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Szabo in pursuit

The ditch was a barrier for some

With the 40th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination on Saturday, there will be endless discussion of the “defining moments” of each generation. That event, the Challenger explosion and 9/11 will all surely be brought up. I wasn’t thinking about any of that the other morning, but still got to wondering about how certain sports figures and events will be remembered and measured a few years down the road. The thoughts began to swirl as I was paging through “The Salt in his Shoes,” a children’s book that came packaged with a box of cereal a few months back. It’s the story of a young

Help Floridians get bike lane on A1AEditor:As an avid cyclist and long time reader of your publication, I am writing toask for your help in generating awareness about an important issue in PalmBeach County, Florida. Recently, a group of wealthy homeowners have banded together to form anorganization to prevent the installation of a bike lane on a state roadthough their town. This seaside road, State Road A1A, is by far the mostpopular road in the entire region with cyclists of all types - from familieson the way to the beach, to Olympic-caliber cyclists out training. The organization of

Saiz hopes to hook ValverdeFormer ONCE chief Manolo Saiz, now running the new Spanish team Liberty Seguros, wants to lure Alejandro Valverde away from his troubled Kelme team. The 23-year-old Valverde, runner-up in this year’s world road-race championships in Canada, recently told the French daily L’Equipe that while he hopes to continue with Kelme, he will leave the team if it cannot solve its money problems. And Saiz is ready to welcome him with open arms. "[Valverde] is an extremely interesting prospect," Saiz told L'Equipe. "I'm ready to begin negotiations with Kelme to get him." Kelme

Bobby Julich has signed a one-year deal with CSC, according to the team’s website. The 32-year-old American was the second American to make the Tour de France podium, placing third in 1998, but since has suffered through a couple of less-than-stellar seasons. Still, team director Bjarne Riis says “we can get more out of him than he has shown in the previous years.” “Our team will give him the opportunities he needs, and I look forward to seeing him getting back to the level that he used to have," Riis says. "He is an experienced stage-race rider, and I think that he will be able to benefit

Bobby Julich must've liked Nicolas Jalabert's CSC jersey – because now he has one of his own

The former head coach of Finland's nordic ski team, Kari-Pekka Kyroe, was charged Thursday with smuggling illegal performance-enhancing drugs used by his athletes during the world championships in Lahti two years ago. Six of the host country's skiers, including renowned veteran Harri Kirvesniemi and triple Olympic champion Mika Myllyla, were caught illegally using hydroxyethyl (HES), a plasma-expanding compound. A report into the matter said that the skiers may have used the drug in an effort to mask their use of the stamina-boosting Erythropoietin (EPO). State prosecutor Pekka Koponen

Bob;Until a few days ago, I worked at a bicycle related business. I thinkI was fired, but the company says I quit.I ride at noon and am often late returning to my desk. My old supervisorrecognized that I worked more hours than my fellow employees and allowedme to be a bit late returning from the noon ride. I would take an hour-and-a-halftotal and then work through all my breaks, to make up for it.That worked well for my old supervisor, but his replacement was notas understanding. Anyway, I no longer have a job.Is it true that if I quit I am not eligible for unemployment, but ifI was fired, I

Dear VeloNews;I saw Andy Lee’s response to my diatribe yesterday (see O'Brien's letter, "I see no improvement," and Lee's response in Tuesday's mail bag) on the VN site this morning. Yes, he supplied a direct link to the “Forms and Applications” page, but I also clicked on the USA Cycling home page link he listed to look for a way to find that same page and … well, at the risk of appearing even less “computer savvy” than yesterday, I suggest that you try to find it off of the front page.It ain’t there.His patronizing, “everyone in the world is an idiot except us” attitude is what got the

Dear Monique;What advice can you offer readers who are interested not gaining weight and are concerned about overindulging during the holiday season? This can be a challenging time of year with more social events, decreased training, and just general holiday stress.Thanks,CRDear CR;The holiday season can be a challenging time for any endurance athlete,even with a regular commitment to your training schedule (albeit, a somewhatpared-down training schedule). Many useful holiday food tips really centeron your behaviors and habits, and simply require forethought, commitment,and planning. Of

Dear Doc;I have been wondering about how donating blood can affect an athlete'sperformance. Obviously, in the short term after a blood donation, performancewill be hindered, since there is less blood to carry the oxygen around.But what about long-term effects?How long after a blood donation does one's body typically recover? Isthere any type of "super-compensation" that may occur from continued trainingafter a donation? In other words, will continually putting a high demandon my cardiovascular system after donating cause my body to regeneratemore red blood cells than I had before the

“I’m hungry. I’m a determined man. I’m going to rip some legs off next year. If you see me in the leader’s jersey next year at ‘Toona… you’d better stay out my way.”Nathan O’Neill This quote of the week comes courtesy of Saturn’s Nathan O’Neill, whohad one hell of a rollercoaster 2003 but is currently without a team for2004. A four-time Australian national time trial champion, O’Neill had competedat both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta de España riding with theItalian Panaria squad before heading to the States to sign with Saturnlate last year. In his first season of domestic racing, he

O'Neill, with Jittery Joe's team director Micah Rice

Mr. Rogers' neighborhood: That's one angry Aussie

Dear Lennard;What is your formula for measuring crank arm length? I have a 73cminseam with a size 39 foot. I have been on 170's for two years and havebeen able to progress with all training except hills. I was becoming frustratedbecause I'm only 130 pounds and should be able to fly up them. I've trieddifferent styles of climbing, etc. My husband and I decided the lack ofa 25 was not the issue; I just could not get on top of the gears I wasusing. I read your column and we had a 165mm from my son's bike and decidedto try.I feel I'm getting on top of the gear, a good feeling because I feelI have

It’s time for a little good news about women’s cycling -- some very successfulgrassroots programs are out there -- programs that are making the sportaccessible to hundreds of new women racers every year.  The varietyof these programs is impressive -- successful clubs, clinics, rides andseminars, all focused on getting more women involved with racing. Some of these are programs for women only and some are part of existing co-ed programs.At the 2nd Yoplait Women’s Cycling Summit held on October 13th, a taskforce was formed to identify these successful programs and to help developsimilar

Costa Rica’s Marvin Campos won the latest edition of La Ruta de Los Conquistadores November 14-16, keeping the host country’s record intact – a Costa Rican has won every edition of the 11-year-old mountain-bike race. Campos staved off an unrelenting field in the three-day, 212-mile epic, including Diego Garavito, a top Columbian rider, and Germany TransAlp champion Karl Platt. Campos completed the grueling coast-to-coast race in 15:43:19,12 minutes ahead of Garavito. Fellow Costa Rican Eddy Perez was third in 16:20:38, with Platt fourth in 16:28:24. The women’s race was an intense

She's innocent until…Dear VeloNews;Geneviève Jeanson took drugs (see “Jeansondenies EPO use”) well at least we think she did, so now we aregoing to cast a long dark shadow over her and give her no chance to proveher innocence.Hmmmm, what about the right to defend yourself, the right to face youraccusers, the right to counsel? Okay, I know these are principles of Americanjurisprudence, but there has to be a standard by which athletes are judgeddomestic or internationally.As it stands now the athlete's future is dependent on the whim of what ever Kangaroo panel wants to point a finger. Doesn't

What had been rumored for months finally became official on Tuesday, when it was announced that world downhill champion Greg Minnaar was leaving Haro-Lee Dungarees to ride for Honda. In a news release issued by Haro, company president and CEO Jim Ford said “Greg is both a great person and a great athlete, but we choose not to match an offer presented to Greg to ride for Honda in 2004. Although the financial terms of the offer were significant, money wasn’t the real issue. Greg and I talked and after hearing his desire to work with Honda on this project, I felt that it was best for both of us

Just stopped by the offices of Maverick American to say hi to the guys and ran into resident marketing guru, Steven Elmes. To be totally honest, I was officially on the Maverick premises to visit with our resident mad engineer/tester Mark Rhomberg who inhabits a small corner of the spacious 5000 square foot facility (complete with 1 acre backyard dirt jumping area) . On my way through the Maverick assembly area I ran into Elmes and his beautiful assortment of freshly painted Maverick frames. As he briefly showed me a few of the latest paint schemes Maverick is offering (my favorite was the

Minnaar during his final run at world's...

... and Minnaar after his final run at world's

Drink enough of 'the good stuff' and win one of these.

Germans rejoice! SRAM triggers are now legal in the homeland.

Sven Nijs and Hanka Kupfernagel both won the second round of the cyclo-cross World Cup series in St. Wendel, Germany on Sunday. Thriving in what can best be described as Belgian conditions; Nijs bettered a surprisingly strong Jiri Pospisil of the Czech Republic. "I was surprised by Pospisil but these conditions favor him," said Nijs, "What remains to be seen is if he can race like this on different types of courses." Nijs, racing in a continuous cold downpour and heavy mud was relieved of his strongest competitor when world champion Bart Wellens crashed in the midpoint of the race and was

Insisting that she has “never taken any banned substance,” Canadian cyclist Geneviève Jeanson confirmed Monday that she was the elite cyclist mentioned in charges against Montreal orthopedic surgeon Dr. Maurice Duquette, but denied that he had given her EPO. Jeanson had a called a news conference to ask that a publication ban against use of her name in connection with the case be lifted in order to allow her to publicly assert her innocence. Duquette recently pleaded guilty to a number of charges brought against him by the Quebec College of Physicians, most of them dealing with the

If things get any better for Clif Bar riders during their forays to EastCoast cyclo-cross races, they may relocate from their balmy base in SanFrancisco’s Bay Area to the colder, but welcoming air of New England andthe Mid-Atlantic. Clif Bar’s Carmen D’Alusio and Jackson Stewart won theirrespective races at Sunday’s Cycle-Smart International ‘Cross race in Northampton, Mass., the second day running that the NorCal team swept the top spots at an eastern ‘cross event. Fresh off her commanding win in New Jersey, D’Alusio and teammate GinaHall wasted no time making the Northampton race, stop

D’Alusio

Stewart

Wells

Jeanson with attorney Alain Barrette

Anderson case wasn’t relevant to real dopingEditor:Bryan Jew tries to compare drug abuse in cycling to the "major" U.S. sports (see "Notes from the road"). While I agree that cyclists and track athletes are given an unfair amount of the bad press for using performance-enhancing drugs, using Mike Anderson as the bad example for football is a poor comparison. There are plenty of examples of NFL and major college football players using performance-enhancing drugs, but Anderson was suspended for detection of marijuana (and in an amount that suggests it was second-hand smoke). Unless he is riding

Team Clif Bar won both elite events in the Highland Park (N.J.) Cyclo-Cross on Saturday, round eight of the Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Championship Cyclo-Cross Series. Clif Bar teammates Carmen D’Aluisio and Gina Hall established the early pace in the women’s race, with Hall on the front. D’Aluisio eventually overtook her teammate and rode the remainder of the race solo, increasing her lead with each lap and cruising in for the victory. Hall crossed a minute behind D’Aluisio for second. Anna Milkowski (Gearworks-SpinArts) who had two strong races in the Mid-Atlantic series last weekend,

Spain's Joseba Beloki is already basking in his new role as leader of the La Boulangere cycling team - which he hopes will provide him with the ammunition to challenge Lance Armstrong on the Tour de France. Beloki, who has spent the past four years fighting Armstrong for cycling's main prize as the leader of the ONCE team, created general surprise by signing with the little-known French team on Thursday. The 30-year-old Basque has claimed three podium finishes in the past four years on the world's biggest bike race, and, with five-time runner-up Jan Ullrich, was one of Armstrong's main

Just 48 hours from the August 28 opening of this year’s Eurobike trade show, Shimano lawyers filed an injunction against the SRAM corporation forbidding the manufacturer from exhibiting and distributing its new trigger-shifter line in Germany. Caught by surprise, SRAM scrambled to amend its ’04 catalogs and pull all of its trigger-shifter technology from its display at the trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. For almost three long months SRAM waited with bated breath to see if the German court would interpret its trigger shifter as being an infringement on Shimano’s RapidFire Plus

Some random thoughts on some random stories in the world of sports this week: Item No. 1: Kelme’s Javier Pascual Llorente, who tested positive for EPO at this year’s Tour de France, gets an 18-month suspension. Item No. 2: Four Americans and one British track and field athletes test positive for the newly discovered steroid THG, and face two-year bans by track and field’s governing body, the IAAF. Item No. 3: Major League Baseball announces that between 5 to 7 percent of anonymous drug tests of major league players in 2003 were positive for steroids, meaning that testing with penalties

“Save the ‘Drome ‘Cross Madness,” a fund-raiser for the endangered Ed Rudolph Velodrome in Northbrook, Illinois, kicks off on Sunday, November 23, at the Anets Golf Course. The velodrome may be forced to close after the 2004 season if improvements are not made. The Northbrook Park District, which owns the facility, has offered to fund half the project, if the local cycling community can raise approximately $150,000. The November 23 fund-raiser kicks off at 9 a.m. with a “steeple ‘cross” running race that will use the same course as the subsequent cyclo-cross races, which begin at 10 a.m.

Jimena Florit and Tyler Hamilton are among the cycling stars who have donated items for the International Mountain Bicycling Association’s 15th-anniversary auction on eBay, which begins today. More than 100 donated items are available, including: Florit's NORBA winning Tomac Buckshot (full bike)New Specialized Epic FRS Pro (full bike)A Hamilton-autographed photo and Tour de France race numberNew Yeti Scandium mountain frameFox suspension forksMavic Crossmax wheelsWestern Spirit mountain bike adventureRockShox Duke Race forkCrank Brothers pedalsCool mountain bike artworkOriginal Dirt Rag

Back in Deutschland...

Beloki has big plans for '04

For all those OLN-addicted race coverage fans currently suffering withdrawals, fear not. A full-length feature film of this year’s Giro d’Italia is headed your way December 8. Just in time for the holiday season, “The Quest” — sponsored by Cannondale and produced by the Santa Monica-based Spinning Wheel Productions — promises to be a rare “inside look” at life in the professional peloton, focusing on the Saeco team of Giro winner Gilberto Simoni. Although the film is still in its final editing stages, a viewing of the trailer (which premiered last month at Interbike) as well as a

Joseba Beloki, has signed with the French La Boulangere team, his agent announced on Thursday. "Joseba has signed for two years, his brother Gorka has also signed a two year contract, and on Friday we'll see whether they'll be joined by a third cyclist, Mikel Pradera," Pablo Arregui told AFP. Beloki, a former ONCE rider, is considered one of the few cyclists capable of challenging five-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong in the mountains. He was forced to pull out of this year's race after a dramatic crash while Armstrong was on his heels. The 30-year-old's switch brings to an end his

Colavita-Bolla announced Thursday that it has completed its 2004 roster with the signing of Vic Roads Herald Sun Tour winner Tim Johnson. The former Saturn pro has been building a solid reputation as professional, not only winning this year’s Sun Tour but also the grueling 260km Classique Montréal-Québec, the Mount Washington Hill Climb and multiple national championships and world championships appearances. In 1999, Johnson surprised many with a breakthrough bronze medal performance at the under-23 cyclo-cross world championship in Poprad, Slovakia. “I feel really great to be joining a

A few minutes after the slide show celebrating the season of the 5280 development team, Jonathan Vaughters addressed the small group of attendees at Denver’s Adega restaurant on Sunday evening. “The 5280 team is the main focus of the evening,” Vaughters said, “but I also have a ‘surprise’ announcement to make … one that most of you already know about, since I’m such a blabbermouth. I’m using tonight to also announce my retirement from professional cycling.” And at that, the 30-year-old Prime Alliance man put a formal end to his career as a pro. “I’d really already made the decision this

Bob,I was hit by a beverage truck in late 1999 here in Connecticut. Itwas the driver's fault, as he pulled out of a parking lot just as I passedby in the bike lane. I hit the side of his truck and broke my collarboneand hurt my knee. His insurance company paid for the bike. I had healthinsurance and that covered my ER visit. I was going to let the matter go,but in the last sixweeks, the knee injury has started to hurt so much Icannot ride. Is it too late to do anything about this case?T.S.ConnecticutDear T.S.,The good news is that you are not a “cold one.” The bad news is thatit is almost

In yellow at the '99 Dauphine, Vaughters had some pretty impressive support.

Team Time Trial win at the 2001 Tour de France

Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood: 'The Quest' is on...

Former ONCE star Joseba Beloki's plans for next year are still up in theair, after an intense round of negotiations with the new Stayer team collapsedTuesday.The Spanish sports daily Marca reported Wednesday that Belokiand his attorneys failed to reach final agreement with the new Spanish/Italianroad team after ten days of discussions. The 30-year-old Spaniard and hislawyer Pablo Arregui closed off negotiations with the team and left Italydisappointed after failing to gain assurances on many of his financialand staffing demands.The team was reportedly unable to make salary guarantees that

Editor’s Note: We have included a random selection of the more than 75 letters we have received in response to Andrew Juskaitis’s request to “translate” the letter from UCI technical consultant Jean Wauthier regarding the UCI’s decision to ban disc brakes from cyclo-cross events (see "OK, OK Lance, I'll do what ever you say..."). Placing responsibility where it belongsDear Editors;Andrew Juskaitis writes in response to Jean Wauthier's e-mail to CraigWright at Redline, "If anyone can make heads or tails of this response,I (as wellas Wright) would appreciate a letter back."First, let's keep

Dear Monique;I read your response to the letter about consuming carbs before training,and I have to say I'm still confused.I train before work. I get up, get dressed, and immediately on the bike,usually for 1-1.5 hours. So, should I slam down an orange juice and bananabefore I go, or just go on an empty stomach, and drink sports drink whileI'm training?ThanksSTDear ST;Basically when you wake-up in the early morning, your liver glycogenstores are low as these stores breakdown overnight and maintain your bloodglucose levels.Most endurance athletes can tolerate some carbohydrate in the 30 to60

Four U.S. track and field athletes have had their back-up B test samples confirmed as positive for the new designer steroid THG, a spokesman for the sport's governing body said on Wednesday. The International Association for Athletics Federations confirmed that the samples taken from the athletes matched initial A samples which were made known last month. The four, who have yet to be named officially, are entitled to an appeals hearing before the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency prior to a possible two-year ban. The samples were taken in June at the U.S. Track and Field Championships at Stanford

There’s still no word as to whether or not the folks running the 2004 NORBA series are going to be able to come up with enough sponsorship support to offer a pro prize purse next summer, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any money on offer for mountain biking’selite.Organizers of the Jeep King of the Mountain series have confirmed thatthey will again be putting on three events next summer. And while datesand locations have yet to be set, they’ve said the prize purse will be at least what it was last summer ($100,000).Next comes word that an event billing itself as the U.S. Open Of

Beloki on that fateful day in July

Gilberto and the gauntletDear Editors;I have a different challenge for Gilberto Simoni (see "Simonichallenges Armstrong to Giro-Tour duel").  How 'bout you skipthe Giro d'Italia, and then try to explain why you still can't beat LanceArmstrong in the Tour de France?Paul A. LandryNew Iberia, LouisianaLet your legs do the talkin'Editors;Simoni is a great rider, but he lets his mouth talk instead of hislegs.  Wasn't he 84th at the Tour this year? Didn't he talk about beating Armstrong?Until Simoni actually beats Armstrong, he needs to shutup and ride.Bill Battle,Richmond, VAHold your tongue

Northern California cross fans were greeted to a great day of 'cross racing Sunday at the third round of the Bay Area Super Prestige Series. Cyclo-cross powerhouses Travis Brown, Todd Wells, Marc Gullickson, Jackson Stewart and Andy Jacques-Maynes all wore each other down trading for the lead. For most of the race, Brown made concerted efforts to get to that front group and was repeatedly forced to close gaps. With four laps to go, Brown caught the lead group of Gully, Wells and Maynes and attacked in a technical uphill section. The group was back together a lap later and with two laps

ASI/Fuji America has announced plans to offer neutral support servicesat several U.S. cyclo-cross venues this season. The new Fuji Neutral CrossSupport Program will be offered through Northeast Racing Services.This season, Fuji's neutral 'cross support will initially be focused onEast Coast events, but is available to any promoter in North America. Theprogram remains in effect for the remainder of the 2003 cyclo-cross seasonand Fuji expects to offer a full schedule next year.The Fuji Neutral Cross program will be operated and run by Northeast Racing Services director, David Fike. The

Dear Lennard;I wonder if you could share your opinion on the compatibility of carbonfiber handlebars with some of the current four-bolt designed handlebarstems that have a split faceplate.Without naming brands, I've been getting feedback from a representativeof one of the handlebar companies that the four-bolt/split-faceplate designcould create an unsafe (his word was "scary") connection with carbon fiberhandlebars and might even cause breakage. The problem is, this opinionis just that - an opinion - and I’m not hearing this same concernfrom anyone else.Because a handlebar breakage could be

Yep, that’s right, cue up “Auld Lang Syne” and give me a big ol’ sloppysmooch. Happy New Year!Okay, okay, you and I both know that, officially speaking, New Year’sis still a couple of months off, but hear me out on this one. For mostpro cyclists these early days of early November are, indeed, the time forresolutions and a new beginning.A lot of us have now had close to six weeks of down time, doing prettymuch whatever it is that we wanted, while not being chained to our beastsof burden or, in my case, a Colnago. So what do pro riders do with theirfree time in the fall? Well, I can only speak

Like many of you, I’ve spent a good chunk of my cycling season parked infront of my TV watching OLN’s impressive road and mountain bike racingcoverage. And with that coverage I’ve received an equally significant shareof marketing bombardment from our cycling-friendly friends at Subaru NorthAmerica. You know the pitch, somewhere between 15 and 20 times an hour,you get a healthy does of Lance telling you he (and the latest Subaru model)are, “Driven By What’s Inside.” Now, I’m not sure about you, but I fail to make a firm connection betweenthe motivational “drive” it takes a cyclist to win five

Barnholt

West and Horgan-Kobelski

Dunlap on a training ride

Not exactly stock, but you get the drift...

The second day of the Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Seriesdouble-header moved to Marysville, Pennsylvania for the Harrisburg City Islanders’ Rockville Bridge ‘Cross Classic. For the second day in a row, the Gearworks/Spin Arts duo of Marianne Stover and Anna Milkowski overpowered the Elite Women’s field to claim their second one-two finish of the weekend. As she did in the previous day’s Saturn Classic, Stover established a sizeable gap on the first lap and hammered on to extend that lead out to approximately one minute over teammate Milkowski. Hanging tough in

There were both new and familiar faces on the podium at Canada’s national cyclo-cross championships in Vancouver on Sunday. Peter Wedge (Kona Factory) took his sixth national title in the men's race, while Wendy Simms (Steed Cycles-Frontrunners) won the women's competition in only her fifth-ever start in a cyclo-cross race. Mountain bike national champion Max Plaxton (Gears Racing) won the junior men's competition, while Kris Sneddon (Kona) took the Under-23 men's title. Wedge dominated the men's race, immediately breaking away from the field. After one lap he was 15 seconds ahead of a

No. 6 for Wedge

Kabush gives chase

Simms and Nicholson in the lead group

The route of the 87th Giro d’Italia was announced Saturday, with organizers promising a more demanding opening week and a shorter, tougher finish than in this year’s edition. A nearly all-Italian event comprising a prologue and 20 stages, with one start and finish in Croatia, the 2004 Giro will cover 3435 kilometers, with 12 flat stages, four rolling and three in the high mountains. Organizers concede that Italy’s grand tour will be “slightly biased towards climbers,” with only a single time trial; there were two races against the clock in both 2003 and ‘02. The longer stages will come

After weeks of racing in unseasonably mild conditions, riders were finally greeted by cold, windy cyclo-cross weather as they arrived in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, for the Saturn Classic, the first day of a double-header weekend in the Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Series. The elite races started with a long road prologue that enabled Marianne Stover (Gearworks-Spin Arts) to establish a small gap by the time the women hit the pits for the first time. Sarah Uhl (Saturn) sat in second, a small gap between her and the rest of the field. While Stover and Uhl worried about

Italy's Gilberto Simoni, winner of the Giro d'Italia in 2001 and 2003, has challenged five-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong to a Giro-Tour duel in 2004. Armstrong always focuses his season on the Tour in July. He has never ridden the Giro, which is raced in May. But at the official presentation of the 2004 Giro route on Saturday, Simoni called on the American to ride both races. "If Armstrong rode both the Giro d'Italia and then the Tour de France, we'd see how good he really is, for better or worse," Simoni said. "He has said he wants to ride the Giro at least once during his

2004 Giro route unveiled

Belgian Frank Vandenbroucke, who recently left the Quick Step team, on Friday signed a one-year deal with the Italian Fassa Bortolo squad, according to his manager, Paul De Geyter. "After his departure from Quick Step, Vandenbroucke had several choices but his preference always was for the Italian team,” said De Geyter, adding that team owner Giancarlo Ferretti hopes to see the Belgian tackle the classics and the Tour de France. Fassa Bortolo is the third Italian team for Vandenbroucke, following stints with Mapei and Lampre. The Belgian, who is recovering from a broken collarbone, faces