Road

A long stage and a long break and the Tour of Missouri is changed for good. Our man Casey Gibson was there to see it all.

Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) made yet another comeback after sprinting to victory in Wednesday’s otherwise routine 11th stage at the Vuelta a España. It was his first major victory since the Italian ace tested non-negative for Salbutamol at the Giro d’Italia and his career teetered on the edge of disaster. The Italian cycling federation eventually cleared Petacchi of what could have been a two-year racing ban, but the proud Petacchi was forced to sit on the sidelines during the Tour de France.

Barring a repeat of the bad luck that has periodically plagued George Hincapie the last couple years, the American is in solid position to win the overall title at the inaugural Tour of Missouri. On Wednesday, the Discovery Channel rider was part of a 12-rider break that rolled off the front of the field early in the rolling 125.6-mile stage 2 run from Clinton to Springfield and never looked back. At the finish, when Hincapie darted out of the small pack to take the stage win, the trailing field was more than 14 minutes behind.

How ironic is it that on the rest day we wake up two hours earlier than on any other day during the entire race? Okay, okay, I know getting up at 7:30 is not that early at all. Shoot, a majority of the working people out there have already been to the gym and commuted to work by this time. But it is really early for us right now and keep in mind that this is Spain. Let's put it this way, one of our neighbors yelled at Leah yesterday for walking our dog before 9 in the morning! That's because when their dog hears our over-grown Weimaraner, he freaks out, starts barking and wakes

It seems like just yesterday that the Slipstream squad was hanging out in Julien, California, banging out some early season miles and planning the loooong year ahead. Somehow, it’s already September and I’m now at the Tour of Missouri and just about to wrap up another season; amazing how fast the year goes by. Not that I’m done quite yet. For one thing, I still have six days of racing here and then another six in October in Mexico, but with fall in the air the mood circulating the dining room is certainly that of eager anticipation of the coming off-season. Plans of vacations to come,

When the Dura-Ace 7800 group was introduced for the 2004 season, it didn’t feature a hint of carbon fiber despite the fact that Campagnolo was offering ample amounts of the material throughout its flagship Record group. At the time Shimano relied on its ability to forge high quality aluminum at its Osaka factories. Four years later, carbon fiber is quite evident in Shimano's 2008 line. Four of Dura-Ace’s five wheel models feature carbon fiber rims, while a fifth uses scandium. The just released XTR Shadow rear derailleur sports a true carbon fiber pulley cage. And to put the icing on

Photo Gallery Below On a day when I pause every year to reflect on what the future may holdfor all of us, I think about the things that give me a little hope forthat future. One of those things is seeing kids on bikes. The future seems a lotbrighter to me if lots of kids are riding bikes, ensuring a healthier nextgeneration of adults treading more lightly on the earth with another toolto combat global warming and oil dependence. There are a number of great programs around the country that are successfulin creating passionate young bike riders, and I think all of them shouldbe encouraged. I

Cuban speedster Ivan Dominguez earned the first yellow jersey of the inaugural Tour of Missouri, blasting across the line at the end of stage 1 on a sun-splashed Tuesday in Kansas City. The Toyota United rider’s triumph came at the expense of Canadian Zach Bell (Symmetrics) and American Kyle Wamsley (Navigators) who were second and third respectively on the opening day of this six-stage, 600-mile race that will head west to east across the Show Me State before finishing on Sunday in St. Louis.

The inaugural six-stage Tour of Missouri, the third and final of America’s three “grand tours,” kicks off Tuesday in Kansas City. The 600-mile course will travel a counter-clockwise route, ending on Sunday, September 16, in St. Louis. In between the state’s largest cities are stops in Clinton, Springfield, Branson, Lebanon, Columbia, Jefferson City, and St. Charles.

How much is Denis Menchov dominating the 2007 Vuelta a España? If the amount of lipstick on his cheeks from receiving kisses from the podium girls is any indication, a lot. The 29-year-old Rabobank captain won the longest and hardest stage of this year’s Vuelta on a sunny and windy Monday high in Andorra to carry a solid lead of more than two minutes to compatriot Vladimir Efimkin (Caisse d’Epargne) into Tuesday’s rest day. Just add up the quality podium time Menchov enjoyed: stage winner, race leader, mountain jersey and the combined jersey. That’s a lot of kisses.

Mark Cavendish (T-Mobile) began his bid to win the Tour of Britain in style with a powerful finish to take the first stage on Monday in Southampton. Cavendish, who held the yellow jersey after the prologue, stormed away in the sprint finish after good work by teammates Roger Hammond and Frantisek Rabon had given him an ideal platform. The 22-year-old from the Isle of Man blew away Steven Caethoven and Juan Jose Haedo in the final 200 meters to clinch his 10th stage win of the season. and take a 14-second lead over Russia's Nikolai Trusov. Holland's Piet Rooijakkers, who took the

Monday’s exciting stage at the Vuelta a España saw the return of polemica, a tried and true European journalistic tradition of a battle of words fought out in headlines. The “he said-she said” tug-of-wars used to fill the pages of European sports dailies until the dirty business of doping scandals took all the fun out of being a cycling journalist. Those glory days returned briefly Monday as exhausted and frustrated riders started to point fingers at one another at the finish of the frenetic 214km “queen stage” across the Spanish Pyrenees. The first salvo came from Team CSC’s Carlos

[nid:40410]Two years ago, Denis Menchov was declared victor of the Vuelta a España months after Roberto Heras tested positive for EPO and was eventually dethroned. The Rabobank rider never enjoyed his moment on the winner’s podium and remains bitter about the whole business. Flash forward to Sunday’s first of two decisive climbing stages across the Spanish Pyrénées, when the soft-spoken Russian followed the attacking Leonardo Piepoli to climb solidly into the leader’s jersey .

Nearly three minutes ahead of a confusion-laden finale, and after some 160 kilometers in the breakaway, Will Frischkorn (Slipstream-Chipotle) soloed to victory in the Univest Grand Prix in Souderton, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Frischkorn launched a perfect counter following teammate Tim Duggan’s probing attack with eight laps of the race’s 5-kilometer finishing circuit remaining. Duggan and Frischkorn accounted for half of a four-man break that entered the finishing loops together following a challenging 109-kilometer loop through the Montgomery County countryside. Together with Columbian

Wind. Friend, foe, annoyance and pain in the ass...literally. The last three days have been ridden in and around Zarragoza home of tumbleweed and wind. There isn't anything to stop the wind around here other than the occasional guard rail or rock. So everyone knows when they come in this area it is gonna be spectacular in some way, shape or form. So that is no doubt why the organizers always seem to map the race through this area, it certainly isn't because of the spectators. And of course it didn't disappoint. Spills, thrills and Zarragoza. It splits the field, causes tension

Cycling's international governing body, the UCI, on Saturday upheld its earlier decision to exclude Spain’s Alejandro Valverde from the World Cycling Championships in Stuttgart at the end of the month. The announcement comes after the Spanish cycling federation openlydefied the UCI by registering Valverde for the championships. Valverde's participation at the event on September 25-30 had been up in the air because of growing suspicions over his alleged links to the Operación Puerto doping affair in Spain. Operación Puertoerupted in May 2006 after police raided the premises of

Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel) became stronger as the 52.2km individual time trial into Zaragoza unfolded to surge into the overall leader’s jersey Saturday at the Vuelta a España. His rivals are hoping that trend doesn’t continue going into a pair of decisive climbing stages in the Pyrénées, or this Vuelta might well be over.

Evans believes in Vuelta chancesCadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) was the big question mark coming into this year’s Vuelta a España. Would the Tour de France runner-up come to Spain intent on winning the Vuelta or was he here instead to prepare for the world championships? Evans admitted he didn’t even know the answer to that question until Tuesday’s climbing stage at Lagos de Covadonga. Despite having the Spanish Armada and Russian émigré Denis Menchov ganging up on him, Evans held tough and enters Saturday’s decisive time trial as the heavy favorite to ride into contention for overall

Perhaps Oscar Freire has a sixth sense. After winning three out of the first six stages at the Vuelta a España, the Rabobank sprinter had his crash radar up and decided to take himself out of Friday’s sprint into Zaragoza. Sure enough. There was a nasty spill with about 30km to go that took down American Christian Vande Velde (CSC) when the peloton was roaring at 65kph to erase the day’s main breakaway.

I love it when a plan comes together!Col. John "Hannibal" SmithThe A-Team We don't have the strongest team out there, but we made the most outof every member of the team on Tuesday. In the process we squeezed outevery possible second from the opposition.Carlos is looking good and he is more secure with the team by the daywhich makes him calm and relaxed and that makes us calm......and on andon.Placing three of us in the break sounds better than it really is, giventhat there were 38 of us! But two of us climb quite well and we used thatto launch Carlos up the Covadonga: Me for the middle

It’s going to take more than a nasty crash to keep Christian Vande Velde from finishing this year’s Vuelta a España. The 31-year-old American is racing what’s his last major European race in a Team CSC jersey before switching to the up-and-coming Slipstream squad for the 2008 season and he wants to go out on a winning note. “I didn’t want to stop the race. The truth is, I felt horrible and I’m still pretty beat up. I still don’t feel great,” Vande Velde told VeloNews. “I want to go out with CSC on a good note. I hope to feel better in the coming days.” Vande Velde crashed twice in the

Oscar Freire (Rabobank) is slipperier than a fish in the fast-moving waters of the bunch sprints at the Vuelta a España. For the better part of Thursday’s 184.3km sixth stage across Spain’s Rioja wine country, Freire was jabbering with friends at the back of the peloton, flitting around as if killing time before getting down to the business end of the stage.

Bjarne Riis’s self-imposed exile is over and the controversial Dane returned to his spot behind the wheel of the CSC team car following weeks of seclusion in the wake of his admission that he doped on the way to his 1996 Tour de France victory. It’s Riis’s first race appearance since deciding to skip the 2007 Tour following a dramatic confession that he used the banned blood booster EPO and other illegal performance-enhancing drugs during his racing career. “I considered leaving the sport. It was a very difficult period for me, but I took my responsibility,” Riis said outside the Team CSC

With a few short weeks before the 2007 world championship road race, Oscar Freire (Rabobank) looks almost unbeatable in the sprint as he aims for his fourth rainbow jersey in Stuttgart on September 30. [nid:40358]The three-time world champ scored his second win in five days in Wednesday’s 157.4km fifth stage at the Vuelta a España with an explosive sprint that left the rest in the peloton shaking their heads in disbelief.

[nid:40341]Good thing Vladimir Efimkin's twin brother, Alexander, isn't at the Vuelta a España. Just moments after surprising the favorites on the Vuelta's hardest climb to surge into the overall leader's jersey, the 25-year-old Caisse d'Epargne rider was beating the drum of Alexander, who rides on rival Barloworld. "My brother is the one who you will be hearing about in the coming years," said Efimkin, who soloed to victory in Tuesday's epic climb to Lagos de Covadonga. "He trains harder than me, he's a better climber than me.

Gerolsteiner team boss Hans-Michael Holczer says he was left in tears after the German mineral water company announced it would not extend its sponsorship. Gerolsteiner will not sponsor the team past the end of the 2008 season, and riders such as German Stefan Schumacher and Italian Davide Rebellin will be left without a team. The German mineral water supplier has sponsored the ProTour team since 1998, but with several high-profile doping scandals involving riders from other teams tarnishing the sport's image, the German company decided to call it a day. "There were tears in my eyes,"

I don't know if it is Carlos, the team or just the Vuelta, but we have stayed at some very nice hotels. Last night we stayed in the middle of Oviedo. Oviedo is the capital of Austurias, one of the nicest provinces of Spain. So we arrived at AC hotel in Oviedo after a hard stage and a one hour plus transfer. Karsten had been knocked out in the back of the bus for past 30 minutes as we pulled into the hotel. As we stumbled through the modern lobby and crammed into the elevator, Karsten, still half sleeping proceeded to spill half his lemonade on a business man, his silk suit and 1000 euro

German cycling team T-Mobile has been rocked by a new doping scandal after Italian rider Lorenzo Bernucci was sacked on Tuesday for failing a drugs test. Bernucci, 27, tested positive for the banned appetite suppressant Sibutramine on August 15 during the Tour of Germany. "We do not know if this was an attempt at performance enhancement or just poor judgment," said team general manager Bob Stapleton. "But we know it is unacceptable that riders take any medication without the approval of the team doctor. It's a clear violation of our code of conduct and we have acted on that

Reigning world champion Paolo Bettini says he’s not superstitious, but he was probably having his doubts after what’s been a long season for the usually prolific Tuscan tiger. Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) came into the Vuelta a España with just one victory on the 2007 season and was relieved with his sprint victory Monday ahead of Óscar Freire Gómez (Rabobank) and Allan Davis (Discovery Channel) to end a winless streak dating back to February’s Tour of California.

Unlike Interbike in the United States, Eurobike’s final day is open to the public. Anyone with 20 extra euros can show up at the Messe Friedrichshafen and see the bicycle industry’s best. Because of this, most of the show's business is done by Saturday afternoon, freeing exhibitors from spec’ and sales meetings, plus the press, just in time to be thrown to an inquisitive public. We saw a lot on Saturday, some of which can be quickly explained and some that will require more attention. Over the next few weeks, in a lead-up to Interbike, we will try to explore in detail some of those

Discovery Channel went one-two on Sunday at the Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championships in Greenville, South Carolina, with Levi Leipheimer soloing to victory by more than a minute over defending champion George Hincapie with Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe’s) third.

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) escaped to victory at the Grand Prix de Plouay on Sunday. Voeckler, a hero in France after valiantly and improbably holding on to the Tour de France's yellow jersey for 10 days in 2004 before losing it to Lance Armstrong, shot off from the pack with 2.5km to ride and held off the fast-finishing peloton to secure the win. Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) finished second with Italian Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas), the ProTour leader, in third. As he passed the red flag marking the final kilometer, Voeckler only had a few seconds' gap

If you have to go looking for work, it helps to have a solid résumé, and Levi Leipheimer isn't exactly lacking in that department — plus he has a nice red-white-and-blue suit to wear to the interview. Just ask Casey Gibson, who was on hand to see Leipheimer win the U.S. professional road race on Sunday in South Carolina.

We are off and running. September 1st has come and gone. The Vuelta is a rare and special race with an interesting peloton, facing different circumstances. Some have raced a lot; some very little; some have a contract; some don't; some are Spanish; many are not. Racing in your own country in front of your people, eating your food and enjoying your customs can give you that little bit of an edge. As for the rest of us, this race serves as a good test of desire and mental strength. For myself, I like the Vuelta, have a friend and teammate who can win the race and I can have some success

A day after finishing second, Spanish ace Oscar Freire (Rabobank) got it right in Sunday’s crash-marred second stage to win and move into the overall lead at the Vuelta a España. And a day after American climber Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) was KO’d with a broken shoulder, it was Christian Vande Velde’s turn. The Team CSC rider crashed twice but was able to finish the hilly stage despite some nasty road rash.

[nid:40251]Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) picked up where he left off, putting a nice bookend victory in Saturday’s 154.4km opener at the Vuelta a España to go along with his triumph in the final stage on the Champs Elysées at the Tour de France. The brawny Italian hitched a ride on Milram’s setup train and out-kicked a superstar field to win for the eighth time this season ahead of three-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Alessandro Petacchi (Milram), who came through third.

This year hasn’t been stellar, results-wise, for Team CSC’s David Zabriskie. But his second consecutive time-trial win at the 2007 USA Cycling Professional Championships on Saturday may have brightened things up a bit.

If the scale of parking problems are an indication of interest, then Eurobike qualifies as a success. The line just to park at the Messe Friedrichshafen on the second day of the trade show was an hour long. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, all of it bound for Eurobike. The show, held on Germany’s southern border, attracts exhibitors from more than 36 countries — and that includes everyone, from the biggest players to the most obscure little guys. Here’s what caught our attention on Friday. LightweightThe famous German Lightweight wheels have a new look these days. The new black all-carbon spokes

Vuelta a España organizer Unipublic released the final start list for the three-week national tour, which begins on Saturday, with a 146.4-kilometer stage in Vigo, Spain. 2007 Vuelta a España - Start ListAg2r Prevoyance1. Arrieta Lujambio José Luis, (Sp)2. Deignan Philip, (Irl)3. Dion Renaud, (F)4. Mandri Rene, (Est)5. DuPont Hubert, (F)6. Goubert Stéphane, (F)7. Krivtsov Yuriy, (Ukr)8. Usov Alexandre, (Blr)9. Turpin Ludovic, (F)Andalucia - Cajasur11. Perez Rodriguez Luis, (Sp)12. Lopez Gil José Antonio, (Sp)13. Martinez Perez Francisco Jose, (Sp)14. Olmo Menacho Juan, (Sp)15. Ortega Ocana

It looks like Johan Bruyneel’s planned retirement could be a short one. The Belgian sport director of Discovery Channel is in talks with the troubled Astana team to take over as general manager just weeks after announcing he would retire from cycling at the end of the 2007 season. Bruyneel confirmed he’s been contacted by officials from the Astana team to join the Kazakhstan-sponsored squad for the 2008 season and beyond. “It’s true I’ve had conversations with them but I’ve just returned from vacations and I haven’t had a chance to fully consider it,” Bruyneel told journalists ahead of

Some people think time trials are boring. But not us — especially not when Dave Zabriskie pips Danny Pate by a second to score his second consecutive stars-and-stripes jersey, and Saul Raisin returns to racing after a long convalescence. Casey Gibson was there, too, and sent us these shots of the day's action.

Once home to the early 20th century’s famous Graf Zeppelin factory, the southern German town of Friedrichshafen now plays host to retirees and tourists visiting Lake Constance and – once a year – to what is becoming one of the world’s biggest bicycle industry trade shows. Thursday marked the opening of the 16th Eurobike show, with more than 850 exhibitors from 36 countries showing their wares in an astounding 13 exhibition halls. Despite the ample space, navigating the aisles was already tough Thursday — and that’s before the show opens to the general public on its final day on

Tom Danielson lines up Saturday for the Vuelta a España with a clean bill of health following a painful and sometimes bizarre battle with debilitating stomach problems. Danielson missed what was expected to be a Tour de France debut this year following a series of recurring stomach problems that derailed efforts at the Volta a Catalunya and the Dauphiné Libéré earlier this season. “I was in so much pain I wanted to cut open my stomach and give birth to an alien,” Danielson told VeloNews. “June and July were really dark months. My body was screwed up, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t pedal. I was

SRAM finally unveiled its top-of-the-line component group last month. The company outlined details of the "Red" group during the Tour de France, where the group - still in prototype - saw action. Now, on the eve of the industry tradeshow season’s start, at Eurobike in Friedrichschafen, Germany, SRAM introduced a round of ready-to-ride pre-production parts, manufactured on the line's final tooling. Red’s specifications were finalized in conjunction with SRAM’s entry into the ProTour, by means of its sponsorship of Saunier Duval-Prodir. The relationship proved challenging to say the

Ever since the Vuelta a España moved to September in the racing calendar a decade ago, the Spanish race has been trying to reinvent what a three-week grand tour should look like. High-octane shorter stages, opening day team time trials, closing day time trials, finales inside 80,000-seat football stadiums, nothing wasn’t worth a try for season’s third big tour. There was once an even a zany idea about having 26 or so teams starting and then get rid of the four slowest squads through elimination rounds. It all gave the Vuelta an exciting, unpredictable edge. No one really knew what to

Erik Zabel's inclusion in a preliminary squad for the world road cycling championships has led to the resignation of German cycling federation vice-president (BDR) Dieter Kuehnle. Zabel, a six-time winner of the Tour de France's green jersey, was named Wednesday in a preliminary 21-man squad for the competition to be held in Stuttgart from September 26-30. However the fallout from Zabel's recent confession to having "briefly" used the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin) in 1996, when he won the first of his six points competitions at the Tour de France, has failed to

Cyclists rightfully focus their dietary attention on consuming the properfoods in adequate amounts so that they can sustain energy during long trainingrides, and replenish muscle fuel stores and recover nutritionally duringthe season.  But you should also consider how your daily food intakeand on-bike nutrition can affect and feed your brain. Just like your heart,your brain is an organ that benefits from optimal nutritional care. Nutritioncan affect brain chemicals, brain cell structure and function and theability of the brain to transmit electrical messages. Though nutritionalneuroscience is

Spanish rider Jose Ivan Gutierrez beat Britain's David Millar to claim the Tour of Benelux title on Wednesday. The Caisse d'Epargne rider claimed victory after finishing seconds behind Belgian Sebastien Rosseler in the seventh and final stage, a 29.6km time-trial. It was the first professional success for 26-year-old Rosseler who timed 36:50 with Gutierrez two seconds behind. Millar crossed in fourth to finish 11 seconds behind the Spaniard with Sweden's Gustav-Erik Larsson completing the podium. Overnight leader Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) paid the price of his fall on Tuesday,

Controversial cyclist Erik Zabel looks set to take part in next month's World Road Championships after the German Cycling Federation (BDR) named him to its provisional squad on Wednesday. The 37-year-old, who won silver at last year's world championship road race in Salzburg, has been named in a preliminary 21-man squad which will be trimmed down before the championships which are in Stuttgart from September 26-30. Despite his close finish last year, Zabel's inclusion was opposed by many because of confession in May to using banned blood-booster EPO (erythropoietin) for a short

The UCI announced Wednesday that it has barred Spaniard Alejandro Valverde, the UCI ProTour champion in 2006, from riding in next month's world championships in Stuttgart, Germany. A UCI statement issued Wednesday noted that investigators suspect Valverde may be involved in the Spanish police's Operacion Puerto inquiry into Eufemiano Fuentes, the doctor said to have designed doping programs for athletes in several sports. "During the meticulous studying of the 6000-page Puerto dossier, the UCI has concluded that several documents may show the involvement of Alejandro Valverde in

Former mountain-bike star Miguel Martinez – known as Little Mig for his small stature but big winning ways – looks to be coming out of retirement for another stab at the road scene. Martinez flirted with road racing in the 2002 and ‘03 seasons, as a member of Mapei, before returning to the mountain bike circuit disillusioned with his inability to secure results on skinny tires. Martinez, 31, retired from competitive cycling at the end of last season, but is poised to return to road racing for the 2008 season with Agritubel. “I was already pro’ on the road in 2002 and 2003, but all the

Predictor-Lotto star Cadel Evans came within a scant 23 seconds of winning this year’s Tour de France and narrowly held on to second place, a mere eight seconds ahead of third-place Levi Leipheimer. It’s fair to say that Evans’ podium performance is thanks in part to his two breakthrough time trial rides. Evans placed second in both long time trials, behind Alexandre Vinokourov in stage 13 and behind Leipheimer in stage 19. With final time differences that slim, it is interesting to look at small time contributions among the top three riders overall, especially in long time trials, where

Dutch rider Thomas Dekker grabbed the overall lead in the Eneco Tour as Spaniard Pablo Lastras of the Caisse d’Epargne team won a crash-marred sixth stage from Beek to Landgraaf on Tuesday. Rabobank rider Dekker took the red leader’s jersey from Belgian Nick Nuyens (Cofidis), who was forced to abandon after a fall 40km into the penultimate stage of the race through the so-called Benelux countries. The Spaniard went it alone about 10km from the line after attacking an earlier breakaway and held off a push by Dutch rider Maarten Tjallingii to finish ahead of Belgian Steven Caethoven and

Aaron Olson always seems to save the best for last. Last year, some of his best results came late in the 2006 campaign, capped by second in a Tour of Poland stage. The T-Mobile rider scored his best-ever result in a European stage race with third overall at the inaugural Tour of Ireland. Olson snatched second place in the race-winning breakaway in stage one and hung on to the podium spot in the surprisingly tough five-day Irish tour. “It’s not bad considering I crashed 10 days ago,” said Olson, referring to a nasty training spill in Spain. “It’s a nice way to finish off the European

Brazilian Luciano Pagliarini (Saunier Duval-Prodir) won the fifth stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux over 180km from Terneuzen to Nieuwegein on Monday. Pagliarini edged out Britain's Mark Cavendish (T-Mobile) and Australia's Graeme Brown (Rabobank) in a sprint finish. "This is the best win of my life. My first bunch of flowers in a ProTour race," said an elated Pagliarini, who dedicated the win to his newborn daughter. "This week has been fantastic for me. I've waited for such a long time for a win like this. These last months were really difficult." Belgium's Nick Nuyens

Proving that he is one of the stronger American crit racers, Kyle Wamsley won the 24th edition of the Chris Thater Memorial on Sunday in Binghamton, New York. "I'm ecstatic ... just ecstatic!" the Navigators Insurance rider said as he caught his breath. Wamsley figured into every part of the race, leading out the first lap, hanging in the day's major break, and pulling a "caution to the wind" move at the end of the race. "This season's winding down, so I thought I'd through everything into the race. If I didn't make it, so be it. But I really wanted to win today,” he

Belgian Wouter Weylandt (Quick Step-Innergetic) won the fourth stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux on Sunday. Weylandt crossed the line ahead of Norway's Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) and Matthew Goss (CSC) after 182km of racing from Maldegem, Belgium, to Terneuzen, Netherlands. Belgian Nick Nuyens (Cofidis) kept the leader's red jersey. "It's revenge for the previous stages where I failed in the final meters," said Weylandt after his sixth success of the season. "I feared Thor Hushovd was coming back strong as we neared the line but I held on." A breakaway containing Italian

Stijn Vandenbergh (Unibet.com) won the Tour of Ireland on Sunday as Marco Marcato (Team LPR) won the final stage, outsprinting two breakaway companions on the finishing circuit in Dublin. Vandenbergh finished safely in ninth place to clinch the overall with Marcus Ljungqvist (Team CSC) second and Aaron Olsen (T-Mobile) third. David O’Loughlin (Navigators Insurance) put the hammer down just after the intermediate sprint in Kinnegad, some 60km into the 147km stage from Athlone to the Irish capital, where Matti Breschel (Team CSC) scored five points to take the lead in the points

Danny Pate rode all but four kilometers of Saturday’s epic 232.5km fourth stage over the foggy mountains of Galway on the attack, but it was Norwegian hope Edvald Boasson Hagen (Maxbo-Bianchi) who took the cake at the Tour of Ireland. The Slipstream captain attacked 2km into the spectacular route across Ireland’s rugged Connamara country and was reeled in with about 2km to go as the heralded Boasson Hagen surprised the veterans with an early sprint to snag the win. “It was a lot of work for not a lot of reward,” said Pate, who was part of a five-man breakaway that dominated the Irish tour’s

Australian Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto) won Saturday's third stage of the Tour of Benelux in a sprint finish ahead of Italian Francesco Chicchi and Thor Hushovd of Norway. Britain's Mark Cavendish, winner of the second stage on Friday, took fourth with Belgian Nick Nuyens, of the Cofidis team, finishing in the main peloton to keep the leader's red jersey. Despite his stage victory, McEwen expressed anger at his team's decision not to enter him in the Vuelta a España. "I was not ready to race this Tour of Benelux," he protested. "I would have preferred to do the Vuelta

T-Mobile’s Mark Cavendish won the second stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux, prevailing in a sprint here on Friday. The British rider beat American Fred Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto) and Belgian Wouter Weylandt after the 200-kilometer race from Antwerp. Cofidis’ Nick Nuyens retained the leader's red jersey. It is the second win in Belgium this year for the 22-year-old Cavendish after the Escaut Grand Prix, and his eighth success this season following wins in the Four Days of Dunkirk, Tour of Denmark and Ster Elektrotoer. "The team worked very well at the end. My teammates put me in an

The Tour of Ireland continued Friday with a 194-kilometer stage from Tralee to Ennis. Our man Andrew Hood is there covering what he has described as his "favorite race of the year... maybe my favorite since I began doing this." Given his annual work schedule - which includes all of the classics, the Tour, the Giro and the Vuelta - those are pretty high marks.

Sprints are always a question of timing. Go too soon, you might get caught. Wait too long, you’re sucking fumes. A day after going too soon at the Tour of Ireland, Slovenian speedster Borut Bozic (LPR) timed it just right to pip a pair of ProTour boys in Friday’s undulating and windy 194km third stage from Tralee to Ennis. The main pack roared in for a bunch sprint after a promising six-man break featuring Pat McCarty (Slipstream) and Ben Day (Navigators Insurance) was reeled in with less than 10km to go. Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) bolted away with 300 meters to go on a rising right-hander

Belgium's Nick Nuyens (Cofidis) won the first stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux on Thursday after a tough day of racing over the climbs made famous by some of cycling's Belgian one-day classics. Nuyens dominated Dutch ace Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) and Spaniard Jose Luis Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne) on the uphill finish at the end of the 189.5km race from Waremme to Eupen, taking the overall lead from Dutch teammate Michiel Elijzen. Elijzen, who had won the prologue on Wednesday, finished several minutes in arrears as some of the climbs, which feature on the one-day classics

Andrew Hood has been enjoying his time in Ireland. We're glad he's camera, but a little disappointed that we didn't get the assignment, too.

It almost seemed unfair when the world No. 1 team ganged up on an untested youngster in Thursday’s hilly second stage at the Tour of Ireland. But Stijn Vandenbergh, Unibet.com’s unheralded neo-pro, proved he’s savvier than his 23 years when he fended off a collective effort by Team CSC to keep his yellow jersey dreams alive in the 166km run from Clonakilty to Killarney along Ireland’s stunning southwest coast. That’s not to say there weren’t some dicey moments for Vandenbergh, who surprised the favorites in Wednesday’s opener into Cork and take a huge 13-minute head start on all but nine

In June I discussed my concern regarding psychological effects of use of performance enhancing drugs. I had also heard from some of the riders about medical injuries related to doping. On Monday August 13th, Joe Papp, addressing a South Florida high school coaches’ conference on behalf of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, discussed the doping-related medical complications he encountered in July of 2006. I asked Papp to tell me more about his injury to illustrate the medical dangers of doping. These are injuries the riders keep to themselves as part of the shame and secrecy of doping.

The UCI is ready to renegotiate the structure of the ProTour, Pat McQuaid said Wednesday, but the organization’s president said he is not prepared to compromise on the overall “governance of cycling.” McQuaid and the organizers of the sport’s three grand tours – the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España – have argued for more than a year over the structure the ProTour, the number of teams and economic issues, including television rights. Much of that dispute involves Tour de France organizer Amaury Sports Organization (ASO), which also promotes such major races as Paris-Nice,

We finally managed to wrest our boy Andrew Hood away from his frothy, dark liquid breakfast this morning and sent him off to cover the first stage of the Tour of Ireland on Wednesday. We remembered to grab his camera before sending him on his way.

Hardship is the middle name for any professional cyclist, but Aaron Olson and Craig Lewis both overcame more than their fair share of setbacks to make it to Wednesday’s start of the reborn Tour of Ireland. Olson (T-Mobile) was broadsided by a car just 10 days ago in Spain while Lewis (Slipstream) shook off jet lag after arriving in the start in Kilkenny barely 12 hours before starting the decisive 174km stage to Cork. Despite the stumbling blocks, both managed to sneak into the winning 10-rider move with Olson slotting into second at 14 seconds behind the late-attacking Stijn Vandenbergh,

Levi Leipheimer says he is “sad” that the Discovery Channel team won’t continue after this year and that he is having to look for a new team, especially as he is enjoying his “best season ever.” But after finishing on the podium at the Tour de France and winning the Tour of California and two stages of the Tour de Georgia this year, Leipheimer should have no trouble finding a new sponsor for 2008. But he would rather stay put at Discovery. Asked to comment about the team’s departure from the sport at the end of 2007, Leipheimer said in a telephone interview with VeloNews Tuesday night, “It’s

Vuelta a España organizer Unipublic released a preliminary start list for the three-week national tour, which begins on September 1 with a team time trial in Vigo, Spain. Americans Christian Vande Velde (CSC), Chris Horner (Predictor-Lotto) and Tom Danielson (Discovery) are scheduled to start the race. Horner and Vande Velde both completed the Tour de France last month. Americans Tyler Farrar (Cofidis) and Jason McCartney (Discovery) are listed as reserves for their respective teams. 2007 Vuelta a España - Preliminary Start ListAg2r Prevoyance1. Arrieta Lujambio José Luis, (Sp)2. Deignan

After a way-too-long 15-year hiatus, the Tour of Ireland is back on the international racing calendar with a race worthy of one of Europe’s most colorful and rich cycling traditions. Twenty years after Stephen Roche won cycling rare treble of the Giro, Tour and world title and more than a decade after Sean Kelly finally hung up his cleats, Irish cycling could see a big boost from the return of a popular national tour marking its return after the 1992 demise of the Nissan Classic. A new generation of racers will be writing a new page in Irish cycling history with Wednesday’s start in

Dear Lennard,Was there any official report as to why David Millar's rear wheel fellapart during the stage 19 time trial at the Tour de France. I have neverseen anything like that. He seemed to have multiple wheels with the sameproblem right up to his mechanic riding a new bike out to him. How weirdwas that?Christopher Dear Christopher,Yes, I saw that, too. We tried to find out that day what happened,but didn't get any official word as the team handed off the wheel to themanufacturer for analysis. Fortunately, we contacted Mavic to see whatthey had learned.LennardAnswer from Mavic:As

Canadian Martin Gilbert brought his Kelly Benefit Strategies-Medifast team its biggest win yet on Sunday by winning the USA Cycling Professional Criterium Championship in Downers Grove, Illinois. Kirk O’Bee (Health Net-Maxxis) finished second to collect the national-championship jersey as first American across the line. Teammate Shawn Milne took third. As in the earlier races, rain was a factor — a light drizzle was the best the heavens had to offer during the 100km race, and crashes were commonplace. The Kelly Benefit squad had hoped to put Dave McCook into the jersey, but he was having

It was a wet weekend in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, as the country's zippiest assembled to name the champions of American criterium racing.Soaked to the bone, our man Casey Gibson was there for Sunday's big events.

Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans and three-time world time-trial champion Michael Rogers say next year's road race at the Beijing Olympics will be tougher than expected. The Australian pair made their assessments after racing on the circuit Saturday as part of at the Good Luck Beijing Road Cycling International Invitational, the official 2008 Olympic test event. Italian Gabriele Bosisio won the race, three seconds ahead of Kazakh Alexandr Dyachenko with Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali third at 0:47. Evans took fifth in the same time. Jon Garcia was the top finisher for the six-man U.S.

Rainy conditions soiled Saturday’s pro/am “test-run” criteriums in Downers Grove, Illinois, prompting many riders to either pull out early or opt out of racing altogether in order to save themselves for Sunday’s national-championship events. At the end of the day a pair of winners — Ken Hanson (BMC) and Brooke Miller (TIBCO) — each emerged from breakaways to take waterlogged wins. Rain was heaviest during the women’s 40-minute race, where Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home rider Alison Powers slipped off the front early. Miller was first to jump across, followed by Katharine Carroll (Aaron’s

Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital) had to work hard to win the 12th Vatttenfall Cyclassics on Sunday in Hamburg. The 27-year-old Italian held off Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and German Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile) to win a bunch sprint at the conclusion of the 229.1km race around Hamburg. Ciolek, 20, the world under-23 road champion, said he chose the wrong moment to make his move. "It is always tough to judge when to attack and I guess I didn't quite time my attack properly this time," said Ciolek. "But I am very pleased with third. Against such strong competition this is a giant

Tina Pic (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) collected her fifth national title in six years while Daniel Holloway (VMG Racing) picked up his first on Sunday at the USA Cycling Professional Criterium Championship in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. As in Saturday’s Pro-Am Challenge, rain played a starring role — particularly in the 80km elite men’s race, which saw crashes in each of the last four corners and perhaps half the 163 starters finish. The field mostly stayed together during the 50km elite women’s race, until trackie Anna Lang (Karl Strauss-SDBC) took a dig with four laps