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The podium

The stalemate between cycling's ruling body and organizers of the sport’s three grand tours took a new twist Tuesday after UCI president Hein Verbruggen conceded that he may have to downsize plans for the new ProTour. But Verbruggen, who has met opposition to his proposals for a new-look ProTour which would radically shake up the sport when it is introduced in 2005, conceded Tuesday that he could be forced to introduce a slimmed down version of his initial plans for the race calendar. Verbruggen's project would see 20 top cycling teams buy four-year licenses to ride in a 22-race annual

The course was made for a power rider like Thürig

The Russian Cycling Federation has announced plans to challenge the results of this year's Olympic time trial after American cyclist Tyler Hamilton was cleared last week of doping violations by the International Olympic Committee. Hamilton twice tested positive for a blood transfusion, first in Athens on August 18 after winning the Olympic time trial gold medal and then following his win in the stage 8 individual time trial at the Vuelta a España. But Hamilton’s Olympic test was not confirmed after laboratory technicians froze the B sample instead of refrigerating the vial of whole blood

Arndt was second at nearly a minute back

Tech Report: More from Milan

Zabirova crossed for third

Tech Report: More from Milan

Thorburn was top American in seventh

Tech Report: More from Milan

Tech Report: More from Milan

Tech Report: More from Milan

Tech Report: More from Milan

Tech Report: More from Milan

Tech Report: More from Milan

Tech Report: More from Milan

Tech Report: More from Milan

Dekker faded on the second climb

Farrar finishes 21st.

The Mail Bag 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.Time for straight talk, TylerEditors,Regarding Haven Hamilton's defense of Tyler (see "TylerTunes: A letter from Haven"): I have some of questions for Havento pose to her hubby.Tyler has been reported as initially having said that he had a surgicalintervention that would explain his

Much waits to start a medal-winning ride

Brajkovic surprised even himself

Perez impressed many at this Vuelta

Perez - Goofy helmet; fast times

Heras did what he needed to do

Zabel kept his points jersey

Dunlap repeats...

... as does Horgan-Kobelski.

A new face on the block: Chris Del Bosco

A Giant day: Craig, Llanes and Decker all took national titles Saturday

Lopes leads the men's mountain cross

John Tomac leaves the mountain cross podium after presenting the winners with medals

Even though he’s facing a two-year suspension after testing positive for banned blood transfusions, Tyler Hamilton vows his racing days aren’t over yet. In an exclusive interview Saturday, Hamilton told VeloNews he “will race again” despite an admittedly uncertain future. The Phonak rider has staunchly defended his innocence against what officials say is the first positive to result from a new test designed to detect illegal transfusions. Because of the ongoing investigation, Hamilton declined to address specific question regarding the case, but he said he remains confident that he will

Perez makes his move

José Gutierrez managed to stay away

Postal's Cruz was in the day's early break

On the Puerto de Cotos

Jimenez jumped with 15km to go, but Gutiérrez fought back

The chase kept the break in check

Hamilton before this year's Olympic road race in Athens

The Mail Bag 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.Do you trust the test?Dear Editors,The letter by David J. Heard is right on the mark (see "Wednesday'sMailbag"). From my own experience as a biological scientist I canattest to the variable nature of many antibody based assays.I have read the paper by Nelson et al. and I think it is nice

This update is coming to you from Haven Hamilton. I'm Tyler's wife. I wantedto post a note of appreciation to all of you who are standing behind Tylerand I during this very difficult ordeal. The outpouring of support hasbeen overwhelming and is appreciated more than you can imagine. Tyler isinnocent of the charges against him and we will do everything we can, withevery resource we have to make this clear.I have known Tyler since 1996 and we have been married for almost sixyears. When I met him he was a neo-pro bike racer who competed primarilyin the United States. Back in the day, we had no

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SRAM Corporation and Truvativ are pleased to announce that SRAM hassigned a Definitive Agreement to purchase Truvativ.  The transactionis expected to close by mid October.Stan Day, the President of SRAM said,  "Truvativ is a great companywith a remarkable track record of growth and innovation.  SRAM isexcited to bring the Truvativ Team and products into our organization. Cranksets and bottom brackets complete SRAM's drivetrain product line."Micki Kozuschek, the President of Truvativ said:  "Truvativ wasat a crossroads to eithermake a complete drivetrain ourselves or team

Zaballa's effort pays off

Heras and the rest of the key players finished a safe 6:25 back

JHK had time to inform the crowd it was his third national XC title

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Friday that Joseph D’Antoni of Raleigh, N.C., an athlete in the sport of cycling, tested positive at the Track World Cup Qualifier on Feb. 26, 2004. He tested positive for recombinant human Erythropoietin (rEPO), a prohibited substance under the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which is the international federation for the sport of cycling. rEPO is a synthetic hormone that stimulates the body’s production of red blood cells thereby increasing oxygen transport and aerobic power. D’Antoni, 27, accepted a two-year

It’s that time of year again, when the rumor mill starts spinning with tales of trades and transfers. And while the majority of domestic teams aren’t yet ready to make any official announcements yet, there appear to be a few “done deals” that should have a profound effect on next year’s North American road racing calendar. Sources indicate the biggest shakeup is taking place on the Colavita Olive Oil squad, as a pair of GC contenders, Will Frischkorn and Nathan O’Neill, as well as star-sprinter Ivan Dominguez are all reportedly moving on to different programs. Again, nothing’s yet been

The B-sample taken from Olympic time-trial champion Tyler Hamilton at theVuelta a Espana earlier this month as come back positive, his Phonak cyclingteam announced Thursday.The team also reported that the B-sample for similar doping test bythe International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier in Athens was negative.Phonak said it was setting up a scientific board to check the validityof testing methods because of the apparently conflicting results shownby the IOC's procedure, and the one used by the Union Cycliste Internationale(UCI) in Spain.Hamilton has been suspended from racing by the Phonak

Tyler Hamilton's Olympic gold medal may be safe after the International Olympic Committee dropped disciplinary proceedings against him, but the Phonak rider could still face a two-year ban from cycling based on evidence of blood doping at the Vuelta a España. The IOC announced Thursday that it had dropped disciplinary proceedings against the Olympic time trial champion, begun after "an adverse analytical finding" on his A sample from the Athens Games, taken on August 19 in Athens. Tests on the B sample, taken the same day, proved "non-conclusive" because testers inadvertently placed the

McCartney

Where it all started: Ferguson and Wherry coming back from a surf at the Health Net team camp in January

Pascual Rodriguez takes Vuelta win; Heras still in charge

Hamilton at Wednesday press conference

American Olympic time-trial champion Tyler Hamilton has been suspended by the Phonak team and will be thrown out unless he is able to prove he is innocent of blood doping charges, the Swiss team said Wednesday. "If Hamilton is not able to prove his innocence, then the contract will be cancelled effective immediately," Zurich-based Phonak said in a statement on its Internet site. The statement, which was released before the results of a second doping test sample were known, also announced the Phonak team leader's suspension until the proceedings on the charge are completed. The 33-year-old

Cardenas wins the stage...

... but Heras and especially Perez made the day's biggest gains...

... at Valverde's expense.

The break got away early... and shrank all the way to the finish.

Liberty had chase duty for the day

Once into the climb, the peloton continued to shrink.

Perez now sits in second

The Mail Bag 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.It's all about the fiduciary responsibilityEditors,I was distressed to see that one of your readers thought that SCA isoff the mark with the Armstrong inquiry. First of all, they launchedtheir investigation after the Tour instead of before the Tour simply becauseif he had not won they

Phonak’s Tyler Hamilton, who won the Olympic time trial gold medal last month, said he was totally innocent of the charge of blood doping after it was revealed on Tuesday he had become the first athlete to test positive for it. The 33-year-old faces a two year ban after testing positive after winning the Tour of Spain's eighth stage time trial on September 11 and he pulled out of the Tour six days later apparently due to stomach problems. Hamilton's Swiss Phonak team confirmed the positive result and news of the second sample is expected within 48 hours. However Hamilton insisted he was

Heras: Still in charge... barely

Cruz joins the day's big move

Hamilton at the Vuelta

The Mail Bag 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.Drugs aren’t a black-and-white issueEditor:It is a shame that any professional cyclist feels compelled to use controlled substances to aid their performance. However, the harsh reality is that it is likely rampant in the pro ranks. If you were to take two athletes of equal physical

The Ford Cycling Women’s Mountain Bike Team will be hosting two events for women during the US Nationals at Mammoth Mountain on September 23-26. The first, a Last Minute Race Cram, will be held Friday, September 24, at 7:30 p.m. at McCoy Sports in the Village at Mammoth. This one-hour-long talk will cover topics such as nutrition, visualization, warm-up, tool kits and more. Joining the discussion will be the technical staff from Shimano Service. The second Ford event will be a Sunday morning recovery spin beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the start/finish area on the mountain. This easy 45-minute

The last couple of days have been for the climbers, the pure climbers, with one hard day in the mountains followed by a 29.6km uphill time trial. And on both days, Santi Perez of Phonak dominated the stages winning with ease and boosted himself into the first three overall Two weeks into a three-week race and everyone on the team is getting a bit homesick. We have been together for nearly three weeks straight now, as we arrived at the start in Leon three days before the race began, and we are ready for a change of pace, a change in diet and a change in schedule. The morale is still good, and

Heras plans to fight to the end

(l-r) Felice Gimondi, Marino Basso, Mario Cipollini, Fiorenzo Magni, Vittorio Adorni, Gianni Bugno, Ercole Baldini, Francesco Moser, and Maurizio Fondriest

One of the streetlights for Milan's auto-free zone