News

Desert solitaire?

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski

Tech report:Storm Watch '03

What a week this is shaping up to be, and it’s not even half-over. After a glorious weekend of sunny skies and 70-degree temperatures, Colorado’s Front Range is currently being blanketed by a wet, sloppy snowstorm that meteorologists are predicting will be measured “in feet, not inches.” Considering the aftereffects of a 30th birthday weekend, followed by a (somewhat) subdued St. Patrick’s Day celebrated with margaritas, a real-live Presidential ultimatum, and a first screening of Cameron Crowe’s mind-bender “Vanilla Sky,” it’s starting to look like your less than average week. After

The Union Cycliste International on Wednesday announced that it had reinstated the German Coast team, suspended earlier this month because of doubts about its financial situation. The reinstatement of the German squad, which had aggressively recruited 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, comes just three days before the World Cup kicks off on Saturday with Milan-San Remo. "A thorough examination of documents provided by Team Coast, has enabled us to determine that prior conditions set when the team was registered for the 2003 season have been respected," UCI said in prepared

Yes, it was a dream. Except for the whole 'war' part — that was real.

The Church of Funk — where the truly funky go to worship

'I wonder if Postal will still let me ride if I grow a mullet?'

Tech report:Storm Watch '03

Tech report:Storm Watch '03

Editor:While reading the responses endorsing free choice I found myself agreeingwith the rider's right to choose a helmet. But then I thought back to mydays working in a rehabilitation hospital. Seeing the drooling, babblingeffects of a head injury was a powerful image, but the bills and financialimpact on the family and society made just as big an impact. When making a choice, one should consider one’s commitment to his orher family, and if one really wants to be supported as a gorp by Medicaid. Wes Hunter,Alma, CO Bad timing, bad choiceEditor:I was very shocked to hear about the

Citing a shift in its marketing priorities, the Saturn division of General Motors has announced that it will no longer sponsor the Cycling Classic, the difficult and mountainous one-day race from Boulder to Breckenridge, Colorado. The three-year-old race, considered by many to be the hardest single day of racing in the U.S., covers a challenging 140-mile route that involves more than 14,000 feet of climbing. In a company press release issued Tuesday, Saturn sponsorship and sales promotions coordinator Christine Rivers said the company had benefited from its sponsorship but wanted to shift

2001 winner Jonathan Vaughters gave his prize to his dad

Chris Wherry on Guanella Pass in '03

Tyler Hamilton is no longer in Lance Armstrong’s shadow. The 32-year-old CSC team captain has the Tour de France as his top goal for the season. And while he might not beat his former teammate, Hamilton has a legitimate shot at the podium. Hamilton made his season debut at Paris-Nice, his first race since the GP Eddy Merckx last August. Hamilton had a strong season debut, finishing second in the opening prologue, third in Thursday’s time trial and then won the King of the Mountains jersey. Here are excerpts from an interview with Hamilton conducted just after he finished his third-place

Editor:While pedaling 16-18 mph on a bike trail alongside a waterway I yelled,"Nice boat!" to those aboard a beautiful all-teak schooner. I just hadto keep looking to see if they heard me, and came to an abrupt stop ata post. I did a perfect full gainer directly onto my head.I sent it to Bell – all internal ribs well cracked - in exchange fora new helmet for $30 and a "Saved By The Bell" certificate.Marshall BrownMountlake Terrace, WAAvast thar, Cap’n, post off the starboard … owwww. - Editor Preachers should keep sermons to themselvesEditor:I find it somewhat shameful that so many of your

Italian cyclist Massimiliano Mori of the Formaggi Pinzolo team was thrown out of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race on Monday for violating anti-doping regulations. Miro was caught trying to pass off a urine sample of the team doctor as his own when called for testing by the race's medical inspectors. Monday's fifth stage goes from Monte San Giusto to Rapagnano over a distance of 181 kilometers. Icy conditions forced the cancellation of Sunday's fourth stage. Illness will force Hincapie to skip the classicsAn ongoing viral infection has forced the U.S. Postal team’s George

Italian Ruggero Marzoli (Alessio) won a sloppy uphill sprint into the scenic hilltop town of Rapagnano Monday as the Tirreno-Adriatico pedaled into sunny skies a day after Sunday’s stage was snowed out. Monday’s 181km fifth stage from Monte San Giusto to Rapagnano brought the “Race of Two Seas” closer to the sea after Sunday’s snowy, cold weather forced race officials to cancel the fourth stage over 800-metre Valico Colfiorito climb. Racers woke up to sunny but cool temperatures for the rolling stage ending with a 3-kilometer climb. Ukraine Sergiy Matveyev (Panaria) made the day’s big move,

Category 2 road racer Garrett Lemire (KB Home) died Saturday in a head-on collision with a car while trying to avoid a crash in the second stage of the Tucson Bicycle Classic. The 22-year-old University of California-Los Angeles student reportedly swerved across a double-yellow line and into oncoming traffic during a descent along Gates Pass Road, striking a Toyota Camry driven by 71-year-old Mary Conners. Lemire was pronounced dead at the scene. Conners and three of the cyclists involved in the earlier crash were taken to area hospitals with injuries described as

The Col d'Eze

Bernabeu has reason to smile

Kelme's Ivan Parra is outnumbered by the boys from Milaneza

Telekom at work

Vinokourov

Spring Training: Hamilton thought he'd give it a shot

The effort left him spent, but he earned the climber's jersey

The Col du Tanneron

After his crash, Julich got help to make the time cut

Brochard on the attack

World champion Mario Cipollini won the third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Saturday, a 175 kilometer run between Tarquinia and Foligno. The Domina Vacanze team's sprint ace, who added to his first stage win in Sabaudia on Thursday, prevailed in a charge to the line over Telekom’s Erik Zabel and Dario Pieri. Quick Step's Paolo Bettini, boosted by a good set of bonus points, snagged the the overall lead away from Filippo Pozzato (Fassa Bortolo). Cipollini set the pace throughout the stage which was marked by several accidents with the going made tougher by the cold and biting wind. The

Two recent columns, one from Neal Rogers and another from Dr. DawnRichardson elicited a veritable flood of letters applauding their defenseof the humble, utilitarian brain-buckets so disliked by pros and theirwanna-bes. We’ve collected a few of the best here.- Editor Fignon’s head hardly needs protectingEditor:I can completely understand why someone as bold and audacious as LaurentFignon would be so opposed to wearing a helmet(See "Mr.Rogers' neighborhood: Wear your damn helmet!"). If I had my headlodged up my ass as far has he does, I would feel impervious to head injuriesas well. Brad

Walked into the office today and what did I see? Two dozen Krispy Kremedonuts staring up at me. Nothing like those little glazed wonders to geta column started, although I’m still partial to my neighborhood DaylightDonuts. This brings up my question for the day: If Tim Horton’s can stepup and sponsor the Canadian national team, and the Canadian national championships every year, why hasn’t someone gotten Dunkin’ Donuts to do the same for the U.S.? It’s a natural. Cyclists love donuts. At least this one does. Anyhow, USA Cycling finally announced the date and location of the 2003elite road

Vino' makes his move

A match made in Heaven

Telekom out front

VDB and Perez were finally caught with 20 to go

The chase up Mont Faron

Strike a pose

Flight of the Navigator

The future has arrived

And to think I missed the show...

Editor's note: A few weeks ago we began making arrangementswith emergency room physician and cyclist Dr. Dawn Richardson to provideVeloNews.com with a regular column on medical issues facing those who participate in this sport. Scheduled to begin this week, Dr. Richardson had drafted her opening column on preparing a proper "crash kit," the sort of basicsthat every team should carry to races in order to treat the standard fareof cuts, bruises and the ever-present road rash. The events of this weekat Paris-Nice, however, prompted her to delay that column and deal witha more critical

Team Giant 2003

Last week I wrote a column about the passingof Fred Rogers, a.k.a Mr. Rogers, who succumbed to cancer at the ageof 74. Of course I prefer to write about bike racing, or music, or women,or women who bike race, but I felt it appropriate to pay tribute to theman from whose lifetime contribution I’d borrowed the title of my column. I didn’t expect to be writing about anyone else’s passing so soon, buttoday, it’s all I can imagine writing about. I’d set the alarm so I could watch Paris-Nice from bed Wednesday morning,and upon waking, a quick hit on the remote brought me an image of

Vaughters gets analyzed

Former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani was banned for six months Thursday for being caught in possession of insulin during last year's Giro d’ Italia. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reversed last year's acquittal by the Italian federation. The penalty, however, carries little significance since he is being credited for time served in the off-season and the suspension finishes on March 17. An Italian federation appeal commission ruled last August there was no proof that the cyclist had taken the banned substance despite police finding a syringe with traces of it in his

Dear Bob;I have a legal question concerning the building I rent for my bikeshop. I never signed a lease and have been paying each month for threeyears. I am thinking about moving my business to a different part of townand want to end my rental arrangement with the landlord. Can I just tellhim or do I need to send him formal notification?Thanks,J.RFlorida Dear J.R.,You may think you don't have a lease, but you do. It's justnot on paper! Of all the different areas of law, landlord-tenant relations vary themost from state-to-state. Therefore, let me start with the general andwork my

The fourth stage of Paris-Nice has finished in Vergeze, France. Dario Frigo has turned in a stellar time and has taken over as race leader. Yesterday's 192.5km stage was neutralized out of respect to Andrei Kivilev who died of head injuries sustained in a crash on Tuesday. To see how today's 16.5km individual time trial unfolded clickhere to bring up our Live Update window. 61st Paris-Nice, March 9-16, stages:Prologue, March 9 - Issy les Moulineaux , 4.8kmStage 1, March 10 -Auxerre to Paray le Monial, 191kmStage 2, March 11 - La Clayette to Saint Etienne, 182.5kmStage 3, March 12 -

The plan had been to pen this latest column on the happenings from the world of mountain biking while making the 90-minute trip from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen on the Spirit of British Columbia ferry. But when the mustached man in the orange jumpsuit gave me the unmistakable “that’s it” wave of his arms, I was left to write from the front seat of my rental car, while rain pattered down on the roof. Couldn’t believe it. Two — maybe even three hundred cars fit on that ferry, but I was No. 301, meaning I had two hours to kill before the next sailing. Anyway…Swartz Bay sits on the eastern coast of

World champion Mario Cipollini, of the Domina Vacanze team, dominated a sprint finish to win the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico as it finished in Sabaudia, Italy, Thursday. The 35-year-old Italian held off compatriot Dario Pieri to take the leader's jersey after the 178km ride around Sabaudia. After some mediocre riding in the early season Spanish races, Cipollini took full advantage of his team's close protection throughout the day before they led him on to a flat final straight. "I was feeling quite calm, I knew I had worked well recently and knew my fitness was up to scratch,"

A good day for Tyler

VDB had a good day, too

No room for VeloNews

Cofidis at the finish

The tragic death of Andrei Kivilev at this year’s Paris-Nice is not thefirst time that helmets – specifically, whether pros should be requiredto wear them as a safety measure – have been an issue at the race. As Rupert Guinness noted in his coverage of the 1991 Paris-Nice, publishedin the April 8, 1991, edition of VeloNews, Tony Rominger’s victorythat year was overshadowed by a riders’ strike sparked by the Union CyclisteInternationale’s new requirement that pros wear hard-shell helmet and thesubsequent disqualification of Francis Moreau for removing his on MontFaron, during stage six — a

Team Coast says its racing suspension is unfair and that the UCI is not treating them fairly. Coast was suspended last week by the UCI until further notice and could not take part in the start Sunday of Paris-Nice. Coast team manager Marcel Wüst said the team has shown documents to the UCI to prove they have paid riders and that their finances are in order. “We have done everything correctly and given proof that the payments have been made on time,” Wüst told Reuters. “We feel we are not being treated fairly. We have done everything right and therefore the suspension should be lifted.” Last

Gerolsteiner's Davide Rebellin won the second stage of Paris-Nice, sprinting out of a lead group of six riders that escaped on the slopes of the Category 1 Croix de Chaubouret and held off pursuers on a long descent into Saint Etienne. With time bonuses, Rebellin also took the yellow jesey of overall leader, three seconds ahead of defending champion Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom), who finished second in the stage. The group also included Fassa Bortolo's Dario Frigo who drove the pace on the day's hardest climb and now stands in third place overall at 13 seconds. Stuart

The recent suspension of the Coast team has prompted the UCI to accelerate the implementation of a set of reforms designed “to change the way cycling is run in the future.” Union Cycliste Internationale president Hein Verbruggen pointed to the example of the financially troubled German team as he outlined the changes, originally slated for 2005, that would see the best riders and best teams race in events as part of a separate “elite league.” Speaking here at the second stage of Paris-Nice, Verbruggen said reform was needed if cycling was to be enhanced, and teams were to guarantee their

Cofidis’s Andrei Kivilev remained in a drug-induced coma late Tuesday following his fall in the second stage of Paris-Nice, according to his team doctor in Saint-Etienne. Kivilev, who finished fourth in the 2001 Tour de France, lost consciousness after his fall and was rushed to a hospital where he has been undergoing tests. "He has cerebral edema (general swelling of the brain)," said the Cofidis team's doctor Jean-Jacques Menuet. "We still have to wait a few hours before we can make a full diagnosis." The 29-year-old from Kazakstan is still on a life support system. Physicians often

The winning break

Rebellin gets the jersey

The Jalabert group

Damon Kluck

Daniele Bennati