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Australian hopes of striking a pre-Olympic psychological blow could be kept in check by an on-form British men's pursuit team at the world track championships on Friday in Palma de Majorca, Spain. The second day of the competition features four gold-medal finals in the women's individual pursuit, the men's team pursuit, the keirin and the men's 15km scratch. But it is the team pursuit, an event in which defending champions Australia also hold the Olympic title and world records (3 minutes, 56.610 seconds), that is most likely to thrill the spectators here at the brand-new

The tour of Germany will go to Austria to tackle the Rettenbachferner, which Levi Leipheimer won in 2005 when he rode for Gerolsteiner.

Sports publisher seeks managing editor for VeloNews, the Journal of Competitive Cycling. Responsibilities include working with editors, designers and freelancers to coordinate assignments, copy and art under tight deadlines. Must have strong editing, writing and proofing skills and experience in scheduling and staff management. Knowledge of competitive cycling a plus. Minimum of at least four years editorial experience. Travel to cycling events required. Résumé and cover letter: Attn: Human Resources, Inside Communications, Inc., 1830 N. 55th St., Boulder, CO 80301-2700, or

Karpets took his first win since 2004

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now ready for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of our most recent contest. This year’s Tour of California has provided us with a remarkable collection of images. One very popular subject of those photos this year has to be world and Olympic champion Paolo Bettini. Darrell Parks’ shot “It’s Good to be King” was among the best. Californians clearly enjoyed his presence at the race and Bettini certainly enjoyed his first trip to the U.S. Congratulations, Darrell. Please drop us a note at

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,

Paris-Nice winner Alberto Contador is among those lining up for the Vuelta a Castilla y León.

It's Good to be King

McDowell-Larsen

Thundering herd: Stage 3 kicked off promptly at 7 a.m. from Oudtshoorn

Cannondale-Vredestein pushed the pace early

Race director Kevin Vermaak (right) talks with Christoph Sauser about his penalty

Vermaak then turned to David George

One team mechanic conducts a maintenance workshop for local children in Oudshoorn.

Anderson avoided a final-corner crash and earned her first win at Redlands.

Stage 1 winner Karl Platt high fives the crowd in Uniondale

Riders ready for Stage 2 in Uniondale

Closely matched, Paulissen and Fugelsang cross the line in first place

Masters leaders Andrew McLean (left) and Damian Booth know what good teamwork is

Schumacher has big goals for 2007

Early on the race often resembles a road event

Schumacher started his season in Mallorca

Bajadali gambled... and won.

Schumacher wins ugly at the Eneco Tour

Zajicek puts it all on the line

The situation was bad for both, said Schumacher.

BMC monitored the break, expecting to keep the gap at around a minute. Then everything went wrong.

It required more than four minutes for the 1086 mountain bikers to pass under the starting line in Knysna.

Moninger slipped from 1st to 9th on GC

A modern sporting event gets a traditional send-off.

Sutherland wins for the second time this week

Along with the usual scrum of reporters, local Knysna school children attended the pre-race press conference

South Africa's downhill great Greg Minnaar hangs out in the tent village in Uniondale prior to the start of stage 2.

Team Rwanda: American Jonathan Boyer and his Rwandan teammate prepare for the first stage in Knysna.

Anderson wins and Neben celebrates.

Absa Cape Epic race director Kevin Vermaak talks about the guiding philosophy of the annual event.

Neben led from day one.

Stage 1 winners Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm of Germany

Neben knew what she had to do to win the overall.

Voeckler on the attack.

Neben: 'You have to make a decision about today or tomorrow.'

Popovych quickly countered that move, leaving Voeckler behind, but Pellizotti stayed with him for a while.

Teutenberg: 'There's no reason not to work'

Popovych was caught at the base of the Poggio.

Teutenberg initiated the break

Ricco and Gilbert were caught with 2km to go

It's Moninger and England again, only on a flat course.

.. chased when things got worrisome...

Slipstream came to the front of the chase, but couldn't get away.

... and eventually reeled in.

Gilbert leads on the Poggio

Freire wins Milan-San Remo

The Australian cycling community was in shock Saturday upon hearing that Damian McDonald, a 34-year-old retired cyclist who took a gold medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, had been killed in a massive collision in Melbourne’s Burnley Tunnel. In a scene Australian newspapers have described as horrific, an eight-vehicle pileup sparked a series of explosions and a subsequent blaze believed to have topped 1000 degrees. Motorists reported a “huge” fireball erupting from the crash scene, causing more than 400 people to leave their vehicles and flee the tunnel. Sprinklers and

Ready to race

Freire nails it.

Sutherland on the attack...

The day's escape was expected...

Moninger easily protected his hold on the jersey

A good part of the day involves a pleasant ride along the coast

BMC monitored the field before and after the day's break went.

Kopp suffered a broken nose and a concussion.

... and takes the win.

The traditional start in Milan...

Ready to ride, Redlands attracts one of the top women's fields in the U.S.

... the usual celebration in San Remo...

Teutenberg moves toward the front of the field

... with a long and beautiful ride in between.

Up and comer Brooke Miller leads the break.

Moninger punches it

Neben kept her cool — and her jersey

Downing and Dominguez are off early, fighting for sprint points

The Mavic wheelmen were busy at Oak Glen

So was the peloton

Chasing Curi

Abbott en route to a flowery stage win

Say, is that Steven Spielberg over there?

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,

Millar hopes for a peachy Georgia