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Mortenson heads to the TT win.

Irmiger emerged from her fiancee's shadow for a day.

Florit was ready for battle, but finishsed 28th.

Race leader McCormack does a spot of domestique work

Meanwhile, the Cuban Missile Crisis takes matters into his own hands

And their work pays off in a stage win

So close ... and yet, so far

For the first time in seven years Snow Summit Resort did not serve as the NORBA National Series season opening venue, but that doesn’t mean America’s premier mountain-bike circuit is bypassing the kitschy charm of Big Bear Lake, California. Starting Friday the only venue to be on the dance card in all 15 years of the NORBA series will up its count to 16, as stop No. 3 of the 2004 series rolls into town. The cross-country stage race will kick off competition, as what’s left of the pro ranks will take on the stage 1 time trial. The reason for the thin upper tier of the XC fields is the event’s

Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal team gave an indication of their collective force on the second stage of the Tour of Languedoc-Roussillon, won in Narbonne, France, on Thursday by Thor Hushovd. Hushovd has been a force to be reckoned with all spring, so victory after 188km of riding in hot temperatures between Port-Leucate and Narbonne came as little surprise for the Norwegian. The Credít Agricole sprinter came over the finish line ahead of French duo Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R) and Jerome Pineau (Brioches La Boulangere) to tighten his grip on the race leader's jersey. However, the day was marked

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Another rider from Generation Next made an exhibition in Thursday’s hilly 11th stage of the 87th Giro d’Italia, providing yet another glimpse at a possible future Italian star. First-year pro Emanuele Sella (Panaria) won an emotional stage in a poignant reminder of the fighting spirit of Marco Pantani as the 228km stage finished in the birth-place of the fallen star. The 23-year-old Sella roared away from the main bunch with 60km to go and blew past a faltering 20-man breakaway to earn his first win as a pro in a very Pantani-esque display of racing. “I can’t believe it. I am beyond

Christian Vande Velde is back racing after a two-month ordeal to secure a working permit that would allow him to legally race with his new Spanish team Liberty Seguros. With working papers safely in hand, Vande Velde negotiated the perils of the Vuelta a Asturias last week in northern Spain for his first week of racing since the Tour of Valencia in mid-February. After an injury plagued 2003 season, the 28-year-old Vande Velde decided it was time for a change. After racing his entire pro career at U.S. Postal Service, Vande Velde is opening new doors with a switch to Liberty Seguros where

Boulder, CO -- Inside Communications (ICI), the leading multi-title sports publisher, has named Bill Garrels to the newly created position of vice-president, sales and marketing. Garrels will head up all advertising sales and marketing efforts for VeloNews, Inside Triathlon, Ski Racing, VeloSwap and associated Web sites and events. Garrels moves to ICI from Time Inc's Mountain Sports Media and Transworld units, where he was Western Advertising Director responsible for bike, ski, and boardsports properties such as Transworld Surf, Snowboarding, Skateboarding, Ride BMX, Ski and Warren Miller

Bob,I noticed that there is a tax break for people who commute and also those who use hybrid vehicles to commute. Someone told me that there may be a deduction available to commuters who ride a bike to work. Is this true? One Less Car in NY Dear One Less Car,You are correct that there is a deduction available for individuals who drive hybrid cars. However, the current deduction of $2000 is set to be reduced by 25 percent per year until it is completely phased out. Even in its current state, the deduction is available only as a one-time deduction and is limited to three approved cars on the

We had a good day today. It was a long day, quite hot at times, but our guy, Cristian Moreni, finished second to that young kid none of us knew anything about. Cristian has been looking good here at the Giro and a day like today really suited his abilities to a tee. He’s really good on the short, steep climbs that marked the last half of the route today. As you know, those aren’t exactly my cup of tea, but Cristian just loves that stuff. After about 50 kilometers this morning – which was only an hour or so into the race! – he said he was feeling pretty good and so we tried to get him in

It was a long day in the saddle. A long day, a hot day and a day with a lot of climbing. It was a lot harder than I expected. We built our strategy for the day on the assumption that the race would be won in a breakaway today. Most of our guys were working hard to get into anything that went and we were always represented when something did go. Before the start my teammate, Rinaldo Nocentini, came up and said “I’ve already made the deal. There are four or five of us going to go right at the start!” Of course, our strategy was the pretty much the same as everyone else’s and the speed was

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First year professional Emanuele Sella of Italy

Hushovd takes his sixth win of the season

Armstrong and Postal set a pace that shattered the peloton and erased many a GC hope

Cruising through the French countryside

Stage 11 - Porto Sant’Elpidio - Cesena 228 (228km)

Stage 11. It was the last part that proved to be the toughest.

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LA back in saddle in FranceLance Armstrong (USPS) returns to action in Wednesday’s opening stage of the Tour du Languedoc-Rousillon (FRA 2.1) in southern France. The race signals the rebirth of the GP Midi Libre, which Armstrong won in 2002 but was not held last year. It’s also the five-time Tour de France winner’s first race since winning the Tour de Georgia in April. “Lance seems to me very well mentally. Physically, he’s fitter than last year, which is not difficult given the problems he had,” Bruyneel told Reuters. Armstrong returned to Europe last week and promptly went to Alpe d’Huez

Alessandro Petacchi applauded as he crossed the line a victor for the fifth time of the 2004 Giro d’Italia. He wasn’t clapping for his fast legwork, but rather for his teammates in the trenches. The gentleman sprinter was full of praise of his Fassa Bortolo “Silver Train,” who pushed the Italian to a relatively easy sprint victory in the hilly 146km 10th stage from Porto Sant' Elpidio to Ascoli Piceno. “I clapped my hands in praise of my teammates. I really want to thank them for the work they did today,” said Petacchi, who finished ahead of compatriot Marco Zanotti (Vini Caldirola) and

The 2004 Trek Bikes Collegiate Road National Championships kick off Friday in Madison, Wisconsin, with the TIAA-CREF Downtown Criterium. The crit, a mostly flat circuit, starts and finishes on State Street, with racing starting at 1 p.m. An open category, new for 2004, will allow all licensed male collegiate cyclists to compete. Saturday’s road race starts and finishes in the town of Black Earth. The 15-mile loop winds through well-paved, hilly country roads just 20 minutes west of Madison. The weekend’s competition wraps up on Sunday with the team time trial, on a fast, flat 32km

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.Single-speeding offers a challengeEditor: I am writing in response to Andrew Juskaitis’s single-speed article. I race a single speed in the Wisconsin WORS series . Personally speaking, if I had to race my age group (40 plus) rather than in a

One of the beautiful things about a stage race is that there are so many races going on within the race. To be sure, the big race at the Giro d’Italia is for the maglia rosa. To start, there’s always the scramble for a stage win – of which Alessandro Petacchi has now scored five – but there are also competitions for the Intergiro and King of the Mountain jerseys, as well as team classifications. Just because you may not be in contention for the overall prize does not mean that you don't have a lot to race for. Much of the excitement on today's stage or the previous stage was the long

You never really know how you’ll feel until you give it a go at the line. Yesterday for the rest day, I gave up plans to go out on a short ride and actually stayed in my bed from morning until the evening. I had a bit of a sore throat, a sore knee and I wanted to let the ankle heal up, so I spent the day in bed sleeping and watching a couple of DVDs. I didn’t do a single meter on the bike yesterday, which is normally not a good thing to do on a rest day, but I really needed to give the ankle a rest. The ankle problem also caused some small knee problems for me – that usually happens when

After failing to lock in a title sponsor, the Colorado stop of the Pro Cycling Tour – Vail’s Rocky Mountain Classic – has been cancelled for 2004, though promoters hope to resurrect the event for next year. The planned three-day, $1.6 million Labor Day weekend cycling event was to include a citizen’s ride from Denver and two pro races which had also secured an appearance commitment from U.S. Postal star Lance Armstrong. But on Tuesday, promoters announced the cancellation of the event. “We just couldn’t land that big sponsor,” Rick Chastain of Vail-based Legacy Sports Marketing told the

AUSTIN, Texas — As a tribute to Lance Armstrong’s inspirational fight against cancer as well as his historic attempt at a sixth Tour de France win, the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and Nike will launch the Wear Yellow Live Strong campaign. Nike will donate $1 million to the Foundation and lead efforts to raise an additional $5 million through the sale of yellow wristbands engraved with Lance’s mantra, Live Strong. All proceeds will benefit LAF programs that help young people with cancer live strong. "Young people with cancer should be empowered to fight hard, dream big and live

It’s been a long time since I competed in a 10-day tour. The approach is a little different from the shorter tours – in a race this long, it’s important to conserve one’s energy for the critical moments. So at the start of the Tour de L’Aude, I took a good look at the race bible, which contains all of the stage distances and course profiles. With my team, we determined what we thought would be the most significant stages based on the difficulty of the mountain passes and the time trials. We have broken the race up into segments. The first stage did not look too difficult, so we agreed that

Give the man a hand. Petacchi gets another.

Cunego is his own man

Rolling hills and great scenery marked the Giro's 10th stage

The Koppenberg Circuit Race lived up to its namesake on Sunday, dishing out rough dirt roads, wind and a leg-breaking climb that shattered fields and crowned two new champions in the elite men's and women's events: Will Frischkorn (Colavita-Bolla) and Ann Trombley (Excel Sports). The women's race didn't stay together long, as Trombley, a former Olympic mountain-bike racer, Shannon Tupa (Tokyo Joe's) and Erin Huck (Denver Spoke) surged up the rutted Koppenberg on the first lap and found themselves away early on. Huck eventually dropped back, but even with the second group chasing hard,

Giro d'Italia leader Damiano Cunego planned to kick back and relax on Tuesday’s first of two rest days in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Reuters reported. "I will try to recover during the rest day," said the Italian, who leads Saeco teammate Gilberto Simoni by 10 seconds in the general classification. “I'll do one and a half to two hours on the bike, eat a little and rest.” But the Italian is already looking ahead at the challenging week.“I'm thinking about the next few stages, for example the one in Cesena [stage 11], which could be more difficult than it looks,” he said. Nevertheless, Cunego is

Concerns about venue readiness at this summer’s Olympics have been well documented, but it appears that at least the cross-country mountain-bike course is ready to go. That was certainly the sentiment following this past weekend’s E1 test event at the Parnitha Olympic Venue where Frenchman Julien Absalon and Norway’s Gunn-Rita Dahle each grabbed victories. Absalon outgunned a field that included reigning Olympic champ Miguel Martinez, and 1996 Games victor Bart Brentjens. Absalon’s final mark of 1:57:07 was 11 seconds better than Martinez, with Swiss rider Ralph Näf in third at 0:57,

Cunego on his way to Monday's finish

“Fast” Freddy Rodriguez was fast enough Monday to score the biggest win of the 30-year-old Californian’s career after snatching victory in the ninth stage of the 87th Giro d’Italia. Rodriguez surprised sprint master Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) by jumping with 300 meters to go. The two-time U.S. champion buried his pedals to open up a two-bike gap and had enough in the tank to hold Petacchi by a wheel. “It’s the best day of my career,” Rodriguez beamed in Italian to TV interviewers. “I tried to take Petacchi by surprise, rushing from behind, and it paid off.” Petacchi, a winner of

A banged up and dejected Mario Cipollini hinted at retirement following his early withdrawal from the 87th Giro d’Italia. The 2002 world champion hit the deck hard in Wednesday’s fourth stage, but couldn’t muster the will to overcome the pain and frustration and didn’t take the start in Saturday’s climbing stage. While Cipollini earned a long sought after bid to return to the Tour de France, the dejected Lion King said he might retire instead. “It is possible that my career will stop here. It is difficult to find stimulation. For now, I don't want to think about the Tour de France,”

Bob Roll fans rejoice! THE TOUR DE FRANCE COMPANION is the essential guide to the world’s greatest sporting event, from former Tour de France racer and gonzo cycling journalist Bob Roll. It’s all here in a handy, comprehensive insider’s guide to the Tour de France, a sporting event that makes the Super Bowl look like a pajama party. Roll will cover everything from the yellow jersey to the broom wagon, the role of the peloton, and the most important behind-the-scenes aspect—food. Bob Roll delivers the lowdown on the high-speed time trials, cyclists’ body and mind games, and even the secrets

Well now, this is a nice note to start these Giro diaries on. Even though I won in the last couple hundred meters of today’s stage, this really began yesterday. For the last 24 hours, I’ve been very upset. Because of that, I’ve been totally focused on winning today. Yesterday was a very disappointing day for me. Coming into the finale yesterday I felt really good – better even than I felt today – and as we hit the last corner, McEwen hooked me really hard and I had to shut down my sprint. Last night, after that, we had a big discussion on the team, trying to decide how we were going to

Tour de L’Aude is a 10-day stage race in the South of France. The Aude region contains a portion the Midi canal, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and is situated in the Pyrenees and along the Mediterranean coast. This region is famous for it’s Mistral winds along the Mediterranean that make the wind surfing spectacular and also make the cycling quite challenging at times. The Mistrals greeted us on day one, as we started in the coastal town of Gruissan. Our bikes were tilted all day in the direction that the wind was blowing. My T-Mobile teammates traveled here from

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.Who was that Phonak rider on Highway 36?Editor:Any reason Tyler Hamilton would be back on U.S. soil? I saw him riding north on Highway 36 on May 11. I would be surprised if anyone not only had full cold-weather Phonak gear, but also a BMC team

Fassa assumed its usual position at the front.

The day started out slowly

Strazzer finished on Monday, but won't start on Tuesday

Cunego goes into the rest day with the jersey

Freddy more than fast enough for Petacchi

Freddy more than fast enough for Petacchi

Freddy more than fast enough for Petacchi

Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi once again dominated a sprint finish at the Giro d’Italia to win the eighth stage of Italy’s national tour, a 210km race from Giffoni Valle Piana to Policoro. It was Petacchi's fourth victory of this year's race, which was still being led by 22-year-old Saeco team rider Damiano Cunego. Petacchi, who last year became the first rider in history to win at least three stages in the three major Tours of Italy, France and Spain in same year, proved simply too fast for Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen as he surged towards his tenth-ever Giro stage victory.

We had Alessandro (Bertolini) up in the break today. Actually, we were hoping it was going to hold and, for a while there, it looked like it might. They were up there hovering at around five minutes and then, even when two or three teams threw their guys to the front of the peloton, they managed to hold the gap for a long time. There were points when we were doing 55 to 60kph and we were still not putting any time on them for the first 35, 40 kilometers, but no one can hold that for too long in a breakaway and the peloton eventually pulled them back in. It makes sense, too, since Petacchi