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Mapei’s rider Stefano Garzelli strengthened his grip on the overall lead of the Tour of Italy here on Friday when he won the fifth stage of the race as it reached Italy for the first time. Garzelli crossed the line after the ascent of the 14 km final climb, just ahead of Spain's Santiago Perez and now leads Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) by 43 seconds in the overall standings. "Garzelli is setting a steady pace. I was going to attack him today but I decided to climb without taking any risks," said Casagrande. "This year I have trained more on my time trial performance and feel I'm

“I notice that you use work and job interchangeably. Oughten to do that. A job’s what you force yourself to pay attention to for money. With work, you don’t have to force yourself.” - Cal, an engineer, in William Least Heat Moon’s “Blue Highways.” According to a story by Jason Sumner in the May 20 VeloNews, most pro mountain bikers aren’t making any money. Welcome to the club, dudes. I believe the late Ed Abbey defined this sort of edge-dwelling as “voluntary simplicity.” But then he didn’t mind sleeping in the back of his truck. Pro cyclists are not unlike the pro journalists who write

After last year's successful debut, the Housatonic Valley Classic is backthis weekend for year two, and with the First Union cycling series loomingjust two weeks away, all of the top U.S. pro teams will be using Sunday's120-mile Connecticut race as one of the final tune-ups. Although shorterthan last year's edition, this year's race, which begins and ends in Danbury,should be just as difficult, with a little bit more climbing added to thelong hilly circuit in the southwest part of the state.In 2001, Saturn's Trent Klasna claimed the Housatonic victory as partof his red-hot spring campaign.

Italian rider Nicola Chesini (Panaria), who occupied last place in the Giro, was arrested Thursday at the finish of the fifth stage in Limone Piemonte according to police sources. Although his team had no official explanation, the arrest was believed to be related to that of another Panaria rider, Antonio Varriale, 28. Varriale was not participating in the Giro, and had been arrested late Monday night and suspended by his team and provisionally by the Italian federation. Varriale was charged with possession of stolen goods, associating with criminals, and violation of antidoping

Bessette leaves Saturn

Friday's Foaming Rant: The naked truth about jobs vs. work

Hamilton checks over his injuries after the finish.

After a wild and woolly opening four stages, the Giro d’Italia returnedhome Thursday. Riders took a night flight to Cuneo in northwest Italy whilethe caravan drove overnight from France back to home soil. Friday’s 150-kmfifth stage Fassano to Limone Piemonte features the Giro’s first summitfinish, a day that’s sure to reveal who has the legs to fight for the magliarosa.After four flat stages across Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germanyand France, the Giro gets steep with three rated climbs. The first ratedclimb is the Category III Colletto di Rossana at 84 kilometers. It is a2-km climb rising

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a formerU.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bikemantenance. This is the third of Zinn's weekly VeloNews.com column devotedto addressing readers' technical questions about bikes, their care andfeeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficientlyas possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directlyto Zinn. We'll try to print a representative sample of questions eachThursday.First, some follow-up from our last columnA few more reader comments on the creaking bottom bracket

Features: The Italian-made Sci-Con 52 Aerotech bike travelcase is a nylon bag with padded sides and a solid base with four rubbercasters to roll on. It has a two-way zipper around the unpadded ends andtop and two large carry straps around the girth. The rear dropouts clamponto a fixed-position mount with a skewer and a steel guard to protectthe rear derailleur. The front fork mount (two versions are shipped withthe case) slides back and forth to adjust for the wheelbase of the bike.The wheels are strapped to the frame, and three hollow slotted cylindricalfoam pads (pieces of hot-water-pipe

Cyclo-cross ordinarily isn’t in the headlines during May – but USA Cycling has just submitted 18 ’cross races, twice as many as last season, to the UCI for its 2002 International Cyclo-cross Calendar. Top-shelf racing will be on tap from coast to coast this year, with the inaugural Redline Cup series in Washington state, Salt Lake City and Napa, California; the Monkey Hill Cyclo-cross in Wilmington, Delaware; and other races in New Hampshire, Oregon, Maine, Colorado, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Ohio. “The growth of the schedule is testament to the cooperation

Lotto's Robbie McEwen, Australia's national road champion, pipped ace sprinter Mario Cipollini (Acqua e Sapone) to win the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia that finished in Stasbourg, France, on Wednesday. Stefano Garzelli of Mapei, held on to the maglia rosa, the overall leader's pink jersey. McEwan, 29, ranked twentieth in the world, powered past Cipollini in the last few metres after getting the better of the Italian's teammates in the jostling for position. "McEwen got in my slip stream and I carried him to the finish line," moaned Cipollini. The Australian took the stage in a

This weekend, mountain bikers will converge in Madrid for the opening roundof the 2002 World Cup, but one very familiar and competitive face won’tbe there. Cadel Evans walked away from mountain biking last winter to take a chance on the road and so far he has no regrets. Mapei made the 25-year-old Australian an offer he couldn’t refuse: a two-year deal to ride for one of the world’s best road teams. Evans is currently taking part in the Giro d’Italia, where he is first lieutenant to Stefano Garzelli. VeloNews’ Andrew Hood recently sat down with Evans to talk about his adventures so far on

LIVE UPDATES 1:06 p.m. Good morning to our American audience. It's now about two hours into the fourth stage of the 2002 Giro d'Italia. The weather today is pleasant, with clear skies and very little wind. The pace for the opening hour was right around 33kph. There have been a few minor moves off the front, but for now the peloton has been staying together for the most part. It's a long day in the saddle, covering 232km to Strasbourg, the last non-Italian day of this Giro. Tomorrow is a rest and transfer day and the race resumes in Italy on Friday. 1:26 p.m. We are now just about 80km

Joe Friel is author of the successful "Training Bible" series ofbooks, a regular columnist for VeloNews and Inside Triathlonand the founder of www.ultrafit.com.Friel also offers answers to a selection of questions in this weekly column here on VeloNews.com. Readers can send questions to Friel in care of VeloNews.comat WebLetters@7Dogs.com. (Besure to include "Friel" in the subject line.)Q: I have heard a lot of talk over the years of riders consumingor injecting large doses of vitamin B-12.  Is there any added benefitto this vitamin? Also, what kinds of vitamins or supplements can give

Today was another fast a furious ride riddled with crashes toward thefinish. My main objective in the past few days has been to stay far enoughin the front of the mayhem and far enough out of the way of the sprinters.It's a bit of challenge to find that exact spot and to stay there. Butwith the help of my CSC-Tiscali comrades, especially Jimmy Madsen, I wasable to stay out of trouble in stages 3 and 4.Yesterday's weather was manic. It was as if Mother Nature was playinga game with us. We'd go from pouring rain to bright sun. It was like ridingthrough two separate afternoons simultaneously. We

A new dad as of last Friday, McEwen wanted to make his boy proud.

If it's Wednesday, this must be France, no?

Acqua e Sapone's ace sprinter Mario Cipollini earned his 36th stagewin at the Giro d'Italia Wednesday when he took a field sprint at the endof a 206km cross-border run from Verviers in Belgium to Esch sur Alzette, Luxemburg. Mapei's Stefano Garzelli continues to hold the maglia rosa, the race leader's pink jersey. In the race to the line, Cipollini beat Massimo Strazzer (Phonak) and Danilo Hondo (Telekom) to add to a collection of Giro stage wins that began back in 1989. He is now just five victories shy of the all-time record of 41 Giro stage wins held by Alfredo Binda, the great

Here is a map of Stage 3 - courtesy of Giro d'Italia

Live updates:1:23 p.m. Good Morning to our American readers. We are just aboutan hour into today's race, 206km from Verviers in Belgium to Esch sur Alzettein Luxembourg. There were 193 starters this morning after the ColumbianCarlos Contreras (Colombia-Selle Italia) withdrew because of the flu. Theweather should not be much of a factor today since the wind is light andthere is no rain.1:28 p.m.Thus far today, the peloton has stayed relatively intact.There was one Category III climb at kilometer 20. Mariano Piccoli (Lampre-Daikin)took the points on that climb. Just a few minutes ago, at km 30,

Rumors have been flying for months that the Spanish Kelme squad is aboutto implode, a la Mercury-Viatel. The longest standing Spanish teamis months behind paying riders, including top star Oscar Sevillawho is reportedly being wooed by Germany’s Telekom team. The Spanish dailies were buzzing with reports that Telekom -- anxiousfor a replacement for fallen star Jan Ullrich -- is trying to convince Sevilla to swap his lime-green Kelme jersey for a pink Telekom kit comeJuly. Ullrich announced last week he will not start the 2002 Tour de France and Sevilla, Spain’s hottest prospect, is in

The United States Anti-Doping Agency is reviewing the positive drug test of cyclist Duane Dickey of Minnetonka, Minn. Dickey tested positive for a combination of drugs, including nandrolone, at last year's Tour of Guatemala. The USADA Anti-Doping Review Board determined that sufficient evidence of doping exists to continue studying Dickey's case. Dickey tested positive for the prohibited substances phentermine, boldenone and nandrolone at the Tour of Guatemala on Oct. 28, 2001. The UCI conducted the test and referred the case to USADA.

Map of Stage 3 - Giro D'Italia

36 and counting

The lonely road: Streel was on his own for 162km

1:45 p.m. -- Good Morning USA. We are now a bit more than an hour into today's stage, a 209-kilometer race from Cologne in Germany to the home of one of the year's great classics, Liege in Belgium. It is pleasant under sunny skies. There has been no rain forecast and only a very moderate breeze, so the weather shouldn't be much of a factor today. There hasn't been a ton of action yet today, though there have been a couple of breakaway attempts. The first was reeled in fairly quickly and right now Belgian Thierry Marichal, (Lotto-Adecco) is 1:25 ahead of the main field. He's been out there

The final day of the 2002 National Collegiate Cycling Association Championships in Burlington, Vermont on Sunday concluded with the 19-mile team time trial event. In the Division I men’s race, the University of California at Berkeley took the national title with a time of 41:05.260, finishing just 5 seconds ahead the University of California at Davis. In Division I women’s action, the Midwestern State University team had a dominating ride. They came across the line in 47:11.490, more than half a minute ahead of Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo. The bronze went to the University of California at

Telekom’s Erik Zabel continues to lead the world cycling rankings released by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) on Monday: 1. Erik Zabel (G) -- 2538 pts2. Paolo Bettini (I)--2113 3. Erik Dekker (Nl)-- 1770 4. Lance Armstrong (USA)--1731 5. Jan Ullrich (G)--1705 6. Gilberto Simoni (I) -- 1630 7. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) -- 1431 8. Oscar Freire (Spa)-- 1310 9. Francesco Casagrande (I)-- 1255 10. Laurent Jalabert (F) -- 1244 11. Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp)-- 1232 12. Jens Voigt (Ger) 1167 13. Joseba Beloki (Sp)-- 1160 14. Davide Rebellin (I) --1143 15. Danilo Di Luca (I) -- 1063 16. Giuliano

Former Giro winner Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) won the second stage of this year’s Giro D'Italia, finishing in Liege on Monday. Garzelli's win in the 209km ride from Cologne, Germany to Ans, Belgium saw the Mapei rider take the leader's pink jersey. The Italian, winner of the 2000 Giro, won a group sprint to pip Fassa Bortolo’s Francesco Casagrande, who had launched the decisive attack on the final, six-kilometer climb, to the line. The leading group, who all timed 5:25:12 also included Jens Heppner (Telekom), who finished third, Italian Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner ), American Tyler

Tyler Hamilton’s exploits in the Giro d’Italia headline Americans racingin Europe this week. Hamilton is the only American starting in the Giro(yeah, we know, Acqua & Sapone’s Guido Trenti races with American licensebut is Italian) as Telekom’s Kevin Livingston and Bobby Julichwill be racing elsewhere in the coming weeks to get ready for the Tourde France.No American teams are in the Giro. Hamilton’s Giro didn’t start theway he would have hoped. The CSC-Tiscali team captain skidded into barriersin Saturday’s opening prologue, but luckily he wasn’t injured and finished34 seconds off the

After two days of feeling like luck wasn't on my side, things startedto come together a little bit today.I was a bit concerned about being in the right position going into thefinal climb before the finish. Having just competed on the same roads forLiege-Bastogne-Liege three weeks ago, I knew what to expect in the final20 kilometers of the course. But the critical difference today, would bethat the entire field would probably still be together going into the finalstretch.Heading downhill on a four-lane highway with a full peloton of 196 guys,going 100 kilometers per hour definitely tests your

The new leader

There were good crowds in Cologne

Cipo' had just one day to show off his pink zebra shorts

Acqua & Sapone’s Mario Cipollini of won the 218km first stage of the Giro d’Italia between Groningen, the Netherlands, and Munster, Germany on Sunday, taking over the leader’s pink jersey in the process. Cipollini won the final dash for the line from a splinter group that broke away from the main bunch after a mass fall 3km from the finish. Fassa Bortolo's Michele Bartoli, a perennial challenger in the classics, was one of the accident's victims and abandoned the race. Cipollini beat out two Australian cyclists, Graeme Brown (Panaria) and Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Adecco), on the line with

France’s Sylvain Chavanel (Bonjour) took the overall title at the Four Days of Dunkirk while Mapei’s Tom Steels won the sprint finish of the final stage in Dunkirk, France. After taking the overall lead on Saturday, Chavanel survived a day of frequent attacks on Sunday, but in the end the final stage came down to a field sprint, with the young Bonjour rider tucked away safely. In the finale, Steels beat out Domo’s Jans Koerts and Luciano Pagliarini for the stage win. Dunkirk was the first major victory for the 23-year-old Chavanel.

The U.S. team took three more medals at the second round of the World Track Cup in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday. Tammy Thomas took gold in the women’s sprint in an all-American final with Tanya Lindenmuth, while Sarah Hammer beat France’s Cathy Moncassin in the women’s points race. The big upset of the weekend came in the men’s sprint, where Australian Sean Eadie beat out France’s superstar, Arnaud Tournant. Home team Australia took the overall team classification, followed by New Zealand and the U.S.

VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across something in thepages of VeloNews magazine or see something on VeloNews.com thatcauses you to want to write us, dropus a line. Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mail to this address, you are consenting to the publication of your letter. Yeah...what he said! Wahoo! Way to go, Patrick! (see "Friday'sfoaming rant: The Giro d'Cheech and Chong") Couldn’t have said it bettermyself—and believe me, I’ve tried! Let the dogs run, baby, howling and snapping at the heels of Frigo,Pantani, and company. It’s hard

Anne-Caroline Chausson added yet another accomplishment to her amazing resume Sunday, becoming just the fifth woman to sweep the gravity events at a NORBA national. A day after the Frenchwoman won the dual slalom at Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake, California, Chausson captured the season opening downhill, besting second-place finisher Sabrina Jonnier by more than six seconds. In the men’s race it was Aussie Chris Kovarik taking the day. The Intense rider backed up his No. 1 qualifying run, outgunning Maxxis’ John Kirkcaldie by more than two seconds in the final. Chausson

Cipollini winning, a familiar sight

Tyler Hamilton shook off his prologue crash

The Netherlands said good-bye to the Giro

Cipollini traded zebra stripes for pink

Chausson

Kovarik

Spain's Juan Carlos Dominguez of the upstart Phonak team won the prologue of the Giro d’Italia in Groningen, the Netherlands, over a 6.5km course in the northern Dutch town. Dominguez, one of the last starters, finished in 8:12, one second ahead of Lotto’s Rik Verbrugghe and four seconds in front of Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) of Italy to take early control of the coveted pink jersey. It was the 31-year-old time-trial specialist's first stage win in a major race although he has earned stage victories in smaller Spanish events like the Tour of Aragon and Catalan Week. It was a banner day

The U.S. team took three medals on day 2 of the second round of the UCI Track World Cup in Sydney, Australia. The medal haul was led by Tanya Lindenmuth, who took gold in the women’s 500-meter time trial. Meanwhile, Jame Carney took silver behind Dutchman Robert slippens in the men’s scratch race, and Sarah Hammer was second behind New Zealand’s Sarah Ulmer in the women’s scratch race. On day 1, Southern Californian Josiah Ng took silver in the keirin, flying the colors of the Malaysian national team, and 7UP-Nutra Fig pro Greg Henderson of New Zealand took third in the points race behind

Cédric Vasseur (Cofidis) overcame a broken derailleur to win the fifth stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk, between Outreau and Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France. Vasseur chased back to the winning breakaway and then attacked on the final climb of the day to beat out fellow Frenchmen Jean-Cyril Robin (Bonjour) and Laurent Brochard (Jean Delatour) for the stage win. Bonjour’s Sylvain Chavanel finished sixth on the day, good enough to take the leader’s jersey from Ravais Belohvosciks (Lampre-Daikin), who missed out on the break. Canadian Michael Barry (U.S. Postal Service), finished ninth on

Today the Giro d'Italia got underway. Finally. Part of me feels like I've been making the journey to this opportunity since last August. That's when Bjarne Riis and I sat down and started to discuss my objectives for the 2002 season. He mentioned that he thought the Giro d'Italia could be a good race for me. Having been so focused on the Tour de France in previous years, I had never given the Giro serious thought. But I liked the sound of it. And so, preparations got underway. Preparation and focus It's hard to fully describe what goes into getting ready for a grand tour. I think it's

As if the 15 percent grade of Cliff Street wasn't enough for the collegiate competitors on day one of the 2002 National Collegiate Cycling Association Road Nationals in Burlington, Vermont on Friday, there was also the 40 mph wind gusts off Lake Champlain to worry about. Under these conditions, Jeff Angerman (University of California at Davis) and Kate Maher (University of California at Berkley) took home the Division I stars-and-stripes jerseys in the Summit Street Criterium, the first of three stages scheduled for the weekend. In the men’s race, Angerman had his hands full when he found

On a blustery spring morning in the Green Mountains near Burlington, Vermont, more than 500 racers representing 60 Division I and II colleges lined up for day two of the 2002 National Collegiate Cycling Association Road Race. Day one saw racers vying for the national criterium titles in the Summit Street Criterium in Burlington. The road race titles on Saturday would be contested nearby in the Mad River Road Race. At the end of a 65-mile day in the saddle most people would fear a 5-kilometer climb with a 20 percent grade stinger to the finish, but both Darby Thomas (University of Colorado)

The joke floating around Snow Summit Resort on Saturday was that the revamped short track course put the short in short track. Minus last year’s brief trip into woods, the 2002 circuit sent riders straight up a quick climb, into a brief chicane, then back into the village via the twisty sidewalk around the resort’s base area. The result was lap times that barely exceeded a minute for both the men and women, and a relentless pace that saw the majority of each field get pulled long before the race was over. Among those who did survive were Alison Dunlap and Ryder Hesjedal, who both took wins

After nine seasons plus one race, the run of the dual slalom came to an end on the sun-soaked slopes of Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake, California. And unlike the early years when Americans dominated the side-by-side gated event, Saturday’s NORBA NCS No. 1 wins went to Aussie Wade Bootes and Frenchwoman Anne-Caroline Chausson. In the men’s bracket Bootes (Trek-Volkswagen) took down Mike King, Chris Kovarik (Intense), and Kirt Voreis (Haro-Lee Dungarees), earning the third dual slalom win of his career. In the final against Voreis, Bootes dropped the opening heat, but managed to make up

Dominguez

Savoldelli was third

Dominguez was a surprise

The tiger ate the zebra

Florit and Dunlap battle in the short track.

An exhausted Hesjedal aftre his win.

Bootes charges towards victory.

Chausson earned her first slalom victory.

Calmly, the young man allows himself to be inoculated with the strangeseething liquid … “It is working! There’s power surging through those growingmuscles … millions of cells forming at incredible speed!” — “Meet CaptainAmerica,” by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby It’s time once again for the Giro d’Italia, and despite a cast of charactersthat includes more dopers than a Cheech and Chong film festival, it willbe carried live on OLN rather than on Court TV. Marco “Il Pirata” Pantani, Dario “Pretty Boy” Frigo — the list goeson and on like a Brooklyn police blotter, with Pantani as the least

With a second-place finish on the stage 4 individual time trial, Lampre’s Ravais Belohvosciks moved into the overall lead at the Four Days of Dunkirk in France, taking the leader’s pink jersey from Janek Tombak (Cofidis). Friday was a split stage at Dunkirk, with Jean-Patrick Nazon (La Française des Jeux) winning in a sprint over Lampre’s Jan Svorada. Navigators’ Ciaran Power took fifth. The afternoon presented the riders with a flat 23.3km time-trial course, and it was Crédit Agricole’s Christophe Moreau who posted the fastest time of the day, covering the distance in 27:51.64.

For one it was a breakthrough performance. For the other it was just more of the same. But after a long day of racing at NORBA NCS No. 1 at Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake California, Jimena Florit and Roland Green both had impressive cross-country wins to their credit. Friday’s racing opened with the women taking on three laps of the revamped 7.25-mile circuit, and right from the gun Florit (RLX-Polo Sport) looked to have the strongest legs. The Argentinean national who calls San Diego home pulled away from the pack on the first lap, growing her advantage to 58 seconds by the time she

Friday’s foaming rant: The Giro d’Cheech and Chong

The 'Happy Girl' wins.

Vanlandingham refuels

Another Green day.

Madrigal nips Hesjedal.

Giro favorites lining up: Every year pundits invariably say, "This is the most-widen open (fill in race name) ever." Well, the 85th Giro d'Italia might not meet that clichè, but it certainly will be very competitive. A trio of dominant Italians will be fighting for the spoils while a half-dozen outsiders will be trying to spoil the party. The top favorites are Gilberto Simoni (Saeco-Longoni), Stefano Garzelli (Mapei-Quick Step) and Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) and all three enter the Giro with something to prove. The defending champion Simoni wants to win back-to-back Giros

Cofidis’s Janek Tombak pulled on the pink leader’s jersey at the Four Days of Dunkirk in France after winning Thursday’s second stage, 190km from Hellemmes to Steenvorde. Tombak beat Frenchman Didier Rous (Bonjour) for the stage win and took the leader’s jersey away from Patrice Halgand (Jean Delatour). The start of the race saw the ever-present Jacky Durand (La Française des Jeux) initiate an eight-man breakaway that would stay out on the road for the first 50km. That group was absorbed, but countered by Roger Hammond (Palmans-Collstrop) and Roberto Lochowski (EDS-Fakta). That duo would

For the sixth year in a row, and ninth time in 14 years, the NORBA National Championship Series kicks off Friday on the wooded slopes of Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake, California. Day one will feature the men’s and women’s cross country races, with the ladies set to go at 11 a.m., followed by the men at 2 p.m. All the pros will face a revamped 7.25-mile circuit that includes two new hike-a-bike sections and more single track than in years past. The course remains one of the five-race series’ biggest lung-busters. With a starting altitude of 6951 feet above the nearby Pacific Ocean, a

Jean Delaour’s Patrice Halgand won the opening stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk in northern France, taking the 181.6km stage over breakaway companions Janek Tombak (Cofidis) and Linas Balciunas (Ag2R). The trio were part of a lead group of about two dozen riders that formed 75km into the race and included some notable sprinters as well as last year’s Dunkirk winner Didier Rous (Bonjour). The group would finish three-and-a-half minutes over the field, with Mapei’s Andrea Tafi and CSC’s Laurent Jalabert among those missing out. As the race approached the finish in Wasquehal, the attacks

Armstrong recon mission: Lance Armstrong will survey key stages in the 2002 Tour de France in the coming weeks, just as he's done every year since 1999. Armstrong is scheduled to travel in June with U.S. Postal Service directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel and possibly other teammates to examine new climbs and time trial courses in the 2002 route. Bruyneel says this year they've slightly tweaked a strategy that's paid off for the three-time defending Tour de France champion. "We've changed it a little bit from past years," Bruyneel told VeloNews. "We're going to do it later

Former winner Jan Ullrich (Telekom) revealed Wednesday that he has pulled out of this year's Tour de France because of an injury to his right knee, giving Lance Armstrong a huge boost in his bid to win a fourth successive Tour in July. The 28-year-old German, winner of the world's toughest bicycle race in 1997 and reigning Olympic road race champion, has been fighting the injury for some time and feels that he will be unable to regain full fitness in time for the July 6-28 race. "It makes no sense, every time I increase my effort the pain comes back," he revealed on his Web site. It

All the studying is over. Tyler Hamilton is ready for his final exam. Hamilton heads to the Netherlands on Wednesday to begin the three-week journey that he hopes will end June 2 on the final podium in Milan. Hamilton, 31, goes into the Giro d’Italia with big ambitions and even bigger pressure. He left U.S. Postal Service last year after signing a lucrative two-year deal to lead CSC-Tiscali as the team's top GC rider. Just this week, top CSC brass were quoted in Danish newspapers, expressing sponsor frustration over the lack of headline-grabbing results so far this year. Worse for