News

Clean lines for Shimano levers

Shimano stopped SRAM cold in its trigger-shifting tracks in Germany

Evans on Monday, after his crash

Hit 'em wear it countsEditor;In my humble opinion, the rule to adopt for all pro sports is simple:You test positive (A and B) for drugs, your annual earnings are cappedat 10-percent of what you are making or $1,000,000 a year, whichever isless (see Especially at the higher echelons, this still allows an athlete to makea substantial - albeit reduced - income from his or her talent. However,the kicker - a second positive test gets a lifetime ban from professionalsports - anywhere. Doesn't matter the sport you start out in or want toplay - cycling, baseball, anybody's national type of football

Jonas Carney

Money in the bank

Pay day

Petacchi had room to spare

Day 2 in gold for Rodrriguez

Leipheimer finished 5:13 back and is now 19:06 off the lead

The boys on the bus

Floyd before spending a day in the rain

Julich rode in 8:02 back.

The jersey remains in ONCE's hands.

A day in Asturias

After the fall: Cipollini at the Giro

Perez edges Sastre

The break

Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano spent just one day in gold.

After three days of sitting around in a hotel and counting the hours and then minutes until the start, the Vuelta is finally under way. The course around Spain this year takes us first through the Pyrénées, then along the east coast toward the southern peaks, and then up to Madrid. The course suits our team, with six mountain stages where Chechu, Roberto and Triki can shine, some flatter potentially windy days where the rest of us can control the race from the front, and some sprint stages where Max can show his strengths. The team has come to the Vuelta this year with perhaps the

ONCE shows Spain how a team time trial is done

Postal finished 10 seconds down

Gonzalez de Galdeano sports the first leader's jersey

Too much Metallica for Hincapie, y'think?

Evans stage 3

Evans stage 3

Mr. Rogers' neighborhood: Lyne gets her bell rung; Am I really gonna drink that?

Czech Jaroslav Kulhavy was all alone after the first lap

Swiss uncramps to take U23 gold

Michael Prokop outs his BMX skills to work

Chausson's won all the gated-racing titles

Readers who caught DedeDemet-Barry’s diary from the eighth round of the women's World Cupheld in Nürnberg, Germany, may have been concerned about the statusof Saturn rider Lyne Bessette, who was taken down in a crash just 2km intothe race and landed squarely on her head and right shoulder.Although her helmet was shattered and she remembers none of the crash,Bessette emerged relatively unscathed.“I just came back from the doctor and it’s really positive,” Bessettereported Thursday afternoon. “My head and neck are fine. It’s just a broken[right] collarbone, but nothing else. It’s broken

"Tales from the gutter" made great readingEditor:I have really enjoyed Jed Schneiders’ "Tales from the gutter.” He gave a very real account of racing in Europe, both the up and the down side. I especially liked his latest, hopefully not his last, article. I grew up in England and raced in the early 1970s. There was not a "that guy" that I could remember, but I had always wanted to follow the footsteps of Tom Simpson and Barry Hoban. I eventually took the big step and went to Brittany thinking I would show those Frenchies a thing or two. I even used to practice going over an imaginary finish

Editor’s note:VeloNews.com received the following letter from Amber Neben, of the T-Mobile women’s team, today. Neben is currently ranked 25th in the world, the highest ranked American and, until now, a favorite to land a spot on the U.S. team for next year’s Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.After testing positive for nandrolone metabolites in samples taken May 31, 2003 during competition in Montreal, Neben has voluntarily suspended herself from competition, pending the resolution of further test results and appeals. The decision will, of course, mean that she will not participate in this

The way I see it, my vacation is coming not a minute too soon. Inside Communications’ headquarters is in full renovation/office-shuffle mode, making for a few, uh, inconveniences. With our kitchen sink out of commission today, the last straw for me was having to step into the men’s room to rinse out the coffeepots before making some joe. It was almost enough to kill my appetite for this morning’s glazed donuts. Almost …. The coffee was another matter. On the other hand, vacation took me out of the rotation for next week’s T-Mobile International in San Francisco, which has been one of the

Amber Neben, of Irvine, California, today informed USA Cycling that she has decided to voluntarily suspend herself from competition, pending the resolution of medical control test results from samples taken May 31, 2003 during competition at the Montreal World Cup event. The tests conducted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) indicate the presence of trace amounts of the banned substance nandralone that is above the limits set forth by the UCI's anti-doping regulations. In light of this announcement, Ms. Neben is ineligible for nomination to the 2003 Road World Championship Team and

Five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and his wife have again separated and are now planning to divorce, according to a report in the Austin American Statesman. Armstrong and wife Kristin separated two weeks ago, soon after they moved back to Austin from their European home in Girona, Spain, according to a story published in Thursday editions of the Texas newspaper. The couple is currently in mediation to reach a divorce settlement, while maintaining separate homes in Central Austin, the newspaper reported. "It's an unfortunate situation," Kristin Armstrong, 32, told the

Portuguese rider Rui on Thursday blamed a positive test for steroids on an ointment he was using for saddle sores. Lavarinhas has been suspended for six months by the UCI after failing the test during this April's Paris-Nice race. The sports daily Record said cycling's governing body made the decision on Wednesday after the Portuguese cycling federation refused to take action. Lavarinhas, who came third in the Tour of Portugal this year, is the second rider from Milaneza-MSS to be suspended this week for doping after Spanish rider David Bernabeu tested positive for the same substance, the

The world's layout.

The map of Monte Tamaro

Anne-Caroline...

...and her bike.

Church at the top of the gondola.

New twist to the concept of 'road gap.'

Museeuw

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn: Campy's Carbon Clincher

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn: Campy's Carbon Clincher

Dear Bob,I was on a ride when a pick-up truck loaded with fence posts hangingover the side passed me. The posts hit me and knocked off my bike. I fracturedmy wrist and my bike was totaled. The driver of the truck blames the storethat loaded the posts and suggested I make a claim against them. Is thestore liable?B.R.Fla.Dear B.R,Let me break down your inquiry into two different questions:1) If I sued the lumber yard, could I win?In Florida, you would have a fairly good chance.2) Should I ignore the driver and go after the lumber yard?No way.There was a 1992 Florida case with many of the same

Belgian police raided the homes of 21 cyclists Thursday, including that of former world champion Johan Museeuw in a search for banned performance-enhancing drugs. An official at the public prosecutor's office in the western town of Kortrijk said detectives took Museeuw to headquarters for questioning. Spokesman Tom Janssens said police found quantities of suspicious drugs when they staged coordinated raids on the homes of professional riders, including former world cyclo-cross champion Mario De Clercq, OJ Planckaert, Chris Peers, Nico Hendrickx and Oliver Penny. "In all these places,

Mayo at the Dauphine

MTB World’s: Aussie Mathison repeats in junior XC; Poland takes relay

Tick, tick, tick...

It has been a busy couple of days for me personally, so I thought I would send out a quick update regarding some of the changes on the horizon for me and my family. Many of you already know I have decided to join the Phonak Cycling Team in January of 2004. The decision became official September 1st, when I traveled to Zurich to sign my new contract. While some of you may be surprised to hear this, I must tell you this is a very big opportunity for me professionally. I can look back on my two years with CSC with a lot of pride and satisfaction. We accomplished some terrific things together.

I swore when I came to Europe the first time that I would not come back “that guy.” I was convinced that Europe would make me stronger, faster, better. I would not be returning burned out, hollow-eyed, beaten. I didn't want to be the guy that was good, but no longer races, and just shows up on the local group rides and spins near the back. Every group ride has one. The new riders are always alerted to their presence in a solemn whisper. “That guy used to race in Europe.” I held great reverence for these riders, even when I had no idea what an echelon was and thought the Paris-Roubaix

Mario may be spending more time in street clothes

It’s official: Tyler Hamilton will leave Team CSC for Phonak Hearing Systems at the end of the 2003 season. Hamilton and the Swiss team signed a two-year deal that management termed “a real coup … underscoring the team's determination to be the first division's number one outfit.” The 32-year-old American, who finished fourth in this year’s Tour de France despite a broken collarbone, was quoted as saying that he was "sorry to say goodbye to Team CSC, but that's part of the game.” “I have had a fantastic time on the team, and I will thank the whole team for their great support they have

It took a long, long time. Fourteen years, to be precise. But finally I'm there! I started my international mountain-biking career in 1990 by winning the silver medal at the first-ever world championship in Durango, Colorado. Ever since, I have been hunting the rainbow jersey, which is a mystic emblem to any professional cyclist. So many times I was close to winning it – 1990, ‘91, ‘92 and 2001, with the silver medal. In 1994, as the favorite for the title, I broke my collarbone the day before the race. In 1996, I finished second only to become world champion four years later, due to Jerome

Tyler's shedding his CSC kit for Phonak garb

Pearce celebrates his scratch-race victory

Tilford collects a fifth masters title

Lydia Barter celebrates her 50-plus win

Frischy outkicks Brentjens for the rainbow jersey

Wloszcowska soloes across the line

The women's points race

Cody goes for the gold in the team sprint

EuroBike: My dinner with Jan

McCormack, Jeanson take Green Mountain opener

McCormack, Jeanson take Green Mountain opener

Jonas Carney in the Madison

Nothstein and O'Bee represent Navigators in the Madison

Ofoto stole the the show by getting away for an early lap and the big

Photo Gallery: U.S. National Track Championships -Day 3

Sara Uhl won the kierin by going early holding on for two laps

Alfred and Massie had a good duel that went three rounds

Alfred in the sprint semi's