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The Union Cycliste International's (UCI) urine test for detecting EPO took a fresh hit Thursday when the Spanish cycling federation exonerated drug-tainted Tour de France rider Txema Del Olmo. Del Olmo, who rode for Basque Euskaltel squad, was the only rider excluded from this year's Tour after he tested positive for synthetic erythropoietin on the opening day's prologue. But Spanish cycling authorities said the threshold set, uniquely, by the Paris laboratory for the urine-based test had no legal status. Furthermore, the investigating committee said "sanctioning Del Olmo on

Martinez

At 18 years old, Walker Ferguson is like most teenagers: not sure what he wants to do with his life and in no great hurry to decide. And for now anyway, that appears to be just fine. Ferguson, the reigning world junior cross-country champion, is days away from inking a new deal that will make him a member of the Gary Fisher mountain-biking team (he’s already been fitted for a uniform). But that won’t stop him from spending most of the spring riding a slate of under-23 road races in Europe with the U.S. national team. "Right now I think it’s good for me to do both," said the resident of

While Rabobank's Richard Groenendaal holds on to the top spot in the UCI cyclo-cross rankings, three U.S. riders showed up in the top-50, in standings released earlier this week. New national champion Tim Johnson (Saturn) sits highest, in 33rd, while Marc Gullickson (Mongoose) is 41st, while Mark McCormack (Saturn) is ranked 49th. In country rankings, Belgium and the Netherlands are one-two, while Italy is third, some 3200 points off the lead. STANDING / NAME / NATIONALITY / TOTAL POINTS 1 GROENENDAAL Richard NED 2398 2 DE CLERCQ Mario BEL 1606 3 NIJS Sven BEL 1409 4 WELLENS

The Boulder-based 7-Up-Colorado Cyclist team announced its 2001 line-up on Tuesday, with four new riders joining the squad. Former Shaklee riders John Lieswyn and Dave McCook come over from the now-defunct squad along with a pair of Canadians, Andrew Randell and Charles Dionne. The team loses Anton Villatoro and Steve Speaks to retirement and young gun David Zabriskie is gone to the U.S. Postal Service, but the new additions keep the team in good shape. Team operations manager Scott McAfee believes they give the team "the fire power necessary to step up to the next level." In Lieswyn and

The Navigators Cycling Team announced its 2002 line-up on Wednesday, adding four new riders and a new bike sponsor for the upcoming season. The team brings back nine riders from the 2001 season: Americans Chris Baldwin, Todd Littlehales, Burke Swindlehurst and USPRO criterium champion Kirk O’Bee; Russians Vassili Davidenko and Oleg Grichkine; Italian Siro Camponogara; New Zealander Glen Mitchell; and Canadian national champion Mark Walters. The four new riders are 26-year-old neo-pro Brian Sheedy of Michigan, third-year professional Ryan Guay from 7UP, Australian Thomas Leaper from the

The San Francisco-based Lombardi Sports road team will make the jump to the pro ranks in 2002, with new co-title sponsor Ofoto, Kodak’s on-line photography service. One of the top domestic amateur teams for the past three years, Ofoto-Lombardi Sports will become a UCI division III team focusing on the National Racing Calendar and the U.S. Pro Cycling Tour. The team will expand to 15 riders, with the new additions highlighted by Erik Saunders, Colby Pearce, John Brady and the up-and-coming Jackson Stewart, who finished second in the U-23 national cyclo-cross championships in Baltimore over

USPRO crit champ O'Bee returns for a second season.

British downhiller Steve Peat has inked a deal with UK-based Orange that will see him riding the company’s bikes in 2002. The deal is similar to the one Peat’s good friend Brian Lopes had with GT in 2001. Peat will not be a full-fledged member of the Orange team, instead running his own program with his own set of co-sponsors. "His involvement is going to be much more hands on than Lopes’ was with GT though," said David Merten, owner of Orange’s North American division. "We want Steve to offer ideas on design and be part of the company for the long haul." Merten added that he wasn’t sure

USA Cycling chief executive officer Lisa Voight announced Tuesday that she plans to leave her post as head of the governing body in May when she will “take on two new roles.” Voight said she will continue to work for the organization as a special advisor for Olympic and International relations. But Voight won’t take on those responsibilities until after completing an expected maternity leave this spring. Voight told VeloNews that she and husband Craig Griffin are expecting a baby on May 1. “I love cycling and I am happy about taking on a new role with USA Cycling,” Voight said. “For the

Peat in last year's gear.

Junior Jesse Anthony (Saturn Development) sealed up a berth on the world championship team with a win at the SuperCup finals on Sunday. Anthony battled for much of the race with Devo riders Jeremy Powers and Brent Bookwalter, Rad Racing's Aaron Bradford, and GoMart's Mike House, who had fought his way up through the pack after a first-lap crash. Those five rode together as a pack in the final lap, before Anthony attacked before the U-turn heading into the final barriers. He opened up a gap and took the win alone, leaving the chasers to battle in a four-way finish for second. Powers took the

Team 7UP, the cycling team managed by Podium Sports, has signed Nutra Fig as a new co-sponsor for 2002, replacing Colorado Cyclist which ends its long relationship with the squad at the end of the year. The new 7UP/Nutra Fig team has also signed Cannondale as both clothing and bicycle sponsor. According to a press release issued Monday, the team has re-signed its core group of athletes from 2001, including team leaders John Lieswyn and Clark Sheehan as well as Kevin Monahan, Doug Ziewacz, brothers Oscar and Juan Carlos Pineda, and Canadian Charles Dionne. New additions for 2002 include New

Jesse Anthony

On Sunday, the focus in Baltimore changed from cyclo-cross nationals to the SuperCup as the weekend drew to a close, but the races were no less exciting than they had been the day before. On a completely different course, newly re-crowned national champion Alison Dunlap (Clif Bar) put a cap on her weekend by completing the nationals-SuperCup double in convincing fashion, riding away from a field loaded with challengers. In the men's race, Jonathan Page (Richard Sachs) made up for a disappointing fourth-place in the nationals race by winning a fast-paced shootout that eventually boiled down to

Alison Dunlap

Ann Grande and Carmen D'Aluisio

Dunlap

Jonathan Page

Marc Gullickson and Jonathan Page

Tim Johnson leads Alex Candelario

Johnson and Candelario

Todd Wells, Mark McCormack and Dale Knapp

When the clouds blew away over night, and the sun came out Saturday morning to dry the nationals cyclo-cross course in Baltimore, it looked as if some of the element of chance would be taken out of the men’s and women’s elite races at Patterson Park. Gone were the slick, muddy conditions that threw Friday’s masters races into chaos. Instead, racers on Saturday were greeted with a sure, tacky surface on a cool but sunny day. But luck would intervene nevertheless.

Todd Wells

Alison Dunlap

Carmen D'Aluisio

Grande and Dunlap

Marc Gullickson

Gina Hall

Tim Johnson

Jonny Sundt and Jonathan Page

Gullickson and Wells

The Denver Public Library has acquired 14 years of Red Zinger Bicycle Classic and Coors International Bicycle Classic materials for permanent installation in its Special Collections Archives. Michael Aisner and Kay Groeneveld, owners and promoters of the event that was the premier stage race in the U.S. from 1975-88 donated the collection. The multi-day stage race through California, Nevada and Colorado attracted top pros and amateurs, including Tour de France, World and Olympic champions. It was credited as being instrumental in the careers of three-time Tour de France champion Greg

A day marked by sloppy conditions and sloppy racing drew to a close with an almost perfect performance, as DEVO’s Adam Craig took the men’s under-23 title at the USCF national cyclo-cross championships in Baltimore, Maryland, on Friday. Craig’s stars-and-stripes jersey was the last of 11 handed out on the first day of the nationals weekend.

Adam Craig

Jed Schneider

Paul Curley

Katrina Davis

Alicia Genest

Jodi Groesbeck

James Coats

Adam Craig

Jeff Weinert

The route for the 57th Vuelta a España was unveiled Thursday, and it was music to the ears of defending champion Angel Casero of Spain. This year’s Tour of Spain, September 7-29, won’t pass through the Pyrenees and there will be only four mountain stages — down from eight in previous years. "I like the course," said Casero who was pleased to hear there will be three time trials — two individual and one team time trial. Casero took the winner's jersey this year from fellow Spaniard Oscar Sevilla in the final time trial at Madrid. But even without the Pyrenees, there is the tough 15th

Ever since Jonny Sundt (K2) surprised everybody with a win over Tim Johnson (Saturn) at the Downeast Cyclo-Cross in Auburn, Maine, back in September, it's been clear that this is a wide-open season in U.S. cyclocross racing. Nowhere will that be more evident than this weekend, at the USCF national cyclo-cross championships in Baltimore, Maryland.

'02 Vuelta route announced

Eyes on the prize: Grande is hoping to end Dunlap's win streak.

Will Gullickson (front) be able to hold off Johnson?

Some of the world's leading cyclists have been slated to appear as witnesses in the trial of Doctor Michele Ferrari, which began in Bologna, Italy, Wednesday. Ferrari is facing allegations of administering harmful substances, abusing his profession, trading in banned dietary supplements and sporting fraud. If convicted, Ferrari faces a prison sentence, but the anticipated revelations from some of the stars of the peloton could add another unsavory chapter to cycling’s struggle against doping problems. Former Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Gotti, Tony Rominger, Claudio Chiappucci,

The Prime Alliance Cycling Team officially announced its 2002 roster Tuesday, confirming its position as an up-and-coming force on the domestic road racing scene. Returning team members include world under-23 time trial champion Danny Pate, Michael Creed, Jonas Carney, Jame Carney, Ryan Miller and John Walrod. New signings for 2002 include former Mercury pros Chris Horner and John Peters, Matt Decanio, David McCook, Alex Candelario and Canadian Svein Tuft. The team will continue to focus on U.S. races, including a heavy emphasis on National Racing Calendar events. Last year Prime Alliance

World champion Erwin Vervecken led a Belgian sweep of the top four placings at the fifth round of the Superprestige cyclo-cross series in Hoogstraten, Belgium, Saturday. In a race which saw Belgian riders collect eight of the top-10 spots, Vervecken beat Mario De Clerq and Sven Nijs in the finishing stretch to chalk up his second win of the series. Vervecken and Nijs battled for most of the race before being joined by DeClerq on the last lap. Nijs was unable to match Vervecken’s finishing speed, but the 25-year-old’s third-place finish allowed him to retain the Superprestige lead with three

Reigning national champion Tim Johnson made the most of his last race in the 2001 stars-and-stripes jersey, darting away from two breakaway companions to claim victory at Round 6 of the Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series at Wasserman Park in Merrimack, New Hampshire on Sunday. In the women’s race, Canadian Lyne Bessette picked up another ‘cross win, locking up the overall Verge championship. More importantly, she said she’s going to take the sport a bit more seriously now, and will likely compete at next month’s world championships in Belgium. Johnson had been swapping the

Johnson powers to the win.

Bessette survived the snow to win the series.

The Saturn cycling team announced Friday that it has signed 19-year-old Californian Rahsaan Bahati to their 2002 roster. Bahati, who rode for Mercury last year, first captured the attention of American cycling when he won both the junior and senior elite criterium national championships in 2000. Lightning fast, Bahati went on to win the junior national road championship later in the year. Bahati is currently enrolled at Indiana University where he is majoring in computer animation and telecommunications. He will join the team in January for training camp, and will compete on the college

Former world champion Gianni Bugno has been summonsed to appear before a Belgian court relating to his alleged involvement in a doping affair which dates back to 1999, the public prosecutor told AFP in Brussels on Friday. Swiss-born Bugno, who was world road race champion in both 1991 and 1992, will face questions over a suspect packet addressed to him while he was a Mapei team rider two years ago during the Trois Jours de La Panne race. The packet, which turned out to contain amphetamines, was handed over to the authorities by delivery firm DHL. Magistrates in Belgium will also question

Most of America’s top cyclo-cross riders will converge on Wasserman Park in Merrimack, New Hampshire Sunday for the season’s final tune-up before the national championships in Baltimore, December 14-15. Racing in the Granite State begins at 10 a.m. with the elite women’s race set for noon, followed by the elite men at 1:15 p.m. The event is the sixth in the seven-race Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series, and will offer over $2000 in cash and prizes. Expect to see a dozen current and former U.S. and Canadian national champions compete. Entering Sunday’s race, Saturn teammates

Think Lollapalooza outdoor-sports style and you get some idea of what the organizers of the new-for-2002 Primal Quest Telluride 360-Degress Adventure Festival are trying to pull off. Like the all-over-the-map music festivals of the 1990s, the four-day event, July 11-14, will try to bring together a diverse cross-section of people. Included in the itinerary will be adventure racing, mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, trail running and for the less energized… fly-fishing. From a cycling standpoint the 360-Fest will provide a new opportunity for both amateur and pro mountain bikers. All

Bahati

Citing internal changes and pressures from the struggling U.S. economy, Kona announced Wednesday that the Ford Motor Company had opted not to renew sponsorship of its mountain bike team for the 2002 season. The impact of this move will be much greater on the British faction of the Kona team than its Canadian counterpart. "We didn’t really get much support from Ford Canada," said Kona cross-country rider Geoff Kabush. "The only reason we were grouped together was that so we could have a World Cup team." Kabush added that he would be back with Kona in 2002, but didn’t know what they fate of

In what could go down as a landmark case, a Chicago motorist was convicted of first-degree murder following the April 26, 1999 death of a bike messenger, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. After 16 hours of deliberation, a jury in Cook County ruled that Carnell Fitzpatrick deliberately ran down Tom McBride after McBride had cursed at Fitzpatrick following a near-collision. "When you have a three-ton vehicle and maybe a 20-pound bicycle, that is no even match," said assistant state's attorney Lynda Peters following the verdict. George Christensen, a friend and co-worker of

USA Cycling sent out a memo Thursday announcing two more additions to the 2002 AMBC schedule: the Big Shark Challenge, May 4-5, in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Schweitzer Dirt and Rock Tour, in Sandpoint, Idaho. That brings the total number of races to 26 for the year. Here is the updated AMBC calendar. Asterisks denote races awarding UCI points. February 24 — Spring Series, Gainesville, FloridaApril 19-21 — NOC Knobscorcher, Bryson City, North Carolina April 26-28 — The Twilight, Athens, GeorgiaApril 28 — High Point Ranch Roundup, Ada, OklahomaMay 4-5 -— Big Shark Challenge, St. Louis,

It’s still a long way from being resolved, but at least one scenario for the shaken-up 2002 mountain-bike World Cup schedule has emerged, and it might bring another North American venue into play. Here’s how it would work. First the two Canadian Gestev-run events, Mont-Ste-Anne and Grouse Mountain, would each move forward one weekend on the World Cup calendar. This would place the Grouse Mountain "triple" on the weekend that had originally been occupied by the downhill in Arai, Japan, which was cancelled two weeks ago. Mont-Ste-Anne would then jump into Grouse’s spot, opening up the weekend

The U.S. Postal service team kicks off its 2002 campaign on Wednesday with the start of the team’s first training camp of the season, held in Austin, Texas, hometown of three-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. The week-long camp has been held in Austin for each of the last three seasons, with Armstrong and company training on many of his favorite rides, typically in the Texas "Hill Country" west of Austin. The riders scheduled to attend are: Lance ArmstrongMichael BarryTom BoonenDylan CaseyAntonio CruzDavid ClingerGeorge HincapieBenoit JoachimSteffen KjaergaardChann

Riding the coattails of its performance at the 2000 Olympics, British cycling hit the jackpot when it was announced that money from the National Lottery will fund a four-year development program at the rate of 4 million pounds (approximately $5.6 million) annually. Cycling, for many years the redheaded stepchild of British sport, is reaping the reward for its medal-winning efforts at Sydney 2000. The team emerged with one gold — won by Jason Queally in the 1km time trial — a silver in the Olympic sprint; bronzes in the team pursuit and women’s pursuit, plus a couple of fourth place

It’s not going to be long before people start wondering if the 2002 mountain bike World Cup series is going to happen at all. First the stop in Arai, Japan was cancelled because of what the UCI called financial reasons. Now the loss of a key sponsor has tabled the event in Leysin, Switzerland. According to mountain bike World Cup coordinator Christophe Burri, the recent withdrawal of event sponsor Club Med was the primary reason behind Leysin's decision to pull out of the 2002 World Cup schedule. "With this sort of financial hit, the organizers in Leysin no longer saw themselves as

Three-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong busted out the mountain bike last Saturday to compete in the Dirty Duathlon, held at the Rocky Hill Ranch, just 40 minutes east of Armstrong’s hometown in Austin, Texas. And were it not for a little bad luck, the U.S. Postal Star probably would have won the race. Armstrong was sitting third coming out of the first of two three-mile runs in the run-bike-run format, and a third of the way through the 12-mile ride he had made up that time and was in the lead. But a flat tire cost Armstrong a big chunk of time, and he eventually finished sixth

Team Sports announced Monday that it has hired Eric Wallace to head up the Volvo-Cannondale mountain bike racing team in 2002. Wallace takes over for the departed Charlie Livermore who left the position after seven years to pursue other business interests. Wallace comes to the Volvo-Cannondale from Team Sports Events, where he led the Timex Event marketing program. Prior to running the promotional tour for Timex, Wallace worked in the marketing department of Derby Cycle Corporation. Wallace's competitive and bicycle specific background includes management of several bike shops in Texas

Reigning Vuelta a España champion Angel Luis Casero announced Monday that he would be joining the German outfit Team Coast next season. The 29-year-old said he had received offers from Italian teams Lampre and Maglieria but preferred Team Coast because they had hired members of his former Festina team which disbanded at the end of last season. Casero joins up with Juan Fernandez and Roberto Torres who were team managers at Festina. "The offers of the other teams were tempting but I was more concerned with sporting rather than financial aspects," Casero said. Apart from the 2001 Vuelta,

With the national championships just two weeks away, many of America’s best cyclo-cross riders showed up in Wayland, Massachusetts for the fifth stop of the Verge New England Cyclo-Cross Series last Saturday. In the men’s pro race, a group of 11 moved to the front early, with Todd Wells (Mongoose-Hyundai), Saturn’s Mark McCormack and Tim Johnson the most well known names. But it was Matt Svatek (Wheelworks-Cannondale) surprising the group by launching an attack that saw him go clear for two laps. But unwilling to let Svatek ride away with the race, Wells took it upon himself to reel in the

The men's podium.

Justin Spinelli goes over a barrier.

Thorne heads for the win.

Armstrong takes on the Dirty Duathlon run.

Ferguson finished third.

Belgian Sven Nijs made it 2-for-2 on Sunday, holding off countryman Bart Wellens to take the win at the second round of the cyclo-cross World Cup in Igorre, Spain. Two weeks ago Nijs won the World Cup opener in Monopoli, Italy. Nijs now has a 20-point lead in the overall standings of the six-race series, with Wellens in second, followed by Richard Groenendaal, Mario De Clercq and Jiri Pospisil. In the race in Spain Nijs finished with a time of 1:02:42, 50 seconds faster than Wellens. Reigning world champion Erwin Vervecken was third, at 1:25, followed by De Clercq at 1:35, and Groenendaal

Nijs heads to the win in Spain

After a run of bad news from the mountain-bike racing world — cancelled races, rider defections, folding teams, etc. — finally some good news. Word from the West Coast is that the newly formed all-women’s squad, the Luna Chix featuring world champion Alison Dunlap, have inked a deal with Santa Cruz as its bike supplier for 2002. Dunlap rode for GT last year, but that team’s status is much in doubt for the upcoming season following the company’s bankruptcy and ensuing purchase by the Pacific Cycles, which has shown just a marginal interest in supporting racing. Meanwhile, on the others side

The Saturn women's team announced its roster for the 2002 season on Friday, with the big news being the addition of former world pursuit champion Judith Arndt. Arndt's 2001 season highlights included a win at the Rotterdam Tour World Cup race, second in the HP Women's Challenge and the Tour de L'Aude, and third in the women's Tour de France, the Grande Boucle Feminine. Riding for the German national team last year, Arndt ended the season ranked No. 2 in the UCI world rankings behind Saturn's Anna Millward. Saturn also adds up-and-coming American rider Jessica Phillips,