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Caruso takes the sprint into Willunga

Astarloza takes over the lead

A day at the beach

Cadel Evans

Charging up Willunga Hill

Fabio Sacchi says he is enjoying the scorching heat of South Australia that baked the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under peloton with temperatures reaching 110 degrees Friday. But when asked about the heat Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen is putting upon his overall lead in the six-stage race that ends on Sunday, the Saeco leader becomes a bit wary. After the 144km fourth stage from Unley to Goolwa on Friday, Sacchi’s overall lead on McEwen dropped from 10 seconds to eight. Racing into a head wind, Australia’s Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com) won the leg in a sprint from Graeme Brown (Panaria), Stuart

I’m not making this stuff up. I really couldn’t. According to an item in last week’s Denver Post, ABC TV was in town recently auditioning for its new reality show, “Are You Hot?” A quote from the Bill Husted column: “You don’t have to be talented to be on this show,” says ABC reality chief Andrea Wong. “You don’t have to sing, you don’t have to dance, you don’t have to do anything – except think you’re hot.” Sounds like the gig I’ve been seeking for years (aside from the hot part) — $100,000 for doing nothing (I know there are those of you who would argue that’s what I’m doing anyway, but I

“TV – a clever contraction derived from the words Terrible Vaudeville … we call it a medium because nothing’s well done.” newsman-turned-comedy writer Goodman Acein a letter to Groucho Marx A TV producer dropped me a note a while back, asking whether I’d be interested in working with him on a show he was pitching to the Outdoor Life Network. This proves what I suspected when I first heard about the original “Survivor” – that TV has finally scraped right through the bottom of the programming barrel and the rotting floor upon which it squats, and has begun burrowing through the rat-infested

Friends and family of bicycle industry veteran, John Pavlat, inviteyou to join in a celebration of his life in San Francisco, California,on Saturday, February 8, 2003 from 2 p.m.-6 p.m. at The Manhattan Loungelocated at 699 Market Street.San Francisco's Manhattan Lounge represents but one facet of John's life, a place where he often reveled in the music that moved and will alwaystouch his soul. In addition to John’s love for music, the celebration ofhis life will also be represented by his other passion – cycling. A group ride is being planned for Sunday morning. The exact details

Sacchi likes the weather, but is feeling the heat from McEwen

This time it's Cooke

The rideabout

Laidler spent much of the day on his own and did Sacchi a favor in the process

Friday's foaming rant: Recycled tubes

Friends and family to gather in honor of John Pavlat

With Robbie McEwen and Graeme Brown battling the final sprint in the third stage of the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under on Thursday, surprisingly much of the day’s attention was turned to a war of words between race leader Fabio Sacchi (Saeco) and Aussie Stuart O’Grady. Sacchi blasted the Credit Agricole star for questioning the abilities of the visiting Italian team. Sacchi, who continued to hold the race leader’s jersey after the third stage from Glenelg to Hahndorf, was upset over comments made by O’Grady in his daily newspaper column. Published in the local Adelaide newspaper The

Hi Bob;I am the coordinator of a youth mountain biking program called IMBA Sprockids. I am trying to find information that proves cycling is safe for kids. If you have any valuable statistics or information that might help me out, it would be greatly appreciated. Many parents and school boards are leery of mountain biking programs for kids because they feel they are dangerous. You and I both know that with proper guidance, cycling is very safe. Thanks,Brandon DwightIMBA Sprockids coordinator Dear Brandon;Your question raises several issues, and I will cover most of these in a cursory

She’ll never be confused with megastars like Kobe Bryant or David Beckham, but after winning the women’s cross-country world championship last September in Austria, even Gunn-Rita Dahle has found the need to duck out of the limelight from time to time. That’s what brought her here to the VeloNews HQ town of Boulder, Colorado, and we caught up with Dahle last week for an exclusive interview. Here are some of the highlights. VeloNews: What brought you to Boulder?Gunn-Rita Dahle: Mostly I just needed some uninterrupted training time and some time away from the stress. After the season ended I

British cyclist David Millar was told Thursday that if he doesn't like the set-up at his French team Cofidis he can go look elsewhere. Millar, who won a stage in last year's Tour de France after winning the prologue in 2000 - but who has been criticised widely for his failure to fulfill what many regard as his star potential - hit out at the team's tactics in sports daily L'Equipe on Wednesday. Cofidis manager Alain Bondue hit back at the 26-year-old Scot's comments. "At the end of the day, we don't force anyone to ride for our team and if our system doesn't

This one was close

Sacchi: Handling the heat?

ONCE tries its hand

Podium boy

Gunn-Rita Dahle

New jersey, same talent

That sinking feeling - the Red Bull Ride

Bondue: Millar has to look at himself in the mirror.

Millar: The system at Cofidis doesn't appeal to me anymore

Saeco’s Fabio Sacchi has learned one thing about racing in Australia: forget trusting anyone, even your mates. Sacchi took the race lead by winning yesterday's second stage through the Barossa Valley to Kapunda. The result continues the Milan rider's success in the event, which includes two spells in the yellow leader's jersey and a stage win from the 2001 and 2002 races. Asked what his past appearances in the race had taught him, he said he came away with just one clear lesson. “I learned not to trust anyone, including your friends,” Sacchi noted. By Sunday, when the 735km race ends in

Dear Monique;Thanks for taking the time to write your column. I have a couple ofquestions for which I can not seem to find an answer.For rides less than 1 hour, I sometimes have a gel before the ride anddrink a bottle of Endurox during the ride, is this excessive?For rides longer than 1 hour (typically 1.5 to 2 hours) I have a gelbefore the ride, a gel an hour into the ride, and a bottle of Endurox anda bottle of water- is this excessive?I have been thinking that I am putting too much into my system- butI always feel pretty good. After the long rides, I will eat a normal breakfastor lunch. Am

The upcoming Tour of Qatar cycling race will not be threatened by a potential conflict in the Middle East, race organizer Jean-Marie Leblanc said Wednesday. Leblanc said that the race, held in the little Middle East country that juts out into the Persian Gulf east of Saudi Arabia, holds no hidden dangers for any of the sports top names. Leblanc, who visited Qatar recently to examine the situation, said that he feels comfortable holding the race, despite the growing threat of conflict in the region. "The message from Qatar is clear: 'above all tell everyone in Europe that there's no

McEwen and Sacchi joined the main break.

Evans in pursuit.

The new leader

All the efforts by Australian sprinter Graeme Brown to shed his label as a dirty sprinter were forgotten Tuesday when he was relegated from first place in stage one of the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under. After crossing the line first in the 50km criterium in East End Adelaide, Brown, 23, was found guilty of not holding his line in the sprint and dangerous riding. The decision followed a 15-minute deliberation by race commisssaires following a protest by Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) who was third to finish. McEwen’s complaint was lodged to chief race commissaire John McDonnell of New Zealand

Dear Lennard Zinn;My question has to do with Campy Record 10-speed rear derailleur and cog compatibility. My current setup has 53x39 chainrings, a 12x25 cogset with a short (standard) cage rear derailleur, and I recently switched to a Wipperman 10-speed chain. For mountain riding, I would like to substitute a cogset with a larger inside cog - say, 26 to 29 teeth - rather than switching to a triple chainring setup. How high can I go before I have to use a medium or long cage derailleur? Also, for cost considerations, is there any problem using a Chorus 10-speed cogset if the rest of the

With the Holidays behind us it's officially Buyer's Guide season around here and we're working fast-and-furious to produce the most interesting guide you've ever flipped through. Whether you're in the market for a new bike or not, we've planned plenty of engaging copy to pique your interest in the latest product trends in bicycles, wheels, forks, stems, handlebars and a few other critical categories. But unlike any other bike-related Buyer's Guide that has been produced, ours isn't designed to denigrate your intelligence with features such as: "How to buy your

McEwen's protest gave the win to Cooke

The pro season kicks off in Oz

Brown was not a happy camper

Cooke becomes the first leader of the Tour

Tech Tuesday: XTR feedback

Tech Tuesday: XTR feedback

Tech Tuesday: XTR feedback

Bart Wellens led yet another Belgian sweep in cyclo-cross, this time at the fourth round of the UCI World Cup in Wetzikon, Switzerland on Sunday. Wellens - who won here two years ago, before the Swiss ‘cross classic earned World Cup status – was the first of a five-man group Belgians to take the top spots at one of the final warm-ups before the world championships in two weeks. With his win, his second World Cup victory of the year, Wellens takes over the top spot in the World Cup standings, leading defending world champion Mario De Clerq by 15 points. Wellens finished 29 seconds ahead of

In compliance with the gentle New Year directive that all VeloNews editors commence with regular Web columns, I thought it noteworthy to begin my Monday morning discourse by contrasting the events of my weekend with other cycling-minded individuals clear on the other side of the globe. I should preface this by acknowledging that it wasn’t a very eventful weekend around my neighborhood. With my mountain-bike just one working suspension fork away from operational, and 40 mph gusts deterring me from a road ride, I decided to instead take care of some unfinished business. So I finally got

Wellens was suddenly on his own

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood: Tea in the Sahara

Robbie McEwen intends to be the first among a group of talented Australian riders hoping to dominate their national tour, the Tour Down Under, which starts Tuesday in Adelaide. But the Aussies may face some serious competition from the likes of Estonian Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2R) and Saeco’s Fabio Sacchi, who are spoiling to beat the hosts' advantage. McEwen, fresh from winning his fifth Bay Classic criterium series in seven years, feels the time has come to take the six-day, 735-kilometre race that begins and ends in the South Australian capital Adelaide. McEwen won four of the six stages

To the casual observer, road racing looks like an individual sport. Racers and educated spectators, however, know this is not the case at all. The sport is really like a complex chess game on wheels, in which attacks, blocks, and sacrifices are constant, right up to the finish line. This is most obvious when watching a top professional team, such as the U.S. Postal squad, during the Tour de France. However, by following some basic guidelines, even an amateur club team can employ team strategy and tactics for one-day road races and criteriums. KNOW YOUR ROLESIn laying out the team’s strategy

When the VN.com powers granted me my very own Friday morning column, I thought,“Oh great, opposite O’Grady’s Foaming Rant,” and visions danced through myhead of mouse cursors tracking past my by-line and over to the webletters@7dogs.com link to write in about masters racing, erectile dysfunction and George W. Bush (all topics that I promise will never be broached here).But then I decided, toiling in oblivion might not be such a bad deal. I can work on my lifelong goal of becoming ESPN.com’s next Sports Guy, though I don’t think I could watch enough “Saved by the Bell” to qualify for that gig.

That sweet position on your road bike should be as comfortable as your favorite pair of slippers — and once you find it, you won’t want to give it up. But discovering the perfect position in the first place often requires many tiny adjustments in the height and reach of your handlebar to get it right. In the current issue of VeloNews, technical writer Lennard Zinn helps you work through the steps necessary to find that perfect position. As mentioned in the article, Alan Hills of Hills-Scientific.com in Boulder, Colorado, has shared a handy program he designed to choose the stems for his

“What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully?”– Don CorleoneYou've got to feel sympathy for Gerard Bisceglia. I mean, think about it. Being hired as CEO of USA Cycling must have been like being handed the keys to that nifty little bike shop downtown, only to find out that the previous owner was a crackhead, deep in debt to the local motorcycle gang, and the scooter trash had been running a meth' lab-slash-whorehouse out of the joint. You walk nervously through the ruined door, sagging on its hinges, hear broken glass crunching under foot, see bullet holes

The father of American randonneurs, Jim Konski, died of natural causeson December 17 at James Square Health & Rehabilitation Centre in Syracuse,New York. He was 85.The origins of Konski’s interest in randonnées, the highly popularEuropean form of competitive bike touring, was his friendship with Britishcycling journalist J.B. Wadley in the early 1970s. Wadley was one of thefirst Brits to ride (and write about) Paris-Brest-Paris, which was a probike race from 1891 to 1951. It was revived as a randonnée in 1961and has become that discipline’s Tour de France.Konski not only founded The

Notes from the road

Friday's foaming rant: Blood is bad for business

Dear Bob Mionske;I've always been annoyed at the thinly-veiled favoritism that exists in determining the use rights for off-road public land. In my area, horse-riders and hikers get access to almost all trails and many of the prime trails are restricted for their use only. As a regular mountain bike rider, I feel like I'm a second-class citizen. Various arguments are presented to justify these policies. For example, the head ranger at a local state park talks about the damage to sensitive habitat due to mountain bike use and the potential for accidents due to careless behavior. At

Ever since Stephane Girard decided he missed his native France too much, and left his post as USA Cycling’s mountain bike coach back in 2000, the national governing body had been promising to hire a replacement. But like many promises USAC has made over the years, this one didn’t come true — until now. On January 13, two-plus years after Girard left, USA Cycling announced that 26-year-old Matt Cramer had been hired as the organization’s new mountain bike development director. The new job will have two primary duties: developing young American mountain biking talent, and more importantly at

Colombia Selle-Italia Manager :Gianni Savio1 Munoz, Hernan Dario COL 2 Gonzalez, Fredy COL 3 Garcia, John Fredy COL 4 Marin, Ruber COL 5 Mesa, Huberlino COL 6 Khalilov, Mykhaylo VEN 7 Rujano, Jose' VEN Lampre Manager: Maurizio Piovani 11 Missaglia, Gabriele ITA 12 Sciandri, Maximillian GBR 14 Bertogliati, Rubens SVI 15 Righi, Daniele ITA 16 Pinotti, Marco ITA 17 Pagliarini, Luciano BRA 18 Serpellini, Marco ITA Domina Vacanze-Elitron-Rdz Manager : Enrico Paolini 21 Gonzalez Capilla, Santos ESP 22 Martin Perdiguero, Miguel ESP 23 Lobato Elvira, Ruben ESP 24 Cardellini, Lorenzo ITA 25

Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske

Matt Cramer

Dear Monique Ryan; Without doing a complete metabolic work-up on me, I know your answer will be based upon assumptions and estimates. For my activity level, weight, age, etc. I should consume 3000 calories a day simply to maintain my weight. I want to lose weight for the racing season, so I am cutting 500 calories per day, leaving me at 2500. If I go out and hammer on a group training ride, and burn 2000 calories, does that mean my caloric need for the day is 4,500 (the 2500 I usually eat, plus 2000 to replace those burned)? I know I can eat a bit more on heavy days, but I’m really trying

Dear Editors,Totally agree with Brad Libby. This sport seems to get more and more expensive. By the time my daughter may want to race, the fees will be $100 for a licenseLet's not hit people that are starting with high fees. Let’s find another way of getting the money.Pros could possibly work it into their budget when they make a proposal to a sponsor. The promoter could do the same. I know it's a lot of work to promote a bike race, but just pencil it into the budget: Free registration to all beginners.(See Brad Libby’s letter, “Give it up for the sport you love”)We've got to

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich has finally made it official and signed a three-year contract with Germany's Team Coast. The 29-year-old Ullrich reached an agreement with the team earlier this month after negotiations with the Danish CSC team – headed by his former Telekom teammate Bjarne Riis -- broke down. Ullrich is earning less money with Coast - a reported annual salary of two million euros a year - than he did with the giant Telekom team. But Ullrich’s relationship with Telekom came unraveled after a troubled year in 2002, which saw him undergo two knee surgeries, face

Quick Step’s Kevin Hulsmans and Spanish rider David Arroyo of ONCE-Eroski will miss next week's Tour Down Under after training crashes on Wednesday. Organizers of the Australian tour said Hulsmans, 24, was hit from behind by a car in the center of Adelaide near the end of a four-hour training ride. He will fly home Thursday for surgery after scans identified a fracture of the left femur, just below his hip joint, team doctor Toon Cruyt said. Quick-Step manager Luca Guercilena said it was too late to fly in another rider from Europe and the team, which includes defending Tour Down Under

Transplanted from California less than a year ago (there, it's official, everyone in Colorado can now hate me) the guys here at the office say the winter has been unusually mild. My early morning frozen water bottles and icy trails might disagree, but hey, at least we're out there and not relegated to the trainer (like I was told I would be before moving out here). Weather aside, the racing/product seasons are right around the corner and we're gearing-up for some pretty hectic travel schedules. For racing coverage, Jason's off to Malaysia, Charles is heading over 'cross

Ullrich joined Coast along with former Telekom director Rudy Pevenage and training partner Tobias Steinhauser

Super light; Super pricey

Where the links come from

More from Italy and the Front Range of Colorado

A lot of the important work is still done by hand.

Ending months of speculation, two-time U.S. professional road champion Fred Rodriguez signed with the Italian Division I Sidermec team, joining tour rider Stefano Garzelli and fellow classics rider Gianluca Bartolami. “The economy of cycling is so low right now, “ said Rodriguez, who had been with out a team since his contract with Domo-Farm Frites had expired. “Everyone is so behind in their sponsorship schedules that I had to wait until everything settled down and Sidermec had the position for me.” Rodriguez joins Bortolami as one of the team’s main classics leaders. “With the experience

Dear readers;I get a lot of questions about cranks – crank lengths, non-standardcranks, compatibility, etc., so I thought I’d just combine a number ofthem here.  --LennardDear Lennard;I would like to read your comments or opinions on a product calledPowerCranks (see at Powercranks.com). I would like to buy a pair to improvemy technique. Thanks for your help. --HeltonDear Helton;PowerCranks are cranks with a clutch bearing at the bottom-bracketconnection in order to only engage the bottom bracket in the forward direction.You can only keep them turning if you pull up and around the entire

A question that I receive often through my "Tech Q&A" column on thissite is how one should remove a seatpost that is stuck in a frame. Ratherthan answer each one, I can simply reprint the section from Chapter 10of "Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance" that touches on thatvery subject.Removing a seatpost that has frustrated all normal methods of removingit is a difficult job requiring lots of attention and skill because ofthe risk involved. This may be a job best done by a shop, because if youmake a mistake you run the risk of destroying your frame. If you’re not100-percent confident

Investigators in the northern Italian city of Pordenone reported Tuesday that preliminary autopsy results indicate that cyclist Denis Zanette died of natural causes last Friday. The 32-year-old Zanette, who collapsed during a visit to his dentist’s office, apparently died of a previously undetected heart ailment, prosecutor Antonella Dragotto reported. "A cardiac pathology can be hereditary, but can be difficult to diagnose without detailed clinical testing (and can be) aggravated by a bronchial infection,” Dragotto said. She added the full results of testing would not be known for around

Four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong said Monday he would continue working with controversial Italian doctor Michele Ferrari. The 31-year-old Texan told Le Figaro newspaper in an interview he worked on a daily basis with his full-time coach Chris Carmichael but had a periodic but limited six-year collaboration with Ferrari. "I am not ashamed of it, quite the contrary," he said. "There has never been the slightest ambiguity between us. I have never suspected him of anything, and until I have proof to the contrary I will continue to be fully confident in him. "What counts for me

Gerard Bisceglia continued his USA Cycling Reunion Tour on January 11 by meeting with a group of American Cycling Association executive-committee members, employees and licensees in Denver. After once again conceding the missteps of the previous administration, the CEO of USA Cycling made his pitch for the 2000-plus-member ACA – formerly the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado - to rejoin the national governing body, which it left in 1999. Flanked by USAC marketing vice president Sean Petty, Bisceglia said the new USA Cycling “is not a Politburo that pretends to develop five-year plans

U.S. Postal’s Floyd Landis suffered a broken hip in a bike accident Saturday. In a press release issued Monday, the team reported that Landis suffered a complete oblique fracture of the right femoral neck when he went down hard on his bike returning from a workout at his local gym near his home in Murrieta, California on Saturday afternoon. Landis underwent 90 minutes of surgery at Inland Valley Medical Center in nearby Wildomar Saturday evening and had three titanium screws placed in his hip. "I was about 20 minutes from home and returning from the gym," said Landis. "I was riding down

National cyclo-cross championships were held throughout Europe on Sunday. As is usually the case, the most closely watched titles were up for grabs in Belgium and Holland, where Sven Nijs and Richard Groenendaal scored wins in the men’s events and Hilde Quintens and Daphny Van den Brand took the women’s titles.With Belgians taking four of the last five elite men’s world titles, Sunday’s race in Wielsbeke, Belgium, may be an indicator of the finishing order at the world championships in Monopoli, Italy on Febrary 2. Sven Nijs outsprinted fellow escapee Ben Berden, finishing 17 seconds ahead of