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The former directeur sportif of the old Belgian Lotto team is one of 19 connected with the now disbanded outfit due in court later this month on charges ranging from fraud to doping. Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke and his wife, Lotto's secretary in 1997, could face fraud charges in connection with “irregularities” in accounts detailing the distribution of sponsorship monies from the Belgian national lottery, a judicial source revealed on Thursday. Frederique Barbich, spokesman for the local magistrate's court, confirmed that several may be facing criminal charges in the case. "The 19

VeloGear teamed up with VeloNews magazine illustrator David Brintonto create LesHéros du Vélo, a large-format wall calendar of Brinton'sillustrations for 2007. The illustrations are Brinton's personal tributeto the legends of cycling and feature twelve great riders of the twentiethcentury, including The Cannibal, the Badger, and the Eagle of Toledo. Thecalendar is now on sale for just $9.95 at VeloGear.com. In December, VeloGear asked cyclists to submit photos as part of a contestto promote the 2007 Les Héros du Vélo calendar. The contestbrought in more

A weary Contador exults in victory

The break

The man to beat?

Thierry Marichal is being investigated for using and selling Pot Belge the volatile mixture of heroin and amphetamines.

Hincapie-Wristy Business in Balcom Canyon

Kolobnev guts it out for the stage win

Baldato leads the four escapees

The Dordogne River

A long line through the meadows

Liquigas in pursuit

Kolobnev in full flight

Pellizotti gets to keep yellow for another day

And Kolobnev gets to celebrate a narrow, narrow triumph

It's gonna happen, after all.

Our latest reader-submitted PhotoGallery is now ready for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of our most recent contest. Like this week, we received a wealth of images from the Tour of California, among them a great shot of George Hincapie riding at the front of the peloton as the race works its way up Balcom Canyon. C. Starr Hathaway’s “Wristy Business” captures the heroic effort put in by one the hardest-working men in the peloton, as Hincapie rides nearly 100 miles with a broken wrist. Congratulations, C. Starr. Please drop us a note

The ongoing Spanish doping investigation, Operación Puerto, entered a new phase on Wednesday when a Madrid magistrate's court lodged an appeal against the case's dismissal. The inquiry, which came to light in May 2006 when police raids discovered an alleged blood-doping network run by the Madrid-based Dr Eufemiano Fuentes, considered to be the mastermind behind the network, was thrown out due to a lack of evidence. The probe uncovered an alleged doping network said to involve 58 cyclists out of some 200 athletes being treated by the doctor. Nonetheless, on Monday presiding

North American pro road racers and team staff, as well as racing fansaround the country, can breath a collective sigh of relief as officialsfrom both the Tourde Georgia and the U.S. Open Cycling Championships have confirmed that their respective events are all systems go. As reportedtwo weeks ago both events, the second and third on the USA CyclingPro Tour calendar, were without title sponsorship and facing large financialhurdles with their respective start dates quickly approaching. And whileneither race organizer has announced a high-dollar title sponsor, bothsay they are confident their

A 501.1-gram rear wheel

It is very tough to cut boron fiber – and don't get any of the splinters in your fingers.

Zinn feels really comfortable in a hotel that welcomes bikes in the lobby

Zinn and Paul Lew take the Pro VT-1s out for a test ride.

Pellizotti takes stage, lead at Paris-Nice

Pellizotti takes the stage and the lead

Fischer takes his turn at the front of the break

Fischer and Voeckler soldier on

Saunier Duval chases

Lampre lends a hand

Millar sees that yellow jersey slip off his shoulders . . .

. . . and onto those of Pellizotti, who took the podium alongside Raymond Poulidor

Danielson and Leipheimer motoring along

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you havea comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen incycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write toWebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name andhome town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writersare encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submittingauthors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positionsof VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, InsideCommunications,

Nazon wins at Paris-Nice, Millar stays in yellow

Raisin at the Tour of California

Nazon celebrates

As does Millar

A lovely day for a ride

The break

Saunier Duval on patrol

Lampre lends a hand

Tilting at windmills

Boonen had a hectic but successful year as world champ

Millar hopes to take the jersey all the way to Nice

Millar's old time-trial position was good enough for victory

Young Kreuzinger nearly stole the victory

Joly slotted into third

Leipheimer was the top American in sixth

The United States Mountain Bike Team swept the elite women's podium and collected a total of eight medals - two of them gold - at the Continental Mountain Bike Championships in Nequen, Argentina, on Sunday. In a major step towards securing the maximum number of start positions at the 2008 Olympic Games for the U.S., Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho/Luna) led the elite women's contingent with a win in the 24-kilometer race ahead of silver medalist Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven) and bronze medalist Willow Koerber (Horseshoe, N.C./Subaru-Gary Fisher). Heather Irmiger

The Operación Puerto blood-doping inquiry has been dropped due to a lack of evidence that a crime was committed under Spanish law, the Spanish press reported Saturday. Spanish daily El Mundo said Judge Antonio Serrano had dismissed the case, ruling that “there was no law that penalized doping practices under Spanish legislation at the time this case was begun.” The reports said that while Serrano had determined that blood doping occured, there was no evidence of the practice harming riders' health. That was the requirement under previous Spanish law for charges to be filed against

Last year's rivals for the overall: Landis, Sanchez and Vila

Valverde looks good for the win with only one stage remaining

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you havea comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen incycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write toWebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name andhome town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writersare encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submittingauthors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positionsof VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, InsideCommunications,

The Union Cycliste Internationale launched its latest initiative in its battle to eradicate doping from the sport. Labeled “100% Against Doping,” UCI president Pat McQuaid said the aim of the new program is to “chase all drug-using cheats from cycling,” a which has suffered from nearly a decade of uninterrupted doping scandals. "Our objective is clear - to give cycling the best anti-doping program in the world," said McQuaid. "Only clean riders should win; those who cheat should be caught; those considering trying to cheat should be discouraged. Together we can eliminate doping from our

Boulder, Colorado – Inside Communications announced today the appointmentsof a new Publisher, Editor and Advertising Sales Director for its flagshippublication, VeloNews. Andy Pemberton has been promoted from InteractiveBrand Director to Publisher. Ben Delaney has been promoted from ManagingEditor to Editor. And Kevin Burnette has been promoted from Senior AccountExecutive to Advertising Director.As Publisher of VeloNews, Pemberton is leading the largest and mostsuccessful competitive cycling magazine. He will be responsible for businessdevelopment, sales and marketing for the entire VeloNews

Hincapie, after riding 100 miles with a broken arm.

UCI officials and riders discuss the wind in Murcia

Brown wins

Race leader Cooke

French cycling federation president Jean Pitallier is calling for former UCI president Hein Verbruggen to completely remove himself from the leadership of cycling’s international governing body. Pitallier told the French sports daily L’Equipe that Verbruggen, who still holds influential positions on the ProTour council and as a UCI vice president, is largely responsible for the current crisis in professional cycling. Verbruggen, noted Pitallier, was the driving force behind the creation of the ProTour, the top-tier race schedule that is now at the center of a major dispute between the UCI

Trips for Kids National Signs its 50th Local ChapterAnother community gears up to take inner-city kids mountain bikingSAN RAFAEL, Calif.  – March, 2007 – Trips for Kids Nationaltoday announced a significant milestone with the formation of its 50thchapter - Trips for Kids Rochester, New York.Rochester, New York-based Friends Helping Friends is now the newestTrips for Kids chapter in North America. Like all Trips for Kids chapters,Friends Helping Friends will provide underserved youth a chance to experiencethe joy and challenge of mountain biking in the woods, something inner-citykids

USA Cycling announced on Thursday its selection of riders who will representthe United States at the 2007 UCI Track World Championships in Palma deMallorca March 29-April 1.Headlining the roster for the women’s squad is defending world championin the three-kilometer individual pursuit, Sarah Hammer (Ouch Pro Cycling). Hammer captured the world title last year in Bordeaux, France – the firstfor an elite American track rider since 1996 – where her mark of 3:37.227in the gold-medal final was just fast enough to edge Olga Slyusareva (RUS)for the rainbow jersey.This year, Hammer will have her

Leipheimer comes to Paris-Nice with momentum from California.

2004 Murcia winner Alejandro Valverde says this year's edition may not suit his talents

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you havea comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen incycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write toWebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name andhome town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writersare encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submittingauthors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positionsof VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, InsideCommunications,

Floyd Landis Is Coming To Bicycle Village Westminster!Bicycle Village in Westminster, Colorado, will host a special appearanceby 2006 Tour de France Champion Floyd Landis and the Floyd Fairness Fund(FFF) will be in Denver for a FFF Town Hall as part of a national tourto discuss Landis’ efforts to attain a fair hearing in his fight against doping allegations.• Town Hall Q&A with Floyd and the Floyd Fairness Fund (FFF)• Exclusive Free Autograph Session Sponsored by Bicycle Village andGiro• Silent Auction• Admission $35 at the door benefits the FFFFloyd Landis Town Hall Fairness Fundraiser

Colorado Springs, Colo. (March 6, 2007)—USA Cycling has paid out more than $260,000 to Local Associations based on 2006 license sales with another $59,000 expected to be distributed. USA Cycling has agreements with 33 Local Associations that represent 85% of its road, track and cyclo-cross racing members. "The Local Associations do a terrific job managing the racing and recruiting new members in communities across the U.S.," said USA Cycling chief executive officer, Steve Johnson. "It's only natural that we invest a significant portion of our members' license fees back into the

Red Five Sports Group, the organizer of the U.S. Open Cycling Championships, has announced the appointment of John Eustice as Executive Director for the U.S. Open Cycling Championships to be held in Williamsburg and Richmond, Virginia, and broadcast nationally via the NBC network on April 7, 2007. Mr. Eustice is a cycling expert whose company, Sparta Cycling, has produced over thirty professional races in addition to providing technical consulting to many others. His Univest Grand Prix is a live television production and is listed on the USA Cycling Pro Tour calendar. The race is celebrating

March, 2007  - You are invited to view an NBC documentary ofthe 2004 Race Across America (RAAM) to celebrate VMG Cycling, a Boulder–based team that will be racing in this year’s RAAM. The screening will also serve as a fund-raiser for the Davis Phinney Foundation. Date:  March 15, 7:00PMLocation:  First Presbyterian Church in Boulder, CO, 182015th St., Oerter Hall - entrance located at the west end of the buildingAdmission:  Free, but a donation to the Davis Phinney Foundationis requested

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 7, 2007) - Terry Madden, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) since its creation in April2000, submitted his resignation to the USADA Board of Directors duringits March 1-2, 2007 meeting in Colorado Springs. Madden will continueto lead the anti-doping agency through September 2007.“Terry has been instrumental in the creation and successful developmentof USADA,” said Board Chair Dr. Ralph W. Hale. “Under his leadershipUSADA has become the recognized standard for national anti-doping agencies.While we understand his decision to leave this

Hannegraaf was left frustrated and angry by the solution offered on Monday.

Sánchez

Our latest reader-submitted PhotoGallery is now ready for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of our most recent contest. Like this week, we received a wealth of images from the Tour of California, among them Melanie Chang’s beautifully composed black-and-white image of Priority Health’s Scott Zwizanski taking on the San Francisco prologue. We would, however, be remiss if we failed to credit the humor of Karen Bauer’s “Road Hazards.” Nice timing, Karen. Congratulations to both of you. Please drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.comto work

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you havea comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen incycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write toWebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name andhome town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writersare encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submittingauthors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positionsof VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, InsideCommunications,

Scott Zwizanski ToC2007 Prologue

Road Hazards

Klöden and Vinokourov at this year's team camp in Mallorca

McQuaid and Clerc

Is the Madrileño poised for a breakthrough season?

Boonen takes the win