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Former Kelme rider Jesus Manzano has charged that his former team has long conducted an organized doping program with little regard for riders’ health or safety. Manzano’s claims come a week after he promised to lift the lid on the Spanish team's unsavory doping practices, including blood transfusions and the use of experimental substances. The 25-year-old Spaniard, who was fired by Kelme after last year's Vuelta a España for allegedly having sex with a woman in his hotel room, openly admits he is seeking revenge because he is currently living a hand to mouth existence. The 25-year-old

Manzano and Virenque attack in Stage 7 of the 2003 Tour

Capelle on his way to Waregem

Horner

Webcor kept the gap small on a fast ride across the desert

Only Grajales could stay with Horner

Klasna and the rest of the original break were now in chase mode

Okay, now, watch the dancing lady...VeloNews,So, the sport of cycling has this allegedly rampant drug problem,and riders are getting sacked for getting a little in the sack? (See"Ex-Kelmerider promises doping revelations") There's nothing likea little sex scandal to get everyone to forget about life's realproblems, no?Neil HickeySeattle, WashingtonYoung guns!Editors,That is some awesome writing! (See "Youngguns: Playing poker with Team Money") I will definitely befollowing these guys.Tschuss!Steve O'DellGeorgiaHe an icon of what?VeloNews,Your characterization of Marco Pantani as an "icon" is

Tuesday's mail bag: Drugs, sex, icons and Mullets

Susan Palmer-Komar

Zabriskie takes second

Postal's Jurgen Van Den Brouck

Brian and Jennifer Maxwell

Brian Maxwell, founder of the multimillion-dollar PowerBar empire and a former world-class marathon runner, died in San Anselmo, California, of a heart attack at the age of 51 on Friday. According to friends, Maxwell collapsed at a post office near his home. Emergency personnel called to the scene were unable to resuscitate him and he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Maxwell and his wife Jennifer, a nutritionist, co-founded the popular energy bar company in 1986 and began selling PowerBars out of their kitchen. Over the next decade, the Berkeley, California-based

Give the boy some poker moneyEditor,Just writing to say that the Team Money essay/blurb/bit from Ang’ Sheldrakewas brilliant ( see "Youngguns: Playing poker with Team Money"). You should publish moreof him. Hell, are you paying these people? If not, you should even payhim.Thanks,Elliot Dickerson All I know is that I like what I likeEditors,I have no idea what I just read, but I liked it. Just thought I'd voicemy approval in case you get some differing opinions of this rather abstractpiece.Ryan RasmussenBozeman, Montanaand Calgary, Alberta What the....?!?!Sirs,Regarding Mr. Agnetti

Laurent was a pioneer?

Hushovd still leads the Coupe de France

Bessette was in control

Uhl's win was a bonus for Quark

Grajales fought hard to hold his place on GC

Postal's young gun Patrick McCarty made the break

Friedick's final push paid off

Ted Huang of Webcor controlling the break

Trent Klasna

Zabel celebrates but Freire wins at Milan-San Remo

Cipollini makes adjustments for the day's changing weather

A cool day along the Mediterranean

Ooops!

Zabel celebrates, but Freire wins

Horner heads up the hill

Armstrong seems to be enjoying the ride

Bessette rides into the overall lead

Moninger put in a strong ride for third

Horner again

Candace Blickem was out on a break all day...

...but a strong chase brought her back to the field on the final lap.

It’s been a beautiful week in the neighborhood here in Boulder, Colorado, as spring is clearly upon us. Friday’s forecast calls for 78 degrees and sunny skies, with no snow on the horizon — bad news for the skiers in the area, but welcome news for those of us ready to get back into a riding routine. For me personally, the past week brought a 31st birthday, shared with VeloNews technical editor Andrew Juskaitis and celebrated with some good old-fashioned tricycle racing at The Dark Horse, a local saloon sometimes referred to as “The Dork House.” The week also heralded the arrival of a much

An inquest into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of fallen Italian cycling hero Marco Pantani has found that he died of a cocaine overdose, the Ansa news agency reported Friday. "The death of Marco Pantani was caused by acute cocaine intoxication," according to the draft report by doctor Giuseppe Fortuni for prosecutor Paolo Gengarelli. The report found that there was not enough evidence to support the theory of suicide and that Pantani died as a result of swelling to the brain and lung tissue as a result of cocaine poisoning. "Acute cocaine intoxication provoked a

“You may as well call us Team Money.” Who ever said cyclists were humble? And why should we be? We deserve recognition, respect, sex, rock stardom, little poodles with American bandanas and Gucci booties. Yeah, and trading cards and tanning beds and … and … and leather pants and capes – it all comes rushing to the head like the initial stroke of a sprint, full of commitment and devoid of thought. Looking inside the head of a cyclist is like fracturing a carnival sky with the hands of an innocent child and scattering the pieces in waving strokes of glory. For the cyclist is a legend in his

Cocaine killed Pantani, a doctor's report says

Baden Cooke and Lance Armstrong, shown in last year's Tour, are a bit under the weather as Milan-San Remo approaches

Bessette and eventual winner Van Gilder

Eventual runner-up Megan Long guts it up that long climb

Another view of the climb, as the men parade upward

Hi Bob,I own a vacant lot of land and I occasionally see tracks from mountainbikes in the dirt. I am an avid cyclist, but wonder if I am at risk ofa lawsuit by allowing them to ride on my property. I do have a NO TRESPASSINGsign posted.TimSpokane, Washington Dear Tim,When I was a kid we had a great stretch of woods, with a beautifulstream running their length, near my home. The woods happened to be ownedby a mean old farmer who asserted his property rights by way of shotgunwith rock salt filled shells. We would hear the old man shooting off hisgun, but figured he was shooting skyward as a

Treviso, Italy (18 March, 2004) - On the eve of Milano-San Remo, Cicli Pinarello Spa has created some special new bicycles for their top teams, Fassa Bortolo and Illes Balears-Banesto to have the best possible material to use in the “la Classicissima di Primavera” this coming Saturday, March 20th. New Pinarello Dogma bicycles in magnesium for super sprinter Alessando Petacchi and his leadout train, who’ve just returned from Tirreno-Adriatico with three stage wins, and for Filippo Pozzato, recent protagonist in the Giro di Liguria and Trofeo Laigueglia. Both Petacchi and Pozzato will be team

IRON HORSE BICYCLE CLASSIC CELEBRATES 33rd RUNNING in 2004Registration Now Open for Memorial Day Weekend EventDURANGO, Colo. (March 18, 2004)--The registration forms,schedule and pertinent information for the 33rd annual Iron Horse BicycleClassic are posted on the website www.ironhorsebicycleclassic.com.The event is focusing on on-line registration in an effort to save paperand trees. Registration forms can be downloaded and mailed to the office,in addition to registering at http://www.active.com.This is the 33rd anniversary of one of the largest and longest continuouslyrun bicycling events

Treviso, Italy (18 March, 2004) - Opera Bicycles, created by Cicli Pinarello will be the racing partner in 2004 with Team Manager Maurizio Fabretto’s new squad SAFI-PASTA ZARA-MANHATTAN The new squad will consist of 14 riders, led by two of the top names in womens cycling, Nicole Cooke (UK), winner of the 2003 Womens World Cup, and the Lithuanian athlete Diana Ziliute, bronze medalist in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Other riders include Italians Giorgia Bronzini, track specialist with the Italian National Team and Anna Zugno, Jr. World TT champion in 2002 at Zolder, German rider Regina

ARMSTRONG VOTED 2004 USOC SPORTSMAN OF THE YEARFive-Time Tour de France Winner Becomes First Athlete Selected FourTimes COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. (March 18, 2004) - - CyclistLance Armstrong, figure skater Michelle Kwan and the U.S. Women’s GymnasticsTeam have been voted the 2003 United States Olympic Committee SportsMan,SportsWoman and Team of the Year, respectively.For the second consecutive year the top awards go to athletes from thesports of cycling and figure skating. In 2002, Armstrong and Sarah Hughes(Great Neck, N.Y.) received the trophies. Last year’s team title went tothe women’s

GO MISS MONDIALI, THE BEAUTY CONTEST CONNECTED WITH THE CYCLING WORLDCHAMPIONSHIPS OF VERONA-BARDOLINO 2004!Selections of the Misses that will reward the World’s championstake place in the discos of Verona, Brescia and Vicenza.18 March - Verona, Italia - A spring under the banner of beauty, that’s what we have to expect from the new event presented yesterdayin Verona, in the seat of Asco Unione, by the organizing committee of the Road Cycling World Championships of Verona-Bardolino 2004. The contest starting on Sunday, March 21st, will select six girls charged with awardingprizes to the

Bettini wins in 2003

If Bettini falters, Vino' and others will be right there.

Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske: Forgive us our trespasses

Tech Report: Ridin' what you wanna ride vs. what you have to ride

Thursday's EuroFile: Armstrong to skip MSR; Bettini wants to avoid sprint

Bessette and Holden

Editor's note: This article appeared earlier on VeloNews.com,but an off-the-cuff comment regarding new standards for caffeine and pseudoephedrinecreated some level of confusion. We have since checked with USADA and USACycling and feel comfortable with the original information included inthis column.At this year's training camp for the Health Net/ Maxxis team, riders andstaff hit me with an assortment of questions covering a wide range of medicaland scientific topics. The subject of recent changes in anti-doping regulationscame up repeatedly.“Why is the US government making ephedrine illegal

Lance Armstrong and Cancer Community Seek Cyclists to Participate in2004 Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™ Princeton, NJ (March 17, 2004) – Cancer survivor and five-timeTour de France champion Lance Armstrong and Bristol-Myers Squibb Companyannounced today that they will partner again this year to inspire and invigoratethe public about the importance of cancer research through the 2004 Bristol-MyersSquibb Tour of Hope™.  The cross-country cycling event will beginin Los Angeles on Friday, October 1 and will conclude in Washington, DCon Saturday, October 9 with a grand finale

Petacchi strikes a familiar pose

Colorado Springs, CO--CTS athletes performed impressively yesterdayat NORBA’s National Mountain Bike Series in Waco, Texas. Alison Dunlap,trained by premier CTS coach Dean Golich, showed competitors in the women’sevent that she is as strong as ever after winning her first cross-countryrace since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last June. She tookfirst in the cross-country event, placed second overall and is well onher way to gain her necessary UCI points for a shot at the Olympics. KaterinaHanusova, also trained by Golich, placed third in the race and overall;Willow Koerber, premier

CAMPAGNOLO INAUGURATES ITS JAPANESE SUBSIDIARYCampagnolo srl enters the Japanese market determinedly throughthe inauguration of its new subsidiary Campagnolo Japan.Vicenza, 16 March 2004 -- Campagnolo srl, world leader in themanufacture of top-quality components for racing bikes, announces the openingof its new Japanese subsidiary, Campagnolo Japan. The subsidiary is locatedin the city of Yokohama and will be the Campagnolo reference point forthe entire Japanese market. Campagnolo Japan will be in charge of the following activities:Promotion of Campagnolo productsManagement of

Ahhhhh....sweet home Alaba...... well, okay, I mean, Salt Lake City. It's been a while and things don't look much different here than when I started my epic travels seven weeks ago. It still looks like January outside, with daily snow accumulations and temps in the 30's. But I'm not going to complain, no siree. I'm just happy as a clam to be sleeping in my own bed, breathing fresh mountain air and seeing my wife's happy face every morning instead of a haggard teammate's disheveled mug. Oh, the things I've seen in the past month-and-a-half.....Australia, Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain,

CADENCE PERFORMANCE CYCLING CENTERSTEAM WITH RENOWNED CARMICHAEL TRAINING SYSTEMS (CTS) TO OPENFIRST WORLD-CLASS RETAIL & TRAINING FACILITY IN MANAYUNKOne-Stop Cycling Center to Provide Bikes, Training, Apparel, TravelPHILADELPHIA, PA, MARCH 15, 2004 – Cadence Performance Cycling Centers,the Philadelphia area’s first and most complete world-class retail bicyclefacility and home to the nation’s first expansion of the renowned CarmichaelTraining Systems (CTS), will open its first Center next month at 4323 MainSt. in Manayunk, not far from cycle racing’s legendary Manayunk Wall.Located in the

NORRISTOWN, PA (March 15, 2004) – The Pro Cycling Tour (PCT) announcedtoday an agreement with VeloNews as a sponsor of the 2004 Pro Cycling Tourand its events in Philadelphia, New York City, Vail, and San Francisco. As a PCT media partner, VeloNews, the journal of competitive cycling, willreceive prominent visibility and co-branded media opportunities at ProCycling Tour events.“The Pro Cycling Tour is a great series, and a key component of theU.S. bike racing calendar,” says Dave Whittingham, Inside Communications’Marketing Manager. “We’re enthusiastic about our partnership with the PCTin

Spend your money at homeEditors,The Parisian bike shop scene is dismal (see "You'll always haveParis" in Wednesday's mail bag). Selection is poor and prices are horrible. La Maison du Velo noted by one of your readers has closed down. Thebest bet for high end gear is La Gazelle (two locations, one near L'Archedu Triomphe) www.la-gazelle.com. There are a couple of other shops near by on the Ave de la Grande Armée. I stock up on bikes and bike supplies when I'm back in the States wherethe selection is far superior and the prices are much better.Tom GrosmanParis, France Even the accident

Pearce and Carney in the Madison

The Ukraine took the Madison

NZ

Photo Gallery - Day 3 at Mexico City World Cup

Photo Gallery - Day 3 at Mexico City World Cup

Photo Gallery - Day 3 at Mexico City World Cup

Photo Gallery - Day 3 at Mexico City World Cup

Vande Velde: Undocumented worker?

Monday's mail bag: Paris, Saturn, the big game and a banana