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But he was shadowed by a host of Belgians, including the eventual winner, Ben Berden

Bart Wellens was having an off day, and could only manage fourth

Erwin Vervecken, meanwhile, copped the last step on the podium

And Jonathan Page flew the stars and stripes to 19th place

World time trial champion David Millar says the 2004 Athens Olympics will overshadow the Tour de France in his season’s goals and is eyeing an appearance in track racing to bolster his chances. “I competed in the Sydney Olympics and it was a great lesson for me,” Millar said in a press conference this month. “The Athens Olympics are now one of my biggest objectives from here on. The Tour de France is my second objective for next year, and the World Championships will come third. “Sydney was a magnificent experience, and I learned a lot. I now know what to expect from the Olympics, and yes,

The Health Net Pro Cycling Team, presented by Maxxis, announced on Thursday the signing of former Prime Alliance rider Danny Pate. The announcement came from Gregory Raifman, Chairman & CEO of Momentum Sports Group, LLC, a Piedmont, California, based company that owns and operates the Health Net cycling team. A resident of Colorado Springs, Pate, 24, has shown great promise as a professional, riding in Europe for Saeco in 2000 and returning to the U.S. to take the No. 2 ranking in the NRC Standings in 2002 while riding for Prime Alliance. To date, Pate is perhaps best known for his win at

Bart Wellens won the latest round of the Superprestige cyclo-cross series on Christmas Day in Diegem, Belgium. It was his fourth win in five outings, and his 16th victory this season. In the early going, a lead group formed containing Wellens, Mario De Clercq, Sven Nijs, Tom Vannoppen and Erwin Vervecken. During a tactical game of “Who’ll take the lead?”, Wellens kept a low profile, but in the fifth lap he went for it, accelerating through a turn. Only De Clercq was able to keep up, but soon even he fell off the pace, eventually finishing second. Vervecken crossed third. American champion

Wellens claimed his fourth Superprestige race of the season

Vervecken found himself settling for the lowest step on the podium ...

... while Nijs missed the podium altogether

Vannoppen was right behind Nijs in fifth

U.S. champ Page wore his Santa hat for the Christmas Day race

De Clercq doesn't look overjoyed to finish second again

Joseba Beloki sounded like a lot of other riders at last week’s 2004 Vuelta a España presentation: The route looks great, but the Tour de France is the priority. “It’s likely I will race both the Vuelta and the Tour, but the Tour will always be the most important race for me,” the three-time Tour podium finisher told VeloNews. “The Vuelta course looks very challenging, and it’s one I like and I’d like to win, but there’s the Tour and perhaps even the Olympics, which every athlete dreams about.” Beloki was all smiles at the presentation ceremony, especially since his injuries have healed

Santa Cruz Bicycles and DSD have announced the formation of the Santa Cruz Syndicate team, which will compete on the 2004 mountain-bike racing circuit. Comprised of top athletes in gravity racing, street, urban, free ride and ultra-marathon, Santa Cruz Syndicate is not the typical factory racing effort. One of the details that sets Santa Cruz Syndicate apart from standard teams is that all riders are allowed to sign individual sponsors for personal items, such as clothing, goggles, helmets and shoes. Riders with individual clothing sponsors will be flying them in Syndicate colors, and have

American cyclist David Clinger has sealed a ride with Mario Cipollini's Domina Vacanze team for next season, the Italian team announced Wednesday. The 26-year-old from California, a former member of U.S. Postal, has been a professional for six years and rode with the Festina team before moving to Postal in 2002. He left Postal to race for Prime Alliance during 2003. –Copyright 2003/AFP

The Navigators will be heading to Australia after the New Year to make its season debut in the Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under, Jan 20-25. The team will join 11 other squads in what’s the first major race of the 2004 season. Heading to Australia will be Siro Camponogara, Vassili Davidenko, Jeff Louder, David McKenzie, Kirk Obee, Ciaran Power, Burke Swindlehurst, and Phil Zajicek. They will hook up with their Aussie teammate Henk Vogels for a brief training camp prior to the race, the team reported. The official team camp and presentation will follow the JCTDU with a complete team gathering in

More than a dozen Americans will be racing in Europe this season, ranging from five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong to newbies like Tom Danielson, Tim Johnson and Patrick McCarty. U.S. Postal Service remains the engine behind the strong American presence in Europe, with eight riders representing the colors across the pond. But there’s growing diversity in the American expatriate community, with seven teams from Denmark, Italy, Spain, Holland and Switzerland boasting a Yankee rider, and the U.S.-based Navigators planning another springtime assault on the continent. Americans are

U.S. Postal Service and Fassa Bortolo are among a handful of teams that have yet to be registered in TT1, according to the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The teams of American Lance Armstrong and Italian Alessandro Petacchi – along with Alessio, Domina Vacanze, Kelme and Milaneza – have until January 8 to supply more information, according to the Professional Cycling Council (PCC). A spokesman for the PCC told the news service AFP that the council was "very optimistic" that the teams – particularly Postal and Fassa – would resolve any lingering questions by the deadline. The

Quark will pick up where Saturn is leaving off – Team Sports Inc. announced today that it has signed the shoe company to a three-year deal as the title sponsor of a women's pro cycling team. Canadian Lyne Bessette will captain the team, which has also signed 2003 national champion Sarah Uhl. Quark is negotiating with three other athletes and looking for two additional riders. The Quark team will kick off the 2004 season with a March training camp in California, and make its racing debut on March 13 at McClane Pacific, in Merced, California. Team Sports will manage the team; former Saturn

Armstrong: Looking for No. 6

Mario Cipollini says he will pull out of the Giro d’Italia early to prepare for an assault on the 2004 Summer Games, according to the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport . The Lion King said he will race in the Giro until the first serious mountain stages and then head to Australia to train for what he hopes will be a slot on the Italian track team to race in the individual pursuit. The 2002 road world champion has flirted with the track before, but this time seems determined to make a run for a gold medal. Overlooked for the 2003 road world championships team, Cipollini would

Bart Wellens scored his 15th victory of the season on Sunday at the Vlaamse Druivenveldrit, a Category 1 cyclo-cross in Overijse, Belgium. The only question on his competitors’ minds these days is when Wellens will leave them behind. In Overijse, Wellens waited until the second lap to take off. “I didn't really start all that well,” said Wellens. Regardless of how well he started, Wellens finished just fine – the gap quickly grew too big for the pursuit to close, leaving Mario De Clercq and Sven Nijs to settle for second and third, respectively. Meanwhile, the newly crowned U.S.

Marc Gullickson (Redline) and Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles) made it two for two this weekend, each winning the final weekend’s worth of racing in the Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series. Today, in the Patterson Construction-NEBC Cyclo-Cross, riders were greeted with a course that was shockingly slick with ice, snow, and mud, pushing riders' abilities to the limit. In the men’s series, Mark McCormack (Saturn) held the lead in the overall standings over last year's series winner, Marc Gullickson (Redline), winner of the previous day's race in Rhode Island. Meanwhile, in the

Wellens did it again on Saturday

De Clercq had to settle for second

Groenendaal still can't get a break

And U.S. champ Page wasn't having a banner day, either

In fact, everyone had that look on his face ...

... even Wellens, who was winning

Last year's Verge New England Cyclo-cross Series champions – Marc Gullickson (Redline) and Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles) – returned to the fore on Saturday as the series moves into its final weekend. From the starting whistle in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, the men's elite race was on fire. Series leader Mark McCormack (Saturn) got the hole shot on theuphill sprint start, with newly crowned under-23 national champion JesseAnthony (Hot Tubes) right on his wheel. By the end of the first lap, a leadgroup containing McCormack, Anthony, Gullickson, Ben Turner(7UP-Maxxis), and Zak Grabowski

U.S. Postal Service sport director Johan Bruyneel said the team’s paramount goal for the 2004 season is putting Lance Armstrong into the yellow jersey on the Champs Elysees for a sixth time. “In theory, (winning the Tour) is the only thing that counts. If we can do that, that’s history,” Bruyneel told VeloNews during the presentation of the 2004 Vuelta a España in Madrid on Wednesday. “It’s going to be difficult. This year was more difficult than other years, and we’ve tried to learn a few things from last year. It was a combination of things, and Lance is not improving anymore, but that

Although he signed with the domestic Health Net squad just six weeks ago, 26-year-old David Clinger is now rumored to be in negotiations with Mario Cipollini’s Domina Vacanze squad for the 2004 season. Health Net team management would neither confirm nor deny the rumor. “We can’t completely comment on that,” said Thierry Attias, President and COO of Momentum Sports Group, the organization that owns and runs the Health Net cycling team. “I’d say it’s half true. We have a completely valid and enforced contract with David. He does now have an opportunity to ride with Cipollini, and we’ve been

Big team news this week came courtesy of the Kona camp, which unveiled its 2004 squad as well as a unique new sponsor. But it was the one name missing from the roster that grabbed most of the attention. After spending the previous seven years aboard a Kona, Canadian cross-country pro Geoff Kabush will not be back with the team in 2004. The reason for the parting of ways depends on whom you ask, but it’s safe to say it wasn’t the most harmonious ending. “I spent a little time checking to see what else was out there, then decided that I wanted to be back with Kona,” explained Kabush. “But

Gary Houseman, who won the rain-soaked UCI World Cup downhill July 12 at Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, has accepted a one-year suspension after testing positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at that race, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Friday. THC, a metabolite of marijuana, is a prohibited substance under UCI regulations. The suspension for the 23-year-old ITS-Santa Cruz rider, from Temecula, California, began on July 12. All results that occurred on or after that date – including his Grouse Mountain downhill win – are declared invalid. Houseman also was fined 2,000

Clinger

Houseman racing at Grouse Mountain

Kelme-Costa Blanca and Angel Casero reached a verbal agreement Wednesday for the 2001 Vuelta a España champion to join the Spanish green team for a one-year contract. News broke during Wednesday’s 2004 Vuelta presentation in Madrid, and Casero seemed relieved to get the deal done after finding few options for a contract next season after the collapse of his former employer at Team Bianchi. “We got it done this morning, and I have a verbal agreement with (Kelme team manager Pepe) Quiles, and the only thing left is to sign the papers,” Casero said. “I’m happy, and I look forward to getting

Will Frischkorn has signed with Colavita-Bolla for 2004, rejoining former Saturn teammates Mark McCormack, Ivan Dominguez and Nathan O’Neill. "I am very excited that both Will and Nathan (O’Neill) will be joining Ivan and I on the Colavita-Bolla team for 2004,” said McCormack. “We all shared in a magical season during 2003, and it will be great to be able to build upon the accomplishments we achieved together.” The 22-year-old Frischkorn turned pro with Mercury in 1999 while still a junior. He has won five national championships, including the under-23 national road-race title in 2002. In

Pablo Lastras models the new Balears-Banesto jersey

Angel Casero

Will Frischkorn at Redlands

Pro shooter Rob Karman of Roadbikephotos.com, who captured more than 3000 images from this past weekend's mud-splashed national cyclo-cross championships in Portland, Oregon, is selling those shots – along with a pledge to donate $1 from every 5-by-7 print and $2 from every 8-by-10 to the American Cyclo-cross Foundation (ACF). If you'd like a reminder of what it felt like to wear a few soggy pounds of Oregon real estate on your jersey, this is your chance. And you'll be helping the ACF with its annual drive to help send the U.S. cyclo-cross team to the world championships, which will be held

Dear Monique,In lieu of recent, and reoccurring, substance infractions committed by many elite athletes after taking relatively "safe" nutritional supplements, how can one go about ensuring that the product one takes is free of banned additives? Thank you,RC Dear RC,That’s an important question for the upcoming racing season, especially for elite athletes who rely on many types of legal sports nutrition supplements to support their training and recovery. In general, quality assurance of dietary supplements continues to be a concern, with some companies following good manufacturing

Alejandro Valverde was all smiles in Madrid on Wednesday while he watched Wednesday´s unveiling of the 2004 Vuelta a España. With 11 of the 21 stages hitting medium to hard mountain passes, Valverde and every other mountain goat sitting inside the posh King Juan Carlos convention center couldn´t help but smile. "It´s a climber´s fiesta," said Valverde, third overall last year. "It suits me, but it also suits a lot of other riders, too." Riders like Oscar Sevilla, Roberto Heras, Iban Mayo and Joseba Beloki all sounded like stuck records: lots of mountains, good for us. That comes as a

As this is the time of year when many race promoters/directors are finalizing their 2004 dates, this is also prime time for VeloNews to update its 2004 race calendars. If you haven’t already, have a look at our web submission page or send us an email at vncalendar@7dogs.com. Please include the following information:Race category (i.e., road, mountain bike, cyclo-cross)Region (i.e., Pacific Northwest)Race nameDate(s) of eventContact nameContact emailContact phoneRace web site URLCity and state of race (not promoter) All race listings are free; magazine listings are subject to space

Five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong said on Wednesday that he intends to race in two more Tours before bringing down the curtain on his career. "I will probably run two more Tours de France in 2004 and 2005," Armstrong told the National Press Club of Washington. "The team is in place, and our preparation out of season has gone well." Armstrong added that he knew where his biggest challenge will come from when he defends his title in 2004. "Jan Ullrich is my biggest rival and the most dangerous," said the 32-year-old. –Copyright 2003/AFP

La Vuelta 2004: A route only a mountain goat could love

Two-time champ Roberto Heras gets the star treatment

Iban Mayo practices giving a Lancesque 'look'

Carlos Sastre: Is he already feeling the pain?

Pavel Tonkov sports an ... interesting ... hairdo

Dear Lennard;I wrote you this question right after I saw the downtube shifter onLance's bike last July, but I'm guessing it got lost in the flood of TDFe-mails, so here it is again:During one of the mountain stages, I saw an old-school front derailleurdowntube shifter on Lance's bike, and then in a later stage, I saw oneon Ullrich's bike. What is up with that? Were they really front shifters,or for something different?TedDear Ted;Yes, they are front shifters to save the weight of the STI or Ergopowerlever and extra cable and housing.LennardDear Lennard;I was intrigued by your statement that

What would be the inaugural edition of the Vuelta a España femenina is back in the starting gates and already has its date on the UCI calendar (April 29 to May 9), but the race could be sidelined for a second year if efforts to secure a television contract fail. Plans last year to offer a women's Vuelta were scuttled when a title sponsor couldn't be lined up to cover the costs of a major stage race. Negotiations to ensure television coverage on Spain's national channel are on ice and are again threatening the race, according to reports on the Spanish wires. The race is tentatively scheduled

USA Cycling has released its list of automatic qualifiers for the 2004 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Pont–Château, France (January31-February 1, 2004).By virtue of their elite victories at the national cyclo-cross championshipsthis past weekend in Portland, Oregon, Jonathan Page and Alison Dunlap received automatic nominations in their respective categories.In the U23 men’s category, Jesse Anthony received an automatic nominationas the newly crowned national champion while Jeremy Powers was nominatedon the basis of his UCI cyclo-cross rankings.In the junior men’s category, national

The agony of technologyEditors;There is no other sport that I know of (including alpine skiing, whichis crowded with "tech weenies") in which athletes/participants would writesentences like those offered by Keith, Metallurgist or Ben, (apparent)physicist (see "TechnicalQ&A, 12/16/03"), for publication in a magazine of general circulation.My head hurts - I think I'll go for a ride.Kevin KinnearBoulder, ColoradoSure, go ride, but will you know precisely how much drag your out-datedsteel bearings will be generating? - EditorGood luck TJ!VeloNews;Congratulations to Tim Johnson, I am so happy to

Who would have known that Christmas would come early this year? Well, for the nerdy technical staff of VeloNews, anyway. Flashback to this past Friday. It’s the annual Christmas party for the management and staff of Inside Communications (the publisher of VeloNews), and everyone is all tidied up and pretending to be on our best behavior. As I’m loitering around the buffet line, secretly trying to hone in on the calamari, I overhear our very own John Wilcockson mentioning something about “Tyler’s bike” to our editor, Kip Mikler. My attention switches from the succulent deep-fried squid to

After his solo breakaway victory at the 2003 Univest Grand Prix, team rider/manager Ted Huang explained he was just pretending he was Chris Horner at the T-Mobile International. Next season, Huang and rest of the Webcor squad will have a much more intimate opportunity to work on their Horner impressions, as the 2002 and 2003 NRC winner has signed to ride for the Bay Area-based team in 2004. It’s a major acquisition for Webcor, a team that finished 16th in the 2003 national rankings, with Huang, ranked 39th, its highest-placed rider. “We’re looking forward to racing with him and for him,”

The Webcor Professional Cycling Team announced Tuesday that 2003 T-Mobile International Winner and NRC overall standings leader Chris Horner will join the Northern California-based team for 2004. “I look forward to racing with the Webcor Cycling Team and helping them bring it up to the next level,” said Horner. “This is a huge step forward for Webcor Cycling,” said Ted Huang, team rider and manager. “We’re looking forward to an epic season and to making Chris feel at home here.” “We’re going to have a great time,” Andy Ball, CEO of Webcor Builders, the team’s title sponsor added.”

Not yet available in the U.S., Tyler's bike will look similar to this production version.

Horner (left) with O'Neill and Roland Green after the 2003 Redlands Classic Oak Glen stage

Employed!

Italian national team coach Franco Ballerini said performance in nextsummer's Tour de France will be the key element in his selection of riderswho will compete in the Summer Games in Athens in August.Ballerini, who led Mario Cipollini into the rainbow jersey in 2002,was quoted in Datasport during a bike festival in Milan on what his thinkingwill be next summer.“The Tour de France will help me define the hierarchy of the nationalteam that will race in Athens,” Ballerini said. “The Tour is always thebest indicator of form in perspective of an Olympic Games.”The comments are sure to rankle some

Tim Johnson, the Saturn rider who signed with the U.S.-based Division III Colavita-Bolla squad last month, is now poised to ink another deal with the new Spanish-based Division I Saunier Duval team. “This is the kind of thing I’ve been hoping to land ever since I started riding,” the 26-year-old Johnson told VeloNews on Monday. “I’ve always wanted to get on a European team, and suddenly this opportunity came up.” Johnson, who recently won the Vic Roads Herald Sun Tour in Australia, said he was pleasantly surprised when he brought word of the offer to Colavita owner John Profaci. “Man, my

Johnson at Dulles airport on Monday

Johnson wins the Sun Tour

While the route of the 2004 Vuelta a España will be officially unveiled Wednesday in Madrid, route details are popping up everywhere in the Spanish media. The latest tease is that the course will skip the feared Angliru climb in northern Spain as well as the demanding Pyrénées and instead hit six summit finishes in central and southern Spain, including a climbing time trial up the grinding 35km climb up to the Sierra Nevada ski station in southern Spain. Details released in the Spanish daily AS reveal that a difficult mountain stage on the penultimate day will feature five climbs in the

The rain stopped in Portland Sunday, but the mud stayed, and, if anything, it got muckier as racers contested the final day of the U.S. national cyclo-cross championships. The day’s two favorites scored big wins in the elite categories, as Alison Dunlap took a decisive win in the women’s race while Jonathan Page – visiting the States amid a season racing ‘cross in Belgium – repeated as first across the line in the men’s event.

There was no stopping reigning world champion Bart Wellens as he easilywon the third round of Belgium’s Gazet van Antwerpen-trophee series inKalmthout on Sunday.Wellens attacked early in the race and was quickly joined by Sven Nijs,Sven Vanthourenhout and Tom Vannoppen. The foursome managed to elude some big guns in the field, including Mario DeClerq and Richard Groenendaal.In the third lap Wellens showed his strength and rode off alone. Hewas in leading position with more than one minute when a hard-chasing Nijs had a mechanical and was forced to run to the pits, losing any advantage he had

Wellens

Sven Nijs

Erwin Vervecken

Britain's Roger Hammond

Mario DeClerq missed the big move

Czech Republic's Peter Dlask

Wellens leads the series

Page plows puddles

Dunlap digs deep

The 2003 U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships kicked off Friday in Portland, Oregon, as collegiate and under-23 women and several masters categories slalomed through the soup toward the stars and stripes. It being December in the Pacific Northwest, the weather was gray and damp, and the course at Portland International Raceway slick and muddy in spots. Still, the track was relatively fast and flat, with a few off-camber bits to keep things interesting.

[nid:26610]In just his first year racing in the U-23 category, 18-year-old Jesse Anthony took a fifth consecutive national cyclo-cross championship in a dramatic, mud-soaked battle with Alan Obye (Balance Bar-Devo) and Anthony’s Hot Tubes teammate Zak Grabowski. Obye’s teammate Troy Wells, younger brother of 2001 national ‘cross champ Todd Wells, was in the hunt early but fell off the pace to take fourth. Missing from the action was No.1 U-23 ranked Jeremy Powers (NCC-Bikereg.com) who suffered from the flu all week and finished out of contention.