News

The 2002 U.S. Postal Service team had its first official gathering January 10-15 in Scottsdale, Arizona, giving the seven new recruits a chance to mingle with Lance Armstrong, Roberto Heras, George Hincapie and the rest of the returning riders. As the team gathered for its first official ride together last Friday at the swanky Fairmount Princess Resort, the mood was relaxed. The official team introduction is scheduled later this month in Spain, and this get-together was not an official training camp, but a private affair for sponsors and team riders. With no new uniforms available yet, the

After nine years of side-by-side gated racing, NORBA has decided to go the way of the UCI, dropping pro dual slalom in favor of mountain cross. Amateurs will continue to compete in two-rider races. "We want our top riders to have a chance to prepare for the World Cup and world championships," said NORBA’s Eric Moore. "That means running the same event as they are, and that means running mountain cross." Mountain cross, the four-rider format where competitors take on the same course at the same time, made its primetime debut at last year’s Sea Otter, and was run at the NORBA finals in Mount

There’s still no word from the UCI about where or when its pair of cancelled mountain-bike events — the "triple" in Leysin and the downhill in Arai — will end up, but several strong possibilities have emerged. The most solid appears to be the oft-mentioned Fort William, in Scotland, which is closing in on a downhill-mountain cross event that will likely be held the weekend of June 1-2, the dates originally occupied by the Leysin event. According to a member of the organizing committee in Scotland, they were preparing for a visit from the UCI during the week of January 21, and were hopeful an

Hincapie

Heras

Barry

Barry's new ride

McEwen celebrates.

Bicycle sales to the specialty retail market, which plummeted in the second quarter of 2001, rebounded substantially during the third quarter, according to the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association. Third-quarter unit sales were down just 2.5 percent from the same period in 2000, a considerable improvement over the second quarter's decline of 12 percent. Sales in terms of dollars were down 2 percent for the third quarter, compared with 8 percent in the previous quarter, according to the BPSA. "Year to date, the industry is down by 228,000 units (10.5 percent), with dollar sales off by

A nearly three-year-long legal battle reached a quiet end Monday when the latest in a series of lawsuits challenging the governance structure of USA Cycling was settled out of court. Andrew Rosen, who represented plaintiffs Brett Wade, Charles Howe and Eric Petersen in a lawsuit challenging USA Cycling's most recent membership election, told VeloNews that the case "will be dismissed and an agreement has been reached to the satisfaction of all parties." Neither Rosen, nor USA Cycling chief executive officer Lisa Voight would offer details of the settlement citing a confidentiality clause

European countries held their national cyclo-cross championships on Sunday. Two-time world champion Mario De Clerq headed up the list of newly crowned national champions, edging reigning world champ, Erwin Vervecken in Coxyde, Belgium. Americans Tim Johnson, Marc Gullickson and Jonathan Page were given permission to compete in the Swiss national championship event, but pulled out on the final lap so as not to interfere with the outcome of the race. SwitzerlandMen Thomas Frischknecht.ItalyMen 1. Daniele Pontoni 1:02:27; 2. Valeriano Vandelli, at 1:O6; 3. Luca Bramati, at 1:23. Women1.

The ongoing war of words over the death of Fausto Coppi continued Friday when an African cycling federation official disputed reports that the legendary Italian cyclist was not poisoned. "Coppi was never poisoned," said Adama Diallo, the secretary of the Burkina Faso cycling federation (FBC), answering allegations that Coppi was murdered in the country, when it was still known as Upper Volta, in 1960. Diallo said he had consulted with Paul Ilboudo the secretary-general at the time of the incident who is now 70-years-old. "We are very surprised that these allegations have resurfaced because

Nick Chenowth, the former head of Electronic Data Systems Global Sports marketing program entered a minimum-security federal correctional facility in Seagoville, Texas, on Friday to begin serving a 27-month sentence for mail and wire fraud. Chenowth pleaded guilty last summer to federal charges that he had submitted nearly $1.3 million worth of false expense reports to his former employer. Both sides in the case agree that the bulk of that money was used to supplement the salary of Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein, payments EDS officials contend were never authorized by anyone at the

Chenowth enters federal prison

In a story published Wednesday, Glasgow, Scotland’s Daily Record reported that former world hour record holder and two-time world pursuit champion Graeme Obree is now recovering from a suicide attempt last month. The 36-year-old Obree, who twice broke the world hour record astride his own self-designed bicycles, was found hanging in a barn near his home in Ayrshire, Scotland a few days before Christmas. According to the paper, Obree was saved when the owner of the farm cut him down and alerted authorities. At the time, Obree's condition was found to be serious enough to warrant

We made our choices, now it’s time for you to make yours. The 2001 racing year is history and we want to see who you think deserves the accolades. Check out this year’s VeloNews Readers’ Choice Awards and vote. We’ll tabulate the results at the end of January and see how your picks stack up against those made by the VeloNews staff. Look for results of the fourth annual readers’ choice awards in future issues of VeloNews.

Judicial authorities in Tortona, Italy, say that they will consult toxicology experts before deciding whether to exhume the body of legendary Italian cyclist Fausto Coppi who died in 1960, the newspaper Corriere dello Sport reported Wednesday. Over the weekend the same newspaper, citing evidence from a Benedictine monk based in Burkina Faso, alleged that Coppi had been murdered with a herbal potion by Africans rather than, as had been previously supposed, dying of malaria in Italy after contracting the illness in the African country. An inquiry by Rome magistrates was immediately launched

The Tour de France appears to be close to retaining its chief sponsor despite fears that the multi-million dollar deal could have been under threat because of the sport's recent drug problems. Officials at the French bank Credit Lyonnais, had hinted last year that they may end the company’s sponsorship of the event, said on Wednesday that they were now ready to extend the deal beyond 2003, the year of the Tour's centenary. "We have made the decision in principle to renew our contract with the Tour de France," Nicolas Chaine, the director of communications at the French company,

It looks like GT isn’t out of the bike racing business after all — at least where Brian Lopes is concerned. The reigning World Cup and world dual champion checked in with VeloNews on Tuesday to say that he’ll be back with GT in 2002. "I will be running my own program once again with GT as the main supporter behind it," Lopes wrote in an email. "GT will provide a rig at the races for me and I will be choosing a mechanic to be my full-time wrench, which will probably be Stikman (a.k.a. former Schwinn mechanic Craig Glaspell)." As for the rest of the GT team, there won’t be one — unless you

Dave Cullinan, Steve Larsen, Tim Gould, Leigh Donovan and Elke Brutsaert are just some of the names that sported the fire-engine-red uniforms of the Schwinn mountain bike team over the years. But in 2002, with the century-old bike maker now owned by Illinois-based Pacific Cycles, the racing team is officially no more. “We wanted to do something with Schwinn this year, but we were told to hold off for now because the direction the Schwinn brand is going doesn’t go with racing,” said Pacific’s sports marketing manager Erick Marcheschi about instructions he received from Pacific’s top

Lopes only mountain biker back with GT in ’02

The Swedish cycling federation on Monday barred professional rider Nicklas Axelsson from competition for four years after he admitted to knowingly using the banned endurance drug EPO during last year’s world road championships in Lisbon. The penalty, however, should have little impact on the rider who months ago declared his career was already over. Axelsson, who was thrown off the Swedish national team after his admission in November, was riding for the Italian Alessio team when he tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) on the last day of the October 9-14 championships. "I took EPO and

Roman magistrates on Monday handed over their investigation into claims that legendary Italian cyclist Fausto Coppi was murdered to authorities at Tortona near Alessandria where the rider died in hospital in 1960. During the weekend Corriere dello Sport alleged that Coppi had been administered a poison during a trip to Burkina Faso in December 1959 before he died on January 2, 1960. At the time the death was thought to have been of malaria but Corriere reported the testimony of a French monk based in Burkina Faso who said he had been told that the rider was killed in revenge for a fatal

Reigning Olympic time trial champion Viacheslav Ekimov, who announced his retirement from cycling at the end of last year, is taking over as manager of the Russian team, Itera. The 35-year-old Russian decided not to extend his contract with the U.S. Postal Service team so that he can concentrate on building up the Russian outfit. Named as the best Russian cyclist of the 20th century, Ekimov won the time-trial gold medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 ahead of Germany's Jan Ullrich and America's Lance Armstrong. In his 12-year pro career, he won more than 50 races, including stages

The Benedictine monk who could hold the key to whether Italian cycling legend Fausto Coppi was murdered in 1960 told the Corriere dello Sport newspaper Sunday that he was convinced that Coppi died because of foul play, and not because of a virus as was originally thought. On Saturday Italian magistrates opened an inquiry into the allegations although at present the only item of evidence in the dossier was Saturday's edition of Corriere dello Sport, which broke the story. For the second day running the paper devoted its first four pages to the story, and this time went into far more

Was Coppi murdered?

According to a report in the Saturday edition of the Corriere dello Sport newspaper Fausto Coppi was murdered and did not die of a virus. The paper, with the headline 'Coppi was murdered', told how the rider fell ill while training in Africa before he died back in Italy in 1960 at the age of 40. The paper claims that Coppi was given poison while in Africa but the evidence it brings to support its claim is far from convincing even though the cyclist's death has always been shrouded in mystery. Nonetheless, on Sunday Italian prosecutors opened a dossier relating to the death of the

Coppi

Jiri Mainus, USA Cycling's director of international competition, has released the U.S. team roster for the 2002 cyclo-cross world championships in Zolder, Belgium, February 2-3, 2002. Though eligible to send five athletes in each category, the U.S. squad will be composed of four elite men, four elite women and four U-23 Men. The team will send five junior men to represent the U.S. in Zolder. Two alternates were also named in each category. Elite Men: 1. Todd Wells2. Marc Gullickson3. Tim Johnson 4. Jonathan Page Alternates:1. Jonathan Sundt2. Dale Knapp Women:1. Alison Dunlap 2. Ann

Wells is headed to Belgium.

A slew of American cycling’s top names past and present -- Greg LeMond, Alison Dunlap and Bob Roll to name a few -- will be on hand to sign autographs and share career experiences at the fourth annual Wheat Ridge Cyclery Pro Event. Slated for January 12 from noon to 6 p.m. in Wheat Ridge, Colorado (just outside Denver), the event will benefit the Front Rangers Cycling Club and the Nicole Reinhart Foundation. Admission is $10 for adults. Children under 16 get in free. A complete list of attendees can be found here. Pro Event 2002 tickets can be purchased locally at Wheat Ridge Cyclery or the

At 2 p.m. on September 17, the U.S. cycling community cried. There was nothing else it could do. After the shock and disbelief, the impact of the news set in: Nicole Reinhart was pronounced dead at 1:27 p.m. America had lost one of its brightest stars: the 24-year-old Saturn sprinter who always had a smile and a greeting for whomever she met. September 17 was supposed to be a shot at glory for Reinhart in Arlington, Massachusetts. At stake was the $250,000 prize offered by the organizers of the BMC Software Grand Prix for any rider who could win all four races in the series: Austin,

Depending upon who you ask, the sport of cycling has "never had such vitality" or it's "on the point of extinction." Whether you listen to the optimists or skeptics, no one can deny that the prospects for cycling in the 21st century look mainly positive - particularly in North America. There have been many significant developments for cycling on this continent in the past year, including: Lance Armstrong's repeat victory and the U.S. Postal Service team's omnipresence at the Tour de France;Marty Nothstein's gold medal at Sydney, the first Olympic title for an American

A true champion: Reinhartexuded style and gracewherever she went.

Looking to increase its European presence, the Schwinn racing team has signed 20-year-old Frenchman Mickael Deldycke for the 2001 season. Deldycke takes over the spot previously occupied by American Dave Cullinan. "It came down to those two guys," said Schwinn sports marketing manager Susan DiBiase. "Our distributors wanted a greater presence in Europe and we think we get that with Mickael." Deldycke is coming off a breakout season that saw him finish third in the dual slalom at the world championships and fourth in the overall World Cup standings. In downhill, riding a limited schedule,

You’ve heard the saying one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Well here’s a new one: One mountain-biking team’s castoff is another team’s "powerhouse."At least that’s the way Chris Danforth, manager of the newly formed Yeti-Pearl Izumi team, put it when he announced he’d inked former Subaru-Specialized rider Tara Llanes to a one-year deal. "I’ve been a big fan of hers for years," Danforth said. "We started talking at Mammoth [the final NORBA race of 2000]. It just took a while to get it done." Slowing the process was the fact that Yeti was searching for a co-title sponsor during much

The San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds narrowly beat out three-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year balloting, released this week. Bonds, who broke major league baseball’s home run record with 73 for the season, received 33 first-place votes and 136 points, while Armstrong, who won the Tour for the third consecutive year, finished with 26 first-place votes and 127 points. It was the second straight year that U.S. Postal’s Armstrong finished second in the voting, which is done by sportswriters and broadcasters. The American League MVP and

On November 25, about 20 Afghani cyclists staged their first bike race in five years after the liberation of the capital city, Kabul. Racing couldn't happen under Taliban laws, which barred public sports events. In celebration of the fall of Kabul, the cyclists raced about 25 miles from Kabul to the town of Charikar. Television news reports of the impromptu event inspired viewers in the U.S., and one American in particular was moved to action. Ron Roley, the organizer of a project called Operation Sporthelp, began to ramp up his on-again-off-again operation. Founded in 1993, Operation

Nick Chenowth is headed to prison. If you ask him why, he’ll say it’s because he’s a victim — of circumstance, of his own success, and above all, of a vendetta by a lawyer who once raced with him on Team EDS. That lawyer, Chris Carlson, gives a shorter, simpler answer. EDS's former Global Sports marketing manager "is a criminal,” says Carlson, a litigator for Electronic Data Systems, “and the record shows that.”

Italian team Fassa Bortolo heads the list of the 30 UCI Division I teams for the 2002 season, as announced Saturday by cycling’s international governing body. The 30 teams are comprised of the 19 top Division I teams from 2002, the eight top Division II teams, and the next three teams in the UCI rankings released on December 20. The top 10 teams are classified as Top Club, and are automatically qualified for the three grand tours, along with Alessio, Lampre, Tacconi Sport, CSC Tiscali and Eukaltel. The top 18 teams qualify automatically for entry into the World Cup. 2002 UCI Division I

Company man

Chenowth: Felon, victim or both?

Chenowth in happier times. Now ownership of the tandem is even in dispute.

The Union Cycliste Internationale on Friday released the names of the 22 Division I trade teams for 2001 season. The U.S. will have two Division I trade teams in 2001: The U.S. Postal squad of Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and the new Mercury-Viatel squad, featuring former Giro d'Italia winner Pavel Tonkov and classic's star Peter Van Petegem. The Mercury-Viatel match represents the combination of two programs headed by Mercury's John Wordin and Viatel's Greg LeMond. The merger was a deal that almost didn't happen as a last-minute snag developed when the teams

A leading Italian prosecutor said Friday he expects to question a number of riders suspected of doping during this year's Giro d’Italia during hearings next month in Florence, a judicial source said Friday. In June, 86 people – about half of whom were riders – fell under suspicion of doping-related offenses after Italian drugs squad officers raided team hotels prior to the 18th stage of this year’s Giro. Now Florence prosecutor Luigi Bocciolini, who has been leading the judicial inquiry since the events on June 7 in San Remo, is calling for a number of professionals to step forward.

The Union Cycliste International's (UCI) urine test for detecting EPO took a fresh hit Thursday when the Spanish cycling federation exonerated drug-tainted Tour de France rider Txema Del Olmo. Del Olmo, who rode for Basque Euskaltel squad, was the only rider excluded from this year's Tour after he tested positive for synthetic erythropoietin on the opening day's prologue. But Spanish cycling authorities said the threshold set, uniquely, by the Paris laboratory for the urine-based test had no legal status. Furthermore, the investigating committee said "sanctioning Del Olmo on

Martinez

According to reports coming out of Europe on Thursday, Miguel Martinez’s two suitors have reached an accord that will allow the Frenchman to race both on the road and the dirt in 2002. In a deal reached Wednesday, Full-Dynamix and Mapei-Quick Step have agreed to share Martinez’s services next year, allowing the 2000 Olympic mountain bike champion to make his pro road racing debut, while still honoring his original contract with Full Dynamix. Martinez will reportedly race most of the mountain bike World Cups, plus the world mountain bike championships in Kaprun, Austria. There was no

At 18 years old, Walker Ferguson is like most teenagers: not sure what he wants to do with his life and in no great hurry to decide. And for now anyway, that appears to be just fine. Ferguson, the reigning world junior cross-country champion, is days away from inking a new deal that will make him a member of the Gary Fisher mountain-biking team (he’s already been fitted for a uniform). But that won’t stop him from spending most of the spring riding a slate of under-23 road races in Europe with the U.S. national team. "Right now I think it’s good for me to do both," said the resident of

While Rabobank's Richard Groenendaal holds on to the top spot in the UCI cyclo-cross rankings, three U.S. riders showed up in the top-50, in standings released earlier this week. New national champion Tim Johnson (Saturn) sits highest, in 33rd, while Marc Gullickson (Mongoose) is 41st, while Mark McCormack (Saturn) is ranked 49th. In country rankings, Belgium and the Netherlands are one-two, while Italy is third, some 3200 points off the lead. STANDING / NAME / NATIONALITY / TOTAL POINTS 1 GROENENDAAL Richard NED 2398 2 DE CLERCQ Mario BEL 1606 3 NIJS Sven BEL 1409 4 WELLENS

The Boulder-based 7-Up-Colorado Cyclist team announced its 2001 line-up on Tuesday, with four new riders joining the squad. Former Shaklee riders John Lieswyn and Dave McCook come over from the now-defunct squad along with a pair of Canadians, Andrew Randell and Charles Dionne. The team loses Anton Villatoro and Steve Speaks to retirement and young gun David Zabriskie is gone to the U.S. Postal Service, but the new additions keep the team in good shape. Team operations manager Scott McAfee believes they give the team "the fire power necessary to step up to the next level." In Lieswyn and

The Navigators Cycling Team announced its 2002 line-up on Wednesday, adding four new riders and a new bike sponsor for the upcoming season. The team brings back nine riders from the 2001 season: Americans Chris Baldwin, Todd Littlehales, Burke Swindlehurst and USPRO criterium champion Kirk O’Bee; Russians Vassili Davidenko and Oleg Grichkine; Italian Siro Camponogara; New Zealander Glen Mitchell; and Canadian national champion Mark Walters. The four new riders are 26-year-old neo-pro Brian Sheedy of Michigan, third-year professional Ryan Guay from 7UP, Australian Thomas Leaper from the

The San Francisco-based Lombardi Sports road team will make the jump to the pro ranks in 2002, with new co-title sponsor Ofoto, Kodak’s on-line photography service. One of the top domestic amateur teams for the past three years, Ofoto-Lombardi Sports will become a UCI division III team focusing on the National Racing Calendar and the U.S. Pro Cycling Tour. The team will expand to 15 riders, with the new additions highlighted by Erik Saunders, Colby Pearce, John Brady and the up-and-coming Jackson Stewart, who finished second in the U-23 national cyclo-cross championships in Baltimore over

USPRO crit champ O'Bee returns for a second season.

British downhiller Steve Peat has inked a deal with UK-based Orange that will see him riding the company’s bikes in 2002. The deal is similar to the one Peat’s good friend Brian Lopes had with GT in 2001. Peat will not be a full-fledged member of the Orange team, instead running his own program with his own set of co-sponsors. "His involvement is going to be much more hands on than Lopes’ was with GT though," said David Merten, owner of Orange’s North American division. "We want Steve to offer ideas on design and be part of the company for the long haul." Merten added that he wasn’t sure

USA Cycling chief executive officer Lisa Voight announced Tuesday that she plans to leave her post as head of the governing body in May when she will “take on two new roles.” Voight said she will continue to work for the organization as a special advisor for Olympic and International relations. But Voight won’t take on those responsibilities until after completing an expected maternity leave this spring. Voight told VeloNews that she and husband Craig Griffin are expecting a baby on May 1. “I love cycling and I am happy about taking on a new role with USA Cycling,” Voight said. “For the

Peat in last year's gear.

Team 7UP, the cycling team managed by Podium Sports, has signed Nutra Fig as a new co-sponsor for 2002, replacing Colorado Cyclist which ends its long relationship with the squad at the end of the year. The new 7UP/Nutra Fig team has also signed Cannondale as both clothing and bicycle sponsor. According to a press release issued Monday, the team has re-signed its core group of athletes from 2001, including team leaders John Lieswyn and Clark Sheehan as well as Kevin Monahan, Doug Ziewacz, brothers Oscar and Juan Carlos Pineda, and Canadian Charles Dionne. New additions for 2002 include New

Jesse Anthony

Marc Gullickson and Jonathan Page

Tim Johnson leads Alex Candelario

Johnson and Candelario

Todd Wells, Mark McCormack and Dale Knapp

Alison Dunlap

Ann Grande and Carmen D'Aluisio

Dunlap

Jonathan Page

Todd Wells

Alison Dunlap

Carmen D'Aluisio

Grande and Dunlap

Marc Gullickson

Gina Hall

Tim Johnson

Jonny Sundt and Jonathan Page

Gullickson and Wells

James Coats

Adam Craig

Jeff Weinert