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When Germany’s Nina Kraft, 35, swept to her overwhelming 17-minute victory over Switzerland’s Natascha Badmann at the 2004 Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii October 16, photographers noticed a curious thing when Kraft crossed the line. She had her head down and never looked up. She looked almost embarrassed, which many took for shyness. When Badmann crossed the line in second place, her joy was palpable and open. “Nina needs to take lessons from Natascha about giving good finish line,” said one veteran triathlon journalist at the time. With Tuesday’s revelation that Kraft

VeloNews Q&A: Specialized's new team, Gerolsteiner's new ride

Mike Sinyard

Looking out my office window at a cold rainy, day, with the promiseof snow falling on Colorado’s Front Range once the temperature drops thisevening, it’s all too clear that winter has arrived. Forget the near-perfect70-degree weather we had over the weekend, or the fact that winter doesn’t“officially” start until December 21st. From where I come from, snow andtemperatures in the low-20s means wintertime.It’s funny, as I was driving into work today, looking out at gray daythat appeared exactly as myfavorite Internet weather service had predicted, I couldn’t help butlaugh thinking of all the

I often receive emails from readers with a comments or follow-up questions regarding this column. Although I can’t always respond, the input is helpful and valuable. In fact, some of the important questions can come from the most unexpected places, let me offer a message from B.R. in Michigan as an example: Bob,I read your most recent “Legally Speaking” column on VeloNews.com, and I had a quick follow-up question. From the article and my own understanding, there is no right to travel. Is there a right to have adequately maintained roadways, however? I ask because here in Michigan, there

Remembering KyleTo my friends at Velo,Although I greatly appreciate the opportunity to write something aboutmy friend Kyle Bielenberg, I must tell you it was one of the hardest thingsI have ever done.I spent nearly a full hour last night trying to write something thatmade sense. I would type a few lines, phrases, then delete all ofit and start over, never satisfied with the outcome. I feel wholly incapableof putting a man’s life into a few short paragraphs. My usual rantingsat drunkcyclist literally roll off my fingertips in a rapid-fire crescendoof keystrokes and laughter. This exercise

San Francisco, CA Saturday Nov. 13th at the Cow Palace. Seattle—RacerMate, Inc., of Seattle, Washington, manufacturer of the CompuTrainer electronic bicycle training system, will stage 8-rider indoor bike races at VeloSwap in San Francisco, November 13th. This years event will feature a “Founding Fathers” race consisting of the Bay Area pioneers of mountain biking including: Gary Fisher, Mike Sinyard, Joe Breeze, Scot Nicol, Jacquie Phelan, and James McLean. They will race from 2-3 p.m. on a virtual simulation of the original Repack Downhill Race founded in 1976 in Marin

Dionne wins in San Francisco again

Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske: Rough roads ahead

Groenendaal soloed to victory

Page rode to 15th place

Threshold Sports, LLC, producers of the Pro Cycling Tour, has releasedthe official dates for the first of its 2005 race calendar.  Theseevents and dates are:Wachovia Cycling Series-Lancaster - May 31Wachovia Cycling Series-Trenton - June 2Wachovia Cycling Series-Philadelphia - June 5New York City Cycling Championship - July 31San Francisco Grand Prix - Sept 4Robin Morton, PCT Technical Director, reports that the Wachovia Cycling Series and the San Francisco Grand Prix have been upgraded on the UCI Continental Calendar. The men’s events in San Francisco and Philadelphia have been given

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has voiced support for a private plan to commit more than $21 million to create cross-country mountain-bike trails and BMX courses as part of the city’s bid for the 2012 Olympics. The plan is part of a much large proposal to convert the former Staten Island landfill – known as Fresh Kills – into a large public park with an extensive trail network. On Wednesday, Bloomberg and other city officials held a news conference on the Fresh Kills site, asking reporters and others assembled to imagine the one-time-garbage dump as hub around which a large portion of the

The Mail Bag 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 needs more character and fewer excusesEditor:I could not agree more with Patrick Buono’s thoughts on the state of cycling (see Monday’s mailbag, “This ain’t freakin’ rocket science!”). Richard Virenque tearfully protests his innocence, then admits to doping, and ever since we

Mountain bike groups coast-to-coast will soon receive an unprecedentedboost for their volunteer trailwork projects, as a result of a financialand gear grant from Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), announced todayby the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).For the second consecutive year, IMBA and REI will award outdoor stewardshiptoolkits to select mountain bike clubs nationally for the purpose of buildingand maintaining trails. This year's $45,000 REI grant nearly doubles theamount of last year's award, and increases the number of toolkits from50 to 100. Each toolkit contains

Nina Kraft, winner of the 2004 Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii, has tested positive for EPO. On Wednesday, the 35-year-old Kraft acknowledged the result of a test on an A-sample taken immediately following her October 16 victory in Kona. Kraft’s confirmation came even before the completion of tests on her B-sample. Kraft faces a two-year suspension from the sport of triathlon. “I screwed up,” noted Kraft, according to reports in the German media, after being informed Tuesday by the DTU, the German national triathlon federation, that her A-sample, a urine test collected by

USA Cycling board president Jim Ochowicz’s failure to properly disclose details of a financial relationship with a sponsor of the national governing body does not constitute a conflict of interest, USAC’s board of directors has decided. While concluding that Ochowicz’s paid consulting services with Zürich World Cup promoter Upsolut do not constitute a conflict, the panel has also noted that he had violated the letter of USA Cycling rules by not formally requesting the board’s approval. In an August letter (posted below), John Tarbert, then board vice president, acknowledged that Ochowicz

Andrew Herrick

VeloNews Q&A: Crank Brothers’ unexpected crank

Frank Hermansen, Carl Winefordner and Herrick with the Crank Bros' newest creation

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - Rake, chainrings and tubular tape

The Mail Bag 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.There are other fish to fryEditors,I think it would be great for Lance and cycling in general if he skippedthe Tour de France and rode some other races (see “Armstronghints he'll skip '05 Tour”). Look at what he has done in the AmstelGold race in the past few years. It would be great to

Groenendaal was forced to chase from the start

Nijs almost closed the gap

Amstrong tells L'Equipe he may skip the '05 Tour

Nys bobbled and had to settle for second

The Mail Bag 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.Florit says adios to team, racingEditor:I am writing this letter to thank all the sponsors of the RLX-Ralph Lauren team, who during the six years I have been with the team supported us with the same level of passion we had for racing. Racing for the RLX-Ralph Lauren mountain-bike team

Andy Ording

Generation 5

Dimpled Zipp rims began appearing on pro bikes first

Felix Cardenas's Vuelta stage win.

The Genius may need a genius lawyer to ride on U.S. trails

The Mail Bag 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.We need more than old guys on bikesDear Velo,In response to Kristen Kehl’s letter (see "It'sworth it" in Monday’s Mailbag). As one who has picked many a bone with the USCF/USAC over the past 25years, I have to agree with Kristen’s assessment of the fee situation.However, this is a

Knetemann in 1979

Knetemann at last year's world's in Hamilton

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: The Winds of Change

Bontrager lets his helmet do the talking at the recent 24 Hours of Moab

So if you’re reading this column, and you haven’t yet voted, please get out and do it now. It’s really not all that difficult, and, as we all know, this is poised to be one of the most tightly contested presidential elections in history. My bit of nonsensical ramblings will still be online tonight, (at least I hope it will), while your chance to exercise your democratic right won’t. Speaking of voting, our editorial staff is busily compiling votes of our own for the 17th annual VeloNews Awards Issue, due out at the end of the month. In it you’ll find all the usual awards, such as

If you’re awaiting word on the final outcome of the Tyler Hamilton doping case, better not hold your breath. It could be well into January of 2005 — or even later — before any kind of conclusion is reached, according to Hamilton’s attorney Howard Jacobs. Speaking by phone from his office in Southern California, Jacobs told VeloNews that he is still in the “document gathering process.” “We’re hoping to get started by January on the Vuelta tests,” he added, “but to get going before the end of the month isn’t likely.” Jacobs said that he has faced substantial resistance from the UCI and IOC

The 2005 Madone SSL

Another round of product testing

Nys is in top form

Wellens: The end of the rainbow... or just a slow start?

The Mail Bag 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.What is going on at Phonak?VeloNews,Are my eyes deceiving me or have two riders from Phonak both testedpositive for blood irregularities? (see "Perezimplicated in blood doping, Spanish daily reports" and "Perezmaintains his innocence"). With this being the case, it makes youask two

Frank N. Furter, a.k.a. Brian Matter

Perez was the big surprise of this year's Vuelta

The hard-working Trebon outlasted Kabush

Knapp had to work a little harder today, too

Nys just couldn't shake the guy

Jonathan Page

Jeremy Powers

Gore's Tool jacket

Perez at the Vuelta

Commeyne went away three laps from the finish and soloed in for the win

Knapp was smooth through the sand

Kapow! Kabush

BOSTON – New England’s best cyclocross racers are expected to come loaded for bear as they play host to Rounds 3 and 4 of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross this weekend at historic Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The two-day event on Oct. 30-31 will inevitably shake up the national standings and pay out more than $12,000 in prizes. With a tightly packed leader board in the elite men’s category, Marc Gullickson (Redline) will have to fend off strong challenges from Maine native Adam Craig (Maxxis Giant) and Massachusetts’ favorite son, Mark McCormack (Clif

I could tell you secrets like the government tells liesAh, but no one listens anymore.–Anaïs Mitchell, “Before the Eyes of the Storytelling Girls,"from "Hymns for the Exiled" “Keep the politics out of our bike racing!” the letter-writers screech, as if such a thing were possible. Anyone whose participation in the sport extends beyond pinning on a number knows all too well that bicycle racing is about as apolitical as the United Nations General Assembly on an August afternoon with the air conditioning on the fritz and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the agenda. My own cycling club, Dogs

Cipo' had an undistinguished and painful '04

Tom Reeder (left) and Joe Ward, with the new Cane Creek Double Barrel shock, developed with Öhlins

Öhlins suspension on Eric Bostrom's Ducati Austin/Parts Unlimited Ducati 999. Note the enormous gas reservoirs to control damping. The blue rods measure performance characteristics for later analysis.

A close-up of the Öhlins shock on Bostrom's bike. The threaded gold rod in front of the shock is a ride-height adjuster, which can help shift more or less weight to the front wheel as conditions require.

Cane Creek's Double Barrel Coil/Oil shock

Cane Creek's Double Barrel shock's twin tube design has separate adjusters for compression and rebound damping

Another view of the Double Barrel

Whom would you rather have running your club?

The Mail Bag 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.Predicting a ‘craptacular 2005 Tour’Editor:May I be the first to write in and predict a craptacular 2005 Tour? Three mountain stages in as many weeks; who cares if Lance wins seven of the damn things? Whatever it is, it will be boring as hell and nobody’s going to want to watch. I

Fewer time trials and summit finishes give Armstrong's rivals hope