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Proceeds Benefit the NorCal High School Mountain Bike LeagueJanuary 24th, 2005 (Berkeley, CA) - On Wednesday, January 26th, at 7:00PM there will be screenings of both Children of the Dirt & The Tour,Baby!Two cycling films with something for everyone.  The films willbe shown at the Berkeley High School Community Theater and the eveningwill include door prizes, a raffle, and special guests Marla Streb andKathy Pruitt.  All proceeds will benefit the NorCal High School MountainBike League.Children of the Dirt is a riveting thirty minute documentary followsa league of 180 high school athletes as

Wendy's International Cycling Classic now to be called the GlobalLiving Tour de GrandviewGradview Heights, Ohio - Due to significant interest on the partof racers and spectators alike, the community of Grandview Heights is onceagain returning its classic three-day cycling race to its rightful place. Today, that return was made possible with the help of a new title sponsor:Global Living, a home furnishing company headquartered in Grandview Heights.Mayor Ray DeGraw, members of the Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Area Chamberof Commerce, area residents, representatives from Global Living

Webcor Builders CEO Andy Ball gets a lift from sponsoring the Webcor Women

Cunego may be the star of the Giro, but he's got an eye on the Tour, too.

Osteopath Benoit Nave, who treats six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, said as part of a judicial investigation that he has never seen traces of injections or other doping practices on the American rider's body. The investigations come after Armstrong's former British masseusse Emma O'Reilly was interviewed by police. She was reported to have confirmed the allegations of the Texan using the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin) she made in "L.A. Confidential - Les Secrets de Lance Armstrong" last year. Armstrong is suing the authors for defamation, claiming two million euros

Robbie the Rocket scores again

Sanchez and Liberty cruised to the GC and team wins

Adelaide served as the hub of the week-long race

Leblanc was impressed with Oz

Liberty was dominant throughout the week

Sanchez: 'I'm no Indurain.'

Sanchez and Contador celebrate their successful teamwork

Contador and Sanchez work it

O'Grady leads Van Summeren by a single second

Sprint leader McEwen got into an early break

Damiano Cunego receives yet more accolades during the Giro's kitschy presentation ceremony in Milan on Saturday.

If 2000 Giro d'Italia champion Stefano Garzelli has his way, it will be him in the maglia rosa in May. Anything to trade out that green tie.

Nothing is ever under-stated in Italy. Nearly 1,000 people packed into the Mazda Palace on Saturday evening to watch the unveiling of the 88th Giro d'Italia.

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Thank NBC for covering RAAMEditor:This week is a great time to call NBC (number below) to thank them for putting cycling on their national network. I'm sure cyclists agree our sport does not get on the national networks nearly often enough. Well, on January 22, the Insight Race Across

Jill Janov’s January 17 article, “Why ride a bike? Ten reasons and counting,” must’ve struck a chord out there – we were deluged with e-mail from readers who eagerly provided their own rationales, which ranged from the spiritual to the technological to the Darwinian. A few samples follow. Enjoy the ride. – Editor My brother pointed me to your article about 10 reasons to ride a bike. He is a person who will take his 16-pound road bike on a 50-mile ride, just for run. I am still one of the unenlightened, in the "carrying potatoes" group. I commute to work on the average of 3.6 days per week,

When true road races were first held in Britain during World War II, Alf Buttler was one of the thousands of amateur cyclists who “did a bit of everything.” Like most riders, he came into the sport through a touring club, enjoying the weekend club runs and weeklong tours with his buddies to the hillier parts of the British Isles. Racing was a natural progression, first the “anonymous” road time trials, then track racing (usually on unbanked grass tracks), followed by the occasional hill climb, circuit race and, eventually, a full-blown stage race. Alf talked about the early days of modern

McEwen had no interest in chasing

The Nav's did, though

Sanchez is still in command

Sanchez is enjoying his time in the spotlight

'Pretty bloody happy,' White scores stage win in Oz

Alf Buttler and John Wilcockson in Wales

The RockShox Pike Air

Sanchez joined Van Summeren in the winning move 20km from the finish

QuickStep drove the chase...

... but, as it turns out, the team would still have another 100km to ride Thursday

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: A Will to win

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: A Will to win

Dear Readers,Last week we got a note from C.A. in Connecticut, who asked: In general, what is the legality of a group ride? If I email my friends and say, “Let’s all meet at my place at 6 AM for a century ride, I’ll lead,” and someone joins me and gets hit by a car while on my ride, to what degree can I be held legally accountable? Second, what if my group includes a university cycling team with members under 18? In response to that question, we talked about the most simple case, that of co-participant liability in a sport—what happens if you misjudge that gap in the big sprint and

Ask TIAA-CREF team director Jonathan Vaughters how important the upcoming season is along the career path of his team’s new leader Will Frischkorn, and he’ll tell you that in a word, it’s crucial. After five years racing at the professional level the 23-year-old Frischkorn is, for the first time in his career, being given the opportunity to lead a team. “Will is 23, going to be 24 this year, and at that sort of the age, you really have three options,” Vaughters said. “Maybe not for somebody that starts racing at 22, but Will’s been at this for more than five years. At the point he’s at in

McEwen's hopes of an overall win evaporated Thursday

McEwen strikes a familiar pose

O'Loughlin and crew built a 5:40 lead at one point... but then the chase started

300 FREE ENTRIES ‘UP FOR GRABS’ FOR JUNIOR XC CYCLISTS AT 2005 SEA OTTERCLASSICNapa Sheriff’s Activities League offers nationwide youth a ‘freeride’ at cycling’s largest, most competitive race for Juniors.Monterey, Calif., January 18, 2005 — The Napa Sheriff’s ActivitiesLeague (NSAL) and Sea Otter Classic, the most celebrated cycling festivalin North America, announced today they will offer 300 complimentary entriesto junior riders. There are 14 Junior Cross Country events for youths 18and under. The 15th annual Sea Otter Classic, known throughout the cyclingworld as the “grand season

INSIGHT RACE ACROSS AMERICA HITS NBC NATIONAL AIRWAVESWorld’s Ultra-Endurance Cycling Elite Captured in Riveting 2-hourDocu-DramaTEMPE, Arizona—The Insight Race Across America (RAAM), whichpassed through your area last June, is pleased to announce a two-hour NBCSports airing of the 2004 race on Saturday, January 22, 2005, 2.30 p.m.– 4.30 p.m. EST (check local listings for variations). Insight RAAM isthe American answer to the Tour de France, attracting many of the leadingultra-marathon cyclists in the world.Now in its 24th year, RAAM has worldwide recognition beyond the wildestdreams of the

McEwen's season is starting off right

Another summer evening in Adelaide

“Nothing compares with the simple pleasure of a bike ride.”– President John F. Kennedy Why ride a bicycle? When I asked 10 observers of the bicycle industry, they replied with inspired observations, unprintable expletives, lively endorsements of guilt-free dessert consumption and one common complaint — “Jeez, to pare it down to just one reason is difficult.” A Zen teacher once asked his students why they rode bicycles. One said he rode to carry potatoes. Another cycled to observe the world. A third said it cleared the mind, and a fourth said cycling put him in harmony with all sentient

Simoni's saddle sponsor, fi’zi’k, showed its support by producing a special saddle for event.

PRESS RELEASE - Simoni gets new saddle for TDU

Cycling makes you smart

SIMONI HEADS TO Oz WITH NEW FI'ZI:K SADDLE: THE LIMITED EDITION AUSSIE ARIONE-Technology Plus Flexology Yields Power & Comfort-14 January 2005 - Pozzoleone, Italy ¡V Gearing up for what is often considered the official start of the race season, even if just for warm climate training, Lampre-Caffita's Gilberto Simoni is off to Australia for his first Tour Down Under with an honorary saddle in tow: the Aussie Arione. Paying respect to the hosting country and in honor of Simoni¡¦s first Tour Down Under, fi'zi:k called upon its limited edition material suppliers to produce the special cover

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.What would Eddy do?Editor:On the subject of Lance Armstrong making a decision about riding the Tour this year, I think it is useful to ask the question: "What would Eddy do?" The Tour today is the most important cycling race of the year, bar none. This was not necessarily the case when

Rubiera on the front of the second group, near the coast. With 28 riders, two groups is a must.

With the beautiful California coast in the background, Barry and Hincapie set the pace.

Hincapie and Barry working hard at the top of the big climb to the coast.

Hincapie is one of the group leaders, and sets the pace on the harder stretches.

Lance Armstrong is all bundled up for an early January training ride.

Armstrong, at thefront of the group, is looking fit for this early in the season.

Jason McCartney is riding at the front with Armstrong and enjoying every minute of it.

Michael Creed and Tom Danielson are working hard, preparing for the trip to Malaysia and the Tour de Langkawi at the end of January.

Max Van Heeswijk is getting ready for the early season classics.

When Benoit Joachim isn't riding, he spends his time taking pictures of his mates.

Jose Azevedo relaxes.

At the end of the ride, Vince Gee works on one of the 28 bikes he needs to wash and get ready for the next day.

O'Grady had a fine day at Germany's HEW classic last year

Clean and ready to roll, the new team bikes show off the new team colors for '05.

Sean Yates and Johann Bruyneel are deciding on the route for the morning ride. Its a question of how many loops to include for a four- or six-hour ride, while still keeping things interesting.

Savoldelli earlier in the week.

Hincapie checks the helmet to see everything is screwed on right before a ride.

George Hincapie and Michael Barry lead the Classics group on a climb towards the coast north of Santa Barbara.

Levi Leipheimer is training this week in Mallorca, Spain, where he's lining up for his first of two seasons with Gerolsteiner. The German team was looking for another GC rider to complement Georg Totschnig, and Leipheimer was looking for new challenges after three seasons with Rabobank.Working on the upcoming VeloNews "Road Season Preview," European correspondent Andrew Hood came to Mallorca and spoke with Leipheimer this week as the American pro reflected on his years with Rabobank and what he's hoping for in 2005 and beyond. This is part two of the interview; to read part one, click here.

Danielson en route to winning Langkawi in 2003

McEwen takes the title

Leipheimer's aiming higher with Gerolsteiner

As I reluctantly remove my expired 2004 Anna Kournikova calendar from the wall of my cubicle, I suppose it’s time to acknowledge that it is, in fact, a new year, and time to generate a new column for my legion of faithful readers (this means you, mom … thanks again for reading!). I couldn’t find another Kournikova calendar marked down during my usual “first week of January” calendar shopping, so for now I’ve got the VeloNews road racing calendar on the wall. It’s nice and all, but it’s just not the same. As for the past few weeks, I spent a rainy winter holiday in San Diego with my family,

Can cycling fans look forward to seeing Team Colavita-eBay on the American roads in 2005? Well, no – but the Colavita New England Cycling Team hopes the online auction house can help the squad add a title co-sponsor to its jersey. Bidding for the sponsorship starts at $5000, according to the team’s posting on eBay. “With proven results from Maine to California, our team will be ideal for your company's marketing in 2005,” it adds. Team member Thad LaVallee told the Boston Herald that any new corporate partner would get a lot of mileage for its money, with 15 cyclists racing across New

Levi Leipheimer is training this week in Mallorca, Spain, where he's lining up for his first of two seasons with Gerolsteiner. The German team was looking for another GC rider to complement Georg Totschnig, and Leipheimer was looking for new challenges after three seasons with Rabobank.Working on the upcoming VeloNews "Road Season Preview," European correspondent Andrew Hood came to Mallorca and spoke with Leipheimer this week as the American pro reflected on his years with Rabobank and what he's hoping for in 2005 and beyond. Part one of the interview is below; check back tomorrow for part

The announcement this week that the proposed 2005 Tour of Texas was being canceled through lack of sponsorship dollars emphasized how difficult it is to put on a major road race in this country. Cycling is not like most American sports, which are stadium-based and charge spectators to come and watch. A road race, particularly a multi-day event, has neither a fixed venue nor guaranteed revenue. Even sports such as triathlon, which also use public roads, have a formula: Charge the competitors an entry fee that can be as high as $400; get a field of a thousand or more triathletes; and use the