News

Stage 1: Lysle Wilhelm of 800.com

Stage 2: Mari Holden, loving life and just waiting for the TT on Saturday.

Stage 2: Pate, riding his road bike where there really isn't a road.

Stage 3: Why do people think it always rains in Oregon?

Stage 3: And more rainjackets.

Stage 3: The long and lonely road.

Hincapie first raced Paris-Roubaix as a 20-year-old.

Prologue: Alison Dunlap zips up Skinner's Butte

American George Hincapie of the U.S. Postal Service joined a prestigious list of winners that includes Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault on Wednesday. Hincapie outsprinted Leon Van Bon (Mercury Viatel) to win the 63rd edition of Ghent-Wevelgem in Belgium. Hincapie was part of a five-man group that escaped without about 30km to go in the 214km race. A complete report will be posted shortly.

A classic smile from George!

The break that worked.

Hincapie was easily on the wheel of Telekom's Steffen Wesemann on the second climb of the Kemmelberg.

The British Cycling Federation (BCF) has appointed Canadian Peg Hill as its national women's endurance coach. Hill will start her new job on April 20. She will be working for the lottery-funded World Class Performance Plan, which steered British riders to their best ever total of Olympic and worlds medals last year. Hill's charges will include world pursuit champion Yvonne McGregor, Ceris Gilfillan, who won Canada's GP Feminin last year, and Sarah Symington who placed sixth in the world’s road race. U.S.-born Hill represented the U.S. at three world championships in the 1980s,

Recent moves to stamp out doping from the peloton claimed its first statistic Sunday, as Italian rider Fabiano Fontanelli was ruled out of the Tour of Flanders following a suspect blood test, according to a race official. Fontanelli, who rides for Mercatone Uno, was excluded after a the "traditional" race-morning blood test showed a suspect hematocrit level. Because his red blood cell count exceeded 50 percent, Fontanelli was declared unfit to take part and excluded from racing for a minimum of 15 days. While the morning test has been used since 1997, Fontanelli will be the first pro rider

Blatter's sensational climbing ability won her another race.

Say who? Hermida, Bui and Hanisch lead at Napa.

Former winners head list of favorites for Flanders

Canada's Chrissy Redden rode the Gary Fisher Sugar to a TT win.

Marco Bui slipped on the new Tissot-UCI World Cup yellow leader's jersey.

Following the bankruptcy of its European division, the owners of the Schwinn/GT Corporation announced plans to sell the company, retaining Credit Suisse First Boston as an advisor in discussions with several potential buyers of both the cycling and fitness businesses. Last month, Schwinn/GT's European division ceased operation and went into receivership, leaving several retailers and suppliers uncertain as to the entire company's future. In particular, the European difficulties put into doubt the firm's relationship with bike suppliers in Taiwan. Schwinn has faced financial

José "Chepe" Gonzalez has been fired by his team, Selle-Italia-Pacific, after Italian authorities charged him with doping offenses, his team announced Friday. The 32-year-old Colombian, a mountains specialist, was found in possession of a range of doping products at his team hotel last week. Team officials also fired Colombian doctor Nino Alberto Beltran, who was also found with a number of illegal growth hormones and anabolic steroids when police carried out a routine search of his car on March 23. Following the discovery in Beltran's car, police, acting on a recently-passed law making

Gabriela Gonzalez de Ferrat, a 28-year-old native of Mexico who now lives near San Diego, will don the colors of Team RONA and join Geneviève Jeanson and Manon Jutras in the three-day Tucson Bicycle Classic this weekend. At the Mexican national championships in 2000, Ferrat was second in the time trial and fourth in the road race. As a member of the national team, she wore her country’s colors at the 1999 world championships in Verona, Italy. This year Ferrat was 39th overall at the Redlands Bicycle Classic. At the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California, she was 18th out of 68

The Italian city of Verona on Tuesday officially launched its bid to stage the 2004 world road championships, ANSA news agency reported. Former cyclist Francesco Moser and bid committee co-presidents Teofilo Sanson and Giovanni Rana handed over the formal application documents to Dominique Raymond and Agostino Omini of the UCI. Sanson, president of the 1999 World Championships organizing committee, said: "No-one can beat the splendor of Verona and its lake (Lake Garda)." Verona faces competition from both home and abroad. Three other Italian cities, Cuneo, Imola and Caneva are all in the

Three cyclists with the Italian-Colombian cycling team Selle Italia have been placed under formal investigation by Modena magistrates after doping products were discovered in the team's car, judicial sources said Tuesday. The riders are José Gonzalez, Freddy Gonzalez, and Ruber Marin. Team manager Gianni Savio, sporting directors Fabio Becherini and Enzo Erluison, and team doctor Nino Alberto Beltran, who was driving the car, have also been charged. On March 22 the car was stopped for a routine police check but the officers found chemical products including anabolic steroids, corticoids

Former U.S. Junior national team coach René Wenzel has formally denied charges that he doped his riders 11 years ago in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado, in response to a lawsuit filed against him by Greg Strock, a one-time member of the team. Wenzel is also seeking damages from Strock and a U.S. Olympic Committee official for public statements they made in connection with the case. In a lawsuit filed late last year against Wenzel and USA Cycling, Strock outlined a series of charges, including allegations that Wenzel and another coach had on several occasions in 1990 injected

Wenzel says Strock's illness wasn't serious enough to end career.

Verbrugghe won two of three stages to take the win

The field passes the Meuse River

On Friday the UCI became the first sports federation to announce the employment of a test for EPO, to be introduced on April 1. The test has been developed primarily as a response to revelations of widespread EPO use in professional cycling. Former French Cycling Federation president Daniel Baal called the validation of a test for the endurance stimulant EPO "historic" and said that it will change the face of drug abuse in cycling. "Everything we've gone through the past few years would not have happened if, technically, this method of testing had been available," Baal told AFP shortly

The UCI announced Thursday that it will unveil a new drug to detect EPO (erythropoietin) on Friday. According to a report by AFP, the new test will employ both blood and urine sample testing, and will first be used at the Tour of Flanders World Cup race on April 8. UCI president Hein Verbruggen announced in December that the problem of finding an acceptable test for cyclists would be "resolved before April." EPO has, until now, been relatively undetectable. Under current procedures, a rider who exceeds the hematocrit (red blood cell) threshold of 50 is given a 15-day "warning" in order to

Laurent Jalabert has chosen the April 25-29 German stage race, the Tour of Lower Saxony, as the place to start his comeback. The 32-year-old Frenchman, world No. 1 from 1995 to 2000, is putting in three to five hours of training per day after the freak accident on February 12, when he fell off a ladder and fractured three vertebrae. Jalabert says his morale is "high" and if his Danish team CSC-Online is invited, he should be ready for his main focus of the season, the Tour de France. "I'm happy, I've got back to some semblance of normal activity," said Jalabert, talking to a few

Peat explains how he did it.

Chausson looks good here, but it wasn't good enough.

Dunlap won the sprint, but Alexander won the war.

It wasn't the plan, but Alexander wasn't complaining.

The top three in the men's GC -- Van Dooren, Brentjens and Green.

Meirhaeghe gets the win

Alexander (left) and Blatter work over Dunlap (right)

This is how you win Milan - San Remo four times.

Matveyev and company

Bartoli and Rebellin on the Poggio

Colombo on the Poggio

Lopes knocked off Bootes, last year's Sea Otter champ.

Giove was ahead here, but Chasson was ahead when it counted.

Bootes knocked off King and Carter to advance to the finals.

Gracia got knocked out in the second round, but hung around to compete in the big-air contest

Ellsworth's John Jesme didn't win, but this back flip got the biggest big-air applause

Brentjens was all smiles after the short track

Leipheimer

La Primavera kicks off World Cup season

Blatter continues to fly

Green gets ready to ride

Alexander focuses in the starthouse

Victory for Vassiliy

Teutenberg in TT

Mercury's Gord Fraser

Chris Wherry

Women's start at Cannery Row

Teutenberg is back

Lotsa Saturn there

Millward continues to shine

Postal is on top, but Mercury lurks close behind

Nick Chenoweth, the point man for EDS's sponsorship of USA Cycling, was indicted this month in Texas on federal mail fraud and wire fraud charges in connection with the alleged misappropriation of $379,000 in funds intended the company's cycling program. EDS ended its sponsorship of its team and individual riders, including Olympic champion Marty Nothstein, in 1999. The company also maintained a separate sponsorship with USA Cycling which it ended in 2000. According to the indictment, Chenoweth, 46, submitted false reimbursement claims for bikes, equipment and for services that were

Bessette won't let the Redlands crash get her down.

VeloNews Q&A: Lyne Bessette

Kona-Ford Focus has signed former Saturn road star Bart Bowen to its team. Bowen will make his debut at the Sea Otter Classic, in Monterey, California this weekend. "Bart was looking to do less racing on the road on a full-on contract, high-pressure situation," said Kona team manager Mark Peterson. "The Kona team will be a much more relaxed atmosphere." Bowen joins Geoff Kabush, Tracey Moseley, and Scott Beaumont headlining the 2001 team. Bowen will also be part of Kona’s cyclo-cross team, which includes Dale Knapp, and Ann Grande. "Cross is where we'll be getting serious," added

Blijlevens racked up some early-season miles at Redlands.

On the strength of their overall wins at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, Saturn's Trent Klasna and Rona's Genevieve Jeanson moved into the lead of the USCF's season-long NRC series. In the team rankings, Mercury-Viatel remains atop the men's standings, with Saturn leading the women. Men 1 Trent Klasna Saturn 252pts 2 Roland Green US Postal Service 175 3 Chris Horner Mercury/Viatel 155 4 Baden Cooke Mercury/Viatel 129 5 Levi Leipheimer US Postal Service 127 6 Michael Rogers Mapei-Quick Step 103 7 Eddy Gragus Jelly Belly 101 8 Gord Fraser Mercury/Viatel

Schwinn downhiller Leigh Donovan has announced she’ll retire from mountain bike racing after the 2001 season. The 29-year-old Donovan began her career in BMX, where she became a national champion. She started racing mountain bikes in 1992, and by ’93 had turned pro, signing with Team Iron Horse. In 1995, then with Mongoose, Donovan became the only person to ever win the U.S. downhill series, the U.S. slalom series and the downhill world championship. For her career Donovan has 14 NORBA dual slalom wins, nine NORBA downhill wins, and three World Cup wins. Last year she was third in both the

The Negresco Hotel in Nice

Frigo (in white) and Bartoli (r)

Jeanson decided to test her fitness by riding a 95km TT. She is apparently quite fit.

Saturn team director Jim Copeland congratulates Klasna after stage 6.

Frigo took the lead

Julich finished 14th

Klasna holds on the men's overall lead.

Another dangerous combination. With Klasna and Horner up front, this one would be hard to catch.

Safford and Gariepy

On March 14, the race known as The Zinger Cycling Challenge officially changed its name to the Saturn Cycling Classic, reflecting the new title sponsorship of the epic road race through the mountains of Colorado. The 140-mile race from Boulder to Breckendridge over the Continental Divide was introduced last July, and instantly gained a reputation as the toughest single-day road race in the U.S. Saturn was the official vehicle of the race last year, and stepped up to title sponsor for 2001. “We developed this race in the spirit of the European classics and what we unveiled last year