All Content

Former two-time world junior road champion Nicole Cooke of Great Britain won the biggest event of her young pro career on Sunday: the Amstel Gold Race, fourth round of the 2003 World Cup. The 20-year-old Welsh rider on the Ausra-Safi team – which is affiliated to the Italian Acca Due O squad – bridged up with the Spanish rider Teodora Ruano of Prato-Marathon to solo leader Oenone Wood of Australia, who went clear on the Keutenberg with 11km to go. The three joined forces on the descent of the Sibbergrubbe with 4km to go, then Cooke attacked on the finishing climb, the Cauberg. “We could

With 5km remaining, Vinkourov gambles all... and wins.

Armstrong and Boogered

Sacchi leads

Casagrande attacks

Rubiera was in the first break

On the Cauberg

The peloton was together for much of the day

Vino's Victory

Celebration

The podium

Cooke gets her first big win

Dear Editor;I hope you can help me out. On Wednesday, April 16, I was involved in a hit-and-run while riding my road bike. The accident took place on Cherryvale Road, near Boulder, Colorado, as it crosses over Route 36. Here is a summary (from a letter of thanks I wrote to Bell Helmets) of what happened:Ths is just a short note to say thanks to all the designers and engineers at Bell Sports. Two days ago, I was struck from behind while riding my road bike. According to an eye witness, the initial impact sent me backwards onto the hood of the car, where my head, encased in a Bell Ghisallo

Fassa Bortolo's Alessandro Petacchi won his second stage of this year's Tour of Aragon, easily taking the bunch sprint in Saturday's 168km fourth stage from La Muela to Borja. Petacchi pushed Spanish rider Angel Edo (Milaneza-MSS) into second place for the third straight day. iBanesto.com's Leonardo Piepoli finished safely in the main bunch to retain the overall lead going into Sunday's finale. The defending champion will only have to worry about strong winds that could cut up the main bunch, because otherwise the final stage presents little challenge to his hold on the lead. Sunday's 149km

The Amstel Gold Race is Lance Armstrong’s favorite spring classic, and he would dearly like to win the Dutch event’s 38th edition on Sunday. He has twice finished second, in 1999 and 2001, and last year came in fourth after triggering the winning breakaway with Dutchman Michael Boogerd. In each of the four years that he has won the Tour de France, Armstrong has tested his late-spring form at the Amstel Gold Race. This year is no exception, and perhaps he has his best chance yet of taking the victory. For the first time, the finish will no longer be on the flats, but near the summit of the

Until recently, the Superdrome in Frisco, Texas, wasn’t really looking all that super. When the 250-meter EDS Superdrome opened in 1998, it was deservedly touted as one of the best outdoor velodromes in the country, if not the world. Financed in large part by the information technology firm, the track featured an impressive collection of hi-tech equipment, including a huge score and video board and on-site, computerized physiology training facilities. But with a new CEO and the bursting of the hi-tech bubble, EDS’s interest in cycling began to wane. Troubles were then exacerbated when the

Had a couple of friends over for a little spring barbecue the othernight and one of them showed up with a box full of Ding Dongs and a six-packof Miller Lite in plastic bottles. Nice to know there are still some goodpeople left in the world. Two weeks ago I wrote about hot dogs, baseball, bike racing and food.Now I’m off to the Tour de Georgia in search of some good finish-line foodin Savannah, Macon, Columbus, Rome and Gainesville, although I have a feelingI’m going to be itching to head to Athens by Saturday night for some finecurb-side dining at Athens Twilight. If anybody has any

Kelme’s Alejandro Valverde just keeps on winning races. The 22-year-old Kelme rider, already a winner at the Mallorca Challenge, a stage at Pais Vasco and the Clasica Primavera, won his fourth race of the spring in Friday’s third stage of the Tour of Aragon. “Everything’s been going well and I’m hitting my strongest form right now, so I have to take advantage of it,” said Valverde, who jumped with 200 meters to go to beat Angel Edo (Milanezz-MSS). iBanesto.com’s Leonardo Piepoli finished sixth in the fast, climbing finish into Illueca to retain the overall lead. Mikel Astarloza (Ag2r)

They’ll never forget you ’til somebody new comes along. – The Eagles, “New Kid in Town” There’s a new kid in town this month - the Dodge Tour de Georgia, a prologue and five stages. According to the official web site, it starts in Savannah and ends in Atlanta, traversing “the rolling hills of central Georgia and the state’s rugged northern mountains … a beautiful and ever-changing landscape for the cyclists as they do battle in breathtaking sprints and grueling climbs.” Sounds great. New races are great. In the Land of Golden Arches, where NASCAR is king, all bicycle races are great, even

I’m working on my tan. Oh, man. Working on my tan.– Tim Curry, “Working On My Tan” Colorado just sprinted past spring and plowed straight into summer,like Tom Boonen center-punching a finish-line photographer. This wouldbe a marvelous thing indeed, were it not for this pigmentation problemI seem to have developed over the winter. Where does this unearthly skin tone come from, this Day-Glo, über-ofayeggshell white, a pallor one might expect in the time-machine love childof a Wellsian Morlock and Bruce Willis in “Twelve Monkeys?” If a guy had something like an actual springtime to work with,

Off with the old! Volunteers remove boards on the backstretch of the Superdrome in Frisco. The first step in renovations is to remove over 700 old boards from the framework.

Ryan Crissey hangs on corner 2 to remove old boards at the Superdrome. The corners of the velodrome are banked at 45 degrees, making a climbing harness a necessity.

Father and son volunteers drill out the screws holding old boards at the start of the homestretch. More than 15,000 screws hold the boards to the metal framework.

Work continues in corner 3 to remove the old boards. After boards are removed the steel frame must be sanded and repainted to prevent future rust.

Volunteers pry off the top level of boards from the north end of the Superdrome. The step banking makes it a quick job to slide the removed boards off the frame.

Looking down the homestretch at corners 3 and 4, a new coat of anti-rust paint has been applied to the exposed metal frame. Additional cross supports must be added to hold the new, smaller boards.

Half of the new boards sit outside the Superdrome in Frisco waiting to be installed by volunteers who have traveled from as far away as Tulsa, Oklahoma to help.

Progress! The first section of new surface is installed.

Notes from the road: The Breakfast of Champions!

Bisbee was a new kid once, too

Dog breath* Blinded by the white

Add two-time Olympic champion Paolo Pezzo to the growing list of riderswho are setting their sites on the first-ever mountain-biking marathonworld championship. And don’t be surprised if Pezzo follows that with arun at a third Olympic title in the summer of 2004. According to Gary Fisher’s Dean Gore, while Pezzo will not be “an officialmember of the Subaru-Fisher team” this season, she will be “structuringher own European-based program that will focus on European Grand Fondosand marathon events, with the new UCI sanctioned marathon world championshipsdate highlighted on her calendar.”

Angel Casero won the 2001 Vuelta a España, but suffered through injuries and poor form in 2002. The proud Spanish rider is committed to returning to top form in the 2003 season and vows to challenge for the Tour de France podium. Despite problems at his Team Coast, Casero said he’s confident the team will be shining at the season’s major races. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with Casero earlier this season. Here are excerpts from the interview: VeloNews: What are your sensations now that Coast is assured of going to the Tour de France and facing Lance Armstrong?

Hello Bob,At what point does a Canadian athlete need to pursue an American visato compete in the USA? If one receives a small stipend from a company,does that mean they are "working" in the U.S.? What are the tax laws surrounding winning prize money? It seems some athletes have been having problems with crossing the U.S.border as border agents seem to think they need visas, and I was wonderingif you could clarify who needs a visa, and who doesn't. -- M.M. Dear MM;I am assuming that you are a Canadian citizen. The United States Codeprovides for two categories of entrants into the United

Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi easily won Thursday’s second stage of the Tour of Aragon in Spain, scoring his fourth win of the season. Leonardo Piepoli (iBanesto.com) safely finished in the front group to retain the overall lead in the five-day stage-race in northern Spain. Scores of riders tried to escape in the final 20km coming into Sabinanigo, but Banesto, Fassa and Euskaltel worked to keep things together. Petacchi had a nice set-up and bolted across the line with both arms in full victory salute a full bike length ahead of Angel Edo (Milaneza-MSS). Petacchi safely negotiated the

I’m a curious person. I raced my bike quite successfully after my two kids went to kindergarten and I no longer had to hire a sitter just so I could sneak out and train. Women in the peloton are always amazed to find out that I have a white-collar high stress day job, two special needs boys, and still manage to get by as a Cat. 2. But I know I’m hardly alone. On the podium of a mountain bike race a couple years ago the woman in third place tried to say something smug to my friend and I who were first and second. “Well I have to go home now to my husband, job, and 3 kids.” We laughed. As if!

Maps and such

Paola wants another?

Sheppard offers an opinion

New pedals

A conversation with Angel Casero

Petacchi

Kids! They can make you stronger... and happier.

Amstel Image Files

Amstel Image Files

I gotta start hanging out at DIA (Denver International Airport) more often. This past Wednesday, I'm on my way to the Sea Otter with our photo editor, Galen Nathanson, when who other than "Charlie Hustle" Pete Rose rolls up to the first class counter. Picture this: an aging overweight white fella wearing a pair of the goldest pair of Dolce Y Gabana shades (complete with gold grandma "safety" chain), a honest-to-goodness man-blouse, a pair of overly tight-fitting black chinos and topping off the whole kit with a pair of the fruitiest pointed boots you've ever done seen. Galen and I were

Leonardo Piepoli won his first race of the 2003 season, attacking with 1km to go to drop Saeco’s Gilberto Simoni and take the lead of the Tour of Aragon in Wednesday’s first stage. Piepoli jumped with 3km to go in Wednesday’s 154km stage from Huesca to the Category 1 summit finish at Cerler, a ski station high in the Spanish Pyrenees. Simoni and Coast’s Manuel Beltran followed, but the defending champion was too strong. Simoni hung on until the final kilometer when Piepoli put on the after-burners to roll across the line with his finger pointing to the skies. Simoni isn’t the only big name

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so this week I thought I’d put that theory to the test and quickly crank out a ten-thousand-plus word photo album from the two weeks I spent in California, covering the ins and outs of the Redlands and Sea Otter stage races. There was, no doubt, plenty of racing to see and report, but seeing as the results are, by now, old news and real race photos best left to the professionals (Casey B. Gibson, this means you.). Instead, I thought I’d try to give readers a glimpse behind the scenes.

Dear Monique;What's the deal with muscle cramps? I'm suddenly getting them in my calves after about an hour or two of riding. Is it simply a matter of hydration or is electrolyte balance more important? I usually only drink water on rides and take gels for energy. I didn't get cramps in the early season when the rides were just as long (though maybe not as hard). By the way, thanks for taking time to answer readers' questions. I know you can't get to all of them, but it is very cool of you to take time out to do this for all of us who love cycling. Have a great one,Eric Hi EricSorry to

Michele Ferrari, the Italian doctor formerly attached to the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) who is alleged to have assisted an array of top athletes with detailed doping programs, took the stand in his own defense at his trial in Bologna, Italy on Wednesday. Ferrari, the physician and trainer for four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, said he had never prescribed any banned substances. "I've never prescribed illicit substances because I know that doping, in other words the use of substances to improve performance, is a boomerang which will simply return to damage the athletes

Professional riders will probably be forced to wear helmets during races no later than the start of the Giro d’Italia, UCI president Hein Verbruggen said Wednesday. Verbruggen said he hoped the plans, prompted by the death of Kazakh rider Andrei Kivilev (see “ Kivilev mourned at Paris-Nice”), would be put in place before the Giro's May 10 start date. "It is our intention to establish this new rule prior to the start of the Tour of Italy," Verbruggen said in a letter Wednesday to former rider Francesco Moser, the president of the professional cyclists' association (CPA). “And we will await

Charlie Hustle, AKA Pete Rose

Motocross technology for your slalom bike

Sea Otter Hustle

Litespeed goes lightweight freeride

...and so does Intense

One cool cat

Sevilla made his first appearance of the season

2001 world cross-country champ Alison Dunlap (Luna Women’s MTB Team) ponies up to the start line at the stage 4 downtown Redlands criterium

Charles Dionne, winner of the San Francisco Grand prix last year, shows off his new scar — the result of a crash at the Tour de Langkawi — that required 47 stitches.

“Hey, you gotta earn those stripes!” A cold Eric Wallace, manager of the Trek-VW MTB team, sporting part-time roadie Roland Green’s world champion jacket atop the Redlands stage 2 Oak Glen summit.

Genevieve Jeanson (RONA-Esker) takes in a bundled up moment of solitude while awaiting the Oak Glen stage ceremonies.

Getting Primed: Alex Candelario and Michael Creed caffeinate in preparation of the Sea Otter’s ill-fated stage 1 Redwood City circuit race.

Class clown: As the peloton waits for a decision regarding the dangerous course, Chann McRae, Floyd Landis and Phil Zajicek listen as Dave Zabriskie suggests the peloton let him break away for a solo win.

Private Party: On top again, the Saturn trio of Chris Horner, Tom Danielson, and Nathan O'Neill swept the Sea Otter’s time trial.

Warming it up: Michael and Dede Barry and Jonathon Vaughters chat before the final stage’s 100-mile road race.

Taking the good with the bad, second-place overall Tom Danielson manages a smile after crashing on the wet Laguna Seca raceway, just one-mile from the finish on the final stage.

Matt Decanio, left, and Michael Creed of Prime Alliance soak in some of the glory after winning the Sea Otter’s last two stages.

McEwen last year

Ferrari

The Union Cycliste Internationale has given former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich the all clear to return to competition in the Tour of Aragon in Spain on Wednesday. The 1997 Tour champion received the news he had been waiting on from the UCI, which had refused to allow him to take part until Team Coast deposited a bank guarantee to cover the salaries of Ullrich and other riders on the squad. Coast spokesman Marcel Wüst said he was elated by the news. "I've had a SMS (mobile phone text message) from Jan Ullrich's manager, Wolfgang Strohband,” Wüst told the French wire service AFP. “It's

Dear Lennard Zinn,I have a Chorus Ti seat post (less than a year old) and Flite Gel saddlewith Ti rails. I cannot get the saddle to stay in the right place; it keepsslipping back and has to be reset every couple of days. I screw the boltas tight as I dare and keep the saddle rails and clamp grease free (withgrease it slips back in about 5 minutes). Previously I had the Daytonapost on the bike and did not have this problem (same saddle), but the clamplooks the same. --Peter Dear Peter,Check to see if there is some sort of obstruction that is preventingthe top of the clamp from moving

The man from Telekom is still No.1

Ullrich at last week's Circuit de la Sarthe

Shimagnolo derailleur adapter

Things have been looking up for our team since my last update from GP Flandres Francais. The majority of the riders have been in Belgium for about a month and we are starting to find some form. Likewise the firepower in the house continues to grow as Austin King and Corey Steinbrecher will be joining us this week. But first for some cultural insight. Normally. Normally Belgians have a problem with the meaning of the word “normally”. We would say, “Normally it rains in Belgium”. However, the Belgian translation is: “Hopefully, it will rain in Belgium,” but sometimes it can mean “Probably, it

Johan Museeuw said Sunday's Paris-Roubaix was his last. The Lion of Flanders struggled through his 16th Paris-Roubaix as a professional and said he would not race again on the cobbles of northern France. "As a racer, I will never enter the Roubaix velodrome again hoping to win the Paris-Roubaix. I will be back for other reasons, but this is the last time I will race," said Museeuw told the Belgian press after finishing a lack-luster 33rd at 4:33 back. Museeuw flatted on the cobbled section at Hornaing with 81km to go and the gap opened up to just over 1 minute and it was obvious Museeuw