News

Some days are better than others

Colavita comes to the front with five to go

Health Net was out front most of the day . . .

. . . in defense of Chris Wherry's lead

Brice Jones (Jelly Belly) had a go, and hung on for third

But the win went to Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita)

Positive changes continue to be implemented for USA Cycling’s track program as the national governing body revealed today a qualification process that will be in place for the 2005 USCF Elite National Track Cycling Championships later this year in Carson, Calif. Riders who want to compete on the track for stars and stripes jerseys must qualify for nationals through the 2005 Velodrome Championship Series, a schedule of 17 races to be held at 22 velodromes across the nation. This initiative is a major step toward tying together all of the nation’s facilities and forming a true national

... as do Thorburn and Baldwin

While bike racing in the British Isles was making breakthroughs into continental cycling through the late 1950s and early ’60s, most American road racers were still using fixed-gear track bikes. I recently had an e-mail from VeloNews reader Prosper Bijl who said that when he began road racing in the Washington, D.C., area in 1963, it was on a single-gear track bike with a front brake. It wasn’t until 1966 that the Amateur Bicycle League of America ended the use of fixed-gear bikes in road racing. No wonder riders from North America were slow in making an impact on the world scene. Across the

A souvenir of the good old days

Pound: Anything Hein can do, I can do better

Verbruggen on Friday: Wait until (Pound) gets the reality check

Leipheimer's crossing the pond to go marching through Georgia

Lowe on the ascent

Beutler heads for the hills

Wherry and Moninger couldn't hold Lowe back

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - With speculation building that Lance Armstrong will retire, the six-time Tour de France champion finds himself facing yet another doping allegation. On Thursday, attorneys for Armstrong denied allegations made by a former personal assistant that he found a steroid in Armstrong's Spanish apartment early last year. “It's a shakedown and it has been from the very beginning,” Armstrong's attorney, Timothy Herman, said. Mike Anderson, who worked for Armstrong for about two years, has been in a legal fight with the cycling great over alleged promises Armstrong

The young Aussie soloed to the win

You will eat, bye and bye,When you've learned how to cook and to fry;Chop some wood, 'twill do you goodAnd you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye (that's no lie).- from “The Preacher and the Slave,” by Joe Hill The announcement that a Tour of California is planned for 2006 has triggered an interesting discussion in the VeloNews.com mailbag about race promotion, particularly as it pertains to Colorado. I had the great good fortune to live in Colorado when the Coors Classic was still on its wheels, and managed to catch an occasional stage in person. Watching high-gloss

Fraser at the front

A chance encounter at an airport, a heated exchange of words and hastily issued challenge… and the cycling world may never be the same. UCI president Hein Verbruggen on Friday announced plans to resign his post at the end of June – on the eve of the world’s premier cycling event – and hand the reins of the organization over to his arch nemesis, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) boss Dick Pound. “I think it’s clear that I don’t like the man,” Verbruggen said at a press conference at UCI headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, on Friday, “but, frankly, this is not about my liking or disliking

Candelaria takes the lead

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.NORBA should provide neutral supportEditor:I personally don't what the big deal is in trying to figure out the appropriate level of support for NORBA racing. The most equitable solution seems clear. Allow neutral support only so that the aspiring independent racer isn't put at a

Kileen on the climb

Armstrong delivers another win for PostalLance Armstrong may be riding for the Discovery Channel now, but the six-time Tour de France winner recently delivered another win for the U.S. Postal Service – with a little assist from the rising price of gasoline. Faced with spiraling costs due to rising energy prices, USPS has been experimenting with mail delivery via bicycle in a few select cities – San Francisco, Denver and Boston – and the savings have been such that the agency is considering expanding the pilot program to other communities. Armstrong’s bike sponsor, Trek, has supplied

On the road again, with Lake Mathews in the background

The buildup for the April 19-24 Dodge Tour de Georgia sure took some interesting turns this week. First, cycling’s biggest star announced that he … okay, well, he didn’t actually make an announcement, but he said he would make an announcement about something important at the Tour de Georgia. Everyone’s buzzing about the possibility that Lance Armstrong will either announce his impending retirement, following the 2005 Tour de France, or, given his recent visit to Italian magistrate Giuseppe Quattrocchi, announce an attempt at a Giro d’Italia-Tour double this year — and then ride off into the

Just a slight hazard at the base of the climb

French Alpe d'Huez resort has the pleasure of inviting you to Alpe d'Huez climb promotional cocktail from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. at the TRATTORIA GIRASOLE restaurant, 1430 Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday April 6th. At this occasion, Jean-Louis LEGER-MATTEI (Alpe d'Huez Tourist Office manager) will show you some videos on the mythic Alpe d'Huez climb where Lance ARMSTRONG and Greg LEMOND wore the yellow jersey of the TOUR DE FRANCE race. Different assets and cycling activities of the Alpe d'Huez resort will be shown and an organized free drawing with

Thorburn has a dig

The incident that has developed a life of its own.

At age 14, Marco rode his red Vicini racing bike to his very first victory.

Pantani’s hair was still thick when he won the amateurs’ Giro d’Italia at age 22.

Wherry picked the right equipment, too

Thorburn's TT gives the team a boost going into Oak Glen on Friday

Moninger rides into second

Clinger is here in all of his splendor

Pic takes ninth at 32 seconds

Wherry and Thorburn tops at Redlands opener

USA CYCLING HIRES GARY WEST AS HEAD TRACK COACHVeteran Enjoyed Success During Career with Australian and JapaneseProgramsColorado Springs, Colo. (March 31, 2005)—In a move expectedto significantly bolster the competitiveness of USA Cycling’s nationaltrack program, the national governing body announced today the additionof distinguished track coach Gary West to its staff.  As head trackcoach for USA Cycling, West hopes to revive a modest program that was onceconsidered one of the strongest in the world.West’s name has become synonymous with success in the internationaltrack cycling arena

He lived the frenetic life of a celebrated sports icon. He died the solitarydeath of a drug-dependent depressive. Marco Pantani’s ending faithfully reflected his star-crossed life andtimes. The quirky, pugnacious Italian climber was frequently alone at theend of punishing mountain stages in cycling’s greatest races, minutes aheadof the opposition. And he was alone again, tragically so, when he diedin the fifthstory room of a hotel called Le Rose in the afternoonof a somber St. Valentine’s Day in February 2004. Outside his window, lifestill bustled in the streets of Rimini, while waves

USA Cycling chief executive officer Gerard Bisceglia confirmed Thursday that he and the organization’s vice president for marketing, Bryan Cook, have “reached a mutual agreement” resulting in Cook’s immediate resignation. Cook’s departure comes less than a year after he was hired, largely on the strength of his business background. Cook had more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience, most recently as associate director of sales and planning for a Kellogg's Corporation division. But Bisceglia said that over the past few months it became apparent that Cook’s background, rich as

Following what could only be described as a disastrous effort at the world track championships last week in Carson, California, it was clear something had to change with the U.S. national team. On Thursday what is being called the first of many changes came, as USA Cycling announced the hiring of Australian Gary West to serve as the program’s new head coach. The 44-year-old West comes to USAC after a four-year stint with the Japanese Cycling Federation, where he helped lead the lightly-touted cycling nation to a team sprint silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Prior to his stay in Japan,

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.In Monday’s Mailbag, Mike Brunken of Morrison, Colorado, in applauding the announcement of an upcoming Tour of California, posed the question: “How do we get something similar in Colorado?” We thought it was a good one, and passed it along to USA Cycling CEO Gerard Bisceglia and American

My father Joe and I had the great pleasure of visiting South Africa for two weeks in March. What started out as a business trip became an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience. We not only came face to face with lions, but also saw a cycling-crazed country and took part in a world class Ironman experience. The trip was organized by our friend Stewart Miller, who lives in Johannesburg and has started www.expertonline.co.za, a training web site for South Africa. Stewart contacted us to see if we would conduct some presentations the week of the Cape Argus bike race and the Ironman South

Armstrong: I have something important to say.

Dirk (right) and the crew from www.expertonline.co.za,

The guys from Jittery Joes in South Africa

Hincapie took the trophy in 2004

The final stage in 2004

Score one for the Mullet Man

Armstrong seems healthy again.

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.How about a tech piece on track gear?Editor:In some of the articles about track world’s there are comments about gear selection; some bigger, some smaller. It would be interesting to know what gearing is being used in the various events by some of the participants. A technical article

On March 4, the eve of the 2005 NORBA opener in Boerne, Texas, a handfulof USA Cycling members and team managers gathered for a powwow – the customarypre-race meeting to discuss any new regulations or course changes thatneeded addressing.The only reporter in attendance, I rolled in about half an hour late,and the meeting was already in full debate mode. The topic of choice: USACycling’s recent decision to allowing for outside mechanical assistanceduring races – thus negating the age-old NORBA rule barring any sort ofmechanical assistance.Everyone in the room appeared to have an opinion, a

The British pursuit squad: Silver no more

Julich vaulted past the surprising Dekker on GC

Quinn started as one of the U.S.'s top hopes for a medal

Vicky Pendleton came out of nowhere to take gold in the sprint

Dekker showed great form in the yellow jersey, but lost 11 seconds to Julich.

This time it's gold for Mactier

Kurt-Asle Arvesen takes third in the TT

Carney takes a gamble

Jens Voigt finishes second.

Carney on his own, getting encouragement from Danny Van Haute

American Levi Leipheimer

Rusmussen had a perfect race

Julich wins CI for the second time in his career

Dekker scrambles ahead for the win

A grey day in the Ardennes

Freire makes it look easy.

Dekker's teammate Michael Boogered tries to bridge

Britain's Rob Hayles on his way to victory in the Madison

The escape

The U.S. now boasts one of the world's best track venues.

Jakshe set the pace for much of the day

Pearce took a shot, but the Americans dropped the ball.

After winning Paris-Nice, Julich was a favorite

The British team of Hayles and Cavendish went on to win

Still favored in the TT, Julich may face a fight from Dekker