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With the rest of her summer hanging in the balance due to a missed post-race dope test in April, Canada’s Geneviéve Jeanson (RONA) set out to make the most of Saturday’s Montréal Women’s World Cup. While she may yet be suspended for six months after the UCI doles out punishment for the missed test after the Flèche-Wallone World Cup, Jeanson won her third Montréal title in front of an overwhelmingly partisan home crowd that either didn’t know or didn’t care about their hero’s off-the-bike troubles. “I don’t want to be suspended, but right now, winning this race, I’m so happy,” said a candid

Geneviéve Jeanson (RONA) scored her third victory at the Women's World Cup race in Montréal on Saturday, and photographer Casey Gibson was on hand to record the action. For the story, read Chris Milliman's report for the pictures, you need only scroll down.

Garzelli leads Simoni and Valjavec

Today's stage was a vindication of sorts for Garzelli, but another bitter pill for Simoni

Sella had a go

Honchar had to fight to hold onto his second place overall

Garzelli adds to Simoni's woes

Cunego played it cagey, following Cioni's wheel

Fast Freddy survives the mountains to sprint once more in Milan

Jeanson's queen of the mountain in Montréal once again

Jeanson wasn't the only heavy hitter in the field: Quark's Lyne Bessette was on the attack, too

Also in the thick of things was VeloNews.com diarist Dede Demet Barry (T-Mobile)

And what top-shelf race would not be led at some point by France's Jeannie Longo?

Still, when Jeanson attacks, it's usually au revoir to the field ...

... and bonjour to the finish line

Says Gibson: 'Boy, was she happy to win this race.'

The dream is over for Damiano Cunego. The Saeco revelation won his fourth stage of the 2004 Giro d’Italia on Friday and nudged two days closer to turning his phenomenal run very much into a reality. “It no longer feels like a dream,” Cunego admitted after winning the three-climb, 118km stage. “It’s a reality now that I can win this Giro. I can’t get nervous now. There are only two stages left, so we have to stay calm.” Cunego is now less than 48 hours away from becoming the youngest Giro winner since Giuseppe Saronni won at 21 in 1979. Mother Nature and the Giro’s peloton threw a lot at

Over the last few years, a trip to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles has meant either sneaking out late at night for a fourth meal of the day while visiting family in SoCal, or insane 16-hour stealth road trips. But now chicken and waffles have landed in the least likely of places, Boulder, at a new restaurant here in town. A report will definitely be forthcoming. On a related topic, according to an AP report, a 53-year-old man is suing the company that promotes the Atkins Diet, “alleging that following the high-fat meal plan clogged his arteries and threatened his health.” Gee, you think? Seems

Fred Rodriguez (Acqua & Sapone) etched his name in the history books in stage 9 when he became the fifth American to win a stage at the Giro d’Italia. Rodriguez also did what few have been able to do in the past two seasons – get around Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) in full flight. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with “Fast Freddy” before the start of the Thursday’s stage. Following are excerpts from the interview – Editor VeloNews: Congratulations on the big victory, tell us how it happened? Fred Rodriguez: Petacchi’s team is so strong it’s so hard to get there

Sarah Ulmer and Greg Henderson grabbed gold medals on Friday to hoist New Zealand to second on the medals table behind France on the third night of the world track cycling championships in Melbourne, Australia. Henderson surprised even himself with a helter-skelter victory in the men's 15km scratch race, surging to the finish line to snare a narrow victory after being part of an audacious three-man breakaway early in the 60-lap race. The Kiwi raised his arm in victory as he crossed the finish line just ahead of Dutchman Robert Slippens and Walter Perez of Argentina. His pulse-quickening win

A time trial is often called the “race of truth” because each rider is racing against the clock, giving his or her best. There is no teamwork. There is no drafting. The winner is the cyclist who can ride the fastest. In today’s stage of the Giro, we can clearly say that it, too, was a “race of truth.” There was no denying the young Italian rider, Damiano Cunego. He deserves to be wearing the pink race leader’s jersey. There has been a lot of speculation about the dynamics in the Saeco camp. Was there tension between the young rising star, Cunego, and the team leader, Simoni? Cunego has

The French cycling team Cofidis has given Cedric Vasseur the green light to return to competition following his temporary suspension amid allegations of drug-taking. Vasseur, a former wearer of the Tour de France yellow jersey, will saddle up for the Bicicleta Basque stage race on June 2 after a two-month exile from the peloton. The 33-year-old Frenchman was suspended on April 8 when it was disclosed that traces of cocaine had been found in a hair sample. A counter-analysis later proved negative. Vasseur, a former member of Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal team, was one of the last of eight

Yeah, Pavel, you tell ’em, babe. Tell ’em how it is. Fight the power. Damn the man! I’m referring, of course, to the unseen “up yours” finish-line salute Thursday’s Giro d’Italia stage winner threw as he crossed the line. Tonkow explained his reasoning — “No one's got any faith in me, everyone thought I was finished” — but actually, I felt like throwing the same gesture at a race last week, to the unidentified genius that took out my rear wheel in the first 5km of the Colorado Roubaix on a flat, straight and completely manageable dirt road. I’d been focusing on this local race for months

Saeco's strongman blasts to the line

Fast Freddy, livin' large at the Giro

Cunego played the loyal teammate as long as he could, then dashed to the line for the win

A defiant Garzelli was on the attack, vowing to burn out rather than fade awway

Wegmann took off early, too, trying to defend the green jersey

The snowbanked climb of the Gavia

Miholyevic claimed the Cima Coppi prize

But Cunego was after a bigger prize

Talk about your long days in the saddle . . .

The happy couple

Sierra Nevada's Glen Mitchell says the team likes to work for each other

The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series gives women a spotlight they don't have to share with the men

With most of the top cross-country pros on the other side of the ocean giving some lesser names a chance to shine, the racing at Big Bear last weekend featured plenty of drama. But the highlight for me had nothing to do with results. It was the 15 minutes I spent interviewing John Waddell. The 23-year-old Aussie downhiller spent most of last July in a coma after a nasty crash at the Mont-Ste-Anne World Cup. In fact, things got so bad doctors were saying he probably wouldn’t be able to use the left side of his body again, or even go to the bathroom on his own. But Waddell is a fighter and

Pavel Tonkov (Vini Caldirola) gave the 2004 Giro d’Italia a blast from the past as race leader Damiano Cunego (Saeco) safely fought through some bike problems in Thursday’s 153km 17th stage. A winner of the 1996 Giro, Tonkov attacked on the day’s major hurdle at the Category 2 Passo della Mendola at 99km and dropped fellow escapee Alessandro Bertolini (Alessio-Bianchi) with 16km to go to win his first Giro stage since 2002. Tonkov’s finish line gesture wasn’t your typical kisses-to-the-heavens thankfulness. After adjusting his helmet and pointing to himself as No. 1, the 35-year-old Russian

Britain's Chris Hoy claimed his second world kilometer title on Thursday, trumping French great Arnaud Tournant in the final at the world track cycling championships in Melbourne, Australia. The Flying Scotsman hurtled around the four laps of the Vodafone Arena, clocking 1:01.599, to once again get the better of four-time kilo world champion Tournant, who was timed at 1:01.957. Dutchman Theo Bos took the bronze medal ahead of defending world champion Stefan Nimke of Germany and Australians Ben Kersten and Shane Kelly. Hoy beat Tournant by one-thousandth of a second for his first world crown

Pavel Tonkov put a lot of thought into his solo win today – then perfectly executed several very calculated tactical moves. First, we have to understand the Vini Caldirola rider's motivation. He starts the day in 19th place, almost 10 minutes down on race leader Damiano Cunego (Saeco). He is probably a bit upset about not being higher on general classification after some bad luck and a day with bad legs. He would like to gain back some time and maybe take a stage win. Clearly, he needs to get away. As the Passa della Mendola approaches, there is an attack, and Alessandro Bertolini

A ghostly antiquity shatters the air between houses, hotels and dim, squatting light poles. The vintage town of Torrington swallows another day and crests into the shady mass of energy that is the night. Short dark streets end abruptly at churches and arcades. The school of Saint Francis is holding an amateur boxing match tonight. As on most first nights of a stage race, I need a period of adjustment. Our room is three floors up from Main Street in the Village Peddler, a rickety old hotel rasping through its wind swept windows: old cloth, old mattresses, basements filled with empty

I was pleasantly surprised today. For a day in the mountains, it was actually a pretty mellow day. The first 70, 80 kilometers of the stage today were almost downhill – a fast false flat, really – and the speed was very high. There were a number of attacks, but no one really got anything going. At one point today, there was a pretty bad crash. We didn’t really see who went down, but it slowed things down for a bit as teams were trying to make an assessment of who went down and what was going on. By the time we reached the one big climb, though, the speed had picked up and then the climbers

Tonkov delivers a message to those who may have doubted him

The Flying Scotsman spreads his wings

Tonkov shows he still has it

Bertolini got some company along the way

Cunego: Still in control

Tonkov shows he still has it

Tonkov shows he still has it

Tonkov left with 16km to go

The road ahead

Italian police swooped down in the Giro d’Italia in an early morning raid Wednesday to search the rooms of seven racers as part of a nationwide investigation into sports fraud. Race leader Damiano Cunego’s Saeco teammates Eddy Mazzoleni and Alessandro Spezialetti were among seven riders questioned by police in the 4 a.m. raid. Other riders searched included Fabio Sacchi (Fassa Bortolo); Mario Scirea and Alessio Galletti (both Domina Vacanze); Giuseppe Muraglia (Pinzolo Fiave); and Ruggero Marzoli (Acqua & Sapone). Simultaneous searches were also conducted on the riders' homes. No charges

France’s Franck Perque won the men's points race over 40 kilometers on the opening night of the world cycling track championships in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday. Perque raised his arms in triumph in claiming France's first-ever points race gold medal at the world championships with a tally of 35 points. Uruguay's Milton Wynants, who fell in a collision with Australian Mark Renshaw and rejoined the race 16 laps from home, took the silver medal with 31 points from Argentina's Juan Esteban Curuchet third with 28 points. "It's great to be able to carry the French emblem but I don't feel

Dear Monique,I am aware that I need to consume a sports drink during training forboth fluid and fuel replacement. How do I know that I am meeting my fluidneeds? I have heard that significant weight loss after training means thatI am not keeping up with my sweat rate.Thanks,CBDear CB,Other than lab testing there is no exact way in which you can measuresweat losses, but you can make an educated estimation. In hot weather thesimplest calculation that you can make involves checking body weight changesbefore and after training, and correcting for fluid intake during training.Fluid loss from urine

Brad McGee (FDJeux.com) vowed to quit the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday if the race jury didn’t overturn a 20-second race penalty imposed on the Australian in Tuesday’s 16th stage. The race jury ruled the prologue winner took two illegal tows from the FDJeux.com team car at 152km and 154km while climbing up the Category 1 Passo Furcia. Each infraction included a 10-second penalty, a loss of 5 points in the points classification and a fine of 50 Swiss francs. Sport director Martial Gayant vehemently denied the penalty. “I absolutely did not tow Brad. Why would we do something so foolish? He

Canadian cyclist Geneviève Jeanson is facing a possible suspension after failing to turn up for an April 21 drug test after the finish of the women’s edition of Flèche Wallonne in Belgium. Jeanson has reportedly explained that she missed the test because of an oversight. Jeanson told the French language Canadian newspaper La Presse that she had a blood and urine test before the race. "I'm not saying that's the reason but subconsciously I no doubt told myself that I had already had all the necessary tests for the day," Jeanson was quoted in the paper's Wednesday edition. Jeanson risks a

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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.Class divisions out of hand, but single-speeds deserve theirsEditor:I think that you make some good points about the validity of a separate class for single-speeds. However, I am going to take the side of the single-speeders on this matter, I

Laguna Beach, CA – With preparations already underway for this year’s OutDoor Demo - the cycling industry’s premier new product testing event - Interbike is pleased to announce the addition of several enhancements to the popular kick-off event. New for 2004, the OutDoor Demo will feature the Dirt Jump Demo sponsored by Kona Bicycles - with professional jumpers showcasing the excitement of this high-flying segment of the sport. Also in the plans for this year’s event is a specific cyclocross section for testing the latest in 'cross bikes and equipment. Held for two-days under the sun-filled

I came down to Trieste the afternoon prior to the Giro d’Italia stage13 time trial in Trieste last Saturday to watch a skeleton crew of mechanicssetting up bikes and equipment while their teams and other support staffwere out on the road racing to Treviso toward Alessandro Petacchi's sixth sprint victory. For me, it was a good time to talk to mechanics, as they were workingalone or in pairs, and were free from fulfilling the panicked requests ofriders, coaches and other mechanics. One mechanic working alone on his team’s time trial bikes was SaunierDuval’s David Fernandes. The truck that

Sarah Ulmer of New Zealand set a world record for the women's 3000-meter individual pursuit at the track cycling world championships Thursday in Melbourne, Australia. The 28-year-old set a time of three minutes, 30.604 seconds, during the first round of qualifying in Melbourne, just days after she narrowly missed the mark at a World Cup meet in Sydney. Ulmer's time sliced more than two-tenths of a second off the previous world record of 3:30.816, which Leontien Ziljaard-Van Moorsel of the Netherlands set on her way to winning gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. "I am just elated. My

David Fernandes

Giro Tech: Talkin' to the wrenches

Giro Tech: Talkin' to the wrenches

Giro Tech: Talkin' to the wrenches

Giro Tech: Talkin' to the wrenches

Giro Tech: Talkin' to the wrenches

Giro Tech: Talkin' to the wrenches

Giro Tech: Talkin' to the wrenches

Giro Tech: Talkin' to the wrenches

Ulmer smiles after setting her world record

Showing class beyond his years, Damiano Cunego (Saeco) vaulted back into the overall lead of the 87th Giro d’Italia after taking a dramatic solo victory in Tuesday’s four-climb 16th stage. After losing the jersey in Saturday’s time trial, the 22-year-old erased a 1 minute, 48-second deficit to recapture the maglia rosa, and this time he might keep it for good. Cunego holds a 1:14 lead over Serhiy Honchar (De Nardi) after an electrifying display of confidence and strength as the Giro pushed into the first of four decisive stages high in the Dolomites. “I’m very content with how things

Lotto’s sprint ace, Robbie McEwen, pulled out of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday to safeguard his chances of reclaiming the sprinter's green jersey in the Tour de France. "I've already had a lot of racing this season and I've got to think of the Tour de France," said McEwen, second in Monday's 15th stage behind Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi, before he flew home to Belgium. It was the third year running he had pulled out of the Tour of Italy before the mountain stages. "There's no point in jeopardizing our chances in the Tour de France in the mountain stages here," said his Lotto team

I am going to try to make it to Milan. After talking with the team and knowing the importance of this race to us and to our sponsors, I am going to do my best to make it through the mountains these next few days and ride to Milan. Pulling out would not be too good for the team, so I need to do my best… I just need to save my legs as much as possible. That last stage into Milan is very important to the team and, at the same time, making it to Philadelphia for the USPRO is very important to me, so I need to balance that. As part of the discussion that we had on the subject this morning, I did

Back in the jersey

Cunego takes over with heroic effort

Cunego takes over with heroic effort

All alone up front.

Abersold

Popovych was overwhelmed by Saeco's effort