance cycling team's 2005 roster. Grajales made his mark as a world-class climbing specialist when he attacked Lance Armstrong, Jens Voigt, and Chris Horner to win the Dodge Tour de Georgia's stage 6 at the top of Brasstown Bald Mountain this past April. The Colombian highlander joins Aussie stars Nathan O'Neill and sprinter Hilton Clarke as three of the Navigators squad's new recruits. The full roster that will include many returning players and a few new names will be announced shortly. “The Navigators

Wearing the leader's jersey at the Tour of Qinghai Lake

Specialized’s Kevin Franks gives a sneak peek at at 2005 1/2 S-Works Roubaix which is said to weigh in at less than 1000 grams (for a 56cm).

Want lighter? Sub 10 pound project bikes were the rage this year-note the carbon chainrings on this Litespeed

Chistophe Sauser’s 20.5 pound raceable full suspension Scalpel

Cedric Gracia’s pink team issue Prophet

JHK’s Olympic Tomac Buckshot, complete with fresh Athens dirt

Geoff Kabush’s custom Turner Nitrous

Jullien Absalon's gold medal rig

Who said the carbon trend is getting out of hand? You’re telling me you don’t need a carbon (or white carbon) razor?!?!?!

MAINE: Verge New England series starts SaturdayThe 2005 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series kicks off Saturday in New Gloucester, Maine. The difficult course designed by Tom Stevens provided a shocking introduction to last year’s series, but a slightly modified version should make for a friendlier but still challenging event this year. Last year’s elite men’s winner, Mark McCormack (Clif Bar-Colavita Olive Oil), will line up alongside third-place overall Ben Turner (TIAA-CREF-Clif Bar), under-23 world’s team member Matt White (NCC-BikeReg.com), and former Canadian national

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.How about amnesty followed by lifetime bans?Editor:While it may never be possible to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing illegal substances in sports in general, and cycling in particular, perhaps we need a clean start. Anyone who confesses that he or she has used banned

Serrano upsets Italians at Milano-TorinoMilano-Torino is an Italian race if there ever was one, with Mirko Celestino and Michele Bartoli racking up the last three victories. But Liberty Seguros rider Marcos Serrano pipped the local favorites Wednesday in the 199km semi-classic from Milan to Turin across northern Italy, edging Eddy Mazzoleni and Francesco Casagrande to become just the third Spanish winner of the Italian classic that dates back to 1876. Riders were jumpy right from the start, with aging tiger Andrea Tafi (Alessio-Bianchi) going an early solo move at 70km. The former classics

Stung by criticism of its action, a high school district has reversed a decision to disqualify cross country runners for wearing Lance Armstrong LiveStrong wristbands. The decision was reversed because “adequate prior notice had not been given to the participants,” Bruce Biehl, Kellam High School's principal and chairman of Beach District cross country, said in a statement released Tuesday. More than 20 runners were declared ineligible in a meet last Wednesday for wearing the popular LiveStrong bands, sold for $1 apiece. Proceeds go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which provides

Johnson negotiates the deeper sandpit

Schwartz skirts the edge of the sand to avoid a traffic jam in mid-pit

Verbruggen, UCI confident in Hamilton caseUCI president Hein Verbruggen said he is confident doping charges leveled against Olympic time trial champion Tyler Hamilton will stand up against challenges in court. UCI officials are largely keeping mum on the Hamilton case, fully expecting the high-profile case to be challenged to the Court of Arbitration in Sport. Disciplinary hearings against Hamilton could begin as soon as this month. Verbruggen defended the use of a new testing method that can detect the presence of banned blood transfusions, which debuted at the Summer Olympic Games in

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.Tell us, TylerEditor:It’s easy — Tyler Hamilton should simply say that he has never had a blood transfusion, using these words: “I did not have a transfusion of blood. I did not and do not cheat. Not by yesterday’s rules, today’s rules or tomorrow’s rules!” We all cheer the American

Verbruggen

Paolo Bettini hasn’t won a World Cup race all season long, but he’s poised to claim his third consecutive globe in this weekend’s Giro di Lombardia in Italy. The Olympic champion finished sixth in Sunday’s Paris-Tours, enough to slip 13 points ahead of arch-rival Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and tighten the grip on what will be the final World Cup competition as the series will be eliminated in next year’s Pro Tour. Bettini now holds a lead with 340 points after Rebellin could only finish 13th in the bunch sprint Sunday on Avenue Grammont and slipped to second at 327. The Quick Step rider

Flying Dutchman Erik Dekker measured his efforts just right to pull off a stunning victory in Sunday’s Paris-Tours. The 34-year-old Rabobank veteran was off the front all day as part of a five-man breakaway across the Loire Valley in France. When his fellow escapees dissolved under pressure from the fast-charging peloton, Dekker hitched a ride with a counter-attack late in the 252.5km race. Dekker sprinted hard with 500 yards to go to hold off the peloton and notch his first major victory since his injury-plagued 2002 season. “In the end, everybody was chasing me thinking I was tired,

Ex-Armstrong teammate to be questioned in bonus spat The ongoing dispute between a Texas insurance company and Lance Armstrong involving an unpaid $5 million Tour de France bonus is taking another twist. According to a report in the New Zealand Herald, officials from SCA Promotions Inc. will travel to New Zealand this month to interview ex-Motorola rider Stephen Swart about doping allegations revealed in a book published this summer. SCA has refused to pay following the publication of an unauthorized biography in France, “LA Confidential: The Secrets of Lance Armstrong,” which alleges the

At 4:45 a.m. Sunday morning, 23-year-old cross-country sensation Adam Craig woke up in Lake Tahoe, California, after a long night spent as the best man at his high-school friend’s wedding. Less than 12 hours later, the Maxxis-Giant rider crossed the finish line as the winner of the Grand Prix of Cyclo-Cross held at Fort Steilacoom Park in Tacoma, Washington. Clear skies and warm weather marked a contrast to Saturday’s Cannondale Stümptown Gran Prix, held in Portland, Oregon, as did the fast, spread-out 4.4km course that differed from the muddy hairpin turns found surrounding the Alpenrose

It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. With the new 10-racecyclo-cross World Cup kicking off on Belgian turf and Belgians sweepingthe world’s podium for the past three years, one might suspect that itwould be a Belgian who would take top honors at Wortegem-Petegem,Belgium, on Sunday. But the Czech Republic’s Zdenek Mlynar emerged at the front of a 20-ridergroup to take the first round of the 2004/05 World Cup. Because it hadn't rained for days in the usually wet environs of thisFlemish hamlet, the course was unusually hard and fast. Indeed, coupledwith the UCI’s recent aversion to tough

Dekker holds them off