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Paolo Bettini overpowers the competition

Ullrich gave it his best for the hometown crowd

Marty Nothstein expands his racing résumé

While many of Nathan O’Neill’s Saturn teammates were celebrating Tom Danielson’s impending overall win at the International /Tour de ‘Toona — and others were preparing to defend Ivan Dominguez’s title at the New York City Cycling Championships — O’Neill sat in a hospital bed three hours away, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. As the fourth stage of The International came to a field sprint, the Aussie was wearing the leader’s jersey when he was taken out in a gruesome headfirst crash, suffering a broken nose, facial lacerations, and as it would be later discovered, two broken

The Aussies blaze to gold in the team pursuit

Two's a charm. The Australians had to start twice

Brett Lancaster, Luke Roberts, Peter Dawson and Graeme Brown meet the press

In case you're wondering, it's a 55x14

O'Neill, on a better day, after winning the Oak Glen stage at Redlands

My question for the week: How many donuts is too many donuts for one person to eat in a morning? I’m talking all morning – from the time you stumble into work and pour yourself that first cup of coffee until the time you’re ready to haul out for an hour-and-a-half lunch break. Without divulging any numbers, suffice it to say that I powered through a few of those round fried things this morning as I banged out my column, and am just wondering whether I overdid it or not. Drop a line to VN.com and let me know. * * * Last week I proposed letting readers pay $150 to write my column for me.

Cycling's World Cup moves back onto center stage with Sunday's 253km HEW Cyclassics race in Hamburg, Germany, the sixth stop of the 10-round series. The rolling course features no less than 23 rated climbs, but none are hard enough for the top pros to get out of the big ring. The course heads out into the farmland outside of Hamburg before heading back into the bustling port city for two finishing circuits. Whether it will come down to a bunch sprint or not is kind of a crapshoot. The race hits the short but steep Wasseberg climb three times, the last coming just 15km from the finish,

Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel en route to gold

Franz Stocher gives Austrians a reason to cheer

Not your average bargain-basement concrete track, eh?

Russian rider Sergei Koudentsov has been ruled out of the world track championships here Thursday after an abnormal blood test. The 24-year-old, 11th in the men's 15km scratch race on the first day of the championships on Wednesday, was randomly tested by officials from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) on Thursday. An abnormal hematocrit level - an indication, although not proof, that banned substances could have been used - means he was declared unfit to ride. The Russian may now have to submit a urine sample for testing for the banned endurance enhancer EPO

Britain's Bradley Wiggins claims gold in the pursuit

France's Laurent Gane outkicks the defending champ in the keirin

Natallia Tsylinskaya of Belarus defends her 500-meter crown

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

Stefan Nimke

Arnaud Tournant - 3rd overall

The podium

Franco Marvulli

Olga Slusareva

Derek Wilkerson (Hillenbrand Racing) chokes his way through the dust

Husanova

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood: Short track mind

Perry, in green shirt, with sign

It's like mountain cross, without the jumps and berms, and a whole lot longer

Just back from covering the fourth round of the NORBA NCS in Sandpoint, Idaho — an aptly named region — and I think I’ve finally cleaned the chalky silt out of my clothes, equipment and ears. Held at 4500 feet elevation in the quaint Schweitzer ski-resort village, pro and elite-level racers couldn’t have asked for much more in a venue: easily accessible race courses and lodging, live music, a welcoming community, beautiful vistas overlooking Lake Pend Oreille and perfect weather. Spokane-based Round and Round Productions has been hosting the NORBA regional championships at Schweitzer for

One of the great reasons to ride for the Cycling Center is the partnerships that Bernard has made with other Belgians in the cycling community here. One such person is Frans van Merke. Frans has fit many of the great Belgian professionals, including Nico Mattan, Frank Vandenbroucke, Axel Merckx and Tom Steels. Not too shabby a clientele, eh? And he is nice enough to work with us crazy Americans, with the weirdest equipment he has ever seen. Of course, if it isn’t Campy and isn't steel, well, it is just a little odd. I am poking fun at him a bit, but he definitely likes the most normal

No sooner has the bunting been cleared from the streets of Paris after a dramatic Tour de France, than the world's top sprint and pursuit cyclists are heading for Stuttgart, Germany, for the world track championships. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) moved the event to Germany from China because of the SARS virus - but the Hanns-Martin Schleyer Hall should provide a fitting venue for five days of fierce competition. Australia will again be expected to dominate the medals table, although without Bradley McGee they face a strong challenge from a British squad, buoyed by three gold

Frans fusses with Jed's LeMond

Jan Ullrich was hailed as the real winner of the 2003 Tour de France in the German press after a sensational comeback saw the Bianchi captain push defending champion Lance Armstrong all the way to the finishing line. Although the Olympic champion finished second in the Tour, for a record fifth time, the German media expressed their amazement at how he had turned the clock back and once again become a major force in the sport of cycling. "Jan you are the best as far as we are concerned," declared Germany's best-selling Bild zeitung. Bild claimed Ullrich had captured the imagination of the

Germany's two-time Olympic cycling track champion Jens Lehmann has been dropped from the individual pursuit team for this week's world championships it was announced by the national cycling federation (BDR) on Monday. The 35-year-old, 75-time national and international medalist, finished second in the recent German trials but was replaced by another double Olympic champion in Robert Bartko. Bartko did not compete in the trials but team coach Bernd Dittert opted for Bartko after he timed faster in a private test on June 30. Bartko will line-up alongside Daniel Becke, who won the national

Lehmann at last year's world's in Copenhagen

The Ruler of Retro: If you think this looks bad – click for the larger version

The curtain has just fallen on Lance Armstrong's fifth and hardest Tour de France victory, and the American is already setting his sights on an unprecedented sixth. The 31-year-old cancer survivor joined the sport's select club of five-time champions when he won the centenary Tour on Sunday; now, he hopes to inaugurate a new century of the world's showcase cycling event. Neither Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, nor Spaniard Miguel Induráin, the only rider before him to have won five straight Tours – not even Eddy "The Cannibal" Merckx, the greatest rider ever – were able to

Remember our "Out-of-the-Way" contest from the other day, when we offered a free copy of our 2003 Tour de France book to the "viewer" following the Tour via VeloNews.com from the most unusual spot on the planet? After verifying his mailing address and checking a few other things – including the pictures posted here – the winner is Army Captain Rick Trimble, who is doing a Tour of Baghdad at one of Saddam Hussein's former presidential palaces in the Iraqi capital. “There are a large number of palaces all over the country and in Baghdad,” says Rick. “This particular one is called the Main

Ho-hum

Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and his U.S. Postal team mates were each fined for sporting an illegal jersey during the last stage to Paris. The nine U.S. Postal riders wore a jersey showing the emblem of their sponsors, an eagle, instead of their regular gear on Sunday. They were fined 200 Swiss francs ($148.5) while the U.S. Postal team was handed a 4,500-franc fine. Armstrong won 400,000 euros ($459,500) for his Tour victory.

Ohhhhhhkayyyyyyyy

You don't see this too often...

To see how Stage 20 of the Tour unfolded live, just go to our Live Update window and follow the action all the way to the finish.

... or this

And so another Tour de France has finished. And with it we finally get time to reflect on the many highs and lows of the past three weeks – in reality, there are far too many of them to mention. But some moments deserve special mention. So we came up with a few awards to celebrate a centennial Tour that was one of the most exciting in years – perhaps ever! Ladies and gentlemen please be standing in your ovation for the followingrecipients of the VeloNews.com 2003 Tour de France Awards. Best story lead in the most exciting Tour ever:“Ho-hum,” on the Tour de France Times Web site after stage

Are the any good French wines that one can serve with Crow?

With the Tour safely arriving in Paris today, the barriers packed andthe press room door shut for another year, I think it's only fitting fora bit of the recap of the race.No, I'm not talking about highlighting phenomenal racing action whichmade up one of the more exciting Tours de France in history, I'm talkingabout a look back at the technology that made the biggest hit. As always,you can't have the good without the bad, so included are a few "All Show,No Go" items we saw this year as well.  So without any further ado,here's my top 10 list for "Most Impressive Technology at the 2003

Raise a glass to Vino'

Maybe Mario De Clercq should worry

The victories Lance Armstrong values the most are the ones he worked the hardest for, and the 2003 Tour de France yellow jersey is going to have to rank near the top of that list. Out of his five wins, this one was the most difficult. The field was stronger than it was in any of the previous four years, the heat was unbearable, and there were several incidents and near misses. Races almost never go exactly as you plan them. It is extremely rare for an athlete to be completely ready for competition and have the race unfold precisely the way he wants it to. The mark of a true champion is the

Properly clad or not, these postmen delivered

Army Captain (and Tour fan) Rick Trimble

The last break of the Tour

Saddam or Nebuchadnezzar? Captain Trimble at the presidential palace

And they thought the race for the yellow jersey was close

The 2003 Tour de France returned to where it started three weeks ago and finished with the same winner as the past four years. Lance Armstrong endured what he called a "crisis-filled" Tour to join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin in cycling's "five club" as five-time Tour winners. "It was the hardest victory and it's like a dream," Armstrong said at the finish line on the Champs-Élysées. "I will put everything I have into trying to win a sixth victory." Armstrong fought through a litany of problems and overcame a rejuvenated Jan Ullrich to claim final

Armstrong clearly enjoying the ride to his fifth consecutive Tour triumph

Cooke's sigh of relief

Hopes of a completely clean centenary Tour de France have been dashed by the news that an unidentified rider has tested positive for banned endurance enhancer EPO (erythropoietin), officials confirmed here Sunday. It is the first positive test of the 90th edition and centenary race that was won for the fifth consecutive time by American Lance Armstrong of the US Postal team. The first sample has tested positive for EPO although it will be a few days before the results of a B sample are known. "The rider concerned is not someone who has won a stage," a race official told AFP here Sunday,

It doesn't get much better

Results Stage 20Overall, points, Kom, Team and other standings listed below1. Jean-patrick Nazon (F), Jean Delatour, 3:38:492. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, 00:003. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, 00:004. Luca Paolini (I), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:005. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:006. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, 00:007. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, 00:008. Romans Vainsteins (Lat), Caldirola, 00:009. Gerrit Glomser (A), Saeco, 00:0010. Damien Nazon (F), Brioches La Boulangere, 00:0011. Fabrizio Guidi (I), Bianchi, 00:0012. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:0013. Laurent

French cycling legend Bernard Hinault, one of five riders to have won the Tour de France five times, has hailed this year's eventful centenary edition as exceptional. And Hinault, the last Frenchman to win the race in 1985, said the increased challenge to Lance Armstrong's yellow jersey this year doesn't mean the 31-year-old American five-time winner is on the wane. "This year's race has been exceptional on all levels - as a competition and as a spectacle but also the way it has been organized,” Hinault said. "It's been one big party and there was suspense right up to the end because, even