News

Bjarne Riis is close to signing a deal with Deutsche Post Bank to be a co-sponsor for his CSC team and open the door for the signing of 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich. The sports cable channel Eurosport reported on Thursday that the announcement could come in “couple of days,” Tiscali, the team’s co-sponsor for the past two years, announced this week it would not be extending its deal with the team for 2003. If the deal comes through, Ullrich will be re-united with his former Telekom teammate Riis. The pair reached glory together, first with Riis winning the 1996 Tour and then

Italian Internet provider Tiscali has decided not to extend its sponsorship with the CSC team led by 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis, the Danish wires reported Wednesday. Tiscali had been part of Riis' team since 2001 and its contribution was reportedly worth $2 million a year. The news comes just as Riis is trying to secure enough money to sign 1997 Tour de France winner and former Telekom teammate Jan Ullrich. Riis has known that Tiscali likely wouldn't remain with the team, but he was hoping to convince them to stay one more year with hopes of signing Ullrich. Now Riis

Spanish veteran Fernando Escartin announced his retirement in a press conference Tuesday in Zaragoza. Escartin, 34, had an offer on the table from his current team Coast but decided to walk away after 13 years as a professional. "It wasn't easy to make the decision, but I miss my family more and more and it's harder to put in the sacrifice necessary to stay on top," he said. Escartin turned pro in 1990 and while he wasn't a grand champion, he was consistently at the top of the standings and always in the hunt for stage-wins in the mountains. He twice finished second in the

If you own one of the following Cannondale bicycles, you must stop riding it immediately and contact your dealer: * 2002 Gemini 2000 * 2002 Gemini 1000* 2003 Gemini 2000* 2003 Gemini 1000 * 2003 Gemini 900 In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (U.S. CPSC), Cannondale will recall some of these medium and large size frames. The U.S. CPSC will be monitoring the effectiveness of this recall. WARNING: Failure to observe this recall could result in frame failure. Such a failure would lead to loss of control and an accident with attendant risk of serious injury or

Four-time Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong told the French sports daily L’Equipe he’s still not convinced he’ll race in the 2003 road world championships in Hamilton, Canada. Armstrong said the race is too late on the calendar to suit his training program for his run at a record-tying fifth Tour in July. “Even though it will be special to have the world’s in North America, it’s very late. It’s hard to stay in focus after the Tour unless you race in the Vuelta. That’s hard to do,” he said. Armstrong also rounded out what will be his spring racing schedule, which could include Paris-Nice

D'Aluisio

Wells, Gullickson and Johnson

Wouldn't you be smiling?

Vuelta a España winner Aitor Gonzalez is now set to end his relationship with the Kelme team and about to sign on with Fassa Bartolo, the rider told Spanish reporters on Saturday. "Signing for Fassa is 99 percent certain. I have a definite agreement and there are just a few minor things to finalize before I sign," said Gonzalez in Valencia, where he was participating in a promotional event. Gonzalez denied that he was moving teams after repeated disputes with his teammates and manager during the Vuelta. "I've reached the end of my time with Kelme. I'm looking for some more

Raimondas Rumsas, third place at the 2002 Tour de France, was a “nowhere man” in Thursday’s Tour presentation in Paris. Not only was he not there for the unveiling of the 2003 Tour route, his photo was reportedly not shown as well. Typically, the Tour shows photos of the top-three podium finishers, but this year organizers only showed pictures of winners of each individual classification with nary a pic of the Lithuanian. Rumsas has also been fired from his Lampre team after his wife, Edita, was caught by French police at the French-Italian border in late July carrying alleged doping

Rumsas's podium appearance wasn't shown Thursday.

American Lance Armstrong's quest for a fifth straight Tour de France willbegin next year at the foot of the Eiffel Tower - the famous Paris landmarkhaving been chosen to mark the race's 100th anniversary.Organizers unveiled details of the 2003 Tour in Paris on Thursday and presenteda race that will include seven mountain stages with the peloton tacklinga total of 21 major climbs.Next year's 3350km edition will call in on seven towns which figured in thefirst edition of the Tour: Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux andNantes.In contrast nine stage venues will be used for

Following the demise of the Giant Global mountain bike team, the squad’s biggest name has found a new home, signing a deal with German-based T-Mobile. Brentjens, who won a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and was subsequently given knighthood in his native Holland, inked a two-year deal with T-Mobile on Wednesday. He’ll replace Peter Riis Anderson, who is leaving the team after a less-than-spectacular 2002 season.After a lackluster 2001 campaign, Brentjens rebounded in 2002, winning the opening race of the World Cup series in Madrid, adding two more podium performances, and finishing

The structure of the 2003 Tour de France may be based on the inauguralTour route in 1903, but the organizers have included so many new stagesand climbs that there will be nothing old-fashioned about it. Most of theearly comments from personalities in the packed audience of 3000 at thePalais de Congrès in Paris, where the centennial Tour was announcedThursday, were somewhat familiar though.“It’s not the course, it’s the riders that make the Tour de France great,”said five-time winner Bernard Hinault. “It’s a very interesting course,built for a complete racer,” said another quintuple winner,

After three legendary seasons with Team Volvo/Cannondale, Anne-Caroline Chausson, 10-time and current Downhill and Four-Cross World Champion has signed with French bike manufacturer Commencal for the 2003 race season. For the French native, her return completes a sponsorship loop that began in 1999 when Chausson left Sunn Bicycles (owned by Max Commencal) to join Team Volvo/Cannondale. According to Cannondale's Scott Montgomery, her decision to leave the American manufacturer for Commencal is fueled by her contentment of accomplishment in the sport and a desire to settle down with her

Twenty-one Tour de France winners will be present in Paris on Thursday for the unveiling of the 2003 Tour route to mark the race’s centenary. The Tour’s 100th birthday will be marked with pomp and circumstance leading up to July, beginning with Thursday’s race announcement. The route is expected to start and end in Paris, with ascents up such legendary cols as Izoard, Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Tourmalet and Aubisque. Among the former winners expected to attend include Italians Marco Pantani (1998) and Felice Gimondi (1965), German Jan Ullrich (1997), Dane Bjarne Riis (1996), Spaniards Miguel

Saeco-Longoni Sport team manager Claudio Corti and Gilberto Simoni willbe in Paris tomorrow representing the Saeco team at the presentation ofthe 2003 Tour de France."Everybody in the team and Gilberto in particular are ver keen to seethe route of the Tour de France," Corti said. "We want revenge for whathappened this year. We were hoping to do well at the Tour but our exclusion­ which turned out to be unjustified, affected a large part of ourseason. As a result the Tour is already one of our major objectives forthe 2003 season."Sacchi, Astarloa and the young Saeco riders end the 2002

Ever since the organizers of the Tour de France decided four years agothat the centennial Tour in 2003 would include the same cities that therace visited in 1903, people have been speculating where the rest of therace would go. You see, the original Tour had only six stages (albeit verylong ones) and had no mountain climbs.Today, there are 20 stages, in addition to the prologue, which meansthat there are at least 14 other stage towns at next year’s Tour.The official route is being announced Thursday, but an early clueto the 90th Tour de France’s course came four weeks ago, when the

The official invitation to Thursday's announcement

One-time Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich is close to signing a new deal with Danish CSC team, his manager Wolfgang Strohband said on Tuesday."Everything has been discussed and clarified and I am expecting a signature soon," Strohband told the German news agency SID.The 28-year-old Ullrich, the only German to win the Tour de France when he triumphed in 1997, will again link up with Denmark's Bjarne Riis.The two rode together when Riis clinched the Tour de France in 1996 with the Telekom team and Strohband added that the deal had been smoothed by Riis finding a new sponsor for CSC to

Ullrich

Beglian Sven Nys (Rabobank) won the first round of the Super Prestige cyclo-cross series in Ruddervoorde, Belgian on Sunday. Nys controlled the race from the start and held off biggest rivals, including Richard Groenendaal and Erwin Vevecken, to score the win. Results 1. Sven Nys (B), Rabobank, 57 minutes, 30 seconds 2. Richard Groenendaal (Ned) at 0:20 3. Erwin Vervecken (B) at 1:03 4. Sven Venthourenhout (B) at 1:03 5. Tom Vannoppen (B) at 1:03 6. Danny Wellens (B) at 1:05 7. Gerben de Knegt (B) at 1:23 8. Peter van Santviliet (B) at 1:27 9. Ben Barden (B) at 1:27 10: Mario de Clercq (B)

As he readies to take the next big step in his professional road career, Tom Danielson, the Mercury road pro who demolished Tyler Hamilton’s course record on Mount Washington this year, is also closing in on graduation from Fort Lewis College in Colorado. Indeed, like Hamilton, Danielson got his start in the collegiate ranks. Last weekend’s collegiate mountain-bike championships in Angel Fire, New Mexico, marked the end of Danielson’s 2002 season and the end of his collegiate career. We asked him to send us a diary from Angel Fire. My 2002 season ended this weekend with a celebration in the

Nijs

Captain America: Nationa; 'cross champ Wells had a good weekend.

Lloyd

Grande said Sunday was a 'reality check.'

Hall

Danielson closes out season in style: a collegiate nationals diary

Tom Danielson and Kristin Johnson

Beloki scores win in season finaleJoseba Beloki had one more good race in his legs for the 2002 season. The ONCE rider who finished on two grand-tour podiums this year (2nd at Tour, 3rd at Vuelta) won Sunday’s Escalada Montjuic in Barcelona, the final big race on the Spanish road calendar. The race opened with climb up the Montjuic mountain in the morning sector and ended with afternoon time trial. Beloki won the morning sector and only Kelme’s Oscar Sevilla could beat him in the climbing time trial at Montjuic. The race featured an all-star starting lineup, including 2002 Vuelta champion

Italian cycling team Fassa Bortolo will have a massive post-season shake up with up to nine riders set to leave and a host of new ones set to join on. Among the younger recruits, the team have signed world under-23 champion Francesco Chicchi, who won his world title at the road race championships in Belgium last week. Fassa Bartolo are also awaiting an answer to a proposal to Tour of Spain winner Aitor Gonzalez of Spain, who rides for Kelme. Chicchi will be joined at the team by compatriots Dario Cioni, 27, and under-21 rider Filippo Pozzato as well as 21-year-old Swiss Fabian Cancellara --

Bettini

Bartoli

Saturday’s final round of the 2002 World Cup was supposed to be a final showdown between Paolo Bettini and Johan Museeuw, but an early start list reveals the Lion of Flanders isn’t taking the start. Bettini heads into the 96th Giro di Lombardia with a nine-point lead over Museeuw, but the Belgian isn’t starting so all the Italian has to do is finish the race and avoid a victory by Spain’s Igor Astarloa – who could bounce into first place if he wins and Bettini finishes out of the points.1. Paolo Bettini, 279 points2. Johan Museeuw, 2703. Igor Astarloa, 180.It isn’t clear yet why Museeuw

When the returning top 10 triathletes at the Ironman Hawaii press conference were asked if there might be any surprise contenders emerging from the field on Saturday, returning second place finisher Cameron Brown of New Zealand took the microphone and mentioned 31-year-old Austin, Texas resident Chann McRae. "Yeah, there's a guy called Chann McRae, he's a U.S. Postal rider, and he's here," said Brown. "He could be a new Steve Larsen. He was a fabulous triathlete as a junior, when I was racing as a junior as well. I heard when his contract's up for U.S. Postal, he's coming

What is Johan doing on Saturday?

Just a week after the world championships in Zolder, Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia may turn out to be to be another celebration of the new cooperation among Italian pros.Recently crowned champion Mario Cipollini promises to be at thestart line showing off his rainbow jersey and to help compatriot Paolo Bettini(Mapei) secure the World Cup title. Lombardia wraps up the 10-round WorldCup series and Bettini holds a slim 9-point lead over Belgian Johan Museeuw(Domo). The Lion of Flanders won two World Cup rounds (Paris-Roubaix and HEW Cyclassics)while Bettini won Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Bettini,

Museeuw and Bettini bring the World Cup fight down to the wire.

Even though 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich walked away from Telekom, his future direction remains undecided. Ullrich is continuing in negotiations to rejoin former Telekom teammate and 1996 Tour champion Bjarne Riis, who now runs the CSC-Tiscali team. Riis, however, is still trying to sign a co-sponsor for the 2003 season. Riis attended the road world championships in Zolder and had hoped to announce the completion of a deal with the man who helped him win the Tour in 1996, but it wasn't to be. Riis is now working hard to bring Tiscali back for 2003 after negotiations with

Bologna, Italy -- Two-time Giro d’Italia winner Ivan Gotti spoke out in defense of controversial doctor Michele Ferrari in a court hearing related to organized doping in the professional peloton on Wednesday. Gotti, the Alessio team leader who won the Giro in 1997 and 1999, told presiding judge Maurizio Passerini that his hematocrit (volume of red blood cells in blood) reading of 50.7 percent during the Giro in 1998 was probably due to an infection. The elevated reading eventually forced him out of the Giro, and the ensuing Tour of Switzerland. Ferrari, a former employee of the Italian

Jim Rabdau, race director of the largest women’s stage race in North America, has confirmed dates for the 2003 Women’s Challenge, the 20th anniversary edition of the Idaho-based race. Rabdau also noted that the race is close to finalizing a deal with a new title sponsor for the event, support that was in question at the end of the 2002 race, when computer maker Hewlett-Packard ended its sponsorship. Next year’s 10-day, 11-race stage is slated to begin with a prologue on Friday, June 13 and will end in Boise on Sunday, June 23. Rabdau told VeloNews that he will be ready to announce the name

Will ride for Euros -- Ullrich still looking

VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across somethingin the pages of VeloNews magazine or see something on VeloNews.comthat causes you to want to write us, dropus a line.Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mail to thisaddress, you are consenting to the publication of your letter.So that's why they're blueDear VeloNews,The light blue colour of nearly all Italian national sporting teams (see"Why so Blue?" in Monday's mail - below) comes from the coat-of-arms ofthe Savoia former royal family; the colour stayed after Italy became a republicin 1946 and

The post-world’s party for Mario Cipollini will continue through at least next season. Cipollini says he wants to race next year so he can return to his favorite spring classic as world champion. “I want to go back to win Milan-San Remo next year wearing the rainbow jersey,” Cipollini told the Italian press. The 35-year-old roared into the world title Sunday and will race Saturday in the World Cup closing race at Giro di Lombardia in what could be his last race with Acqua & Sapone. “I will race Lombardia out of respect to the World Cup and the rainbow jersey and to help (Paolo) Bettini

Mark your calendars, but don’t buy your tickets quite yet. USA Cycling has announced the dates for next year’s Chevy Trucks NORBA National Championship Mountain Bike Series, but the venues “have yet to be determined.” Promoted by GaleForce Sports Marketing, the 2003 NORBA season will include five races starting on May 15. GaleForce president Rick Sutton said that the sites of those five events will be announced soon. “We’re working on a number of venues,” said Sutton. In the meantime, spectators planning to attend and riders planning to participate in next year’s NCS events can get

Retirement is no longer in the picture.

Moreau

A unified Italian squad was unbeatable.

Proof that this course was made for sprinters.

Somarriba and Carrigan

Demet-Barry was top American finisher

Ljungskog

Edita Rumsas, the wife of Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas and charged with drugs offences, has been freed from the Bonneville women's prison on bail, her lawyer Veronique Coudray said Friday. Lithuanian Rumsas had been held in the French prison since her arrest in July after investigators found a large variety of performance-enhancing drugs in her car following the Tour de France, in which her husband placed third. Bail was fixed at 20,000 euros ($20,000) and, according to Coudray, the 28-year-old Rumsas intends to go to Italy once the sum has been paid. The mother-of-three was

All but one of the seven stops on next year’s mountain bike World Cup have been set, and like last year North America will be the site of three of those events. Back for another go round are Mont-Ste-Anne, Grouse Mountain and Telluride, which will all host triple events (cross country, downhill and four-cross) in 2003. Both the Canadian locales have hosted triples in the past, but this will be Telluride’s first three-race event after debuting on the circuit with downhill and four-cross last year. (There was a non-World Cup cross-country stage race at the Colorado resort that was run in

Chicchi wins, but Dekkers (L) was later DQ-ed

Creed

The feed zone - Nutrition Q&A with Monique Ryan

Zabirova took the top prize

Brändli nearly pulled off a major upset

Longo

Kimberly Bruckner

Thürig -- From Swiss duathlons to the podium at Zolder

Clothes Horse - Gary Fisher made his usual stylin' appearance at Interbike.

No, this isn't Bicycling magazine, but every once in a while even we run across a motorcycle we like.

Stella Azzurra's new carbon 'Tirreno' road bar turned quite a few heads in 'Vegas.

Once lost, now found. Lost in transit, the new CF3 by Colnago and Ferrari was delivered safely to 'Vegas afterall.