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"I firmly believe that cyclo-cross is a sport that has a hard core of fans in eight Western European countries. But therefore we must not want to make it a worldwide spectacle." – Hein Verbruggen, the UCI’s Luddite-in-chief, quoted on www.cyclingnews.com I couldn’t agree more. We should leave the worldwide-spectacle thing to Hein, who has been making one of himself for years, with his perverse longing for scratchy wool garments, five-speed friction shifting and shiny steel rims, and keep cyclo-cross where it belongs - in the hands of the deluded little people with their yellow slickers,

Fukushima (center bottom) heads up the day's last climb.

O'Grady got his second TdL win.

Fukushima's face tells the story.

Danielson with team manager Andrzej Bek.

The Telekom Malaysia building.

This long-tailed macaque was one of many seen along Friday's route.

The stage 9 route

The stage 9 profile

Friday’s foaming rant: Our ’cross to bear

Saturn’s plan all along, if it worked, was to have Tom Danielson sporting the yellow jersey come the final day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi. It just wasn’t supposed to happen this early.

A selection of sights from the middle days of the Tour de Langkawi.

Jan Ullrich seems to be taking baby steps in his long road back to the elite levels of racing. Ullrich hasn't raced since last year's Tour of Qatar but won't be able to race until March 23, when his racing ban is lifted from his positive for amphetamines last summer. Ullrich has been training with Rudy Pevenage and Tobias Steinhauser in Tuscany, riding up to four to five hours per day. So far, the German wires report, there's no major pain in his knees, the Achilles heel that brought Ullrich all his problems last year. According to reports, he's not riding very hard,

Danielson is now in yellow.

Brown was untouchable at the finish.

The break that broke at the end.

O'Neill gets cleaned up.

The stage 8 route.

The stage 8 profile.

The bike room at the Garden Hotel in Kuantan.

A small fruit market along the stage 7 route.

A member of the ever-present police force keeps an eye on things.

Kicked out a day earlier for towing on a team car, iTeamNova’s Ronny Assez checks out the South China Sea during a training ride.

Hawker stall with squid for sale.

South Africa’s team car has seen better days.

The unofficial race mascot.

Figuring out the day’s route.

Stuart O’Grady just shrugged his shoulders when asked the last time he’d won a bunch sprint like the one that concluded stage 6 of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi. “I don’t know,” he said after a brief pause. “It’s been a while.” Indeed, until Wednesday, it had been nearly three years since the Credit Agricole rider had broken through with a win like the one he grabbed at the end of the 136.3km run from Marang to Cukai on another scorcher of a day in Malaysia. Before that you had to go all the way back to the third stage of the Midi-Libre in May of 2000.

Several minutes have passed since the conclusion of the second stage of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi, but Stuart O’Grady’s motor is still redlined. Moments ago two ugly crashes in the last kilometer of the stage left at least a dozen riders bumped, bruised or worse. Among them are several of O’Grady’s Credit Agricole teammates. Normally O’Grady isn’t one for drama, but the cause of all this carnage has been placed on one of his competitors, a young ambitious Argentinean who rides for the Italian Ceremiche-Panaria team. “It was the most ridiculous sprinting I’ve ever seen,” O’Grady recalls.

I am training for my first Ironman (Lake Placid 2003) and am concerned about keeping my iron levels high enough to avoid anemia-which I suffered from this fall, but which is now back to normal. I have also been told that I many not be getting enough protein to sufficiently rebuild and recover after workouts. How much iron and protein do women endurance athletes typically need? TP Dear TP - Since you have already had anemia, it is important that you pay close attention to your iron intake and have your blood work monitored fairly regularly. Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient

Italian sprinter Fabio Baldato spoiled the Frenchies' party Wednesday in the opening stage of the five-day Etoile de Besseges in southern France. Alessio rider Baldato covered the 153.5km stage from St. Cannat to Sainte Tulle in 3 hours, 47 minutes and 6 seconds, edging French rider Franck Bouyer (Brioche La Boulangere) and Mickael Skelde (EDS-Fakta) to score the win. The race continues Thursday with a 150km circuit course in Marseille. Galvez scores second victory in Mallorca Challenge Kelme's Isaac Galvez snagged his second victory in Wednesday's mass sprint in the fourth

I was injured in an accident with a driver who pulled out in front of me while I had the “right of way”. I was unable to avoid the car and ran into the driver’s side door breaking my arm. I missed 6 weeks of work and my bike was totaled out. The driver was ticketed for “failing to yield” and his insurance company accepted liability. I received an offer from the insurance company that seems too low to fully compensate me. I discussed this with the adjuster and she agreed that the broken arm was severe, but that I contributed to the accident by not wearing a helmet and that I was therefore

O'Grady, Brown and O'Neill gave the Aussies a big presence on the podium.

The break that almost stuck.

A dejected Green waits for the KoM jersey presentation.

The stage 7 route

The stage 7 profile

O'Grady before his first Tour de Langkawi win.

Baldato

Leaning against the Ceremiche-Panaria team van 20 minutes before the start of stage 5, Graeme Brown was very matter of fact about the first four days of 2003 Tour de Langkawi. Sure the Aussie, who went neck and neck with Mario Cipollini at last year’s Giro, had been beaten in three straight sprints by a younger, brasher foe. But Brown wasn’t ready to concede anything to Mendonca Pagliarini, the 24-year-old Brazilian Lampre rider who’d won three straight sprint finishes here in Malaysia.

A sampling of sights from the last few days at the 2003 Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia.

QuestionI recently purchased an NOS Time/Look carbon fork to put on my '87 Paramount. I am running a 2002 Record triple group and am wondering about the mounting of the front brake caliper on the fork. With the steel fork I was not worried about the washer with the "teeth" on both sides biting into the fork, as that is what it is designed to do. However, with my carbon fork there is no aluminum plate to mount the brake against and I am wondering if it is smart to use this washer? Will it possibly case problems biting into the composite material? If not this washer, then what should I use to

Don’t tell anyone, but I managed to sneak away from the tidal wave that is the VeloNews 2003 Buyer's Guide. We've been building this monster since early December, and with any luck, we'll have it out the door in two weeks (in your hands at the beginning of March). So far, so good I'd have to say. Even if you're not in the market for a new bike, components or accessories (do I see any hands out there?) I'm sure you'll find the numerous interviews with pro riders and their personal racing setups interesting. We even threw-in a few interviews with a handful of bicycle racing's biggest names

The French racing season opened Tuesday with Ludo Dierckxsens (Landbouwkrediet) winning the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, 150km from Gardanne to Aubagne near Marseille. The race was marked by a long breakaway by nine riders that took advantage of favorable winds to build an insurmountable lead that was more than half-an-hour by the finish. In the closing kilometers, Magnus Backstedt (Credit Agricole) attacked, only to be joined by Dierckxsens, who beat the Swede to the line. Most teams who competed on Tuesday will stay on for the 33rd Etoile de Besseges, which enters the Bouches region

Brown upped his Langkawi stage total to three.

Stage 6 route

Stage 6 profile

Australian Nathan O’Neill shows off his tan after another hot day in Malaysia.

The scenery softened the blow of a two-hour transfer between stage 3 and 4.

Two members of the Palmans-Collstrop team catch up on the news of the day.

The thousands of kids that line the race route everyday are one of the Tour de Langkawi’s highlights.

Canada’s Alex Lavellee does the grunt work.

The police motorcycle line-up before the start of stage 4.

Cycling is getting big-time in Malaysia.

Rear wheel puncture on stage 4.

Although it's no monkey from Malaysia, it is a flying squirrel from Colorado

One star continued to shine, while another emerged at the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia on Sunday. For the third straight day Brazilian Mendonca Pagliarini took top honors in a bunch sprint, this time winning the 172.9km stage 4 trip from Gerik to Tanah Merah. But getting equal billing on this day was Canadian mountain biker Roland Green, who showed it didn’t matter whether it was dirt or tarmac when it comes to climbing.

American Fred Rodriguez started his 2003 season off with a strong second-place finish in Sunday’s GP Costa del Etruschi in Italy, finishing just behind winner Jaan Kirsipuu. Several riders broke away in the opening Italian race of the 2003 season, but were brought back for a bunch sprint. Kirsipuu, who typically starts the season strong, edged Rodriguez. The news is good for Rodriguez, who joined Sidermec (formerly Tacconi Sport) in December. Rodriguez is hoping to move up one step this spring following his impressive performance last year when he finished second to Mario Cipollini in

Green grabs his helmet after winning two KoMs.

It's 3-for-3 for Pagliarini.

The peloton heads up the first stage 4 climb.

Stage 5 route

Stage 5 profile

The third day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi lacked the bloody drama of its predecessor, but when the bunch cleared the line in the mining city of Ipoh the result was the same. For the second day in a row Brazilian Mendonca Pagliarini took a sprint-finish win in Malaysia. The pair of victories are the first of the 24-year-old’s 2-year pro cycling career. In the chase for the overall, there was no change at the top, as Saturn’s Nathan O’Neill maintained his 23-second lead over Canadian national team rider Roland Green.

12:38 p.m. - Monopoli Italy -- Welcome to VeloNews.com’s live coverageof the 2003 world elite men’s cyclo-cross championship race in Monopoli,Italy. Earlier today, Holland’s Daphny Van den Brand outsprinted two-timeworld champion Hanka Kupfernagel to take her first rainbow jersey.We are about 2 minutes away from the start of the men’s race and we’llbe offering live coverage throughout the hour-long event. To follow today'saction in the men's race click the link to bring up our new LIVECOVERAGE window and keep track of the race from start to finish.

The question at the post-race press conference might have raised a few eyebrows, but the point was well made. “So, is this becoming a version of the Belgian national championship,” asked the German reporter, "with maybe a few other nations invited to fill out the field?” Newly crowned world cyclo-cross champion Bart Wellens smiled, cast a glance at Mario De Clerq on his left and Erwin Vervecken on his right and shrugged.

It has to be cause for concern when you look around and see you’re off the front of a bike race with only a two-time world champion on your wheel … and Daphny van den Brandt is no different than anyone else. “I was worried,” Van den Brandt said after earning her first world title in the women’s cyclo-cross world championship in Monopoli, Italy on Sunday. “If you have Hanka Kupfernagel with you in a cyclo-cross race, there really is no time you can relax.” Like virtually every other race on the world’s course in Monopoli this weekend, the outcome of the women’s event was decided largely on

Ever wonder how one of the world’s greatest professional athletes handles some of the world’s most ridiculous questioning during a press conference? After the U.S. Postal Team’s official unveiling last week in Solvang, California, Armstrong fielded questions from a roomful of media, including cycling publications, local newspapers, network TV affiliates — and an unidentified older gentleman that floored the room with quite possibly the most preposterous line of questioning Armstrong has ever faced, prompting many in the room to ask, “Who was that guy? Was he for real?” Following are a few

Spanish rider Issac Galvez (Kelme) pulled off a repeat in Sunday’s European season opener, edging double world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) in the Trofeo Mallorca. Galvez, winner of last year’s race, profited from brilliant work by teammate Alejandro Valverde to snag victory in the first race of the 2003 European racing season. Freire, making his debut with Rabobank, crossed the line fourth in the 82km stage in Palma de Mallorca. The International Challenge of Mallorca continues with Monday’s 64km Trofeo Cala Millor, featuring a category-two and a category-four climbs. Results, Trofeo

Pagliarini shines after another win.

O'Neill slipped on the yellow jersey again.

Two of the breakaways tackle the lone climb.

The break was away for most of the race.

One of the race's furry spectators.

Team Canada grabs a spare bike.

Even on the first lap, the first five riders had one thing in common

DeClerq, Wellens, Vervecken... no room for Berden and Nijs

Gullickson - 25th

Page - 37th

Van den Brandt