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Paolinetti calculates his chances

11:30 a.m. Good morning. Welcome to VeloNews.com’s coverage ofthe 2002 edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. For the first timeduring this year’s Ardennes classics, the weather is cooperating and 197starters left Liege under sunny and windless skies today… just about90 minutes ago. One race note for those of you checking out the startlist we've posted. The U.S. Postal team has made a last-minute changein their roster. Number 105 Floyd Landis is on his way home after findinghis recovery from crashes in Paris-Roubaix a little harder than expected.The roster now shows that 109 - David Zabriskie has

It seems the Italians have gotten it together. With a savvy one-two punch by Paolo Bettini and Stefano Garzelli of the Mapei-Quick Step machine at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, Italy, which struggled slightly in the World Cup and one-day classics last year, made a smashing return to the top on the back of the 5-foot 6-inch Italian powerhouse. Inspired by the Italian flags flying in Saint-Nicolas, a tough Italian-flavored neighborhood overlooking the ancient city of Liège, Bettini put the icing on the cake, joining his teammate Garzelli in an attack with less than 10km to go in the 258.5km

It was a tough morning for the American sprinters on the final day of racing at track World Cup No. 1 in Monterrey, Mexico. All three of the U.S. riders – Jeff LaBauve, Tanya Lindenmuth and Tammy Thomas – were beaten 2-0 in the best of three semifinal round, meaning bronze is the best they can now hope for. On the men’s side, LaBauve fell to German Rene Wollf, the event’s top qualifier. The Texan will now face Matthias John in Sunday evening’s bronze medal match. John (Germany) was also swept out of the semis, losing two straight to Cuba’s Julio Herrera. “The legs were felling a little

Regina Schleicher (Michela Fanini) upset Petra Rossner (Saturn) in the fifth stop of the women’s World Cup when Schleicher out-muscled the favored Rossner on a steep finish of 115-km race in Valladolid, Spain, Sunday. Rossner, however, finished ahead of third-place Mirjam Melchers (Farm Frites) to regain the overall World Cup lead she lost last week at Fleche Wallone. “I really wanted to win today but Regina was just stronger than me. We were so close over the final 100 meters but I just couldn’t get past her,” Rossner said. “Of course I wanted to win, but she was stronger. My team did

As she lay on the bed in the medical tent overcome by exhaustion, Belem Guerrero said she’d never been so tired in her life. The blistering heat of the midday Mexico sun and the sizzling pace of the women’s points race had taken their toll. But it was a price Guerrero would gladly pay again, as the reward was a gold medal earned in front of her home-country fans on the final day of track World Cup No. 1 in Monterrey, Mexico. Guerrero nipped China’s Limei Yang 16 points to 13 in a race that wasn’t decided until the last of the 75 laps around the 333-meter concrete Nuevo Leon Velodromo on

1892 HOUA (Bel) Amateur1893 HOUA (Bel) Amateur1894 HOUA (Bel) Amateur  [The route was Liège- Bastogne - Spa]1898 TROUSSELIER (Fra) Amateur1899 FASTRE (Bel) Amateur1911 VAN DAELE (Bel) Independent LEKEUX (Bel) Amateur1912 VERSCHOORE (Bel) ROSSIUS & GAUTHY (Bel) Independent1913 MORITZ (Bel) Independent1919 DEVOS (Bel)1920 SCIEUR (Bel)1921 MOTTIAT (Bel)1922 MOTTIAT (Bel)1923 VERMANDEL (Bel)1924 VERMANDEL (Bel)1925 RONSSE (Bel) Independent1926 SMETS (Bel) Independent1927 RAES (Bel) Independent1928 MOTTARD (Bel) Independent1929 SCHEPERS (Bel) Independent1930 BUSE (Ger)1931 SCHEPERS (Bel)1932

Rossner, Schleicher, Melchers

At the start

One-two Mapei

Reason for concern: Bettini and Garzelli were in the day's most dangerous break.

Salanson and Kloden were off for more than 200km

Heavy traffic: the scene on the Cote St. Roche

Fast times in Little Italy: Garzelli and Bettini thrilled a partisan crowd

Belem shows off her two medals from Monterrey.

Arnaud Tournant

Josiah Ng

Thomas leads Lindenmuth in the 3-4 sprint final.

Mirabella

Pearce and Carney take on the Madison

Lance Armstrong arrived in Liège, Belgium, Saturday afternoon as one of 10 Americans scheduled to race cycling’s oldest classic, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, on Sunday. Armstrong was whisked into the Palace des Princes Evêques, a giant stone structure in central Liège just in time to join his teammates at the presentation ceremony on the eve of the 88th edition of the demanding 258km race. Armstrong, who has twice finished second at Liège (1994, ’96), has marked this event, also round 4 of the UCI World Cup series, as one he’s been gunning for this year. A large crowd was packed into a tent

Start List for Liege-Bastogne-Liege - As of Friday at 4:00 p.m.DOMO - FARM FRITES001 - MUSEEUW Johan (B);002 - BRUYLANDTS Dave (B);003 - DE WOLF Steve (B);004 - KASHECHKIN Andrey (Kz);005 - KONECNY Tomas (Cz);006 - MERCKX Axel (B);007 - RODRIGUEZ Fred (USA);008 - TANKINK Bram (Nl);LOTTO - ADECCO011 - AERTS Mario (B);012 - BAGUET Serge (B);013 - BRANDT Christophe (B);014 - DETILLOUX Christophe (B);015 - MIKHAILOV Guennadi (Rus);016 - VAN LANCKER Kurt (B);017 - VAN PETEGEM Peter (B);018 - VERBRUGGHE Rik (B);MAPEI - QUICK STEP021 - FREIRE Oscar (Sp);022 - BETTINI Paolo (I);023

Americans Tanya Lindenmuth, Tammy Thomas and Jeff LaBauve all took care of business Saturday morning, moving out of the qualifying rounds of the match sprint. Also getting through was San Diego resident Josiah Ng (Malaysia), who has already won a bronze medal in the keirin here at the opening round of the UCI track World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico. On the men’s side, LaBauve was the fourth fastest qualifier, posting a 10.779 on the 333.33-meter concrete track at the Nuevo Leon Velodromo. Germany’s Rene Wollf was the fastest man in the morning, clocking a 10.593. Fellow German Mathias John

Saturday night marked the debut of the scratch race at the World Cup level and it’s safe to say Erin Mirabella likes the new addition. The blonde Californian slipped away from the field on the final lap of the 30-lap affair, then held off the late charge of Canadian Mandy Poitras to land the first gold medal for the U.S. at the three-day event in Monterrey, Mexico. “I had an opening and I just went for it,” said Mirabella of her winning move. “I knew there were some strong sprinters in the field, so I didn’t want to take any chances.” It’s the second World Cup win for Mirabella. She won the

Merckx, aggressive in Wednesday's Fleche Wallonne, drew the biggest cheers in Liège Saturday.

Casagrande is one of the Italians favored to be in the mix at the end of the 258km L-B-L.....

... Pantani is not.

Carney

Belarus powered to a team pursuit win

Lindenmuth

Josiah Ng: a diamond in the rough?

It’s been six years since Lance Armstrong last rode Liège-Bastogne-Liège, in the days when he was a little heavier and focused on the one-day classics instead of the three-week Tour. Liège-Bastogne-Liège was then his favorite event, and he delighted in the Belgian race’s frequent climbs and its challenging distance. In 1994, Armstrong placed second, trapped in a Gewiss team sandwich between winner Eugeni Berzin and third-placed Giorgio Furlan. The following year, the Texan came in sixth, after dropping off the winning break on the last hill. And in 1996, he was outfoxed in a three-up sprint

An appeal by Belgian rider Franck Vandenbroucke was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday leaving the disgraced former Domo team rider with a six-month ban from cycling and few options ahead of him. Vandenbroucke was banned by the Belgian cycling federation and sanctioned 10,000 Swiss francs ($6000) after police discovered banned products, including EPO (erythropoietin), anabolic steroid clenbuterol and morphine, at his home following a raid in February. The raid came a day after his French physiotherapist Bernard Sainz, known ominously in the

Judging by the staggering popularity of our new online letters page, many of you have questions about the direction VeloNews is taking, especially since the debut of this “Friday’s Foaming Rant” column. “What the hell do you idiots think you’re doing?” is a frequent query, and one that is easily answered. We don’t know. I’m not kidding. We’re making it up as we go along, just like USA Cycling, except we’re still involved to some degree with bicycle racing. With the Euro’ peloton cranking out more positive dope tests than Robert Downey Jr., and the UCI’s off-road World Cup down to a single

Europe seems to be treating the Navigators very well indeed. The teamreports its heading back to the Continent following its recent trip, when the team won two races and several other podium finishes and numerous top-10 finishes. The team reports after a quick trip home, the Navigators willhead back to Europe for five races during a two-week period. Theculmination of the racing junket will be the Four Days of Dunkirk, oneof the top spring races in France. The team will resume its domestic racing schedule on May 19th with the Housatonic Classic in Danbury,Conn.Here are the events added to the

On a warm, hazy Friday morning, competition got underway in round 1 of the UCI track World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico. Among the early success stories were Americans Tanya Lindenmuth and Erin Mirabella, who both earned the top spots in their respective qualifying rounds. Mirabella posted a 3:46.776 in the 3km individual time trial qualifier, easily besting Colombia’s Luisa Calle, and finishing ahead of second-place qualifier Emma Davies (Great Britain). Mirabella will face Davies in Friday evening’s final. Meanwhile, Lindenmuth won her keirin heat with a time of 12.618, moving her into the

It’s called the World Class Performance Program, and it’s a name that was well deserved after the first day of racing at the opening track World Cup of the 2002 season in Monterrey, Mexico on Friday. Great Britain’s Paul Manning and Emma Davies each earned gold medals in the individual pursuit, proving at least for a day that the WCPP — the UK’s competitive cycling program — is in fact world class. After placing second in the qualifying round, Manning outgunned Spain’s Sergi Escobar (Spain) 4:31.629 to 4:32.269 to win the first World Cup of his career. Switzerland’s Franco Marvulli earned

Friday’s foaming rant: You can’t get there from here

Sergi Escobar

Erin Mirabella

Mike Tillman

LIÈGE -BASTOGNE-LIÈGE: An epic in the offing?

Lopes and the 3-man sprint squad

Jamie Staff

Manning

Arnaud Tournant

Editor's note: Michael Scherer is an American who has been living and racing in Oostende, Belgium, for the past month. Originally from Casper, Wyoming, Scherer spent last season riding for Prime Alliance while living in Boulder, Colorado. He moved to Belgium this year to take the next step and "to prove that I have what it takes to be a bike racer." Scherer will be sending back regular updates throughout the season. This past weekend my ABC-Aitos teammates and I raced the G.P. de La Ville de Nogent Sur Oise, a UCI 1.6 race in France. The race organizers took exceptional care of us, yet

There´s still an awful lot going on in Europe, and we´re noteven talking about the Belgian Classics here.First off, Lance Armstrong will test his form at the 54th DauphineLibere, June 9-16, according to race organizers in France. Armstrong alreadyconfirmed he will race at Midi Libre as he hones his form for a run ata fourth straight Tour de France. Also expected to start among 14 teamsare Christophe Moreau, last year´s winning now racing withCredit Agricole, and Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali).The race features a climb up Mont Ventoux, which will be part of thisyear´s Tour. "We have made

The 2002 track World Cup season kicks off in Monterrey, Mexico, Friday, with preliminary and final-round competition in the individual pursuit, keirin, 30km points race and Olympic sprint. The U.S. — with its 12-rider delegation — is among 23 countries that have sent teams to Mexico’s third largest city in the northeastern state of Nuevo León. Monterrey is also one of Mexico’s biggest industrial centers and one of its most Americanized regions. The racing venue — known as Velodromo Nuevo León — is a 333-meter outdoor concrete track located next door to two of the city’s other major sports

News from the gutter: An American in Europe

Final touches are made at the Velodromo.

The Mexican team gets in some practice.

Monterrey at sunset.

11:15 a.m. Charleroi, Belgium Good Morning.We are just about readyfor the full start of this year's edition of Fleche Wallonne. Thepeloton -- 192riders from 25 teams -- is making its way through the neutral startin Charleroi to the edge of town and then on to Huy where they will docover two loops -- a large figure 8-- around that town. All for atotal of 198km. The weather is nice -- about 9 degrees Centigrade -- and thus far thereis no wind. This is a nice contrast to the weather on Sunday for Paris-Roubaix. The Women's race -- a World Cup event -- will begin in about anhour, covering

EDILSAVINO001 -LUPERINI Fabiana (I);002 -BOUBNENKOVA Svetlana (Rus);003 -CHUZHYNOVA Iryna (Ukr);004 -KHODTCHENKOVA Marina (Rus);005 -PARENTE Simona (I);006 -VERONESI Daniela (SMR);SATURN CYCLING TEAM011 -ARNDT Judith (G);012 -BESSETTE Lyne (Can);013 -BRUCKNER Kimberly (USA);014 -MARSAL Catherine (F);015 -PHILLIPS Jessica (USA);016 -ROSSNER Petra (G);ACCA DUE021 -POLIKEVICIUTE Rasa (Lit);022 -BELTMAN Chantal (Nl);023 -BRÄNDLI Nicole (Swi);024 -CANTELE Noemi (I);021 -POLIKEVICIUTE Rasa (Lit);026 -ZILIUTE Diana (Lit);VLAANDEREN - T-INTERIM LADIES031 -LJUNGSKOG Susanne (S);032 -PIETERS Cindy

At first it’s odd not to see Tyler Hamilton in the blue and white uniform of U.S. Postal Service. The 31-year-old had spent his entire career with the team since turning pro in 1995. But Hamilton finally had the chance to ride for himself when CSC-Tiscali came calling last year with a two-year deal to lead the team through 2003. The team was looking for a rider to complement Laurent Jalabert in the grand tours. More specifically, they were looking for someone to ride for GC. It was a perfect fit for both CSC-Tiscali and Hamilton. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with

Italian cyclist Marco Pantani has been summoned to appear before the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) anti-doping panel in one week, a CONI spokesman announced Wednesday. Pantani will be called to account for evidence seized by Florence prosecutors during last year's police raids on the San Remo hotel rooms of teams competing in the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) - the documents pertaining to the case have since been transmitted to CONI. Pantani, dubbed 'il pirata' (the pirate), remains hugely popular in Italy after winning the 1998 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France

When the final selection of riders hit the base of the Mur de Huyfor the third time and final time in the 66th edition of the Fleche Wallonneon Wednesday, the Belgian fans, tipping back beers and basking in the hazyspring sunshine, saw decent odds. After 197km of racing, including twoprevious trips over the steep, snaking Mur climb, the trademark obstacleof this Belgian spring race, it had come down to an impressive group ofsurvivors. Two were Belgian. First, there was Axel Merckx. Approaching the base of the climb, whichhas pitches surpassing 20 percent in places, Merckx attacked. A roar

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.com at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.(Be sure to include "Friel" in the subject line.)Question - My name is Juan and I'm a fan of your web site. I'm amountain and a road biker. I really love the bikes. For that reason I tryto do my best when I'm training, so please I want (if you can do it)

Hamilton on the attack

New uniform, new responsibilities

Aerts survives the Mur to take Fleche

Luperini earns her third win at Fleche'

Heppner and Zulle try their luck

Cheering on the home team.

Meet The Press

Up the Mur de Huy

Aerts supporters

Training Bible Studies with Joe Friel

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC),the U.S. distributor of LOOK cycling products, Veltec Sports, Inc. of SandCity, California, is voluntarily recalling LOOK Ergopost 3 bicycle seatposts.  One Hundred Twenty Four (124) of these products were soldin the United States.  No injuries have been reported, but Veltechas received reports that the aluminum crown of the seatpost can fail asa result of metal fatigue, which may cause the bicycle seat to dislodgeand result in a rider losing control or falling.  This recall is beingconducted to prevent the possibility of

CSC-Tiscali captain Laurent Jalabert is expected to return to racing in late April for the first time since he abandoned Milan-San Remo witha virus.Jalabert, who won a stage and finished third overall at Paris-Nice,will also race at GP Midi Libre, May 22-26. Lance Armstrong confirmedhe will start the race as well as part of preparations for a run at a fourthconsecutive Tour de France. It will be Armstrong's debut at Midi Libreand continues his efforts this season to add variety to his pre-Tour racingschedule.The stages:May 22: Salses-le-Chateau-CarcassoneMay 23:

Tune in Wednesday morning for live updates throughout 198km classic, Fleche-Wallonne.Men's Start list (as of 9:00 p.m. Tuesday)LOTTO - ADECCO001 - VERBRUGGHE Rik (B)002 - AERTS Mario (B)003 - BAGUET Serge (B)004 - BRANDT Christophe (B)005 - DETILLOUX Christophe (B)006 - MIKHAILOV Guennadi (Rus)007 - VAN DE WOUWER Kurt (B)008 - VAN LANCKER Kurt (B)MAPEI - QUICK STEP011 - FREIRE Oscar (Sp)012 - BETTINI Paolo (I)014 - DE WAELE Fabien (B)015 - EVANS Cadel (Aus)016 - NOE Andrea (I)017 - PAOLINI Luca (I)020 - FORNACIARI Paolo (I)COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE021 - KIVILEV Andrei (Kz)022 - CUESTA

The Belgian Classics continue to dominate European cycling this week, withthe semi-Classic Fleche Wallone on Wednesday and Liege-Bastogne-Liege onSunday.Johan Museeuw's dramatic victory Sunday at Paris-Roubaix wasthe biggest news on this side of the pond. The Lion of Flanders is oneof Europe's biggest stars and the race was broadcast live throughout thecontinent.This week's other highlight is the Vuelta Ciclista a Aragon in Spain.The U.S. Postal Service will be among the 16 teams starting Wednesday.In other racing, ibanesto.com's Aitor Osa won the Vuelta al PaisVasco in Spain

The failure of organizers to set up a drug testing facility at the end of the Paris-Roubaix classic race was condemned as "unacceptable" by the French sports ministry on Monday. Worryingly for a sport that has been dogged by drug controversies, it was revealed that the absence of the facility was due to local medical staff believing the event was a cross-country race and not a prestigious round of the World Cup. Although the race was organized by the company which runs the Tour de France and the French cycling federation, the responsibility for dope testing was with the regional

Got results? Send them to POGrady@7Dogs.comby Monday morning and we’ll post them here on Monday afternoon. Word, RFTor plain-text attachments only, please, or paste the info into the bodyof your e-mail. You are welcome to include results as far as you got 'emand we'll post pictures, too (as long as you send them in JPG format andcredit the photographer).Herzig, Parsley triumph in “Montana Roubaix”By Geoff ProctorWith the 100th edition of the Paris-Roubaix cycling classic half a worldaway, the Montana Velo Road Race offered up an epic parallel April 14 inHelena. The hardy peloton braved heavy

Nothing, it seems, can stop Johan Museeuw. Four years ago, a crash on the wicked cobblestones of the Arenberg Forest in northern France threatened to end his career when gangrene almost took over a gash in his leg, nearly leading to amputation. The "Lion of Flanders" overcame that setback to win Roubaix in 2000, only to go down to injury again when he crashed on his motorcycle.

Johan Museeuw is one of the most modest men you could ever meet. There's nothing flashy about this 36-year-old Belgian, who still lives modestly in the little town of Gistel, in deepest Flanders, despite his fame and continued success. By winning the epic 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, Museeuw won the 10th World Cup classic in a career that already spans 15 years -- and total adulation from his bike-crazy country. His latest victory placed him alongside three other cycling legends — Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Francesco Moser — who also won this Queen of the Classics three

Paris-Roubaix director Jean-Marie Leblanc said he will be protesting at the lack of medical personnel to carry out doping tests following one of professional cycling's great classics on Sunday. In an ironic twist to a sport which has had its reputation tarnished by doping controversy’s, Paris-Roubaix race director Leblanc, said he would be complaining to the French sports ministry, the country's cycling federation and the sport's world governing body the UCI after no tests were carried out following Sunday's race which was won by Belgian Johan Museeuw. The lack of medical

Good Morning. The 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix is underway. All190 starters listed on the startlist left Compiègne at 10:50 this morning.11:07 a.m. The weather is chilly (7 degrees Centigrade) and thereis a brisk wind coming from the Northwest, which translates into a head/crosswindcoming across the left side of the course.There was an early attack at kilometer 10 this morning from rider 177- Steffen WEIGOLD (Gerolsteiner) who was soon joined by 222 - StéphaneAUGE (Jean Delatour) . They were quickly caught and the peloton is intact.It should be fairly quiet for the opening kilometers. The