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Mickaël Bourgain and Grégory Baugé in the semi's

T-Mobile tries to chase... but it's a little too late.

Bourgain meets Wolff in the final

Phonak's Floyd Landis encounters a bit of trouble early in the day

Wolff takes the win

UCI president Hein Verbruggen has launched a scathing attack on World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Dick Pound over the extent to which they both perceive the problem of doping in cycling.And Verbruggen, also an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, conceded that the UCI has taken to issuing "red card" warnings to cyclists whose blood test results appear suspect.Officials have confirmed, for example, that the governing body sentat least two warning letters to the Phonak team regarding suspicious testresults from Tyler Hamilton and other riders last spring.Pound has in the past

Dekker has the jersey... for the first half of the day at least

In 6th, Reed becomes the top U.S. finisher at world's

USA Cycling CEO Gerard Bisceglia

Galvez takes the win ...

... and the leader's jersey

Finot has a go ...

... and collects some company

Levi enjoys a day in the saddle

And why not? It was beautiful in the Ardennes

There's art (here) and real life (click the image), and Fraser and Farrar can handle both

I want to start this week’s column off by saying thanks to Health Net-Maxxis riders Gord Fraser and Tyler Farrar. Since the pair of sprinters appeared on the cover of our domestic road season preview, both are having a great start to the season, taking multiple wins and making us editors here at VeloNews look like we know what we’re talking about. Resplendent in the Canadian national champion’s jersey, Fraser has won three races this year, one each at the McLane Pacific in Merced, the Central Valley Classic in Fresno and the San Dimas Stage Race in, well, San Dimas. Farrar has won twice,

Stahl's collarbone-popping crash

Teun Mulder celebrates a first-ever Dutch win in the keirin...

Mactier qualified fastest in the women's individual pursuit

... while Teammate Bos takes the kilo

Bos was the man in sprint qualifying

Jobie Dajka tried to put on the brakes in the kierin, but too late. He goes down and takes out Tournant.

Mirabella was feeling the effects of Friday's racing

Mulder gets the win.

Massie was having an off day, too

Mirabella

The Brits rocked the team pursuit . . .

Bartko still has it

. . . the Netherlands were right behind them

AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke

Horsepower: With two world kilo champs and BMX champion in the mix, the Brits came out charging.

Chris Hoy anchors the British Team Sprint to first place.

UCI President Hein Verbruggen is in attendance

USACycling president Jim Ochowicz

Pearce was disappointed with what might be his last world's

Pearce will do the Madison with Marty Nothstein

Tsylinskaya wins the women's 500 tt.

American Becky Conzelman finishes 13th.

It won’t be official until Friday afternoon, but no one at the world track championships was trying to hide the fact that the inaugural Tour of California will get rolling in February 2006. Big sponsors’ banners touting the event were draped all over the ADT Event Center velodrome, and a news release noting the looming announcement of a “significant international cycling initiative” was passed out to the press on Thursday, the first day of the 2005 championships being held in Carson, California. Attendees at Friday’s 3:30 p.m. announcement will include UCI president Hein Verbruggen, USA

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. Letter on Simpson was ‘sanctimonious bilge’Editor:I feel sure you have received many letters critical of Mr. Wilcockson's piece "Death on the Ventoux" that were suitable for publication. Shame on you for choosing to publish the mean-spirited, sanctimonious bilge attributed to Tim

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The win. Bäckstedt's victory in the velodrome of Roubaix

At last year's Tour de France

Riding with Michi - By William Cass

While everyone’s attention was focused on the finish-line scrum in Saturday’s Milan-San Remo, many missed an interesting back story at the “classicissima” that will underscore the 2005 season. Coming off the Capo Mele, there was 38-year-old Andrea Tafi sticking his nose in the wind. Giving it the gas with 2km to go was 1997 world champion and French mullet man Laurent Brochard, who turns 38 later this month. Lion King Mario Cipollini, who turned 38 on Tuesday, was happy just to finish in the main bunch while Der Kaiser Erik Zabel, a mere youngster at 34, seemed to be losing his spark. And

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.Rest in Peace Tom SimpsonEditors, What an excellent story with which to start the day (see “Inside Cycling with John Wilcockson: Death on the Ventoux”).). It was a touching and sad cautionary tale. I was only 4 1/2 when Tom Simpson died, yet I have read much about him over the last few

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is seeking a self-motivated, full-time advocacy staff member with experience in grassroots organizing. I appreciate any referrals you may have.JOB RESPONSIBILITIES* Organize campaigns to preserve mountain bike access* Volunteer recruitment and leadership development* Expand and enhance IMBA coalition partnerships* Develop and organize local affiliate programs* Expand and enhance public land management agency partnerships* Design and develop advocacy campaign materials, program manuals and public education resources* Organize and provide

Armstrong last appeared at Paris-Nice

Pearce last year in Athens

Rebellin celebrates a glorious win at Liege in 2004

Rebellin at a chilly Paris-Nice earlier this year

Simpson was gone before anyone could offer help.

Simpson's monument remains a pilgrimage for many.

O'Loughlin gets some payback in IrelandReport by Tommy CampbellAfter the crafty Carrick Wheelers rider Rory Wyley, outfoxed NavigatorsCiaran Power earlier in the week in Limerick and slipped up the road ina small group, Power's team-mate O'Loughlin showed up on Wyley's home sod,and exacted a little revenge yesterday (Sunday) in Sean Kelly's hamletof Carrick-on-Suir. Famed Irish sports reporter Tommy Campbell describesthe outcome:National Road Race Champion and professional with the New Jersey basedNavigators Insurance team in America, David O'Loughlin was a surprise

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.Pros should remember that others work hard, tooEditor:Keith Williams is dead-on about the pros bugging out early (see Friday’s Mailbag: “What kind of pro passes on a podium shot?”). Assuming the promoters put on a safe, well-run event that lived up to what they promised, it really is in

Many of the stories I’ve told in the first 10 weeks of this new column have concerned people and events that few Americans had known about. The story I’m going to tackle this week is one about which most cycling fans think they know all they want to know: The death of Tom Simpson on Mont Ventoux at the 1967 Tour de France. “Oh, yeah,” I can hear some of you saying. “That drug cheat.” I’m not going to detail everything that led to Simpson’s collapse just before the summit of the mountain in southeast France. Whole books have been dedicated to the purpose. But in these 1500-or-so words I want

Kim Baldwin takes a corner

Leadout man Gord Fraser celebrates the stage win with Ivan Dominguez

Advantage Endeavour masses at the front

Fraser chases down a break

Lara Kroepsch at the front

Tina Mayolo-Pic wins as Laura Van Gilder cheers

Erinne Willock in the leader's jersey

Heavy Traffic: Milan-San Remo organizers would like to see a smaller crowd fight it out on the Via Roma.

Pantani's attack on the Cipressa in 1999 didn't get far.

A Symmetry rider enjoys the deluge: I think he was screaming, but I'm not sure, says photog Casey Gibson

Did we mention it was raining?

Petacchi gets the one he's been wanting for some time now

Vande Velde's View: Once upon a time in AMERica

Fraser outkicks Dionne and the rest of the bunch

Willock en route to victory

Health Net in pursuit of Wohlberg

Moninger and Fraser

Petacchi celebrates his biggest win to date

Petacchi collects his first epic one-day classic

Bettini and Kashechkin had a go

Casagrande and Zaballa have a go