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Santiago Botero has been cleared of doping allegations by the Colombian cycling federation, allowing him to rejoin international competition after being sidelined since June. Botero's name surfaced in the Spanish doping investigation Operación Puerto, causing the Phonak team to leave the 2002 world time trial world champion off its Tour de France roster this summer. The Colombian federation said Saturday night that documents pertinent to Botero's case, provided by the UCI’s anti-doping commission, offered no evidence the cyclist had engaged in blood doping. The federation also said

Floyd Landis insisted Sunday he was drug-free when he won the Tour de France, and said that a French laboratory "made some mistakes" when its results showed he had elevated levels of testosterone. The American's positive doping test came less than a week after he won cycling's biggest race on July 23. Although the Châtenay-Malabry lab is accredited by the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency, Landis believes it got his test results wrong. "Even the best people make mistakes," Landis said in an interview for French television. "I can't say that the

Nys en route to victory

Discovery moved quickly to sign Basso once he was cleared. Some say tooquickly.

The savior? Oleg Tinkov - seen here at last year's Russian economic forum in London - wants to give Ullrich a chance to ride.

Basso spent Saturday checking out his new gear

Reain reigns supreme in Vancouver

Bessette opened it up when it counted

Ullrich won't be wearing T-Mobile pink next year, but he's hoping for a ProTour kit of some kind.

Former USA Cycling CEO Gerard Bisceglia has filed a wrongful-termination suit against the governing body and its board chairman, Jim Ochowicz. In a complaint filed earlier this week in El Paso County District Courtin Colorado Springs, Bisceglia alleges that his dismissal in Aprilwas in violation of USA Cycling’s own rules and came as a resultof his efforts to investigate a conflict of interest involving direct paymentsto Ochowicz from professional teams and promoters. USA Cycling officials declined comment when contacted by VeloNews on Friday. "USA Cycling will not comment on the details

Lawyers in the Cofidis doping trial pleaded Friday for the sport not to turn its collective back on what one attorney called “cycling's lost generation.” The sport, said the lawyer representing one of the disgraced riders, risks being relegated to the position of “a drug-infested side show” if serious changes aren’t made soon. The attorney representing Philippe Gaumont, said his client had "been attacked for breaking the peloton’s ‘code of silence,’” aimed at covering up the sport's seedy side. “Allowing such a code to remain unchallenged,” said attorney Frederic Champagne, “will

Bisceglia when he was still in charge.

Boulder, CO, November 8, 2006 — Cycling’s Golden Age, the stunningphotographic celebration of cycling history, will make its California debutat VeloSwap San Francisco, the state’s largest consumer cycling and triathlonshow.  The event will host three California-based sports experts,with a heart rate training coach, a sport psychologist, and a cycling historian. VeloSwap San Francisco is Saturday, November 18 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.at the San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center and will host 200 vendorsand 5,000 attendees.Cycling'sGolden Age: Heroes of the Postwar Era,

Come to the Red Zinger/Coors® Classic DVD Release Party and Reunion!Michael Aisner and VeloGear Produce the Definitive Red Zinger/Coors®Classic 3  Disc DVD SetBoulder, CO, November 8, 2006 — VeloGear invites you to the RedZinger/Coors® Classic DVD release party and reunion to be held at UniversityBikes on Thursday, December 7 beginning at 6:00 p.m.Finally, the Red Zinger/Coors® Classic is available on DVD! VeloGearhas teamed with race producer Michael Aisner to present 9 hours of raretelevision coverage and documentary footage re-mastered in a 3 DVD set.Pre-order the DVD today at

Ivan Basso said he Thursday he feels "reborn" after signing a two-season contract with the Discovery Channel cycling team. The 28-year-old Giro d'Italia winner is expected to take the central spot in the team once occupied by seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. "It's the ideal team for me," Basso told the Gazzetta dello Sport website on Thursday. "I'm incredibly happy. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's a new life for me - I feel reborn,” Basso said. “The squad are committed to supporting me in the double challenge of the Tour of Italy and the

The public prosecutor in Nanterre, France, on Thursday dropped a demand that Scottish cyclist David Millar face jail for his role in the Cofidis doping scandal from 2000 to 2003. Millar had possibly been facing between three months and a year in jail, suspended, if found guilty of possession of doping products. On Tuesday Millar admitted in court to having taken the blood-booster EPO and testosterone to improve his performances. "I took drugs because it was my job to get good results," Millar told the court on Tuesday. Prosecutor Jacques Hossaert has also recommended that the court not

Press Release - Coors Classic DVD release party slated

That's me! Mr. Smooth-and-slow

Flag, mullets and beer. They're not just for Belgians anymore.

Feeling the noise in the Clif Bar run up.

Even the kiddies know a good race when they see one.

The Leaders: Smooth and fast.

A season stalled: Basso, seen here locking up the Giro in the 20th stage into Aprica, had hoped to win the Tour de France as well.

Basso's relationship with CSC soured after his ejection from the Tour

British cyclist David Millar said intense pressure to perform led him to try EPO as he testified Tuesday in a doping trial of seven current or former riders with the Cofidis team. On the second day of the trial, Millar said he felt responsible for the team's performance because he was its leader at the time. “When I saw that when I was bad, the team was terrible, I had the responsibility to become a 'real professional,'” said Millar, referring to using performance-enhancing drugs. Millar described a trip to Italy in 2001 to stay with teammate Massimiliano Lelli. Millar said he

He’s done it again! Gonzo filmmaker and cycling wild man Scott Coadyhas just finished Cobbles Baby! which chronicles his non stop, over thetop adventures at Paris-Roubaix, the bicycle race usually called The Hellof the North.  The world premiere of Cobbles Baby! will be November16-21 at six of the most amazing theaters in northern California includingthe Art Deco masterpiece Grand Lake Theatre.  For a complete listof times and theaters visit www.bigringfilms.com/upcomingscreenings.html.  Scott will attend each and every screening,talking and signing his DVDs like crazy

The Mailbag 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.Cycling isn’t tough on dopers? Puh-leezeEditor:Let me get this straight: David Millar takes EPO. Millar gets caught. Millar gets suspended for two years and kicked off his team (no ride, no pay). Millar comes back clean. Millar goes back on trial for taking EPO. Now, Millar could pay

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - Thread patterns; Cog patterns and bits of Velcro

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - Thread patterns; Cog patterns and bits of Velcro

Millar testified on Tuesday

Press Release - New Coady film debut to benefit Phinney Foundation and high school riders

The Orbea iGorre has plenty of mud clearance; you can also see FSA’s red ceramic BB

Primus Mootry built Katie Compton two new bikes in three days.

The tread of Tufo’s Flexus tire flanked by red carbon specific fibrex cork pads.

Lyne Bessette’s Thorne

Thorne’s rear triangle provides plenty of clearance for the Dugast Rhino tire.

Georgia Gould’s Orbea iGorre

Shimano’s BR-R550 looks very clean, the Maxxis Raze tread is made of siped square and rectangular blocks.

Former Cofidis pro Philippe Gaumont heads to court on Tuesday

Gaumont takes a break during Tuesday's testimony

Todd Wells brought his GTs in the trunk of his Audi

Notice the left hand brake lever.

Talk about a crazy position, look at the drop from the seat to handle bars.

The Mailbag 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.Loves that dirty girlTo Mr. O'Grady,What a brilliant way to sum up cyclo-cross (see "Friday'sFoaming Rant: A dirty girl"). Patrick you're my new foundhero! My cycling days seem to mirror that of Mr. O'Grady's, but insteadof going to watch, I'm now in charge of

British cyclist David Millar and nine others, including six current or former Cofidis riders, went on trial Monday for their alleged role in a doping scandal. The seven cyclists are charged with "acquiring and possessing banned substances." The other three defendants — a mechanic, a pharmacist and a former Cofidis soigneur — are accused of encouraging the riders to use drugs and supplying them with performance-enhancing drugs. The trial, in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, is expected to last a week. The defendants each face up to five years in prison and fines of 75,000 euros if

The world is divided into people who do things and people who get the credit. Try, if you can, to belong to the first class. There’s far less competition.— Dwight Morrow, 1873-1931, in a letter to his son I caught a glimpse of the Vomit Comet on Sunday while driving out of town, bound for the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross stop in Boulder. A few more dents, all the shortcuts in that Earl Scheib paint job looking like a Tijuana facelift, squatting a little lower on her springs. And why not? The old girl had 23 years of service and nearly 300,000 on the odometer when I finally caved and sold

Schneider en route to victory

Burns burning it up

Millar comes to court on Monday

The defendants (l-r) Robert Sassone, David Millar, Mederic Clain and (bottom) Philippe Gaumont, Massimiliano Lelli and Marek Rutkiewicz.

The fabled Vomit Comet (left) with its cousin, the White Tornado

Fun with course design

Wells and Trebon made it a two-man race . . . for a while

Trebon on the prod

And another two-man race develops between Johnson and Wells . . . but who's that coming up behind?

Bessette gave it all she had

We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by.— Will Rogers You know you’re not in Colorado Springs any more when you see an Adopt-a-Highway sign reading, "NORML for Boulder." We don’t want to know what’s normal for Boulder. Not after the whole Ted Haggard thing. We have our own problems. The NORML sign was just west of the Weld County border, near the intersection of St. Vrain Greenway and Irony. I made a mental note and kept driving, looking for something called Xilinx and the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. The Xilinx Cup, day one of a

New York (AFP) - Lance Armstrong is not used to coming second, let alone 856th, but after completing his first New York Marathon Sunday, the cycling legend said the foot race was the toughest physical challenge he'd ever faced. The seven-time Tour de France champion finished just seconds shy of the three hours he had set himself, crossing the finishing line in the city's Central Park in 2:59:36, some 49 minutes behind winner Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil. "That was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I've ever done," an exhausted Armstrong said after pounding the

Katie Compton: Cylon agent

Treefarm's speed turned sand into glass. Really. Go look, if you don't believe me

Don't let the 'S' fool you. This is Chris Horner, not Superman

Being part of L.A.'s entourage was tougher than usual this Sunday

The hardest physical thing I've ever done

Recovered. Armstrong gets his finisher's medal

Compton and Bessette slug it out

Wells and Johnson chased, to no avail

Trebon rips it through the trees

Wells clears the logs

Johnson works the treeline

The men's podium

Vinokourov was one of the most noteworthy victims of Puerto: Never charged, not even mentioned, but forced to pull out of the Tour de France.

Before the fall: Bishop (r) trails Paez and Amador.

Tree-Farm scampers away from the rest of the field.

Fedyna continues to dominate the women's field

Racers wind their way through Michgan's northwoods during the 2006 Iceman Cometh mountain bike race Saturday November 4, 2006 in Traverse City Michigan.

Ford Cycling racer Kelli Emmett celebrates on the podium after winning the 2006 Iceman Cometh

Bells Beer racer Mike Simonson of Oxford, Michigan, celebrates as he crosses the line

The expert class starts

Fans staked out spots all along the route

Compton started on her own and stayed there