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News from the gutter: An American in Europe

Final touches are made at the Velodromo.

The Mexican team gets in some practice.

Monterrey at sunset.

Editor's note: Michael Scherer is an American who has been living and racing in Oostende, Belgium, for the past month. Originally from Casper, Wyoming, Scherer spent last season riding for Prime Alliance while living in Boulder, Colorado. He moved to Belgium this year to take the next step and "to prove that I have what it takes to be a bike racer." Scherer will be sending back regular updates throughout the season. This past weekend my ABC-Aitos teammates and I raced the G.P. de La Ville de Nogent Sur Oise, a UCI 1.6 race in France. The race organizers took exceptional care of us, yet

At first it’s odd not to see Tyler Hamilton in the blue and white uniform of U.S. Postal Service. The 31-year-old had spent his entire career with the team since turning pro in 1995. But Hamilton finally had the chance to ride for himself when CSC-Tiscali came calling last year with a two-year deal to lead the team through 2003. The team was looking for a rider to complement Laurent Jalabert in the grand tours. More specifically, they were looking for someone to ride for GC. It was a perfect fit for both CSC-Tiscali and Hamilton. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with

Italian cyclist Marco Pantani has been summoned to appear before the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) anti-doping panel in one week, a CONI spokesman announced Wednesday. Pantani will be called to account for evidence seized by Florence prosecutors during last year's police raids on the San Remo hotel rooms of teams competing in the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) - the documents pertaining to the case have since been transmitted to CONI. Pantani, dubbed 'il pirata' (the pirate), remains hugely popular in Italy after winning the 1998 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France

Hamilton on the attack

New uniform, new responsibilities

Aerts survives the Mur to take Fleche

Luperini earns her third win at Fleche'

Heppner and Zulle try their luck

Cheering on the home team.

Meet The Press

Up the Mur de Huy

Aerts supporters

Training Bible Studies with Joe Friel

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC),the U.S. distributor of LOOK cycling products, Veltec Sports, Inc. of SandCity, California, is voluntarily recalling LOOK Ergopost 3 bicycle seatposts.  One Hundred Twenty Four (124) of these products were soldin the United States.  No injuries have been reported, but Veltechas received reports that the aluminum crown of the seatpost can fail asa result of metal fatigue, which may cause the bicycle seat to dislodgeand result in a rider losing control or falling.  This recall is beingconducted to prevent the possibility of

CSC-Tiscali captain Laurent Jalabert is expected to return to racing in late April for the first time since he abandoned Milan-San Remo witha virus.Jalabert, who won a stage and finished third overall at Paris-Nice,will also race at GP Midi Libre, May 22-26. Lance Armstrong confirmedhe will start the race as well as part of preparations for a run at a fourthconsecutive Tour de France. It will be Armstrong's debut at Midi Libreand continues his efforts this season to add variety to his pre-Tour racingschedule.The stages:May 22: Salses-le-Chateau-CarcassoneMay 23:

The failure of organizers to set up a drug testing facility at the end of the Paris-Roubaix classic race was condemned as "unacceptable" by the French sports ministry on Monday. Worryingly for a sport that has been dogged by drug controversies, it was revealed that the absence of the facility was due to local medical staff believing the event was a cross-country race and not a prestigious round of the World Cup. Although the race was organized by the company which runs the Tour de France and the French cycling federation, the responsibility for dope testing was with the regional

The Belgian Classics continue to dominate European cycling this week, withthe semi-Classic Fleche Wallone on Wednesday and Liege-Bastogne-Liege onSunday.Johan Museeuw's dramatic victory Sunday at Paris-Roubaix wasthe biggest news on this side of the pond. The Lion of Flanders is oneof Europe's biggest stars and the race was broadcast live throughout thecontinent.This week's other highlight is the Vuelta Ciclista a Aragon in Spain.The U.S. Postal Service will be among the 16 teams starting Wednesday.In other racing, ibanesto.com's Aitor Osa won the Vuelta al PaisVasco in Spain

Paris-Roubaix director Jean-Marie Leblanc said he will be protesting at the lack of medical personnel to carry out doping tests following one of professional cycling's great classics on Sunday. In an ironic twist to a sport which has had its reputation tarnished by doping controversy’s, Paris-Roubaix race director Leblanc, said he would be complaining to the French sports ministry, the country's cycling federation and the sport's world governing body the UCI after no tests were carried out following Sunday's race which was won by Belgian Johan Museeuw. The lack of medical

Museuuw (left) outdueled Hincapie and U.S. Postal

Museeuw waits to make his move

Museeuw attacked with 41km to go.

Museeuw earns his third cobblestone

Wesemann outsprinted Boonen for second place

VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across something inthe pages of VeloNews magazine or see something on VeloNews.comthat causes you to want to write us, drop us a line at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mail to thisaddress, you are consenting to the publication of your letter.Zebra in waitingOn the cover of your most recent issue you show a jubilant Cipolliniwinning at San Remo.His jersey interests me and I wondered if you might know where ( andif) anyone offers it for sale? All of the places I know only offer onlythe old Acqua &

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. — Mark Twain, “Pudd’nhead Wilson” Frank Vandenbroucke plans to appeal his suspension for dope, I hear. The sap apparently misread the paperwork. He’s being suspended for being a dope. This guy puts the “loon” in “Walloon.” The badges find everything from EPO to morphine in his crib, his homey Bernie Sainz gets popped with a car full of crank and spikes, and Frankie’s bitching about six months off and a four-figure fine. If he were black and from Watts,

Hey, local race promoters - after you get done folding up the registrationtable, taking down the sponsors’ banners and picking up all those orangecones, peel the race results off the car window you taped them to and e-mailthem to us here at VeloNews.com. There’s more to bike racing than the Tour, and we’d like to tell our readers about how you’re mixing it up, from Maine to Spokane.Weekend race reports e-mailed by Monday morning to veloresults@maddogmedia.comwill appear on the VeloNews.com Web site later that day as part of ournew Finish Line column. Tell us where and when the race took place

Friday’s foaming rant: Putting the “loon” in “Walloon”

Osa

Etxebarria was a double winner Friday

Hincapie in '01

Former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani was on Thursday interviewed by officers from Florence's anti-doping unit that carried out a blitz on team hotels at San Remo during last year's Tour of Italy. Pantani, who won both the Tour and the Giro in 1998, was giving evidence as part of an inquiry into doping during last year’s Tour of Italy. In May of last year police officers discovered, among a host of other substances collected, traces of insulin in a syringe at the hotel where Pantani and his team were staying. However the Mercatone Uno team leader on Thursday played down the

It seems Cadel Evans is making friends quickly in his first season with the Mapei powerhouse. During the Vuelta Ciclista a Pais Vasco the 25-year-old Australian is roommates with fellow mountain biker-turned-roadie Dario Cioni. Evans says he earns a different nickname every race he starts from the Italians on the team. His nickname this week? Gianni, as in Gianni Bugno. "They say I have a head like Bugno, who isn't a bad guy to be compared to," Evans said. Evans continues on his impressive trajectory, riding strong at the Basque race where he comes with illusions of overall victory.

Giro d'Italia champion Gilberto Simoni is hoping to arrive at the May 11 start of the Italian tour in top form, but the 30-year-old is nursing a sore knee he suffered during a fall at Setmana Catalana on March 26. Simoni returned to racing this week for the climb-riddled Vuelta a Pais Vasco which the Saeco rider is hoping to use as a spring-board back to winning form in time for the Giro, his top goal of the season. "I have to be very careful now. I have to watch how I prepare and be very careful how I race. The Vuelta Ciclista a Pais Vasco is very important for my preparation,"

Bicycles and skateboards are barred from most sidewalks, and mopeds are no-no’s on bike/pedestrian paths, but we could soon see Segway Human Transporters on both. On Thursday (April 11), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is scheduled to vote on a measure that would permit “electric personal assistive mobility devices” to use sidewalks and paths built or maintained with federal funds “when state and local regulations permit,” according to the Bikes Belong Coalition, a group that lobbies for bicycle-friendly policies in Washington, D.C. The group says Segway has spent $741,000

The peloton early in Wednesday's third stage of the 42nd Vuelta a Pais Vasco.

Kelme riders bundle up before the start of Wednesday's cold third stage, when temperatures hovered around 7-degrees celsius.

Cipollini made it to the winning break.

Coming down the Kemmelberg

Training Bible Studies with Joe Friel

ONCE's Joseba Beloki is hoping that his troubles are behind him. The 27-year-oldhas finished third overall in the past two Tours de France (2000-2001)and hopes to do at least as well this year. Beloki has had a rocky startto the 2002 season, however. He's only recently returned to racing afterpain in his Achilles tendon kept him off the bike for much of March. Sofar this year, he's only competed in the Mallorca Challenge early in theseason before his comeback in Saturday's GP Miguel Indurain. Beloki finallyhad to resort to seeing an acupuncturist to ease the pain in his

The strongest man at the Vuelta a Pais Vasco (Tour of the Basque Country)is out of the race. Francesco Casagrande, who blew apart Monday'sopening stage of the Spanish race, crashed on a railroad crossing as severalriders went down just 12 kilometers into Tuesday's second stage and abandonedsome 40 kilometers later.The Fassa Bortolo strongman, one of the favorites for the 2002 Girod'Italia, was banged up but early reports indicate he did not break anybones."I tried to continue but it hurt too much to breathe," Casagrande saiden route to a local hospital for a checkup. "I continued

Deutsche Telekom's ace sprinter Erik Zabel regained top spot in the world cycling rankings on Monday as Italy's Paolo Bettini staked his claim for respect from the world elite after jumping one place into third behind Lance Armstrong. Zabel, of Telekom team, had been second behind Erik Dekker when the rankings were last released on March 25 however the Dutchman, who rides for Rabobank, has been out since breaking his hip during the Milan-San Remo classic. Three-time Tour de France winner Armstrong also moved up one place to fourth while German Jens Voigt, of the Credit Agricole

Whenever Johan Museeuw says he's retiring from bike racing, we take it with a grain of salt, right? Remember October 1996 when a frustrated Museeuw said he was quitting after losing the Paris-Tours classic? Well, a week later, in Lugano, Switzerland, he made his comeback to the sport ... and won the world title. Now, he's at it again. Before this year began, Museeuw said that it would be his last, ending with the world road race championship in Zolder, Belgium, which just happens to coincide with his 37th birthday. He also said that he wanted to go out on a high note -- and winning

Cannondale USA becomes Team T-Mobile

End of the road? The Lion of Flanders may be ready to call it quits.

It's time to surf the web, place a bid and spend some cash to help out a friend.The friends of Kelli Turcotte -- UCI Technical Delegate, former employee of Castelli, GaleForce and the Alt Bike and Board in Minneapolis -- are currently conducting several eBay auctions of items of interest to cyclists (all of which are linked below) to help pay for costly cancer treatment therapy that Kelli's insurance does not cover.Turcotte, who most recently was the Technical Delegate at the Downhilland Dual World Championships in Vail, has been fighting ovarian cancerwhich has now spread to her

The dust is settling following Sunday's Tour of Flanders, whichsaw Andrea Tafi (Mapei) score a huge upset over local favoritesJohan Museeuw (Domo) and Peter Van Petegem (Lotto). AmericanGeorge Hincapie proved he's a Classics power, finishing an impressivefourth after making the final five-man selection.Lance Armstrong was a big help in the middle of the race, butHincapie could only watch as Mapei's Daniele Nardello neutralizedlate-race attacks to secure the victory for his teammate Tafi. Hincapiegoes into Wednesday's Ghent-Wevelgem as the defending champion and looksstrong for

Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke is to launch an appeal over his six-month drugs ban at the Sports Arbitration Tribunal (TAS) in Lausanne, the Belgian news agency reported on Monday. The ban was handed down by the country's cycling federation after a police raid in February on the 27-year-old's home discovered banned substances such as blood-boosting EPO, anabolic steroid Clenbuterol and morphine. That raid came a day after his French physiotherapist Bernard Sainz was also charged with possession of illegal substances after a large quantity of amphetamines and syringes were

Cannondale USA has become Team T-Mobile after USA Cycling announced a three-year exclusive sponsorship deal with VoiceStream Wireless, T-Mobile’s U.S. subsidiary. The first-year elite women’s squad, announced on January 28 as Cannondale USA - complete with pink Cannondale bikes and matching clothing from the Bethel, Connecticut company – will compete as “Team T-Mobile” through 2004, according to a USA Cycling press release dated April 5. VoiceStream will begin operating under the T-Mobile brand name in this country beginning this summer. And if that logo appears familiar, it’s because the

The first half is flat.

It gets tough near the finish

Thijs's 225km effort ended just 19km from the finish.

The U.S. Postal Service cycling team on Saturday fired Gianpaolo Mondini following the revelation that the Italian rider was under investigation for doping. Mondini, who only joined the star-studded American team in the off-season, was one of 13 riders for whom the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) has requested lengthy bans for doping. The 29-year-old Italian was one of the riders caught up in the police blitz on team hotels that brought the Tour of Italy into disrepute at San Remo on June 6 last year. A number of products were seized, although it has not been revealed which products

Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France winner whose nagging knee problems have left his early season preparations in tatters, says he is hopeful of returning fully fit for this year's Tour de France. "If I have no more problems between now and July I'll be at the Tour start line," affirmed the 28-year-old German in an interview Friday with French sports daily L'Equipe. But for many observers, Ullrich's dream of breaking American Lance Armstrong's three-year grip on the most prestigious yellow jersey in world cycling is already seriously compromised. Ullrich, who came

George Hincapie is ready for Sunday's Tour of Flanders after his strongshowing at Three Days of De Panne, where he finished third overall. A stomach virus forced Hincapie to skip Tirenno-Adriatico the week before the World Cup opener at Milan-San Remo on March 23, something that he said helpedin De Panne. "This was a good race for me. The first day I didn't feel super but the second day I felt better and today I felt much better.  I feel fresh having missed all of those races and now I'm here amped and excitedto race," "I think that has been the difference over the past years,"

One of the newest members of the U.S. Postal team is among 13 riders beingtargeted with lengthy bans for doping by the Italian cycling federation,sources in Rome said Friday. Gianpaolo Mondini, a 29-year-old former Tour de France stage winnerwho joined Armstrong's American team in the off-season, is threatened withup to a four-and-a-half-year ban following a request by the anti-dopingcommission of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). On Friday, CONI handed the files of the 13 accused riders, who fellvictim to a policeraid on team hotel rooms at San Remo during last year's Giro

"A leader who is charismatic, competitive, enthusiastic about thesport of cycling, competitions, athlete development, in addition to beingable to motivate everyone toward excellence and pride in his/her work,including one’s own, is a must."—From the convoluted help-wanted ad on USACycling's Web site, part of its search for a new CEO, which also said the ideal candidate should be “a successful communicator.” With fewer paying members than the Ramallah chapter of the Ariel Sharon Fan Club, and fewer sponsors than Pacifica Radio’s “Democracy Now!” USA Cycling has finally begun looking for a

Ullirich still plans to be at the Tour

Help Wanted: A leader who is charismatic, competitive and enthusiastic.

VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across something inthe pages of VeloNews magazine or see something on VeloNews.comthat causes you to want to write us, drop us a line at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mail to thisaddress, you are consenting to the publication of your letter. A guy who's been there enjoyed news from the gutterDear Editor;Michael Scherer says that the racing in Europe is much faster, longer,against fields over 200 riders, and it's fast from the gun: "no first hourof walking the dog like in the states." (see

Peter Van Petegem won a huge victory just three days before the Tour of Flanders, taking the overall title at the Three Days of De Panne in Thursday´s double-stage. Italian Fabio Baldato (Fassa Bortolo) won the morning road stage, but Van Petegem won the final time trial through the streets of De Panne to score the stage-win and the overall title. With Lotto teammate Andrei Tchmil out of Sunday´s second round of the World Cup, Van Petegem goes into Flanders as the top favorite. U.S. Postal´s George Hincapie put down the fastest time early in the time trial until Van Petegem came across and

Cycling's world governing body the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) on Thursday gave the thumbs-up to requests from teams and riders to increase out-of-competition testing for the banned endurance booster EPO (erythropoietin). "We were approached by riders, either directly or through their teams," Hein Verbruggen, the UCI president, told AFP. "And that request has officially been adopted by the organization which represents all the teams." The tests will be carried out in collaboration with the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) between April and August, meaning most of the one-day

Lithuanian Saulius Ruskys (Gerolsteiner) won Wednesday´s 232 km second stage of the Three Days of De Panne, but the big news was the crash by Belgian Andrei Tchmil Ruskys won a sprint over Belgians Tom Steels and Nico Eeckhout while Stefano Zanini, the winner of the first stage, retained the overall lead. The 39-year-old Tchmil -- a favorite for Sunday´s Tour of Flanders -- went down with six other racers – Belgians Chris Peers, Kritof Found, Italians Dario Pieri, Paolo Bossoni and Daniele Bennati as well as French racer Robert Sassone. Tchmil was the most seriously injured, with a double

Tchmil

Training Bible Studies with Joe Friel

Stefano Zanini (Mapei) narrowly defeated Lotto´s Peter Van Petegemin the opening stage of Threes Days of De Panne in Belgium on Tuesday.With the victory, Zanini joins a growing list of favorites for Sunday´sTour of Flanders. Van Petegem attacked hard with 10 kilometers to go in the 181-km stage between Moeskroen to Zottegem and only Zanini could follow, dropping a break that also included Andrei Tchmil (Lotto), Christophe Mengin (Française des Jeux) et du Slovène Andrej Hauptman (Tacconi),who crossed the line third. Van Petegem and Zanini worked together to holdoff the riders coming into the

Although she admits that “no one is going to clear me,” oft-concussed downhiller Missy Giove says she’s planning to race a full World Cup and NORBA schedule this year. “I don’t want to go out like I did last year,” said the 30-year-old, who crashed in sight of the finish line at the 2001 world championships. “Right now I’m riding better than ever.” Over the years, Giove has suffered multiple injuries, including three concussions at last year’s world’s alone. During the offseason she underwent a battery of tests on her brain, which have left her doctors concerned about her continued

There was plenty of racing action throughout Europe, headlined by LanceArmstrong's second-place finish in the Criterium International,March 30-31. Spanish rider Alberto Martinez (Euskaltel) beat thethree-time Tour champ by just one second."I felt good in the race," Armstrong said Sunday.  "Yesterday'sstage was not too difficult, therefore it was hard to judge my form, butthis morning's stage was a tough one and I was happy with what I felt. The time trial was a bit of a disappointment, as it's tough to lose byhalf a second, but if you asked me before if I thought I would be

Who had the best run in March?Well, after three events of VeloNews's virtual season series,the Bro Tour, Saturn's Lyne Bessette and Prime Alliance's Chris Hornerlead the stage race rankings.No surprise there, as Horner swept the three California stage races,Redlands, Sea Otter and Solano. Sea Otter winner Bessette, meanwhile, isin a tight race with teammate Judith Arndt, who won both Redlands and Solano.The Bro Tour is three race series in one: road race, criterium and stagerace. Based on carefully selected races, the Bro series is VeloNews's unofficialtracker for the domestic