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The Tour of Somerville is famous for the names that dot its deep winners list. Olympians, national champions, and trendsetters have all won this race that has taken place on Memorial Day for nearly 60 years. But the 2001 edition of the race paid tribute to a rider who will never have the chance to put her name in the event's record books: Nicole Reinhart. Reinhart, a star sprinter for the Saturn women’s team, died from injuries sustained in a crash in a race last fall. But now, thanks to the committee that organizes this quintessential American race, the spirit of Reinhart - a rider who

Cipo' strikes a familiar pose

On a day when a tireless 40-year-old animated the action all day long, it was an up-and-coming 26-year-old on a first-year team who stole the show at the elite men’s national road race championship in Redding, California, on Saturday. A teary-eyed Remi McManus of the Boise Stars team accepted the national championship jersey after outsprinting four breakaway companions at the end of the 111-mile race. The finish came down to McManus and four others: Brice Jones (Mercy Fitness), Patrick Heaney (Lombardi Sports), Tim Unkert (Capital Velo Club) and Chris Walker (Triathlete Zombies). Of those,

Once again, Julio Perez was the animator of a pivotal stage and came agonizingly close to winning it. The pack had not even left the vacation spa town of Montecatini Terme when the Mexican Panaria rider attacked with five others just two kilometers into this difficult 185km stage. Among those with him was Pietro Chaucchioli, who rolled into Reggio Emilia alone 183km later. Behind, in a small chase group finishing a minute behind the 26-year-old Alessio winner was ONCE’s José Azevedo, who came within a whisker of taking over the maglia rosa. After 9km, a group of 11 took off after Perez’s

Iban Mayo ( Euskaltel Euskadi) achieved his first career win by taking the final overall victory of the Grand Prix Midi Libre, following the end of the sixth and final stage as the race concluded in Sete Sunday. The 23-year-old, who only turned professional last year, had an overall 35 second advantage on stage winner and former champion here Benoit Salmon of France following the final run between Florac and Sete. Mayo, a virtual unknown, set a cracking pace under the blazing sun and was in second position following the double climb of 12 percent incline of Mont Saint-Clair. But French

Favorites reigned in the pro men and pro women cross country races at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in Durango, Colorado on Sunday. In the men’s race 1999 NORBA national champion and 2000 Olympian Travis Brown (Trek-Volkswagen) had an easy go of it, winning the three-lap, 20.4-mile race with a time of 1:40:48. Costa Rican José Adrian Bonilla (Café Costa Rica) came across second, 1:46 behind Brown. Jay Henry was third, at 3:09. "I was going pretty hard from the start because José was really pushing the pace," said Brown, who grew up in Durango. "I was getting small gaps on almost every

Canada’s Lyne Bessette overcame a final stage challenge to lock up her second overall win at France’s Tour de l'Aude on Sunday. Germany’s Judith Arndt and Bessette successfully chased down breakaway attempt by Susanne Ljungskog (Vlaanderen) the winner of the women’s edition of the Milan-San Remo World Cup, La Primavera Rosa. With 40 kilometers remaining in the final stage, Lungskog – who started the day in fifth place overall at 7:50 -- moved off the front of the field in an attempt to lock in a solo win, and a possible upset in the overall standings. But the two race leaders – Bessette in

McManus

Caucchioli makes his move

Whew! Frigo holds on.

Stefano Zanini outsprinted a group of 49 riders to win the longest stage of the Giro, beating Gabriele Missaglia and Jan Ullrich after a great leadout from Stefano Garzelli. For the first time in the race, the Olympic road champion was feeling well enough again to come over the top of a big climb with the front group and even to mix it up in the sprint. The 239km stage started in Rieti in the province of Lazio, headed north through the entire length of Umbria and finished in Montevarchi in Tuscany. It started slowly, winding along picturesque roads in hilly country along lakes and past

Swiss rider Sven Montgomery (La Française des Jeux) assumed the overall lead of the GP Midi-Libre after winning the fifth stage of the race as it moved to the city of Mende on Saturday. Montgomery broke away in the final kilometer on the Col de la Croix-Neuve to pull away from Mercury’s Andrei Kivilev of Kazakhstan. It was the second straight win for Montgomery's team after Bradley McGee triumphed in the fourth stage on Friday. Copyright AFP2001

Scott Price seemed to be smiling all the way from Durango to Silverton on Saturday. The Team Landis rider's grin was even wider after he won a three-man sprint in the 30th annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road race. Price, 31, nipped Federico Ramirez (Cafe de Costa Rica/Pizza Hut), part of a four-person Costa Rican contingent, and Durango favorite Ned Overend (Specialized), who at 45 was looking to add to his four Iron Horse road race titles that he began accumulating in 1983. The three riders, along with Price's teammate, Drew Miller, crested Molas Pass, the course's last long climb,

At Saturday’s national road race championships, Saturn’s Kimberly Bruckner demonstrated again that she was the strongest woman on the roads of Redding. Two days after winning the national time trial championship, Bruckner broke away with Harbour Lights’ Amber Neben 27 miles into the 69-mile championship road race and eventually soloed in for her second national title in three days. Saturday’s women’s race consisted of four laps of a hilly, 14-mile circuit west of Redding, with a six-mile starting and finishing tail from town to the circuit. The 64-woman field was content to stay together at

Canadian Lyne Bessette held on to her overall lead in the Tour de L’Aude as AutoTrader.com's Sarah Ulmer won eighth stage of the French stage race. A break of 10 riders escaped the field at the halfway point of the 122km stage between Limoux and Espéraza. None of the escapees posed a threat to Bessette’s grip on the overall lead. The American Autotrader team had two of its riders in the break – Ulmer and the team’s new recruit Katrina Berger. Berger attacked as the lead group -- now down to eight riders -- reached the final finishing circuit. With her teammate ahead, Ulmer sat on as the

A long day in the saddle. Stage 7 covered 239km.

Bruckner wrapped up her second title of the weekend.

Australian Bradley McGee (Française des Jeux) raced to a sprint finish to win the 209km fourth stage of the Midi Libre in Laissac, France, on Friday. Overall leader Kazakh Andrei Teteriouk of the Mercury team retained his leader's jersey after the stage, which included two first category climbs, between Pont-du-Gard and here. Former track rider McGee sprinted ahead of a packed peloton to relegate Italian Nicola Loda into his second second-place finish of the week after he came second in Pezenas on day two. Copyright AFP2001

With another tremendous burst of power, Mario Cipollini has become the second-winningest rider in Giro history. With extremely aggressive riding once again, the big Saeco rider turned a seemingly hopeless position with 500 meters to go into a perfect one with 200 meters to go. And when he stood up to finish it, he blew the doors off Danilo Hondo and Massimo Strazzer, grinning the entire way to the line. The going in the sprint was a bit easier by virtue of a long climb with 27km to go that caused Ivan Quaranta to lose contact. Yesterday’s sprint winner showed once again that he is the

Lyne Bessette, riding as a member of the Canadian national team, took over the lead of the Tour de L’Aude Friday, after escaping in a crucial break in the second of the day’s two stages. The first of Friday’s two stages saw two riders escape early in a short 45km race between Castelnaudary and Bram. France’s Magali Le Floc’h (C.A Mantes La Ville) and Australia’s Sara Carrigan (Australian National) crossed the line 56 seconds ahead of Anna Millward, who won a field sprint for third. After a brief break, the race resumed with another short 63km stage between Bram and Limoux. Despite the

Andy Hampsten and Davis Phinney, who played major roles in leading modern U.S. professional cyclists racing in Europe during the mid-1980s, will be inducted May 27 into the U.S. Bicycling Hall. The 15th annual awards banquet will be held at the Somerville Elks Club in nearby Bridgewater, N.J. Both athletes plan to attend the ceremony, as do other athlete inductees: Ned Overend and Victor Vincente of America. Phinney won more than 300 races, including two stages of the Tour de France, over his career from 1976 to 1993. He also won a bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Hampsten,

Graham Watson

Hampsten, shown here on the Gavia, a decade after his historic ride up the pass.

Phinney, at his long-time home in Colorado.

Stomping each of his unique snakeskin carbon-soled Gaerne shoes down with enormous power, Ivan Quaranta held off Mario Cipollini to take the first purely flat sprint of this Giro on May 24. Today's 229km stage, starting just east of Naples and ending just south of Rome, did not affect the overall standings. This was the Alexia sprinter’s fifth Giro stage win in three years, and he still acknowledges that, "Cipollini (who has 30 Giro wins) is still the king of us sprinters." Boxed in at the final corner 500 meters from the line, Quaranta -- nicknamed Cheetah -- managed to pop out in time to

Mercury Viatel’s Andrei Teteriouk won the individual time trial on the third day of the Midi Libre Grand Prix in Montpellier, France, on Thursday. Teteriouk averaged 57.791 kph over the 19km course and finished 17 seconds ahead of Australian Bradley McGee (La Française des Jeux), and 22 seconds faster than France's Gilles Maignan (Ag2r). The 33-year-old from Kazakhstan also takes over the overall lead of the 33rd Midi Libre from Czech Jan Svorada with a 22-second advantage over Maignan, and a 30-second lead over Frenchman Christophe Moreau. Teteriouk’s stage win marks the 37th for the

Team Saturn continued its mastery of the 2001 U.S. road season on Thursday, sweeping to dual national titles at the national time trial championships in Redding, California. Trent Klasna, on the biggest roll of his career, won the men’s title over defending champion Adham Sbeih (Navigators), while Kimberly Bruckner scored a mild surprise win, beating world time trial champion and four-time national time trial champion Mari Holden (Alfa Lum). The women took to the road first on a day when high temperatures were to rise into the mid- to upper-90s. The rolling, 34km out-and-back course would

A tough day with five rated climbs at the Tour de l’Aude ended Thursday with another win for the UCI’s current number 1 rider and World Cup leader, Anna Millward. Millward riding for the Australian National team sprinted past Canada’s Lynne Bessette to earn her third stage win at this year’s Tour de l’Aude, France’s major stage race for women. Bessette and Millward usually ride on the same Saturn cycling team, but are representing their respective national squads at the French race. The began with a break by Autotrader.com’s Sarah Ulmer who took off from the main field some 90km from the

Cheetahs sometimes prosper

Kevin Livingston is riding his first Giro.

In the first mountaintop finish of the Giro, Rik Verbrugghe lost almost five minutes and Dario Frigo overcame a crash just before the base of the 17km climb to the Santuario di Montevergine to take the pink jersey. Danilo DiLuca won the sprint finish to the stage after Mexican Julio Perez (Panaria), who had broken away at the beginning of the climb, broke his chain with only four kilometers to go while holding an 18-second lead. Coming through Avellino with 20km to go, riders encountered a long stretch of rough and wet cobblestones. The pavé was rough and uneven to just drive over, and,

Jan Svorada of the Czech Republic on Wednesday won the second stage of France’s Grand Prix Midi-Libre, moving into the overall lead of this traditional Tour de France preparatory race. The 32-year-old Lampre rider, who last won the overall event in 1994, sprinted ahead of a 30-strong bunch of riders in 4:43:43 to grab the red and yellow leader's jersey after a 197km stage between Saint Cyprien and Pezenas. "I love this race, the weather is always great," said Svorada, originally from Slovakia. Italian Nicola Loda (Fassa Bortolo) came in second, with Telekom’s Alexandre Vinokourov arriving

Anna Millward, riding France’s Tour de l'Aude as a member of the Australian National Team earned a win as she cruised to a 30-second win in the stage five time trial around Castelnaudary on Wednesday. Millward, the world’s number 1 who usually rides for the U.S. Saturn team, beat overall race leader Edita Pucinskaite (Alfa Lum) , covering the 26.5 km course in 38:48. Millward's Saturn teammate Lyne Bessette, riding the Tour as a member of Canada's national team, continues to hold on to second place in the overall standings, 57 seconds behind Pucinskaite. Copyright AFP2001

Frigo takes over

Pantani couldn't stay with the leaders on the final climb

After winning stage two, Danilo Hondo said he hoped to soon repay Giovanni Lombardi for putting him in perfect position for the sprint. Well, after the leadout Lombardi gave him again today, Hondo is going to have to come up with a really nice gift for his Deutsche Telekom teammate. With 500 meters to go, it appeared that Hondo was leading Lombardi out and evening the score. The two were in third and fourth positions when the Italian suddenly came around to give the German his wheel. Hondo didn’t realize it was Lombardi and bumped him, thinking it was somebody else trying to take his

Jerome Bernard (Jean Delatour) earned his first win as a professional Tuesday on the opening stage of the 53rd edition of the GP Midi Libre. The 30-year-old domestique shadowed a breakaway attempt by Rabobank’s Matthe Pronk, halfway into the 183km stage from Gruissan to Saint-Cyprien. The two stayed together for most of the 90-kilometer effort, but the Rabobank rider began to suffer leg cramps only a few kilometers from the finish in Saint-Cyprien and was soon caught by the field. But Bernard continued on ahead and staved off a hard charging peloton, beating the field by only four seconds.

Familiar sight Hondo wins again.

Verbrugghe fought his way back after a crash

Saturn continued their dominance and kept their lead riders high in the NRC points, as Trent Klasna and Kimberly Bruckner won their respective races at the Housatonic Valley Classic in Danbury, Connecticut, on Sunday. This new race on the calendar offered the men a fantastic but gut-wrenching 140-mile undulating course. The climbs were a challenge and the winding descents on Connecticut's narrow backroads sent a few unsuspecting riders into the hedgerow. With little time for rest and recuperation the 220-man field knew that it would be a race of attrition.After a few initial breakaways from

Jan Ullrich may not be looking so good, but Deutsche Telekom still has plenty of firepower to call upon. In the uphill switchback sprint at the end of this 167km flat stage, Danilo Hondo, a German with an Italian name, got past Rafael Mateos in time to raise his forefinger in triumph. Mateos looked to be pulling off a surprise win for his small team sponsored by a company that makes plastic bags for collection and recycling of various materials. The Spanish Colpack-Astro rider had a gap of several bike lengths with 200 meters to go, but Hondo shot out of the group and passed him.

American Danny Pate won the overall title at the four-day Triptyque Arennais stage race, which finished in Belgium on Sunday. Pate, riding for the U.S. under-23 national team, placed in the top five on three of the four stages, including a second place finish on stage three which moved him into the overall lead. Pate finished fifth on the final stage Sunday to clinch the overall victory. Earlier this month, Pate took two stage wins at the Thuringen Rundfahrt stage race in Germany.

Steady performances by Lyne Bessette over the weekend, and a finish within the main group on May 21 have paid off for the Canadian with a second day in the No. 2 spot on the GC standings. Saturday's stage winner was sprinter Petra Rossner (Germany), while Sunday's 126km route was suited more to climbers where Edita Pucinskaite (Lithuania) won the stage and the leader's jersey. Monday's winner was Olga Slioussareva (Russia), who rode clear with her teammate to take the Stage 3 victory on May 21. The top six GC spots after Monday's stage were identical to Sunday's list. Saturday's finish came

Hey, it’s a bike Mecca and the teams from the University of California at Davis proved it when both the school’s men’s and women’s teams wrapped up wins in Monday’s National Collegiate team time trial championship. Meanwhile the host team – the U.S. Air Force Academy – scored a win in the men's Division II event, while Yale captured the Division II women’s title. The three-day national championship finished up with a 10.5-mile out-and-back team time trial, pitting riders against the clock and the windy remnants of a fast-moving Canadian cold front that tore through the Colorado Springs area

Verbrugghe still has the Maglia Rosa

Marco Bui (Marin-Helly Hansen) and Marga Fullana (Specialized) showed their form for the third round of the 2001 Tissot-UCI mountain bike World Cup on Saturday by winning their respective time trial heats. Bui blazed the one-lap, 7km over the technical, hilly Houffalize course in 21minutes, 50 seconds, 16.1 seconds faster than Canadian Roland Green of the Trek-Volkswagen team. Dane Michael Rasmussen (Haro-Lee Dungarees), the 1999 world cross-country champion, finished third, 17.62 seconds back. In the women’s race, Fullana ripped the course, finishing 33.75 seconds ahead of Italian

On a stage that was expected to produce a sprint finish and no change in the overall standings, a sudden rain in the last hour wreaked havoc on the peloton and on the overall standings. Rik Verbrugghe, yesterday’s time trial winner, worked hard to hold on to leader’s jersey, but that was only a small part of the day’s action – and crashes involving some of the race’s top riders, including Francesco Casagrande who abandoned the race after the stage finish due to his injuries. Shortly after the rain started with around 40km to go, a crash in the middle of the field took down Jan Ullrich

Canadian Roland Green (Trek-Volkswagen) did what no Canadian man has ever done and what a North American hasn’t done in a long time -- win a men’s World Cup mountain bike race. In the women’s race, Marga Fullana (Specialized) won her second World Cup race of the 2001 season. Trivia question de jour: Name the last American male to win a World Cup cross-country race: Answer: Tinker Juarez in 1994. Green proved you can speak English as your native tongue and still win at mountain biking. After years slowly building confidence and form, Green stormed away from Bas Van Dooren in the five-lap,

Colorado’s unpredictable weather lived up to the old “if you don’t like it, wait five minutes” rule and opened a small window of opportunity for riders to take on the National Collegiate road racing championship on Sunday. After Saturday’s rain-plagued criteriums, Sunday started dawned warm and sunny as Carolyn Donnelly (University of New Mexico) and Sarah Konrad (University of Wyoming) finished together winning the women’s Division I and II events. The weather cooperated all the way until moments after UCLAs’ Alex Smith and Tyler Wren of Princeton rode to their respective wins in the

Marga Fullana showed again why she's world champion

Italian Ellis Rastelli (Liquigas-PATA) sneaking in along the barrier for the win.

Pantani's efforts on the climb with just 15km to go helped re-shuffle the overall standings.

Fulllana made it look easy

It took more than 10 years, but Green gave Canada a men's World Cup win

The weather has been perfect for cycling the last few days in the Adriatic coast town of Pescara and should hold for Saturday’s start of the 84th Giro d’Italia. This race promises to be highly competitive, with no clear favorite and a course that does not favor any particular type of rider. Fassa Bortolo’s world no. 1, Francesco Casagrande, really wants to win the Giro to erase the memory of last year’s bitter loss on the second-to-last stage, as well as to place himself among the grand champions. The climber from Tuscany has an incredible team backing him, including Paris-Nice and Tour de

The 20 teams and riders at the 2001 Giro d’Italia, and the route they’ll face in the next 23 days. ALESSIO Italy Top GC rider: Gotti Top sprinter: Leoni Best stage-win hopes: Leoni, Zanetti Giro will be a success if: Gotti finishes top 5. Equipment: DeRosa bikes Sponsor: Alloy automobile wheels Director: Bruno Cenghialta Giro team: Stefano Casagrande (I); Davide Casarotto (I); Pietro Caucchiolo (I); Ivan Gotti (I); Martin Hvastija (Slo); Ruslan Ivanov (Mol); Endrio Leoni (I); Alexandr Shefer (Kaz); Mauro Zanetti (I). ALEXIA Italy Top GC rider: Hervé Top sprinter:

Hernan Buonahora (Col), Selle Italia-Pacific, 34This Colombian veteran likes long, hard, hilly races. He hasn't won many races in Europe, but his sixth place overall at the 2000 Giro is testimony to his endurance. Giuseppe Di Grande (I), Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola, 27When Di Grande had four victories in 1997, including a stage win at the Giro, his Mapei team expected much more. But it didn't happen, and in 2000 he had another mediocre season with Festina. It's time for things to pick up again. Danilo Di Luca (I), Cantina Tollo-Acqua & Sapone, 25Di Luca showed promise in his Giro debut as a

Besides overall contenders Casagrande, Garzelli. Gotti, Pantani and Simoni, these are the climbers who could win a stage or shoot for the best climber's jersey. Wladimir Belli (I), Fassa Bortolo, 30After a year with Festina, Belli returned to an Italian squad last year, and posted his best Giro finish, seventh overall. His main task will be to keep team leader Casagrande at the front in the high mountains, and to mark other race contenders -- work that could also enable Belli to win a stage. "Chepe" Gonzalez (Col), Mobilvetta-Trentini, 32Two King of the Mountain titles and two mountain

Jeroen Blijlevens (Nl), Lotto-Adecco, 29On his day, Blijlevens is one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton -- and also one of the most unpredictable. With Lotto having no true G.C. candidates, the Dutchman could get the support he needs for a stage win. Mario Cipollini (I), Saeco, 34The flamboyant Cipollini has been around the pro ranks since 1989, but he really caught fire in the late 1990s. In1999, he captured a staggering five Giro and four Tour de France stage wins. A drop-off in production last year

Francesco Casagrande (I), Fassa Bortolo, 30 By most standards, Francesco Casagrande's 2000 season was a hit. He won the prestigious Flèche Wallonne classic, finished the season ranked No. 1 in the world, and took second in the Giro But when your main objective of the season is to win the Giro and that goal slips through your figers on the second-to-last day, it can only be called a disappointment. Pain from a sciatic nerve in the stage-20 time trial cost Casagrande the race in 2000; but with climbers like Belli and Frigo to back him up this year, he'll be out for redemption. Stefano Garzelli

Belgian Rik Verbrugghe of the Lotto-Adecco team continued his spring tear Saturday, winning the 7.6km prologue on the opening day of the Giro d’Italia. Verbrugghe, who also won the Flèche Wallone classic on April 18, beat out Italian Dario Frigo by nine seconds. The 26-year-old averaged more than 58 kph on the flat course. Tune in shortly for a full race story and results.

If there ever was a day to break some records for time trialing, this was it. The course for the prologue of the 84th Giro d’Italia was short, completely flat and straight as an arrow. The weather was overcast and cool, with a tailwind. Always an opportunist, Rik Verbrugghe took advantage of the conditions to set a record that will probably stand for a very long time. The Lotto-Adecco rider covered the 7.6km along the Abruzzi coast at a blazing pace of 58.874kph, the fastest average time trial speed in professional cycling history, eclipsing the storied record Tour time trial speeds of

To say that Rik Verbrugghe’s prologue speed of almost 59 kph makes him the fastest time trialist of all time is both accurate and misleading. Never before in the history of major prologue time trials (introduced to the Tour de France in 1967, the Giro in 1977) has there been one that wasn’t on a circuit or out-and-back course. The previous prologue record of 55.152 kph set by world hour record holder Chris Boardman at the 1994 Tour was on a 7.2km course that had five 90-degree turns, a complete traffic circle turnaround and even some cobblestones to negotiate! The course at Pescara on

Verbrugghe took the pink jersey in record-breaking style

Hruska was one of four ONCE's to finish in the top-10

Italy's Marco Pantani and Germany's Jan Ullrich are the two stars in the field as the 84th running of the Giro d'Italia gets underway in Pescara on Saturday. But while Pantani and Ullrich's pedigree is beyond reproach it would be a surprise if either was to cross the line wearing the leader's pink jersey on June 10. Pantani, assailed by legal and health problems, has had a miserable campaign so far while Ullrich insists he is only using the Giro as a stepping stone for the one race that is more important in the cycling calendar, the Tour de France. Pantani has not been invited to the

Saturn's Anna Millward pulled on the leader's jersey of the 10-day Tour de l'Aude after putting in the fastest time on the 3km prologue course in Gruissan, France, on May 18. The Australian's time was 4:23, with New Zealand's Sarah Ulmer the surprise of the day, coming in for second place, three seconds back. Germany's Judith Arndt and Petra Rossners -- two know as TT specialists, finished third and fourth, 4 and 8 seconds slower. Canadian Lyne Bessette (Saturn) was the day's top North American, finishing sixth, 9 seconds slower than Millward. Tomorrow's first stage is a 106km loop at

With one day to go, Dane Jakob Piil (CSC) retains his overall lead at the Peace Race, heading in to Saturday's 166km stage with an 18-second margin. Saturn's Michael Barry dropped two spots on the GC standings, and now is fourth overall, down 45 seconds. The peloton faced a 25.8km morning TT and a 97km afternoon stage on May 18. Germany's Thomas Liese (Nuremberg) won the morning's event, clocking in at 34:27, while Spain's Aito Arbillo Garmendia was second, four seconds slower. Piil rode in at 34:57 to protect his lead and finish fifth for the stage. Later in the day, Ukrainian Bogdan

The Giro is a race in touch with history, and its organizers love to use it as a vehicle to mark important dates. Five years ago, for example, they decided to commemorate the centennial of the modern Olympiad by starting the Giro in Athens, Greece, and having the race visit Lausanne, Switzerland, home of today’s Olympic movement. Last year’s event opened at the Vatican, to mark Jubilee Year, the 2000-year celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. And this year, the Giro remembers Italy’s most-loved composer, Giuseppe Verdi, who died 100 years ago. That’s why the course for the 2001 Giro was

Francesco Casagrande is an old-fashioned racer. He comes from a different school than pro cycling's other stars, despite his No. 1 UCI ranking. His passion for the profession is rooted in an appreciation of the great riders of the past (remember last year's Giro when he dedicated his victory on the Abetone to Gino Bartali?), and his understanding of the sport's traditions. That said, one of the most important developments in Casagrande's career is his new partnership at Fassa Bortolo with Giancarlo Ferretti, one of Europe's most celebrated and esteemed directeurs sportifs. Casagrande is one

The official 2001 poster for the 84th running of the Giro d'Italia

Denmark's Jakob Piil (CSC- World Online) won the 209.2km seventh stage of the Peace Race, which ran from Pilsen, Czech Republic, to Zwickau, Germany. Piil took the sprint ahead of Poland's Zbigniew Piatek and Australian Scott Sunderland. This was Piil's second stage win of the race, and the day's effort moved him into third-place overall. Germany's Enrico Poitschke (Wiesenhof) finished 4:10 down for the day but retains the overall lead going in to Friday's 25.8km time trial. Saturn's Michael Barry remains in second place on the overall standings. Copyright AFP 2001

Piil doubles up on stage wins at Peace Race