News

Pascual Rodríguez has a go

Aldag's kit is a little the worse for wear after a spill

Gutierrez took a digger, too

FDJeux works for race leader McGee

McGee enjoys another appearance with the podium girls

Hoste and Van Heeswijk sweat under the Spanish sun

Vuelta Notebook: Discovery's youth movement; Landis hopeful; Phonak realistic; heat unrelenting

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.A smokescreen for the uninformed?Editor:In 1999 you didn't need to worry about surprise out-of-competition tests for EPO, nor did you have to administer microdoses to stay under the radar. You brought your hematocrit up to your desired target level with twice- or thrice-weekly shots,

Cycling’s international governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale said Monday it will investigate reports of positive drug tests at the 1999 Tour de France, but stopped short of specifically naming seven-time winner Lance Armstrong. The allegations, which surfaced last week in the French daily sports newspaper L'Equipe, said Armstrong used the performance-enhancing drug EPO to help win his first Tour de France in 1999. Armstrong has denied the allegations. The UCI said it regretted the breach of confidentiality in the disclosure of samples, but said it was pressing ahead with

Wow, so much to discuss this week. This column is coming to you from the pressroom of the world mountain-bike championships in Livigno, Italy, so I want to crank this puppy out and get to putting together a nice preview of the week ahead. The recent allegations surrounding Lance Armstrong and EPO at the 1999 Tour de France have obviously taken center stage, not just on our Web site but across the world. And once again, it’s hard to know whom or what to believe. Clearly the editorial staff at L’Equipe felt ready to take this story to press, risking its professional reputation to bring down

Petacchi pummels 'em at the end of a hot day in Spain

Stick a fork in him. Vande Velde was cooked slowly throughout the entirety of today's stage

No pressure for Danielson at the Vuelta

Stage 3: Córdoba to Puertollano

It was a hot one in Andalusia

Bertagnolli solos away

Bettini gets a visit from the doctor

Boonen loads up on water

The lead slips away from Menchov

Craig wraps the season up the way he began

Vanlandingham makes the most of Hanusova's leadout

Pizarro loves the mud and made it work for her

Tall knobbies made the difference for Riffle

Bertagnolli wins

Hincapie adds another ProTour feather to his cap

McGee gets the jersey

Rabobank's recruit shows he's worth the paycheck

Heras rode a strong prologue and remains a favorite

Denied: Verbrugghe was oh-so-close

Vuelta Notebook: Danielson's on-track; Vande Velde feeling good

Danielson is primed to take on the Vuelta

Sastre did himself - and Spain - proud

Lance Armstrong vehemently denied fresh doping allegations and attacked lapses in anti-doping protocol that allowed a French newspaper to gain access to his stored urine samples from the 1999 Tour de France. Armstrong said something is wrong with an anti-doping system that allowed his six-year-old urine samples to be retested after they were supposed to be stored anonymously. "This thing stinks," he said. "It's not good for me. The unfortunate thing is that you're dealing with something you could be faced with the rest of your life. Protocol wasn't followed, and there was no

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.Let the facts do the talkingDear Velo,I am writing this amidst what is likely to become one of the most provocativeand contested issues in the Lance saga, let alone in the cycling worldin the last few decades. But the core issue to me is not about Lance'semphatic denials,

BOB ROLL, RON KIEFEL, CONNIE CARPENTER & FRIENDS TO ROAST AND TOASTAMERICA’S WINNINGEST CYCLIST: DAVIS PHINNEY-Scott ‘The Tour Baby’ Coady & the Davis Phinney FoundationInvite You to Dine with the Pros-San Francisco, CA – Davis Phinney will be the guest of honoras friends and cycling’s former USA A-list joins together to roast andtoast America’s winningest cyclist. “An Evening with Davis Phinney andFriends – Dinner with the Pros” will be held at the Italian Athletic Club(1630 Stockton St.) in San Francisco’s North Beach on September 2ndat 7:30 pm, and serves as the kick-off to the annual Pro

Michael Barry and his wife, Dede, are now the proud parents of recent arrival, Liam, the couple’s first child. The cycling pair decided to have the baby in Spain, in part to allow Michael to remain in Europe to train and race, but also because they pleasantly discovered the Spanish national health system was quite a bit more affordable than back in the United States. With mother and son doing fine, Barry returned to racing at the recent Clásica San Sebastián. The Canadian was part of the day’s main breakaway, earning the event’s points jersey along the way. Barry will part of the Discovery

Lance Armstrong climbed down off his bike a month ago. His counterattacking skills, though, remain as sharp as ever. A day after the director of the Tour de France said the seven-time champion “fooled” race officials and the sporting world by doping, Armstrong responded to the growing controversy with harsh words for everyone connected to a report in L’Equipe, the French sports daily that made the original accusation. “Where to start?” Armstrong mused during a conference call Wednesday from Washington. “This has been a long, love-hate relationship between myself and the French.” He went

Exclusive: Lance Armstrong Tonight on Larry King LiveIn an exclusive live television interview, seven-time Tour de Francechampion Lance Armstrong will appear on CNN’s Larry King Live tonight at9 p.m. (ET) with Larry King and Bob Costas.  This is Armstrong’s firsttelevision interview after recent allegations about performance-enhancingdrugs.A transcript and frame grabs will be available immediately followingthe interview upon request.Larry King Live airs nightly from 9-10 p.m. (ET). For more informationon upcoming shows or to locate past transcripts, visit

SRAM's new road lever.

Ullrich was the first to use the new Ventoux at the Tour of Germany

The $5500 Obermayers look just like the Standards, but the $1700 price increase buys a 110g weight reduction.

An expensive display: A Lightweight Standard cutaway to show the inner construction of the rim and hub.

LWdisc1- Lightweight makes a wheel for flat TT’s too. The disk weighs 910 grams.

Heras scored his third Vuelta win in 2004

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.Dear Editor,What are the French trying to do? (see "L'Equipealleges Armstrong samples show EPO use in 99 Tour")Isn't it bad enough that Lance and Postal/Discovery romped all overtheir sacred Tour and its records? They should just count their blessingsthat Lance is not coming back

PARIS - The director of the Tour de France said now that there is “compelling scientific evidence” that Lance Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs in winning the 1999 Tour, the seven-time champion owes cycling fans an explanation. In a story Wednesday’s edition of L’Equipe, Jean-Marie Leblanc praised the paper for an investigation that reported that six urine samples provided by Armstrong during the 1999 Tour tested positive for the red blood cell-booster EPO. The French sports daily on Tuesday accused Armstrong of using EPO during his first Tour win in 1999. “For the first time _ and

Seven years, seven wins, some 17,000 miles of road covered since...and we're right back where we started.A French newspaper is charging Lance Armstrong with doping.Again.He's denying it.Again.And the rest of the world is choosing up sides.Again.I have no idea whether Armstrong used the blood-boosting drug EPO towin his first Tour de France in 1999, despite having been on hand for thatone and each of the last three. And you could argue that neither does L'Equipe,the leading French sports daily, despite devoting four pages Tuesday tothat allegation, bolstered by pictures, an

Upon hearing the news of a new round of doping allegations against Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich – finishing up the Tour of Germany – reacted with typical reserve and caution. Should the allegations turn out to be true, Ullrich said, he would be “very disappointed” in Armstrong, hastily adding, however, that this was not the first time French media have attempted to discredit the seven-time Tour de France winner. Ullrich said he remains skeptical of the allegations outlined in Tuesday’s edition of L’Equipe. While Germany’s top cycling star remained somewhat reticent, one of the country’s

Leblanc: We're so tired of doping

Buddies? Not on your life.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Dick Pound said Tuesday the agency is looking into the latest doping claims against seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. The American cycling legend denied a report in Tuesday's French sports newspaper L'Equipe saying urine samples taken from Armstrong in 1999 tested positive for the banned substance EPO when subjected to testing unavailable six years ago. "It's a pretty serious story, if it is true," Pound told AFP. "We have not decided what we would do because I have not looked at all the details. "We will look at the

French sports daily L'Equipe dropped a four-page bombshell on the cycling world Tuesday, publishing what it claimed was “irrefutable evidence” that Lance Armstrong used EPO in achieving at least his first of seven Tour de France wins. In winning, in 1999, the first of his seven Tours of France, Lance Armstrong had consumed EPO," says the second paragraph of editorial introduction to the paper's exclusive story, which begins on the front page. "After a long, detailed and rigorous work of investigation, L'Equipe has published, today, the proof." L’Equipe printed photos of the

The director of Canada’s top anti-doping laboratory on Tuesday said she was "very surprised" over doping allegations raised in a four-page story in the French sports daily L’Equipe. Doctor Christiane Ayotte, director of the Doping Control Laboratory at Montreal’s Institut National de la Recherché Scientifique, said that the L’Equipe story, outlining charges that seven-time Tour de France winner had used EPO at the 1999 edition of the race, raised several important scientific and ethical questions, beginning with the assertion that France’s anti-doping lab had tested frozen urine samples five

Armstrong denies charges outlined in Tuesday's L'Equipe

Ullrich congratulates Leipheimer

Bennati scores his third stage win

Today's L'Equipe

Today's L'Equipe

Today's L'Equipe

Dr. Christiane Ayotte, Doping Control director at Canada's Institut National de la Recherché Scientifique

It's one of those images that will remain with cycling fans for years,the remarkable shot of a young snow-covered Andy Hampsten cresting theGavia Pass in the epic ride that took him to an overall victory in the1988 Giro d'Italia.Previouslyissued by Cinelli, Sergio Penazzo's memorable photograph has been reworkedin a stunning new version by the graphics team at Hampsten Cycles.The image has been digitally sharpened and enhanced, then printed oncover (heavy) weight paper on a six-color, 40" Heidelberg press using astochastic transferal process. No expense was spared to bring you

PRESS RELEASE: Dr. Michael Ross presents at Lombardi Sports8/22/05Boulder, CO—Michael J. Ross, M.D., team physician for JitteryJoe’s-Kalahari and race doctor for the U.S. Pro Tour, will give a presentationon the science of cycling at Lombardi Sports on Saturday, September 3rdat 1:00 p.m., one day before the start of the San Francisco Grand Prix.Dr. Ross will talk to cyclists about how to tailor workouts to theirown unique physiology and then answer questions after the presentation.Ross will also sign copies of his new book, Maximum Performance for Cyclists,on sale at Lombardi Sports for

Col de Marie Blanque TDF 05

Ullrich did what he could...

... and Leipheimer did what he had to.

PRESS RELEASE - Hampsten signs Gavia posters for Phinney Foundation

The latest Photo Gallery in our continuing photo contest has now been posted for your viewing pleasure. After reviewing a host of very notable submissions, we Robert Mueller’s “Col de Marie Blanque TDF 05” to be the winner of our most recent contest. Congratulations, Robert! You win a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes of Cycling." A new winner also signals a new contest, so take a quick look at our latest gallery, decide what you like and let us know what you think by dropping a note to Rosters@InsideInc.com. Just remember we’ll be posting more later on in the week. Earlier Galleries:

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.Put a muzzle on O'GradyDear Editor,It is currently 0448 in Baghdad, Iraq, and I’m writing to tell youhow disturbing and deeply offensive that I found this article by PatrickO’Grady.This year during this year's Tour de France, I looked to VeloNewsto stay current on the news, and of

Cadel rides into Feldberg on his own

Ullrich said this stage suited his talents... only they suited Evans' even more.

After a tough day in the rain, Leipheimer's hold on the jersey seems more secure

Photo Finish: Farrar edges McCook for the win.

Pic goes early....

... and makes it look easy

Van Gilder and Freeman