Road

It’s official: Chris Horner will be going to the Tour de France. Horner’s stage-winning ride in Thursday’s climbing stage at the Tour de Suisse assured the popular American rider of a spot on the nine-man Saunier Duval-Prodir team for July’s big dance. “Yes, Chris will be going to the Tour. It was looking good already, but his victory makes the decision final,” Saunier Duval sport director Joxean "Matxin" Fernández told VeloNews. Horner entered the Tour de Suisse with something to prove. After injury kept him out of the Giro d’Italia, the 33-year-old reloaded with ambitions of earning a

More news trickled out in the Spanish press following the tragic death of Italian veteran Alessio Galletti, felled by a heart attack Wednesday in the Subida a Naranco race in northern Spain. A five-hour autopsy Thursday confirmed Galletti died of cardiac arrest some 15km from the finish line after complaining of chest pain and breathing difficulties. It will be another three months, however, before more extensive analysis is completed on the rider’s vital organs. Galletti’s mother and wife traveled to Oviedo on Thursday to retrieve his body; they will return to Italy sometime this weekend.

Everyone wants to ride faster. Last week wediscussed VO2max and natural ability. Now we get to the good stuff – lactate threshold (LT). The burn. The reason we enjoy talking about LT is because it is highly trainable.Don’t get us wrong, natural ability still plays a huge role, both withVO2max and LT, but for almost every individual, training properly willramp up LT. Lactate Threshold?Lactate is a by-product of anaerobic metabolism that, despite common misconception, is produced across all exercise intensities. In fact, even when you stand up from sitting in a chair, lactate acid is

Dominique Rollin (Equipe Quebec) will hold onto the yellow leader's jerseyat the Tour de Beauce for a second day, after the field finished togetherin stage three.  Rollin, who won stage two on Wednesday, finishedsafely in the pack, three seconds behind winner David O'Loughlin (Navigators). Mark Walters (Navigators), who is second in the overall standings, managedto gain three seconds on Rollin after taking an intermediate time bonus,and is now only 12 seconds out of the lead.The stage was shortened from 180 kilometres to 140 due to road damage,a decision that everyone agreed

In what marks an end of era in a year that’s seen more than its fair share of big names leaving cycling, German sprinter star Erik Zabel won’t be part of T-Mobile’s Tour de France plans. The 34-year-old Berliner has ridden in 11 Tours, winning 12 stages and six green jerseys, but the decisive to leave the German ace off its nine-man Tour roster reveals T-Mobile’s real ambition – to try to beat Lance Armstrong in what will be the six-time champion’s last race. “With three riders in the team who already stood on the podium in Paris, we are clearly aiming for yellow,” said future team manager

With a veteran’s tactics and the heart of a rookie, American underdog Chris Horner (Saunier Duval – Prodir) picked up his first major European victory Thursday, crushing the competition in the mountainous sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland. “I’m sorry I don’t know the names,” Horner said when an Italian reporter asked about the several riders he had dropped on the final climb. “This is only my eighth - wait, my fifth - race in Europe.” Michael Rogers of QuickStep took the yellow jersey away from T-Mobile’s Jan Ullrich, and now has a 20-second lead over the German in the general

Italian rider Alessio Galletti complained of breathing trouble and chest pain just moments before stepping off his bike and dying of a heart attack in Wednesday’s Subida al Naranco one-day race in northern Spain. “I feel bad, I can’t breathe,” complained the 37-year-old just 15km from the finish line in the hilly race in Spain’s Asturias region. Those were his last words as the father of one and another on the way stepped out of his pedals, sat on the side of the road and collapsed. Born March 26, 1968 in Pisa, Italy, Galletti wasn’t a natural-born winner. During his 12 years as a pro,

The inevitable question of what the future holds for Discovery Channel following the retirement of Lance Armstrong won’t include a post-Tour shopping spree. Discovery Channel team boss Johan Bruyneel said the team is unlikely to be on the market looking for another big-time name to take over the reins following Armstrong’s departure. “Every year you take some new guys, but for the moment it’s very quiet for us,” Bruyneel told VeloNews. “I think we have a great team, even without Lance we’ve been doing great. I won’t go desperately after another guy.” Bruyneel guided Armstrong to an

Italian rider Alessio Galletti died Wednesday after suffering an apparent heart attack during Spain's Subida Naranco cycling race, chief press officer Jose Ramon Rodriguez confirmed to AFP. The 37-year-old Galletti, a rider with the Naturino-Sapore di Mare team, died near the northern town of Oviedo after losing consciousness following a fall 15km from the finish line. Spanish media quoted other riders as saying that the 37-year-old had difficulties breathing at points leading up to the climb. "He was at the back of the peloton about to begin the penultimate climb of the stage. He

Liquigas’s Michael Albasini jumped out of a seven-man escape group to win the fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Wednesday. The win was the first in the 24-year-old Albasini’s professional career and one that was especially sweet as it took place on home soil and came by outsprinting his old Phonak teammate, Swiss national champion, Gregory Rast at the front of a small group that finished but 38 seconds ahead of the main field. “I never thought our group could arrive ahead of the peloton,” said Albasini. “But about 10 kilometers from the end, I began to believe we just might do

Lac Etchemin, Quebec - Quebec riders made it two-for-two in thesecond stage of the Tour de Beauce on Wednesday, with Dominique Rollin(Equipe Quebec) winning the 180 kilometer stage.  Rollin finishedsecond to Martin Gilbert (VW-Trek) in Tuesday's opening stage and, withthe time bonuses awarded for winning the stage, takes over the yellow leader'sjersey.The race took the riders on a long, hilly loop around Lac Etchemin,through the Beauce region south of Quebec City.  The weather playeda major factor in the stage, with cold rain and strong winds forcing theabandonment of many

Tom Danielson is scheduled to start the Tour of Austria (July 4-10) in what will be his return to racing after pulling out of the Giro d’Italia with knee troubles. Danielson saw his Giro come to an abrupt end with pain and swelling in his knee made it impossible for him to continue. “The knee is good and I am back,” Danielson said in an e-mail. “I’ve been training just a little, but all is good. I’m healed it up and now I am strengthened the source of the problem. It is crazy how our bodies can just go out of whack from something we do everyday. Luckily, I am on the best team in the world,

After three stage wins and an early departure from last month’s Giro d’Italia, Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) resumed his winning ways on Tuesday, taking the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland. The Australian national champion easily beat Daniele Colli (Liquigas) at the head of a mass sprint finish in the town of Bad Zurzach. “A stage win here in the Tour de Suisse with this field is pretty worthy,” said the Australian winner, pointing out that many of the UCI Pro Tour’s top sprinters chose the Swiss stage race over the overlapping Dauphiné Libéré. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) held on to

Water, water everywhereDear Lennard,My Spinergy Xaero's quite literally fill up with water if I ride whenit rains even reasonably hard. Only way to get it out is to eitherdeflate the tire and pry it off at the valve hole when the hole's at thebottom, or remove the tube/tire and drain with the hole at the bottom.This drives me nuts! It's not a little water either.It makes a big puddle. Any suggestions?MattDear Matt,I can imagine why this might drive you nuts! It’s amazing how manyquestions about this exact thing I have gotten this spring, regarding manydifferent wheel brands.

A local Quebec rider, riding for a local Quebec team won the first stageof the Tour de Beauce, despite the presence of top-flite U.S. squads the likes of Navigators, Health Net and Jittery Joe's. Martin Gilbert (VW-Trek) took the leader's jersey after winning the sprint out of select group of 14 riders who finished just under a minute ahead of the peloton.The 169-kilometer stage started in light rain, and overcast skies doggedthe race all day.  The stage featured the long, rolling climbs whichthe region is famous for.  Jean Sebastien Beland (Equipe Quebec) startedthe action

Francaise des Jeux's Bradley McGee won the third stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Monday ahead of Italy's Mirko Celestino and Patrik Sinkewitz of Germany. German star Jan Ullrich, who stayed tucked away in the peloton, kept hold of the yellow jersey after the end of the 154km stage from Abtwil to St. Anton. The 29-year-old McGee, a member of the Australian Olympic team pursuit gold medal winning team in Athens in 2004, also gave his team its second win of this year's race following Austrian Bernhard Eisel's victory in the opening stage. McGee said he was delighted with

The Dauphiné Libéré has been a race of reckoning for many. While Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Santiago Botero and Alexandre Vinokourov have clearly demonstrated they’re in top form, other big names have failed to leave any impression at all. One name lost deep in the daily result sheet is Spanish climbing sensation Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros), who hasn’t finished well in any of the big climbing stages. “There’s no reason to panic yet,” insists Heras, 52nd overall at 33:29 back. “There’s still a month to go before the Tour. I don’t come here to do anything in

STILLWATER, Minn. (June 12, 2005) -- Twenty-six seconds is all that separated Webcor Builder’s Christine Thorburn from Quark Cycling Team’s Tina Pic. That’s about as much time as it took to crest Chilkoot Hill, a short climb at a grade of 20-percent that the riders had to tackle 13 times in this final stage of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival’s Nature Valley Grand Prix. With eight turns, the 1.5-mile course also provided ample spots for breaks to sneak away out of sight. Thorburn’s team was determined not to let either of those affect who wore the general classification leader’s

George Hincapie put an emphatic exclamation point on what’s been a fête américaine during this year’s Dauphiné Libéré, winning Sunday’s exciting finale after a dramatic two-man breakaway with Discovery Channel teammate and protégé Yaroslav Popovych. Basque bomber Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi) hung on during the fast-paced 128km seventh stage to claim the 57th Dauphiné crown by a slender margin of 11 seconds to Santiago Botero (Phonak) while Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) finished third overall at 38 seconds back for his first major podium since his breakthrough at the 2001 Vuelta a

STILLWATER, Minn. (June 12, 2005) – A spent Shawn Milne rolled through the finish line of the last stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, gasping for air after climbing the 20-percent grade Chilkoot Hill for the last time. “Today was a day you just talk with your legs, and obviously John’s spoke louder,” the Navigator Insurance rider said. For all the talk that transpired over the last two days between Milne and Health Net/Maxxis’ John Lieswyn over the way the leader’s jersey changed hands between the two of them, on Sunday everything was left on the road. Midway through the Stillwater

T-Mobile's Jan Ullrich, riding for the T-Mobile team, won the second stage of the Tour of Switzerland in Weinfelden on Sunday, a 36km time trial. Ullrich, using a new bike, edged Australian duo Bradley McGee and Michael Rogers by 15 and 18 seconds respectively. Many of the fans lining the course in this German-speaking canton of northern Switzerland were dressed in T-Mobile pink to show their support for Ullrich. Bernhard Eisel, who won the opening stage on Saturday, finished well off the pace in Sunday's time trial. "Naturally I'm happy. I was wondering if I'd be able to

Austria's Bernhard Eisel (Fdjeux.com) won a sprint finish in the first stage of the Tour of Switzerland here on Saturday and then thanked Australian teammate Baden Cooke. Eisel finished ahead of Belgian Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and Austrian Peter Wrolich (Gerolsteiner) following the 170km stage from Schaffhausen, but it was sweet revenge for Cooke over Olympic champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step). Bettini launched the sprint finish, but Eisel, having insider knowledge that Cooke was not at his best, was able to claim victory with Bettini fourth and Cooke sixth. "Before the stage, it

The hardest stage of the 57th Dauphiné Libéré turned into a proving ground with a month to go to the Tour de France. The difficult, five-climb sixth stage capped by the hors categorie Joux-Plane climb high in the French Alps revealed three key points: Lance Armstrong is right on track for the Tour; Santiago Botero will be a man to reckon with come July; and Iñigo Landaluze might have just enough gas in the tank to take the overall victory. Results are posted Botero won his second stage in four days after reeling in the day’s main breakaway in the 155km march across the French Alps and then

RED WING, Minn. (June 11, 2005) – Maybe a day’s delay helps puts things in perspective. Or maybe it was just the stage win talking. A day after losing the leader’s jersey in a wreck in the last three laps of the Minneapolis Downtown Classic, Health Net/Maxxis’ John Lieswyn was far less critical of race leader Shawn Milne of Navigator Insurance after the fourth stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. In fact, he was downright complimentary. “I’ve got to hand it to Shawn,” he said, describing how Milne organized a chase in the last four laps of the circuit at the Red Wing Road Race to catch

Cycling Australia said Saturday it was surprised and disappointed at the decision of the sport's world governing body to axe the men's kilometer and the women's 500m race from the Beijing Olympic program. The two events were removed from the program for the 2008 Games to make way for the Olympics debut of BMX, the UCI said on Friday. "All federations were invited to make submissions to the UCI and this is certainly the first we've heard that the track time trial events were being targeted for removal from the Games program," Cycling Australia chief executive Graham

Health Net-Maxxis is riding a big wave of momentum, and John Lieswyn shot the curl on Thursday. The veteran rider and former champion of the Nature Valley Grand Prix overcame a deficit of more than two minutes to catch a break of 16 and then kept motoring to win the second stage of the Minnesota race, the 92-mile Mankato Road Race. It marked the fourth consecutive road-race win for Health Net, by four different riders. “It was a team victory of the greatest magnitude,” Lieswyn said. “Right now, it feels like we have a V-8 under the hood.” Lieswyn shared the spotlight with teammate Tyler

An epic breakaway in the 219km march across the foothills of the French Alps turned the Dauphiné Libéré upside down. Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer fell out of the overall lead – and fell off his bike in a high-speed crash – while Spanish rider Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi) slipped into the maillot jaune after hanging on as part of a 13-man breakaway. Results are posted It was Axel Merckx (Davitamon-Lotto) who took full advantage of the rollercoaster race across the torrid hills from Vaison-la-Romaine, in the shadow of Mont Ventoux, to Grenoble in the shadow of the Alps. “What I did

Jan Ullrich will fine-tune his preparations for next month's Tour de France by racing the Tour of Switzerland, which starts on Saturday. The 31-year-old T-Mobile captain, who has finished second five times in the Tour de France, is still dreaming of repeating his 1997 Tour win. And six-time winner Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel), who is competing in this week's Dauphiné Libéré in France, has once more designated Ullrich as his major rival for a seventh and final Tour victory. A major factor in whether Ullrich repeats his 2004 overall victory here will be his performance in the

Alexandre Vinokourov might not be the most exciting rider off the bike, but it’s what he does on the bike that’s so enthralling. Attacking is what the shy, soft-spoken man from Kazakhstan does best, not giving pithy quotes to the European cycling hacks that must crane their necks to hear what he has to say. The T-Mobile rider let his actions speak louder than his mumbled words in Thursday’s 182km fourth stage of the Dauphiné Libéré when he followed an attack from Belgian climbing phenom Wim Van Huffel (Davitamon-Lotto) to claim victory on the fearsome slopes of Mont Ventoux. “I made the

An officiating error and a late-race crash combined to shake up the men’s standings in the Nature Valley Grand Prix on Friday. Shawn Milne (Navigators Insurance) won the Minneapolis Downtown Classic and collected the leader’s jersey after a lap counter that read 2 for two laps gave him an unexpected edge over a small lead group confused about just when stage 3 of the NVGP was supposed to end. Milne sprinted for the line when the lap counter should have read 0, but his sprint turned into an attack when race officials began ringing the bell signaling the final lap. “I went for it, but I

Doctor's say a diagnosis of Epstein-Barr Virus has gone a long way toward explaining Damiano Cunego's less-than-stellar performance at this year's Giro d'Italia and also put his Tour de France plans in doubt. The 2004 Giro d'Italia champion, who has 18 career titles, will undergo further examinations at Milan's Raffaele hospital on June 20 to determine whether he can compete next month in France. The virus may explain the 23-year-old's disappointing performance for Lampre at this year's Giro in which he finished in 18th position, 24 minutes behind champion

Lance Armstrong unveiled a new time trial bike this week at the Dauphiné Libéré that he hopes will catapult him to a seventh Tour de France crown. Following its track record of developing new technology in time for Armstrong's annual summer Tour assault, Trek rolled out the new "TTX" time trial frame utilizing a cutting-edge software design program used to develop Ferrari racing cars and sail boats. "We turned six months of development into five weeks," said Trek's Scott Daubert, adding the project didn't get the green light until right after the Tour de Georgia in April. "We

A second is not very long, but less than one tick of the second-hand has cost Levi Leipheimer two important victories inside four days of racing at the Dauphiné Libéré. The 31-year-old lost Wednesday's windy, demanding 47km individual time trial to Santiago Botero (Phonak) by a narrow 0.70 seconds. That bitter disappointment comes after losing Sunday's prologue to compatriot George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) by an even more slender 0.17 seconds. So why was Leipheimer smiling after standing atop the podium in sunny Roanne? Because he was wearing the overall leader's jersey, and

Alexandre Vinokourov said he's ready to ensure that Lance Armstrong's final stab at the Tour de France will not end with the Texan in the yellow jersey. Armstrong, 33, will bid for a seventh consecutive Tour crown before hanging up his bike for good on July 24 when the race arrives on the Champs Elysées. In recent years, Vinokourov's T-Mobile teammate Jan Ullrich has been the American's main rival, and this year again the German is hoping he can finally rob Armstrong of a successful swan song ahead of his retirement. However Vinokourov, who is having an excellent season

Ag2R's Samuel Dumoulin moved into the overall leader's jersey after winning the second stage of the Dauphiné Libéré, a 187-kilometer race from Givors to Chauffailles, on Tuesday. The AG2R rider prevailed in a sprint on what was the final, relatively flat stage ahead of Wednesday's 47km time trial – a stage in which Lance Armstrong is favored to win and thus claim his first victory of the season. Dumoulin takes over the race lead from Discovery's George Hincapie. Dumoulin - whose international fame has largely been confined to the distinction being the smallest rider at the

What about that tape?Dear Lennard,I think I do a pretty good job of gluing my tires securely, and I re-glueevery year. However, on some of my tires the actual tape is separatingin some places from the tire (the layer between tire and rim). Isthere any way to fix this, or is the tire done for?RyanDear Ryan,I have had good luck in the past using Bargecement. This is a contact cement I have been using since childhoodto patch rafts and I first got some from a shoemaker who used it to gluesoles on. I would guess that it’s widely available at hardware stores or whitewater equipment stores.

Riding fast is a matter of natural ability, training and desire. All three factors play an important role in keeping the big ring spinning. When discussing natural ability, many people throw around the term “VO2max,” which means maximum oxygen consumption. Many of our clients can recite the definition of VO2max, but few have a good grasp of what VO2max really means. To help clarify things, we will be writing a two part series of basic exercise physiology articles. Today is the first installment and will cover VO2max. Next week, we’ll jump into the world of lactate threshold (LT).

Hincapie’s win marks near-American sweep at Dauphiné prologueGeorge Hincapie’s victory in Sunday’s opening prologue at the Dauphiné Libéré is a sure sign American riders are on-form for July’s Tour de France. Four of the five top spots went to American riders, with Hincapie just edging Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) by 1 second while Floyd Landis (Phonak) and Lance Armstrong (Disccovery Channel) rounded out the top five. Only Andrey Kashechkin (Credit Agricole) stopped the USA sweep. “Today was a great win by George,” Discovery’s sport director Johan Bruyneel said on the team’s web page.

Despite the three Category 1 climbs on the final stage, this year’s Mt. Hood Cycling Classic in and around Hood River, Oregon, was largely won (and lost) on the time trial stages. Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) set the stage for his overall win by breezing to victory in both the stage 1 prologue and the stage 3 time trial. His lead going into the last stage was enough to hold off the climbing prowess of challengers Andy Bajidali (Vitamin Cottage) and Justin England (Health Net-Maxxis). Scott Moninger (Health Net-Maxxis) was well positioned going into the stage 3 time trial, but a broken chain 50

For six Julys in a row, George Hincapie has been one man Lance Armstrong could always count on. The New Yorker is the only teammate who’s been on the Texan’s record six consecutive Tour de France victories. But it’s June, Hincapie is in the leader’s jersey at the Dauphiné Libéré, and this time the tables are turned. In Monday’s long, flat opening road stage pushing west away from the Alps where the real race will be decided later this week, it was Armstrong’s turn to help his ever-loyal lieutenant. The six-time Tour champion helped chase down a breakaway to set up a mass sprint and keep

Aix-les-Bains, France - Spaniard Isidro Nozal and Michele Scotto D'Abusco of Italy will not be riding the Dauphine Libere stage race Sunday after both riders failed early morning blood tests. The 27-year-old Nozal rides for Liberty Seguros run by Manolo Saiz while 22-year-old Scotto D'Abusco rides for Lampre-Caffita. Both were among those from four teams tested early in the morning Sunday ahead of the opening prologue of the seven-stage race, an individua time trial held over 7.9km. The teams tested were Liberty, Domina Vacanze, Lampre and AG2R, the latter being the only non Pro

Aix-les-Bains, France, - Cofidis sprinter Stuart O'Grady admits he won't be firing on all cylinders in this week's Dauphine Libere - though for the no-nonsense Aussie there are bigger aims just around the corner. O'Grady had a huge season last year, winning two stages on the Dauphine, coming second in Milan-San Remo, claiming an Olympic title in Athens and finally winning his first World Cup race at the HEW Classics in Hamburg. The 31-year-old Adelaider admits it has been hard to better those achievements. However with the Tour de France just around the corner - and Italian

Discovery Channel's George Hincapie has won the prologue of the 57th editionof the Dauphiné Libéré, a 7.9-kilometer individual time trial in Aix-les-Bains. Hincapie surprised prologue specialists with a winning time of 9:55 for the 7.9km individual time trial held in hot temperatures in the historic spa town. Four Americans broke into the top five on Sunday, with Hincapie besting Gerolsteiner's Levi Leipheimer by one second. Phonak's Floyd Landis took fourth, bettering Hincapie's teammate Lance Armstrong by one second. Andrey Kashechkin, of Credit Agricole, upstaged his

Fassa Bortolo dominated the five-stage Tour of Luxembourg, but it’s Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit Agricole) who’s sneaking away with the trophy Sunday. Fassa Bortolo won three stages in four days, but Bodrogi was just fast enough in the deciding time trial to secure the overall victory by just 0.13 seconds. The deciding stage was Saturday's 10.8km time trial when Fassa’s young gun Fabian Cancellara won, but couldn't quite make up enough time to Bodrogi. Despite winning the stage, the difference remained less than a half-second in the overall. An early breakaway Sunday ruined

While the Keystone State already has a town with the name, Philadelphia might want to start thinking of borrowing the moniker “Germantown” for a few hours every year. Ina Yoko Teutenberg (T-Mobile) became the eighth German winner in the 11 editions of the Wachovia Liberty Classic, out-kicking a select break at the end of the 57.6-mile race. The gigantic women’s field was scheduled for four laps of the 14.4-mile lap, but less than half-way through the opening tour a careless cross of wheels sent riders scattering and created the first of several scenes of havoc on a nervous first lap. But as

With three men off the front of the field by more than one minute in the final kilometers of the USPRO Championships, held Sunday in Philadelphia, two truths had become self-evident: there would be an all-American podium, meaning one rider was going to win the race as well as the stars-and-stripes national champion’s jersey awarded to the first American across the line. Out of a dwindling 40-man breakaway that had gone clear early in the 156-mile race, Chris Horner (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and Chris Wherry (Health Net-Maxxis) escaped on the last of 10 trips over the infamous Manayunk Wall,

It’s the stuff of legend, the subject of a recent documentary and the race all North American racers dream of. On Sunday, June 5, the single most important day of racing on the American calendar takes place in Philadelphia — the 156-mile USPRO Championship — and by day’s end, one rider will be crowned U.S. national champion. An open national championship with nearly $150,000 in prize money, the event known as “Philly” is open to riders from Europe and beyond, meaning that there could be two winners on Sunday - the first man across the line, and the first American and subsequent national

Armstrong hunting victory to take into TourLance Armstrong has admitted that his bid for a seventh consecutive yellow jersey on his final Tour de France in July could come unstuck by his recent lack of racing and victories. This week, Armstrong will race the Dauphiné Libéré, which with the June 11-19 Tour of Switzerland is a crucial warm-up before the three-week Tour. In either race, contenders for victory in July usually find out exactly where their form lies. Armstrong, however, has not had the sort of pre-Tour season he would have hoped for. He left Paris-Nice early in March due to

During training before the fourth round of the World Cup cross-country in Willingen, Germany, riders were calling the course boring, not a mountain-bike course. It also was considered the hardest course seen on the circuit this year, due to its steep, long and loose gravel climbs. Come race day on Saturday, it certainly lived up to its reputation for difficulty, and while it was not very technical, the course ended up providing some exciting racing. The pro men’s and women’s races both were decided by less than a minute, with Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida) taking her third win of the

Lampre-Caffita sees the future and it includes Damiano Cunego, but not Gilberto Simoni. According to a report in L’Equipe, the Italian team will extend Cunego’s contract for three more years while Simoni be allowed to leave the team despite finishing second in last month’s Giro d’Italia. Simoni and Cunego have often clashed on Lampre and the former incarnation of the team, Saeco. Simoni, who was already rumored to be in negotiations with Domina Vacanze for the upcoming season, criticized the work of his team during the Giro, above all Cunego, who he said let him down. Cunego responded to

Lance Armstrong makes his penultimate start as a professional bike racer at the 57th Dauphiné Libéré June 5-12 in what will be his final warm-up before the 2005 Tour de France. Armstrong’s European return and a climbing stage up Mont Ventoux highlight the 2005 Dauphiné, which should be one of the most exciting races of the season. The 33-year-old hasn’t raced in Europe since the Tour of Flanders in April and will be among the favorites for the eight-day race, which includes a spectacular course across the French Alps. In addition to the legendary Ventoux, there are two time trials (prologue

Coming off a broken hip in March at Tirreno Adriatico, American Chris Horner (Saunier Duval), the top rider in USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar rankings the past three years, returned to racing on Tuesday in Lancaster, where he finished sixth. He again took sixth in Trenton Thursday, showing his Spanish team directors that he’s on the mend and eager to make his first trip to the Tour de France. A win, or a strong showing, in Philadelphia on Sunday could go a long way to make that happen. We caught up with Horner to pose the questions everyone’s been asking about the Tour and the USPRO

Saul Raisin is back on the bike and preparing for the upcoming Tour de Suisse (June 11-19). The 22-year-old Crédit Agricole rider said he’s been training normally for two weeks following an incident in the opening stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk in early May. A motorcycle knocked him off his bike during the stage, injuring his hip and collarbone. “I am training and riding again. I have been riding on the road for two weeks now and my first race back will be the Tour of Swiss,” Raisin told VeloNews. “I have no set goals but just to finish and help my team as much as possible. It is good

There’s a saying that’s come en vogue these days that’s applicable across many horizons in life: When it’s on, it’s on. And for the domestic Health Net-Maxxis team, the Wachovia Cycling Series has been on. The team followed up its win by Greg Henderson in Lancaster Tuesday with another sprint win Thursday evening in Trenton, New Jersey, this time coming from cagey veteran Gord Fraser. Add in Ivan Dominguez’s win at the CSC Invitational in Arlington, Virginia, on May 29, and the powerhouse team has taken three sprint wins in three consecutive races with three different riders. Looking at the

Dutchman Marc Lotz has been sacked by his QuickStep team for taking blood-boosting drug EPO, the ProTour cycling outfit said on Wednesday. The 31-year-old Lotz admitted in a judicial inquiry that he had taken EPO recently. Later on Wednesday, police announced that an unnamed Dutchman was being held for questioning for suspected sale of doping products, including to Lotz. Agence France Presse Zabriskie on track for Tour?Dave Zabriskie’s impressive Giro d’Italia performance could get him a ticket to the Tour de France. The 26-year-old Utahan won a time trial and finished third in another as

Lancaster, Pennsylvania- Heading into June, the big wins just keep coming for the Health Net Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis. Coming off Ivan Dominguez’s win at the CSC Invitational in Arlington, Virginia, on May 29, Health Net came in to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on May 31 for the 91-mile opening round of the three-race Wachovia Cycling Series as the undisputed top team in the U.S. And the team lived up to its reputation, putting four men into the race-winning 14-rider breakaway and setting up New Zealander Greg Henderson for a bunch sprint victory, beating American national champion

Lance Armstrong will be back in the peloton Sunday for the start of the Dauphiné Libéré, his final tune-up before a run at a seventh Tour de France crown. As the Tour nears, Armstrong took a look at his likely teammates. The Texan will be tackling his final Tour without the help of veteran teammate Viatcheslav Ekimov, who injured his back in a training spill with Armstrong last month. Assured places for the July 3 start of the Tour are George Hincapie, the only rider to be a part of all six of Armstrong’s previous Tour victories, Spanish riders Manuel Beltran and Chechu Rubiera and

Somerville, New Jersey - A trio of trackies came out on top in the62nd running of the Tour of Somerville on Memorial Day, with Snow Valley-SealOn’s Kyle Wamsley netting the team its first NRC win. It was a win that Snow Valley had been looking for since the beginningof the season, when the standout elite development squad from Marylandmade the jump to the professional ranks.“It’s outstanding,” said Wamsley of taking some pressure off the squad.

The final stage of the Giro d'Italia is traditionally a parade into Milan, followed by a series of fast circuit racing leading up to a massive field sprint and this year held true to tradition. The riders lined up in Albese Con Cassano, a small town on the edge of Como decorated in pink to start and then paraded towards Milan, with a stop for gelato and cookies along the way. T he mood was relaxed and the Discovery team staff served champagne to all the other team cars in the caravan during the race. Everything was going smooth until Sean Yates got a flat tire in the first Discovery

MILAN, Italy- (AFP) - Paolo Savoldelli's face looked anything but that of an angel as he struggled to hold on to his pink jersey on the penultimate day of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday. But the 32-year-old Italian, who won the race for the second time in Milan on Sunday, is not known as the 'falcon' for nothing. As Gilberto Simoni led a threatening three-pronged attack in the company of Danilo Di Luca and Jose Rujano on the tough Finestre climb on the race's 19th stage, Savoldelli was left trailing and had lost the race lead - at least at that point on the road. Once

For once, there wasn’t a surprise in the Giro d’Italia. Sunday’s 119km final stage unfolded just like everyone expected, with Alessandro Petacchi riding the fumes of his Fassa Bortolo train to his fourth stage victory of this year’s corsa rosa. Beyond that, there was hardly a day where something unexpected didn’t happen. From Ivan Basso’s stomach problems to Damiano Cunego’s collapse to José Rujano’s near revolt, the 88th Giro has packed plenty of surprises per kilometer. “This victory has been very satisfying because it was a very challenging and interesting Giro,” said Paolo Savoldelli,

Rain gear is usually more critical at Houffalize than sunscreen, but on Sunday riders were wilting in 30-plus degree (Celsius) heat and choking on dust during the third round of the mountain bike World Cup. But the Belgian bakery didn't cook Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida), who took her second consecutive victory over the women's field, to extend her lead over Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects). In the men's race, there was a new face on the top step of the podium - Marco Bui (Full Dynamix). Bui stormed away from the field, as he has done in both previous

ARLINGTON, VA – Ivan Dominguez (HealthNet Maxxis) and Laura Van Gilder (Team Quark) out sprinted their respective break-away companions to win the CSC Invitational on Sunday. Dominguez was the last sprinter standing in a four-man break formed only thirty minutes from the finish. Break mates Kirk O'Bee (Navigators), Ivan Stevic (Aerospace Engineering-VMG) and Bobby Julich (CSC), after trying several times to attack the HealthNet sprinter, could do nothing more than watch Dominguez power out of the last turn and throw his bike across the line for the win. Van Gilder nipped Ina Teutenberg

Paolo Savoldelli’s imminent victory in the 2005 Giro d’Italia is a combination of cunning, strength and luck. Even by his own account, Savoldelli admits he wasn’t strong enough to blow apart the race. Yet he’ll take his second Giro victory within four years. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood sat down with Discovery Channel’s Sean Yates before Sunday’s final stage to get the inside story on Savoldelli’s remarkable victory. Here are excerpts from the interview: VeloNews: What was it like sitting in the team car listening to Paolo having some difficulties?Sean Yates: It was

The Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home team sent a powerful message Saturday at the Kelly Cup, the pro men’s event of the Baltimore BikeJam in Patterson Park. The squad took four of the top five spots in Maryland, spearheaded by winner Aaron Olson and runner-up Mark McCormack. New Zealander Glen Mitchell (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) was third. The top trio was part of a five-man break that went away just a few laps into the race, 40 laps of a 1-mile circuit. After a warm, sunny morning, the race began in a windy downpour as an afternoon storm blew through the city. Bad weather, the subsequent

Michael Carter and Karen Kingsley won the 34th annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road race on Saturday, a Colorado monument with 5500 feet of climbing over its 47-mile course between Durango and Silverton. The 42-year-old Carter (Colorado Velo) emerged triumphant from a three-man battle with Mitch Moreman and the apparently immortal Ned Overend, who were racing for the new Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory team. As Carter assaulted the 10,660-foot Coal Bank Hill, Moreman and Overend struggled to hold the pace. Carter reached the summit first, shot down the wicked descent, climbed alone up

Saturday’s larger-than-life battle over the gravel roads of the Colle delle Finestra was a fitting ending to what’s been an epic Giro d’Italia. Discovery Channel’s Paolo Savoldelli saw his maglia rosa come under fire in the grueling 190km 19th stage after Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) and Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) attacked hard up the fearsome Finestra, but he clawed back to save his second Giro victory in four years with just one day left in the 88th corsa rosa. “I don’t feel like a great Giro champion because I don’t attack and make a dramatic showing like the other Giro

Well, we tried to get another one, but this time it just didn’t work out. We did a lot of work today and chasing that early break from like 30 kilometers or so and pulled the peloton all the way to the base of the Finistere. At least we got to that point… after that, I dunno. The plan today was to do pretty much what we did on Thursday, when Ivan pretty much rode everyone off of his wheel. That and yesterday showed us all that Ivan was capable of doing it, it’s just that he didn’t really have it today. Frankly, after these last couple of days, it really, that shouldn’t come as that big of a

Stage 19 was a nail-biter to watch - all the protagonists were fighters, giving every ounce of energy on the road. Discovery’s Paolo Savoldelli looked to be in danger on the Colle delle Finestre, steadily losing time to Lampre’s Gilberto Simoni, Selle Italia’s José Rujano and Liquigas’s Danilo Di Luca, but he fought back, flew down the descent and chased all the way up the final ascent into Sestriere and essentially won the race, as Sunday’s final stage is sure to be a parade commandeered by the sprinters in the final meters. Rumor has it that on the final stage of the Giro, townspeople stop

Saturday's stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia was an epic battle for the final podium, with more than one memorable moment along its 190km route between Savigliano and Sestrière. Here are a few of them as captured by the photographers of Agence France Press.

Always the crowd pleaser, Canadian Genevieve Jeanson surprised a few people and turned a few heads when she pulled off another World Cup win in Montreal this weekend. She won Saturday's race in similar style to her 2004 victory, taking the win with an uphill sprint finish in the final 300 meters of the race. The international women's field of just under 100 riders found the 12 lap, 99.6km event to be something of a race of attrition. The field stayed together for the first 10 laps of the race, despite a series of early attempts to break away. The attacks that did happen were futile

Paolo Savoldelli and other Giro d’Italia contenders must be quietly thankful that Ivan Basso had his stomach problems. If the Team CSC captain hadn’t come down with a crook stomach and lost 40 minutes over the Stelvio, this Giro very well could have been all but decided a week ago instead of being one of the most exciting in a generation. For the second day in a row, Basso blazed to an impressive stage victory, this time roaring to the first major time trial victory in his career in Friday’s 34km race against the clock in the hills around Torino. “These stage victories make up for the

The competition for the maglia rosa has been tight throughout the Giro d'Italia, and it should reach a climax on Saturday during stage 19, one of the most challenging mountain stages of the race, finishing in Sestriere. With Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) and José Rujano (Selle Italia-Colombia) dropping race leader Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) and edging a little closer to the lead in Thursday's mountaintop finish, and then Savoldelli regaining the lost time in Friday’s time trial, it is hard to predict who will have the lead in Sestriere. Although CSC’s Ivan Basso lost

Well, Ivan has sure proved himself over these last two days, hasn’t he? We had a great team meeting on Thursday morning and we decided that we’re still here to fight and that we were just going to take the bull by the horns that day and not let anyone else dictate the race. Sure it makes sense for us to say that, but you have to admit, after last weekend, it’s something of an act of faith for the guys to believe that, but they did. Really, we were kinda going into the unknown on Thursday. Ivan said he felt good, which was a good sign, but still it means that the other guys really have to

When 23-year-old Markus Fothen returns home to his parents' farm near the Dutch-German border after the Giro d'Italia, the Gerolsteiner rider will be a different man. Before the Giro, which marked his grand-tour debut, he was a young, albeit very talented rider trying to get used to the hardships of pro racing. But if he holds onto his 12th-place spot in Milan, he will have to live with the expectation of becoming the next big thing in German cycling, the idol of German fans in the era after Erik Zabel and Jan Ullrich. His greatest moments during this Giro, Fothen says, came during

Sunday's eighth annual CSC Invitational will unleash a host of national and international cycling champions upon the streets of Arlington, Virginia. Part of USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar, and the second event in the American Criterium Championship Series, the race will pit men and women against a five-turn, 1km circuit. The 50km women’s race is shaping up as a battle among former winners, with 2004 victor Gina Grain (Victory Brewing) facing 2003 champ Laura Van Gilder (Quark) and two-time winner Ina Teutenberg (T-Mobile). A pair of runners-up also will take the start - Shannon

Third brake lever on CSC’s TT bikesDear Lennard,From the UK - watching the TT at the Giro on Eurosport the other day I noticed CSC were running what seemed to be a third brake lever on the aero’ extension. Can you give any insight to this, as there is nothing on the team website - i.e., would it be wired up like a 'cross lever? Why hasn't anyone done it before and so on?Stuart Dear Stuart,A number of people wrote me about this. A lot of people with sharp eyes out there! Yes, David Zabriskie and Ivan Basso placed 1-2 using Cervelo P3s (one aluminum, one carbon) with a second

After the second Giro d’Italia rest day, the competitors were eager to race in stage 16. From the start, the pace was very high and groups of riders were flying off the front. Race leader Paolo Savoldelli’s Discovery Channel teammates had their work cut out for them, as they could only afford to let riders go up the road if they posed no threat to the maglia rosa. The team was forced to chase, and with the help of Fasso Bortolo, which preferred to keep the bunch together for sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, they managed to keep the riders in check until Discovery allowed a group with the right

Ivan Basso won’t win this year’s Giro d’Italia, but a stage victory high in the Italian Alps sent a warning shot to anyone thinks the 27-year-old Team CSC leader gives up easy. Basso doggedly refused to quit despite ceding 40 minutes to what were his fellow overall contenders up the mighty Stelvio last weekend and then roared back to the winner’s circle Thursday with an emphatic solo win in the 194km 17th stage. “I never considered quitting the Giro. I came here to win and when my physical problems wouldn’t allow that to happen, I had to change my focus to winning a stage,” said Basso, who

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve received several e-mails from people asking whether I’m alive. So it’s clear, I am way overdue with a report. The last month or so has been rough, both physically and mentally. Three-quarters of the way through April, while racing here in Bern, Switzerland, in a 1.9.1 UCI race, I had a bit of misfortune. On the last lap, while trying to move up through a corner, I found myself staring at a median and a pole, straight ahead. I tried to move to the right to avoid it, but the field had spread out too much in the turn and there was nowhere to go. A second after