Welcome to VeloNews's live coverage of the Saturn Classic, a 140-mile nightmare from Boulder to Breckenridge. Stay with us for updates as often as technology permits until the last dawg is dead. 11:00 a.m. Jesus returns and decrees Tammy Thomas the winner. 10:50 a.m. Scott Moninger explodes after being struck by an Iraqi Scud missile.
Roller Coaster - Wet or dry, the Saturn Classic will be tough
Wet and wild: Tim Johnson's Saturn Classic predictions
It's gotta be the suit.
Okay, so maybe when the rain started it helped Van Moorsel.
ONCE’s Joseba Beloki says he wants to be in position to win Saturday’sClassica San Sebastian. That means he has to be in the front over the punishingJaizkibel climb towering over the Atlantic Ocean just east of the finishline in San Sebastian. “Maybe this is my year, at least to try to be at the front at the Jaizkibel,which is where everything is decided,” Beloki told the newspaper El Dario Vasco. “I really hope to be at the front over the climb and then we’ll see what happens.” The Jaizkibel is a long, difficult climb up a lonely, windswept summitsome 20 kilometers from the finish line on
Four days after her brutal practice run crash at the NORBA mountain cross race in Durango, Colorado, American Tara Llanes updated VeloNews with her final injury tally. The damage: broken left collarbone, three fractured ribs, two partially collapsed lungs, one severely bruised lung, torn MCL in the right knee. Her season — and her shot at the NORBA mountain cross title — are almost certainly done. Llanes suffered her injuries on one of the huge double jumps near the finish on Durango's famed Chapman Hill. "The crash happened in the last five minutes of mountain cross practice before the
The escapees - Madeleine Lindberg (Farm Frites), Iryna Chuzhynova (Edilsavino) and Ghita Beltman (Accua Due O) -- were either five minutes up the road or just ahead of the field, depending who was looking at the watch.
While he would have loved to have raced in New York close to family andfriends last Sunday, U.S. Postal's George Hincapie opted to stayin Europe and take on Germany's World Cup race, the HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg. The choice appears to have paid off nicely. Hincapie made the rightmove, joined the winning break on Sunday and rose to third in the overallUCI World Cup standings after finishing fifth behind winner Johan Museeuw. “I really wanted to race in New York. It would have been great to seeall of my friends and family and the people I grew up racing with. Beforethe Tour started,
Hein Verbruggen, the president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), has resigned from the board of the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) in protest at Dick Pound's leadership, he told AFP Monday. The UCI president strongly criticized WADA and its Canadian president for what he termed recent "irresponsible" statements concerning cyclists and said that future association with the UCI was uncertain. "Pound maybe thinks that he can run the WADA presidency like a sheriff in the Wild West, firing with a revolver at all targets," complained the cycling chief, one of WADA's founding
Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel made the home crowd happy in Sunday’sopener of the the 2002 Grande Boucle Feminine, winning the secondhalf of the two-part opening day stage to take the race lead. Saturn’s Petra Rossner won the morning sector and Zijlaard-VanMoorsel’s Farm Frites team won the team time trial to put the Dutch riderinto the leader’s jersey. The Grande Boucle Feminine is the most important stage race on the women’scalendar and continues through Aug. 18. After starting in Netherlands onSunday, the race heads through eastern France toward the Alps for a pairof tough climbing days
Two-time Paralympian Dan Nicholson of the United States won a world title and set a world record for CP3 cyclists Monday, August 5, at the International Paralympic Committee’s World Cycling Championships in Altenstadt, Germany. Nicholson captured the 1 kilometer time trial for cyclists with cerebral palsy in a world record time of 1 minute, 19.75 seconds. Meanwhile, teammate Dory Selinger also claimed gold in the LC2 1 km time trial for cyclists with a single-leg amputation below the knee in 1:12.67. Selinger led an impressive U.S. barrage in the LC2 category. Paul Martin (Boulder, Colo.)
Monday's Euro-file: Grande Boucle; Euro MTB titles; Dekker in doubt and Horrillo is out
Arndt takes the stage and the lead.
Not bad for a guy who doesn't like field sprints
There's Tour winner in there somewhere.
Racing in the urban canyons.
Dominguez wins, but Lance is the hit on Wall Street
Hincapie joined the right break.
Simoni marked his return to the peloton in Hamburg.
Giove's signature was in high demand after her win.
Museeuw solidifies his hold on the World Cup lead.
Live updates - New York City Cycling Championship
Letters from the Big Loop - Kimberly Bruckner's Grande Boucle diaries
Gerolsteiner's Michael Rich and Uwe Peschel won the 72km Grand Prix timetrial in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Saturday, leaving a field of top riders,including Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and his teammate FloydLandis, in their wake.Rich and Peschel timed 1:23:02 topping the second-placed French pairLaurent and Nicolas Jalabert by 1:35 with Spaniards Joseba Beloki and Igorde Galdeano third at 2:25.Armstrong and Landis managed an eighth place finish, coming in 4:13behind the leaders and just behind another American duo, Telekom ridersBobby Julich and Kevin Livingston, who took
Willy Voet, the man who achieved notoriety as the Festina soigneur found with a carload of drugs at the start of the 1998 Tour de France, claims that cycling is no cleaner today than it was four years ago, despite the fact that not a single rider in this summer's Tour tested positive. Voet, in an interview in Sunday's edition of the Swiss weekly Dimanche.ch, said that little has changed since the scandal that nearly stopped the 1998 Tour de France in its tracks, "I've always proclaimed loud and clear that nothing has changed in cycling,” Voet told the paper. "No one takes the
Carter heads for his third straight four-ride win.
Lopes came back from his crash and put on a show for the fans.
Jonnier was out front for the entire women's final.
Dunlap blasts through the mud.
Florit managed a smile despite the elements.
Dunlap heads around the Fort Lewis track.
Vanlandingham's look was shared by many.
Hesjedal leads the pack.
Brown nips Horgan-Kobelski for third.
Florit leads Dunlap up the Chapman Hill climb.
O Iron Mike, Where Art Thou? Maybe Tyson is someone who could bring “athletic credibility” to cycling.
The Vuelta a Espana promises to be a highly competitive after the releaseof the official team start list this week. With the absence of Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, a dozen topriders will be looking to step up for a stab at victory in the final three-weekgrand tour of the 2002 season. Topping the list will be defending champion Angel Casero. Casero'sTeam Coast had hopes of earning an at-large bid to the Tour, but it never materialized, so the team has a lot riding on the Vuelta. Casero will be joined by two-time Vuelta winner Alex Zulle andperennial stage-hunter Fernando
Lithuania's largest daily on Friday slammed the French judiciary and media for the jailing of the wife of Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, calling the move revenge for his third place finish in the Tour de France. "The operation only against the wife of the cyclist appears to be an attempt to crucify him, especially as he is an upstart from a country without influence," the daily Lietuvos Rytas wrote in an editorial. Edita Rumsas, the rider's wife, was charged on Tuesday after being caught with performance-enhancing drugs in her car and is currently in police detention. She has
“You have hurt my feelings with your filthy fish-wrapper….”a cane--wielding Patrick Fitzpatrickto editor Deke Patwell inThomas McGuane’s "Nobody’s Angel" Lance Armstrong’s fourth consecutive Tour triumph was the prelude toa cacophony of chin music in the public prints, a symphony scored for smallminds playing big mouths, over who is the world’s greatest athlete — indeed,over who is an athlete and who is not. It didn’t help that Lance makes Le Grande Boucle look like aSunday spin on the bike path. A miser where his physical capital is concerned,Scrooge McTour spends no more than is
Only the TV moto could keep up with Green.
Florit crusing alone at the front.
Grigson pulled away from Sydor to take third.
Racing started and finished inside the Fort Lewis College football stadium.
Hesjedal had a tough day, but still managed to finish second.
Brown sails through the culvert ahead of Horgan-Kobelski.
Sport directors from the top Spanish teams are convinced Lance Armstrong will win a record-tying fifth Tour de France. A quick survey by the Spanish sports daily AS checked the barometer of Spain’s top teams. “He will win two more because he’s ambitious and he wants to break the record,” said Vicente Belda of Kelme. “I also don’t see anyone behind him who can beat him.” Manolo Saiz, the ONCE director who’s team has come closest to Armstrong in the podium, said Armstrong is without a doubt cycling’s top dog. “You can’t say he can win as many as he wants, but it’s practically true,” Saiz
Decanio wearing the leader's jersey
Raimondas Rumsas, whose wife has been charged with doping offenses after being caught with performance-enhancing drugs, showed absolutely no traces of doping in tests taken during the Tour de France, sources told AFP Wednesday. Rumsas, who finished third in his Tour debut, was due to face a round of police questioning but his lawyer said he would not arrive until the afternoon after missing his flight. Rumsas's wife Edita was arrested on Sunday after French customs officials found a number of doping products including corticoids, testosterone and EPO in her car. She is now being held
Bleed's lead singer scaring off the bike racers.
Viktor celebrates his victory with Grandpa over a cold PBR.
Like the man said, potato guns are fun.
Miguel Indurain is the only man to win five consecutive Tours. "Big Mig,"as he was called in his hey-day, was far away from the Tour de France,in Norway, when Lance Armstrong barnstormed his way to a fourth win, oneshy of Indurain's record. Here are some excerpts with an interview publishedin the Spanish sports daily MARCA:Question: Who would win if you could race against Armstrong?Answer: "It's hard to say, because you cannot take things fromera to another. It's difficult to say who would have won, because we arequite similar, both are strong in the mountains and the time
The wife of Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, who was third in this year's Tour de France, has been charged with doping offences after she was caught in possession of performance-enhancing drugs, prosecutors said Tuesday. Edita Rumsas was arrested on Sunday after French customs officials found a number of doping products including corticoids, testosterone and EPO in her car. She is now being held at the women's prison at Bonneville in the French Alps. "We discovered a large amount of medical products of which some could be classed as doping - corticoids, testosterone, EPO,
The doctor who developed the means to detect the performance-enhancer EPO conceded Tuesday that the test is largely ineffective as it is currently being used and can't detect newer versions of the drug that may already be in use in the peloton. Following the arrest of the wife of Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, third in this year's Tour de France, for possession of doping products including corticoids, testosterone and EPO, two questions have been asked - whether the cyclist was doped and if so how four doping controls all produced negative results. Dr. Francoise Lasne, who
An alleged nationwide insurance scam may have left hundreds of bike races, sanctioning organizations and clubs without coverage for much of the 2002 season, and could make it difficult for mountain-bike clubs and promoters to insure events independent of USA Cycling or other large groups. On July 17, Iowa-based McKay Insurance Agency Inc. began informing its clients - among them USA Cycling Inc. and the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) - that policies McKay issued through insurance companies Harbour Entertainment and Sports and American International Group, Inc. (AIG) may
Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, third in this year's Tour de France, has been suspended after his wife was found in possession of doping products, the rider's team Lampre announced Monday. "If we discover that the rider is at all responsible he will be fired straightaway," Lampre said in a statement announcing Rumsas' suspension pending an internal investigation. "The team is confused by what has happened and we state we have no involvement in this whatsoever," he added. Rumsas' wife was arrested on Sunday at Chamonix after customs officials found her in possession of
Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, third in this year's Tour de France, has been suspended after his wife was found in possession of doping products, the rider's team Lampre announced Monday. "If we discover that the rider is at all responsible he will be fired straightaway," Lampre said in a statement announcing Rumsas' suspension pending an internal investigation. "The team is confused by what has happened and we state we have no involvement in this whatsoever," he added. Rumsas' wife was arrested on Sunday at Chamonix after customs officials found her in possession of a number of
Well, I can finally check off Tour number six. I'm happy to have arrived here in Paris. This was a tough battle for me personally. I think I'm more tired today than I was after the final stage of the Giro. It's safe to say this year's Tour took its toll on me. I'm a bit haggard. The final time trial on Saturday was a full suffer fest. I felt completely awful that morning during the training ride before the stage. My lungs were quite restricted due to the congestion from my cold. If I had been at any other race besides a Grand Tour, I probably wouldn't have started. And that's saying a lot,
Rumsas on the Tour podium in Paris on Sunday.
Rumsas on the Tour podium in Paris on Sunday.
Sure, you've seen the finish, watched the awards and read all aboutthe official Tour de France podium. Well, with the Eiffel Tower in our sights and the rumble of cobblestones on the Champs-Elysées under our wheels, we thought it opportune to announce our own awards for Tour de France 2002. The Happy Camper award for stage winningMichael Boogerd (Rabobank) on stage 16 to La Plagne. Grinninglike a Cheshire cat with 500 meters still to go was Boogie. No matterthat Lance Armstrong was only 1 min 25 secs behind. With big white horsechoppers like his, Boogerd could do Colgate commercials. The
Americans in Paris 2
VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is at the Tour de France and is taking time to shoot not just the race, but also the scenes along the road and the activity just outside of the peloton.
Texans, Texans everywhere...
The 2002 Tour de France drew to a close with a great sprint on the most famous boulevard in cycling. Robbie McEwen’s win on the Champs Elysees signaled a changing of the guard in the peloton; but regardless of those changes, Lance Armstrong plans on continuing to lead the Tour de France. McEwen is the first Australian to win the green jersey in the Tour de France, and the first man other than Erik Zabel to win it in the past seven Tours de France. That battle went right down to the wire, and McEwen left no doubt as to who the faster man was by showing the entire field his back wheel and
Orca comes to Paris, too.
In Paris again. Armstrong makes it four-in-a-row
The Rabobank boys remind Levi of his past duties.
McEwen broke the Zabel streak.
Levi fans in Paris.
Having a good team helps.
Lance's final podium
These two jerseys were pretty much settled by the time the peloton arrived in Paris. The green jersey contest came down to the wire again.
Andrew Miller (Trek-VW-Landis) leads Jonathan Vaughters (Crédit Agricole), Chris Baldwin (Navigators), Scott Moninger (Mercury) and Mike Creed (Prime Alliance) up the road to Mount Evans.
Telekom was overwhelmed at the finish.
Happy camper!
I have the prescription right here.