Road

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

It's good to sit down and count your blessings every now and then. Well, starting with yesterday, the real blessing came in the form of the first 50km of the stage being bagged. That decision definitely had a good impact on moral, especially after what happened on Sunday. On Monday morning, we woke up to pouring rain and, at 7000 feet, the prospect of riding downhill for 40k, after an 11-kilometer climb, was just depressing. We were preparing for the worst, but God bless the peloton's Italian Mafia. The Italians just made it clear: “Hell no, we won't go!” It would have been

Can this Giro d’Italia get any more exciting? Just hold on to your Gucci sunglasses, because it will. With five days remaining and five riders bunched within two minutes of leader Paolo Savoldelli, the 88th Giro promises to be nail-biting right to the end. “With the stages we have left, it truly is still an open race,” said two-time champion Gilberto Simoni after a morning spin on the Giro’s final rest day Tuesday. “The mountain stages are very difficult and I’m sure the time trial will be important, but I think the final mountain stage will be the kicker. It’s going to be a great show for

Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi took his third win in the weather-shortened 15th stage as the Giro d’Italia trudged into its final week. Poor weather prompted officials to move the start to the bottom of day’s big climb, making it a relatively easy, if soggy day in the saddle for the 159 remaining riders. After a long breakaway by Roy Sentjens (Rabobank), Fassa’s silver train was back on track and catapulted Petacchi to an easy win ahead of the sprinter-depleted field. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) came through second while Olympic champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) took third. “Today the

In its first two weeks, the Giro d’Italia covered 2500km between Reggio Calabria and Livigno, a journey that’s only 1600km if one does a straight shot in the car. On Sunday, as the riders entered Livigno after having completed back-to-back, six-and-a-half-hour stages through the Dolomites, they passed a sign on the road that read, "Only 1000km to go.” En route to Livigno, the passed over several difficult climbs, including the infamous Passo Stelvio, where each of the 48 switchbacks are numbered. It was on the Stelvio that the peloton blew to pieces. At the finish line, each rider looked

The mighty 2758m Passo dello Stelvio in Sunday’s three-climb 14th epic stage lived up to its billing and took its toll on the160 ragged riders remaining in the 88th Giro d’Italia. The monstrous climb eliminated Paolo Savoldelli’s most dangerous rival – Team CSC’s Ivan Basso -- but the Discovery Channel falcon quickly found himself having to fend off new ones. Savoldelli kept his hold on the maglia rosa in the grueling 210km march across the Dolomites, but the margin was trimmed to less than a half-minute after the ever-resilient Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) followed an electrifying

Let’s just call today’s entry “How I spent my 29th birthday.” Well, I spent my 29th birthday on my bike… for eight hours…if you count the ride in the neutral zone, the race and the little uphill slog I had to make to the hotel above the finish line. Pretty stupid, huh? To say that today was a long day would be something of an understatement. I’m sure you can imagine that it was a hard day, mentally and physically. Sure it was tough physically, but the mental part was really tough with Ivan suffering as he did. After yesterday, we knew there problems, but he’d only lost a little bit of

Discovery Channel brass is hoping Yaroslav Popovych will be able to carry the torch for the team once Lance Armstrong rides off into the sunset following this summer’s Tour de France. The 25-year-old Ukrainian set the cycling world on notice this week in Spain, winning the seven-day Volta a Cataluyna ahead of a ProTour field that included 1997 Tour champion Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile). “I can't say now I was surprised I won, because I've worked hard in all the time I've been away from racing,” Popovych said after finishing safely in the main bunch in Sunday’s finale. Norwegian

Torrington, CT, May 22—Defending champion Mark McCormack, (Colavita-Sutter home), took both the final stage and the overall victory in the 137-mile Litchfield Hills stage of the Tour of Connecticut. With 14 miles remaining, it looked like the Navigators team had the win sewn up for race leader Vasili Davidenko, as the team was setting tempo on the finishing circuit. It was at this point, McCormack realized, “I had nothing to lose.” McCormack and Todd Wells (Capital Velo) attacked and rode away from both the field and the entire Navigators team. With the gap at over a minute, the time

The Dolomites have taken their toll on the peloton. The legs are aching and the energy is waning. There were 40 riders popped off the back on the first climb of stage 13 and it was not even a categorized climb. The riders were trudging up this steep ascent in their 39x25s and they had five categorized climbs and more than 200km ahead of them. I always know from the sound of my husband’s voice when the fatigue has set in during a grand tour. There is little if any response when I ask Michael questions and the conversation generally becomes fairly dull - I can talk at him, but his energy

French rider Anthony Charteau (Bouygues Telecom) won the battle in Saturday’s 198km sixth stage but Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel) edged closer to winning the war of the Volta a Cataluyna. Charteau was part of a 10-man breakaway that dominated the late going of the 198km hilly run from Llivia to Pallejá. The fifth-year veteran shot clear with just over a kilometer to go to surprise the leaders, including such names as Santiago Botero (Phonak), Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole) and Paco Lara (T-Mobile). No one reacted immediately and Charteau threw everything into the attack to win

Two days, two dramatically different courses - same result. Vassili Davidenko (Navigators Insurance) took the second stage of the Tour of Connecticut almost as easily as he took the first. The “almost” is because on Saturday, he had to climb nearly 8000 feet in 60 miles to win. Still, while he conceded that his form “is good,” Davidenko added that the victory “was about my team.” After a flurry of early attacks, the race found its rhythm - steady-hard at the front, attrition at the back. TIAA-CREF’s Timmy Duggan took off on his own on the third of 15 laps and stayed away for eight.

Well, well, well, this Giro d’Italia just keeps getting more interesting by the day. In Saturday’s 218km grind-fest high in the spectacular Dolomites, Discovery Channel’s Paolo Savoldelli snatched the leader’s jersey away from CSC’s Ivan Basso with a powerful attack on the day’s final climb and proved yet again he’s a top candidate for the overall victory. Savoldelli followed a move by two-time Giro champion Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) midway up the day’s fifth and final climb on the Cat. 1 Pontives. A struggling Basso, weakened by a stomach bug, couldn’t answer as “Il Falco” surged

Iñigo Cuesta gave Saunier Duval its second consecutive stage victory in Friday’s 17km climbing time trial high in Andorra while Discovery Channel’s Yaroslav Popovych solidified his hold on the leader’s jersey. Cuesta won in 37 minutes, 18 seconds, some 26 seconds faster than teammate Leonardo Piepoli, Thursday’s winner. Popovych, making his first race appearance since March because of visa problems, came through fifth and holds a 20-second lead on Piepoli and 59 seconds on David Moncoutie (Cofidis). "I am as surprised as anybody, I never expected this," the former amateur world champion

Davitamon-Lotto’s Australian sprint ace Robbie McEwen, winner of three stages of this year's Giro d’Italia, announced Friday that he was quitting the race after the day's 12th stage. "I'm going home," said McEwen, who is wearing the points leader's jersey. "The plains are behind us now. I'm sorry to leave but after the Giro I've still got the Tour de France and the world championship. To race everything would be too much. It's a big and beautiful Giro. Goodbye to the tifosi!" During his three previous appearances in the Giro McEwen, 32, also quit before the

“I came around the last corner, saw the line, and knew I had to go." Winning stage 1 of the Tour of Connecticut on Friday was that simple for Vassili Davidenko (Navigators Insurance). The Russian sprinter has been on a tear of late, but he needed his team to make the victory happen. The 80-lap race around the half-mile rectangle around the New Haven commons was a festival of speed. Despite a fairly steady stream of attacks, no one could get more than a handful of seconds, and not for very long. With both the Navigators and Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home squads looking to keep things together

Alessandro Petacchi catapulted to his second stage win of the 88th Giro d’Italia in what turned out to be a slow 178km roll between giants. Following the sparks in Thursday’s stage to Zoldo Alto and the epic climbs lying in wait in the Dolomites this weekend, the peloton seemed content to enjoy Friday’s sunny passeggiata from Alleghe to Rovereto. “These sprints after the mountains are always difficult, but the team was motivated to win. I could still feel yesterday’s stage in my legs,” said Petacchi, who won easily ahead of Paride Grillo (Panaria). “This year it’s been harder to win stages,

If you’re not racing mountain bikes in Europe during May, you’re not doing any big races. I’m not heading over until the third round of the World Cup May 29 in Houffalize, Belgium, so that means some serious down time. You might think I’d take some time off, maybe go to a warm beach somewhere, or even just hang out in Durango. But I can’t seem to sit still for a single weekend, so I’ve been hitting the road circuit. It’s a good thing I’m a bike racer. I already got in some good road racing this past February with a six-day race in Mexico. Then, after Sea Otter, I headed to New Mexico for the

The Discovery Channel team had a special visit on the rest day, as Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel flew in for dinner at the team hotel. The two unexpected visitors provided a little extra motivation and shared some laughs with team, especially when the usually shy and conservative looking Tony Cruz showed up to dinner with a Mohawk. After the Giro's first rest day, several other riders in the bunch had trimmed their manes to cool themselves in the mountain stages ahead. Rain threatened much of stage 10, but very little actually fell on the peloton. Aside from the wild ride

As Paolo Savoldelli was winning a stage in the Giro d’Italia, understudy Yaroslav Popovych slipped into the race leader’s jersey in the Volta a Cataluyna in what was a big day for the Discovery Channel team. Popovych finished second to stage winner Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) in the 237km march across the Catalan Pyrénées, which ended with the long summit finish to the Pal ski area in Andorra. “I was more interested in getting the stage win than the lead,” said Popovych, who holds an 11-second lead going into Friday’s 17km climbing time trial to the Arcalis ski area. “I've only

Tour of ConnecticutMay 20-22Start listColavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home1. Mark McCormack2. Juan Jose Haedo (Arg)3. Davide Frattini (I)4. Todd Herriott5. Aaron Olson6. Derek Wilkerson7. Gustavo Artacho (Arg)8. Tyler WrenWebcor Builders11. Charles Dionne (Can)12. David Clinger13. Bernard van Ulden14. Ben Haldeman15. Lucas Euser16. James Mattis17. Marc Collard18. Ted HuangFiordifrutta21. Jon Hamblen22. Phil Wong23. Mike Dietrich24. Chris Rozdilsky25. Larry Perera26. Dan Timmerman27. Matt White28. Josh GewirtzVolkswagen-Trek31. Alexandre Lavallée (Can)32. Alexandre Cloutier (Can)33. Jean Sébastien

MAROSTICA, Italy (AP) - The Union Cycliste Internationale has risen to the defense of teams that were targeted by police raids and criticized the publicity given to the anti-doping operation. The UCI said in a statement Thursday that the hypobaric equipment found in the hotel housing the Davitamon-Lotto team is not illegal, and medicines and bottles from intravenous drips reportedly used by Lotto and Saunier Duval were believed to be legal products. The police raid was carried out after Wednesday's 10th stage of the Giro d'Italia, which was won by Davitamon-Lotto captain Robbie

And then there were two. After months of hype and 10 exciting stages of pyrotechnics, 150 kilometers of pavement up the grinding Passo Duran and to the summit finish to Zoldo Alto turned the 88th Giro into a two-man race. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, but Ivan Basso’s piston-shot legs spun a tale of destruction in his wake. Only the inspired Paolo Savoldelli, the 2002 Giro winner wracked by two seasons of injury and frustration, could hang on. Team CSC’s Basso surged into the maglia rosa after a string of vicious accelerations left his rivals withered on the steep roads in the

Yesterday (Wednesday) was just long and boring, but today sure made up for it. Dead, dead flat and really slow. The only thing anyone was worried about on Stage 10 was that finishing circuit – three laps around a 5.2km loop – with narrow roads and tight corners. But before we got there it was just five hours of absolutely nothing. It was slow and that was it…until we started heading into the circuits. We had moved to the front, to keep Ivan out of trouble and we came to a poorly marked turn, where the peloton was supposed to go right, but a good part of the field was led into the wrong part

Horrillo on the marchIt’s often said Spanish rider Pedro Horrillo is too smart to be a bike racer. After all, he’s a guy who reads philosophy books and studied law before becoming enamored with the bike. But his intellectual proclivities come in handy sometimes, especially in his bids to out-wit the hard-charging peloton. The Rabobank attacker took advantage of a rising finish to hold off the main bunch to snag the win in the 157.8km third stage of the Volta a Cataluyna. Coming through second was Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) while Italian Claudio Corioni (Fassa Bortolo) was third. “It

Carbohydrate supplements Hi, Monique,Thanks for the info you pass along in your articles, they really help in trying to sort through the tons of info that’s out there on sports nutrition. One quick question for you, though: You refer to a "high-carbohydrate supplement" in your article; can you give me one or two examples of a supplement and what amount of carb/kg you would recommend for consumption one hour before training? Thanks.Peter Hi, Peter,Many of these high-carbohydrate supplements can be consumed in the hour before exercise for a handy source of pre-training fuel. They can

Robbie McEwen is a puckish little scrapper who’s made a career of knocking the crown off the big dogs. But pulling a hat-trick against the formidable Fassa Bortolo train in the opening 10 days of the 88th Giro d’Italia is something else. McEwen might as well be called the giant killer of the corsa rosa and the Davitamon-Lotto rider played his David card yet again in Wednesday’s 212km snoozer that started slow, got wet and ended hot across the flats of the Po Valley. With the ominous Dolomites brooding to the north, the peloton was in no hurry to go anywhere until it charged onto three laps

Wow - what a Giro we're seen so far. After two individual time trials, eight road stages, and 1592 kilometers, the top 10 riders overall are separated by two minutes and 11 seconds, the top 20 by 3:48, and the top 50 by 8:29. That last figure alone can be lost on one bad day in the mountains. Heck - it can be lost on one ’Big Bird’ turns pink flamingo. It all started when that character known as “Big Bird” – a.k.a., 25-year-old Australian Brett Lancaster (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) - decided to ditch Sesame Street that evening and ride down the Lungomare Italo Falcomata in Reggio

With two selective stages over the weekend, the strengths and weaknesses of the Giro favorites were displayed. Ivan Basso (CSC) lost a little in stage 7 to Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni (Lampre), while the reverse occurred in stage 8, and Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) was consistent and showed his form is only getting better as the race progresses. Dave Zabriskie (CSC) surprised some by winning the stage-8 time trial, but in my mind, he was one of the favorites going into it. Dave has been knocking at the door of a major international TT win for quite some time. His fifth-place

The rest day and come and gone. I am not sure just how rested I feel and now Stage 10 is on the horizon. I have mixed feelings about rest days. First off, I am not all that sure that they help you that much. In a way, I’d like it if we just got on with it and went home one day earlier. On the other hand, you do need a little respite from the stress of bike racing, just to relax. In that sense, the rest day is “rest” in the psychological sense than it is the physical. Still, I did sleep for two hours this afternoon, so I guess I was a bit tired, after all. One thing about the rest day is

Backstedt carries Gasparotto to win in CataluynaThere’s no better wheel to be on than one belonging to the big Swede with speed, Magnus Backstedt. The 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner blocked the wind and a lot more in the perfect set-up for young Liquigas-Bianchi teammate Enrico Gasparotto, who shot to victory in Tuesday’s second stage of the Volta a Cataluyna. “Backstedt was decisive in my victory today,” said the 23-year-old after scoring his first win in the pro ranks. “He brought me to the front in the last kilometer and accelerated very fast. It was like following a race horse.” Thanks to

If at first you don't succeed... Try, try again. That's the motto being adopted by Fassa Bortolo, who, after several failed attempts, finally got their Silver Train in motion, sending Alessandro Petacchi to the line for his first stage victory of the 2005 Giro. It would have been a travesty if he didn't win. With wide-open streets and generous corners, the stage was tailor-made for his team to deliver their man in fine form to the line. And that's exactly what the team managed to do on Monday, at the close of a 139km race from Firenze to Ravenna. With his lead-out men

Sunday May 15, 2005 -Yesterday (Saturday) was a tough day...I had a lot of flashbacks of riding with Lance and Johann.Obviously we didn't have the jersey, yet. We weren't even planning ontrying to get the jersey, but we had decided as a team to make a statement,so we spent most of the day up front – not chasing an unthreatening break– but riding up there to show that Ivan and the team are here to play offenseand not to be put on the defensive. Ivan and Bjarne are also being verycareful to keep him out of trouble.Thestage was crazy, with its crosswinds and wet roads, so our

Andy Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage) and Ann Trombley (Excel Sports) stood atop the final podium at the Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Sunday, a double-stage day that began with a brutal hill climb and ended in a furiously contested criterium. Racing began with the morning’s Sunshine Canyon Hill Climb, a 9-mile stage that climbed 3300 feet. In the men’s race, Chris Baldwin (Navigators Insurance) initiated the winning move early on the first steep pitch. “There were six guys left, and I’m like, ‘God, this is the race,’” said. Andy Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage), who took second in front of Mitch

Although no cyclist from the University of Colorado stepped atop the podium at the NCCA Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships in Lawrence, Kansas, the team as a whole posted enough top-10 finishes to wrap up the Division I team omnium title on Sunday. After the women’s team of Molly Hummel, Kelly Murphy, Sarah Levy and Melissa Thompson finished third in Sunday’s 12-mile team time trial and the men’s squad of Collin Becker, Josh Bezecny, Taylor Kneuven and Adam Blanchard finished seventh, the Buffaloes topped Cal Berkeley by 36 points. It’s the first team omnium road title for CU

A new technical criterium at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, Arkansas, proved the undoing of Jelly Belly-PoolGel as the 28th annual stage race concluded on Sunday. Scott Moninger (Health Net) leapt into first place on general classification after finishing a close second to Garrett Peltonin (Advantage-Endeavor), who won the fourth and final stage. Health Net sent Chris Wherry and John Lieswyn out to an early lead in the 90-minute race, building a 40-second gap on the main field. Teammate Greg Henderson bridged up as Jelly Belly led a furious chase, decimating the peloton. About

Forty five kilometers is more than enough to sort out the men from the boys and on Sunday the man of the moment turned out to be an American by the name of David Zabriskie, who blazed into Firenze under the Tuscan sun at a fantastic average speed of 46.140kph. It was the second grand tour stage win for this Utah native, who now spends his European summers in Spain and winters in California. His first came not so long ago, on Stage 11 of the 2004 Vuelta a España, where the 26-year-old staged an audacious, 162 kilometer solo adventure of suffering - and then did the incredible by actually

Day two of the 2005 NCCA Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships saw riders tackle the 23.2-mile loop around Perry Lake, roughly 20 miles outside of downtown Lawrence, Kansas. The relatively flat course featured a handful of rolling hills, and the varied terrain matched with gusty winds made for a variety of results at the finish line. The women’s Division I road race managed to stay clumped together throughout the entire two-lap, 56.4-mile ordeal. Early in the race they were packed tightly enough to send several riders to the tarmac, including last year’s road-race winner, Stephane

Anderson, Eposti take stage 2 in BoulderKim Anderson (Colavita-Cooking Light) outsprinted Mari Holden (T-Mobile) to win stage 2 of the Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Saturday, while Paul Eposti (Haul n’ Ass) caught a lead trio napping and slipped past for the victory in the men’s race. The 8.5-mile Boulder-Roubaix circuit, which was mostly dirt, wrought a fair amount of havoc among the peloton. No follow vehicles were allowed, though three pits were set up along the circuit, so when Ann Trombley (Excel Sports) flatted in the early going of the 42.5-mile women’s race, teammate Maatje

Today, the rolling hills of Tuscany left their mark on the 2005 Giro d'Italia, as the first successful breakaway saw 27-year-old Liberty Seguros rider Koldo Gil triumphant in Pistoia. It was a beautiful victory on an ugly day; not just due to the overcast, rainy weather, but for the Sammommé climb that split the peloton into pieces, and most likely dashed the hopes of more than a few overall contenders. Just 12 riders finished 20 seconds in arrears of the victorious Gil – Damiano Cunego (Lampre), Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi), Mirko Celestino (Domina Vacanze), Patrice Halgand

After two days of rain swamped the streets of Lawrence, Kansas, the NCCA Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships opener on Friday was a seminar in crash avoidance, and not everyone passed. “It was pretty crazy for the entire race. I just tried to stay at the front and stay out of trouble,” said Stanford’s Amber Rais, who won the 60-minute women’s Division I race in Friday’s Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Criteriums, run on a rain-slick, L-shaped, mile-long course in downtown Lawrence. After local hero Steve Tilford started the day off with a victory in the 45-minute open crit, the hourlong

The first week of the Giro is finished. The parcours has not been particularly tough in comparison to what lies ahead in the next two weeks, but the riders have still faced many obstacles. With nearly 200 riders heading into the rather technical finishing kilometers of the first week’s flat to rolling stages, many fell victim to crashes. Stages 4 and 6 were particularly messy in the final, with several crashes causing injuries, abandons and lost time. It is amazing to see fallen riders leap up and jump back onto their bikes. They never want to quit. Even when the injuries are bad, the

Baldwin, Holden win Boulder Stage Race kickoffChris Baldwin (Navigators) and Mari Holden (T-Mobile) won the opening stage of the 2005 Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Friday, a short individual time trial that took in the hardest sections of the old Morgul Bismarck course outside Superior, Colorado. Baldwin was the only rider to post a time under 16 minutes for the hilly TT, which climbed 1100 feet in seven miles, ascending the fabled Wall, Hump and feed-zone hills. Baldwin covered the course in 15:42, besting teammate Phil Zajicek by 29 seconds, with Tim Duggan (TIAA-CREF) third at 34

When the sprint is rough, tough, tight and twisty, there's only one person you should bank on. Despite missing the entire spring due to a virus, speed demon Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) is just about back to his best form, winning today's crash-filled finale in Marina di Grosseto with apparent ease. In fact, in a rare show of generosity, the 32-year-old Queenslander tried to give the stage to his fellow Aussie and loyal lead-out man, Henk Vogels, soft-pedaling in second wheel with a kilometer to go, and allowing Vogels to surreptitiously sail off the front. It was a great move,

Who can remember the last time the maglia rosa swapped shoulders every day in the first seven days? We can't. But it's good. Actually, it's great; it means this ProTour thing is working. There's certainly a stronger field of sprinters, as shown by Alessandro Petacchi's lack of success to date. And Fassa Bortolo fan or not, you have to admit it's great to see a new depth to the Giro. But to derail the Silver Train, the other sprinters' teams have brought along quality gregarios, unafraid of fighting the Fassas in the final kilometers, so it's a deeper field

I am officially out of touch with the outside world. I had no idea that they evacuated the capitol and the White House the other day because of what they thought might be some kind of terrorist attack. I don't even know what day that was... heck I don't even know what day this is. My daily concerns tend to focus on just a few things: eating, sleeping and spending the stage helping to keep Ivan out of trouble here and there. We've already done one week of racing and when we're not on the bike, we're often looking for something – anything – to do. That's especially

With a few of the tifosi a little disheartened by what they saw on Wednesday, some may have been hoping to see another of their guys in pink. Well today, Danilo Di Luca gave them their wish. After his performance in L'Aquila, the 29-year-old darling of Italian cycling has surely won all the hearts of his countrymen. As they did at Pais Vasco, Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne and two days ago in Giffoni Valle Piana, his Liquigas-Bianchi team rode their hearts out, setting Di Luca up perfectly for the final kilometer and in a finale like Thursday’s, the speedster from Spoltore proved

It’s the day before the 2005 collegiate road nationals, and already the Kansas clouds have offered up a blustering tempest that would send Dorothy and Toto running for cover. Less than 20 hours before the start of Friday’s race, the entire Manhattan-Topeka-Lawrence area is under an extreme thunderstorm, flood and tornado warning. Still, more than 500 collegiate cyclists – ranging from rosy-cheeked freshmen to bearded doctoral candidates – have descended on the University of Kansas’ hometown in preparation for Friday’s Sunflower Criterium, which spins a 1-mile, L-shaped loop near downtown

Another unpredictable day in Italia. It's the only way to describe this first week of the 2005 Giro d'Italia, where, yet again, on a stage seemingly set for the pure sprinter, things went horribly wrong. Just as he did three days ago in Tropea, Paolo Bettini (QuickStep) foiled the fast guys' plans, attacking with vengeance on a not-so-straightforward finale, then burying the hatchet with a punchy sprint finish. Or so he thought... Only Baden Cooke (La Française des Jeux) had the legs and the audacity to challenge Bettini, but suspect sprinting tactics from the Olympic road champ

The common thread we've seen running through the last two stages of the Giro has involved an early breakaway of riders hoping to stay away for the stage win, but falling just short. In the final kilometers of stage 3, the riders passed over a category-2 climb, and indications of who's on form were provided. All the favorites fared well, but a few stood out, like Damiano Cunego and stage winner Danilo Di Luca. Di Luca has had a spectacular start to the season, with two World Cup victories in April. We could see him in the maglia rosa in the next few days, as he is a climber and can

Wednesday, May 11As I mentioned before, this is my first Giro d’Italia. I’ve ridden the Tour de France before, but this is different. On the surface, the racing is much more relaxed. You have the attacks at the start, then maybe a break forms… and then everything is pretty much controlled until the end, when they pull the guys back and then you see this rush to the line. While it is more relaxed on one level, that changes things down the road, so you end up with some moments when you’re totally bored and others when it’s complete panic. Take Tuesday for example. We were pretty relaxed and

What a difference a year makes. Ivan Basso joined Team CSC for the 2004 season, and under Bjarne Riis’s watchful eye, the reserved, almost shy Italian took a major leap forward in his professional career. Last year he was the only rider strong enough to stay with Lance Armstrong in the Pyrénées and earned a stage victory and third-place Tour de France podium for his efforts. Basso has grown out of his shell with Riis, building the necessary skills to forge that “killer instinct” so necessary to win cycling’s grueling three-week grand tours. Basso is now racing in the first week of the Giro

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Well, the maglia rosa only took a day's leave off Paolo Bettini's shoulders before the 31-year-old Italian decided he wanted it again. When stage winner Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) lit it up on the decisive climb of Santa Tecla, Il Grillo simply hopped, skipped and jumped into the lead group, and held his top-10 position all the way to the end. By virtue of his eighth place in Giffoni Valle Piana, Bettini resumed his place at the top of the leader board, nine seconds ahead of Di Luca and 17 in front of defending Giro champion

Will a 31.7mm bar fit a 31.8mm stem?Dear Lennard,What do you think of using a 31.7 diameter road bar with a 31.8 stem? I'm under the impression that it is widely accepted to be okay. to use 25.8 diameter bars with 26.0 stems, and I do this on three of my bikes as I really like Deda bars, but prefer other stems. I would like to change one bike to a Thomson X4 stem and Deda oversize bars.Shane Dear Shane,The oversized handlebar diameter is done on an inch standard, namely 1-1/4”. Well, 1.25 inches is equal to 31.75mm, putting it squarely between the 31.7mm and 31.8mm dimensions. My opinion

The 88th Giro d’Italia is already in full flight and there’s no more beautiful spectacle in cycling than the corsa rosa. With its passionate tifosi, its dramatic backdrops and action-packed racing, the Giro is the race of the season for many fans worldwide. While the Tour de France has eclipsed its Italian neighbor in statue and prestige in the past quarter century, the Giro looks to be creeping closer to parity with the French colossus. Thanks to a variety of reasons, this year’s Giro is sure to be more thrilling than the Tour and a much more entertaining race to watch. Look at the

It was a battle of the bumping elbows on the mean streets of Santa Maria del Cedro in southern Italy, but fearless Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) slipped through unscathed to claim both the win and the maglia rosa. The first 181 kilometers of the 182km second stage along the absolutely stunning Calabrian coast unfolded pretty much as can be expected, but then things got downright ornery as the peloton bore down on the final 1000 meters. There was an outright rebellion as Crédit Agricole and Davitamon-Lotto refused to step aside for Fassa Bortolo and undisputed sprint king Alessandro

Paolo Bettini couldn’t be happier asking scoring his first career Giro d’Italia stage victory and snagging the maglia rosa for good measure in Sunday’s action-packed first stage. The Olympic champion lived up to his signature nickname, the Cricket, and jumped away from the bunch with a perfectly timed attack to derail Fassa Bortolo’s feared Silver Train in the opening stage of the 88th Giro. “Winning everything together -- the first road stage, my first [Giro] stage and the pink jersey -- is great,” said Bettini, who bounced into the lead ahead of prologue winner Brett Lancaster thanks to

The prologue and the first two stages of the Giro are now completed and the riders are beginning to settle into the rhythm of the grand tour. For the next three weeks, they will pedal, eat, get massage, and try to recover. Being a part of the race is like joining a traveling circus, as everyone moves from one town to the next each day, putting on a show. The same faces appear each day in the peloton, but in a different order, and the ups and downs encountered make each day unique for each rider. The fans along the roadside are often dressed in pink, and even decorate their towns in pink.

Jackson Stewart (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) and Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders) won their respective races in the 32nd Testarossa Vineyards Cat's Hill Classic on Saturday in Los Gatos, California. Los Gatos native Stewart outsprinted his longtime friend, former teammate, and 1998 Los Gatos High School classmate Zach Walker (McGuire-Langdale) for the win. Stewart and Walker, with Ben Haldeman (Webcor Builders) and Glen Mitchell (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada), had broken away with 15 laps remaining. Mitchell lost contact with four laps remaining and drifted back to a chasing trio -

I have to say the Giro is really cool. It’s my first time in this race … in fact, it’s the first time for a bunch of guys, everyone from 20-year-old kids, in their first year, up to Erik Zabel, who is making his first appearance at the Giro at the age of 34. He’s done something like 12 Tours de France, but never the Giro, until this year. The ProTour is part of the reason. Every top team has to be here and riders are looking at the season a little bit differently. Instead of spending May training, they come here to help the team, spin the legs and get some nice weather to boot. I figure

Finishing on the podium Saturday night and just two seconds behind Australian maglia rosa Brett Lancaster, the smart money was on Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) to earn a stage win and take over the leader's jersey at the end of Sunday's 208 kilometer stage from from Reggio Calabria to Tropea. But a short, but steep, final rise to the finish seemed to nearly derail the Silver Train of Fassa Bortolo, opening the door for a well-timed final kilometer attack from QuickStep's Paolo Bettini. Timing his jump to perfection, and reminiscent of the attack that led to his Olympic

Fedrigo claims Dunkirk; Rodriguez third in finaleFred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) finished third in Sunday's final stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk in northern France. Adam Wadecki (Intel Action) won the mass gallop to wrap up the five-stage race, with Tomas Vaitkus (Ag2r) second. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) finished safely in the main bunch to sew up the overall title. Stage 5 results1. Adam Wadecki (Pol) Intel Action, 165.5km in 3:43:192. Tomas Vaitkus (Lit), Ag2r Prevoyance, same time3. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Davitamon-Lotto, s.t.4. Crescenzo D'Amore (I), Acqua & Sapone,

Aussie Brett Lancaster (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) put his gold-medal track skills to good use Saturday evening, winning the short prologue to kick-start the 88th Giro d'Italia and grab the first maglia rosa. The 25-year-old from Victoria posted a time of 1 minute, 20 seconds for the 1.15km prologue, run under brilliant spring skies in Reggio Calabria, with Sicily and the brooding Mt. Etna in the backdrop. The course was peculiar for a grand-tour prologue; long and straight, with nary a curve, it was a drag strip for the start of what should be an exciting corsa rosa. But it suited

Giro Images

Tonkov wins in SpainInstead of racing in the Giro d’Italia, Russian veteran Pavel Tonkov won the opening stage of the Clasica de Alcobendas in the suburbs north of Madrid on a hot Saturday afternoon. The 36-year-old won the opening stage of the so-called “mini-Vuelta a España,” which finished with a Cat. 1 climb atop the Puerto de Navacarrada. The “czar” punched the accelerator with 500 meters to go to finish ahead of José Angel Gómez Marchante (Saunier Duval) and Fran Pérez (Milaneza). “I’m very pleased with this victory. I felt my condition improving by the day and today I proved it,”

2005 Giro d'Italia CoverageTime Trial - May 7Stage 1 - May 8Stage 2 - May 9Stage 3 - May 10Stage 4 - May 11Stage 5 - May 12Stage 6 - May 13Stage 7 - May 14Stage 8 - May 15Stage 9 - May 16REST DAY - May 17Stage 10 - May 18Stage 11 - May 19Stage 12 - May 20Stage 13 - May 21Stage 14 - May 22Stage 15 - May 23REST DAY - May 24Stage 16 - May 25Stage 17 - May 26Stage 18 - May 27Stage 19 - May 28Stage 20 - May 29Live CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageREST DAYLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive

With 12 Aussies, five Americans, two Canadians, a Brit and a New Zealander, there may be a record number of English-speakers starting the 2005 Giro d’Italia on Saturday. The teams arrived on Wednesday evening for UCI medical testing and the team presentation. The race itself gets under way with a 1.5km prologue Saturday evening in Reggio Calabria. After three days of relaxation in their hotels, facing a course whose end you can see from the beginning, riders will be exploding out of the start gate. Discovery Channel’s Michael Barry said everyone is “very eager to get started.” The Discovery

Remember the adage, “Start drinking before you get thirsty?” Perhaps this is a medical truism that isn’t. A surprising article about a study of hyponatremia among marathon runners in the April 14 New England Journal of Medicine may inspire Velonews.com readers to rethink how they drink. Thirteen percent of Boston Marathon finishers who participated in the study by Dr. Christopher Almond et al suffered hyponatremia (abnormally low blood sodium), mostly caused by overhydrating. 1 Three participants had dangerously low levels of blood sodium. The early symptoms of hyponatremia - confusion,

I love the tropics. Before Sea Otter, Meg and I took a trip to Rincon, Puerto Rico, for the Ultimate Dirt Challenge mountain bike race. Rincon is a small town on the northwest side of the island that is legendary for its incredible waves, but for a week it was taken over by mountain bikers. I was lucky enough to find out about this race last year while chasing points for the Olympics and looking for races that were warm and dry as opposed to the wet and dreary Euro races. I can’t say enough good things about the promoters, Doel and Jorge. These guys put on the best race I go to all year. The

Cunego 'ready' for Giro defenseDamiano Cunego said he’s arriving in peak form just in time to defend his Giro d’Italia title. Like arch-rival Ivan Basso, Cunego is also planning on racing in the Tour de France, so both riders are arriving to the Giro a little off peak fitness with the idea of being able to hit their stride for the decisive second half of the Giro. “The victory at Romandie lifted the pressure from me for not having a win so far this season,” Cunego told Datasport. “I had some good feelings in the time trial in Lausanne, but obviously my condition wasn’t at the top. I

From this Saturday’s prologue in REGGIO CALABRIA all the way through to the final sprint in Milan on Sunday, May 29, VeloNews.com is pleased once again to offer live up-to-the-minute coverage of the 88th edition of the Giro d’Italia. With commentary from VeloNews reporters, photos and even contests, viewers can be kept abreast of developments in Italy’s national tour, the first major three-week race to be conducted under the auspices of the UCI’s new ProTour.

Voeckler wins in Dunkirk, Gerdemann takes overFrench champion Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Télécom) won Wednesday’s third stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk, but the real story was new overall leader Linus Gerdemann. The 22-year-old German moved into the yellow jersey (as well as the best climber’s jersey and the young rider’s jersey) in his first race with Team CSC. Talk about some serious podium time. “I have three jerseys, I have three jerseys,” was all Gerdemann could muster after leaving the podium, trying to convince himself what had just happened was real. Gerdemann wisely followed an

There’s no stopping Belgian phenom Philippe Gilbert in France. After taking a pass on the Giro d’Italia because he felt he wasn’t in top form to compete in the season’s grand tour debut, the Française Des Jeux rider scored an impressive victory in Thursday’s 204km second stage to grab the overall lead at the Four Days of Dunkirk. Overnight leader Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) slipped to second after finishing eight seconds back in fifth place. Gilbert charged away from a 19-man breakaway with just three kilometers to go on the course that pounded over two sections of pavé featured in

Tentative start list for 2005 Giro d'Italia - as of Thursday May 5.North American riders in BOLDLampre-CaffitaDamiano Cunego  (I)Gilberto Simoni  (I)Paolo Fornaciari  (I)Evgeni Petrov  (Rus)Andrea Tonti  (I)Marius Sabaliauskas  (Lit)Gorazd Stangelj  (SLO)Sylvester Szmyd  (Pol)Francisco J Vila Errandonea  (Sp)Bouygues TelecomWalter Beneteau (F)Giovanni Bernaudeau (F)Olivier Bonnaire (F)Mathieu Claude (F)Christophe Kern (F)Laurent Lefevre (F)Rony Martias (F)Franck Renier (F)Didier Rous (F)Ceramica PanariaEmanuele Sella (I)Luca Mazzanti (I)Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex)Paolo Tiralongo

Portuguese rider Nuno Ribeiro has been excluded from the 88th Giro d’Italia after blood screenings conducted Thursday revealed hematocrit levels at 52 percent, two points above the UCI’s permissible 50 percent “speed limit.” The Liberty Seguros rider was the only one of the 198 scheduled starters to fail the routine blood tests carried out by UCI officials in Reggio Calabria ahead of Saturday’s prologue start of the season’s first grand tour. A fifth-year pro, Ribeiro was deemed “inapt” and will take a forced 15-day “health stop,” leaving Liberty Seguros captain Michele Scarponi with one

During the build phase of training, higher intensity and longer workoutsrequire more glycogen for fuel and what you eat the in the few hours beforetraining is essential so that you have adequate fuel to train. This isespecially important when you have two daily training sessions. A perfectlytimed and portioned pre-training meal or snack can replenish fuel depletedfrom a previous training session, provide early morning fuel, and superchargeyou for training later in the day.Metabolically speaking, there are two distinct time periods for pre-trainingmeal timing: 2-4 hours before and 30-60

Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) drew first blood in the opening stageof the Four Days of Dunkirk in northern France on Wednesday. The Norwegian national champion held off Jimmy Casper (Cofidis) in the153km stage from Dunkirk to Marcq-en-Baroeul to take the opener and jumpinto the leader's jersey. Jaroslaw Zarebski (Intel-Action) came throughthird. Americans Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) and Kirk O'Bee (Navigators)finished safely in the front group, but weren't in the finale to disputefor the stage victory. Amerrican Saul Raisin (Credit Agricole) and ColombianCesar Grajales

Gerolsteiner’s Davide Rebellin has ruled himself out of the Giro d'Italia only a few days before the prologue in Reggio Calabria, it was reported by the ANSA news agency on Tuesday. The 33-year-old all-rounder had been one of his team's main hopes for the race but Rebellin said he is suffering from fatigue following the three Ardennes Classics. The Ardennes classics include the Amstel Gold Race, the Fleche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège - all of which are raced over distances of over 250km and held within the space of a week. Rebellin became the first rider to win all three of

The importance of gluing in earnestDear Lennard,I read with interest your detailed plan for gluing tubulars in yournewCycling Primer. One thing I left out in my process of gluing on a newtire is to scrape the latex on the base tape on my Vittoria Open Corsa– it did not look like it had anything to scrape. Anyway, since I havealready put a couple layers of glue onto the base tape and mounted thetire, how can I go back and re-scrape and re-glue this tire? Or is it toolate?AndrewDear Andrew,Interesting timing on this, as I just wrote an article on tubular gluingfor the VeloNews issue No.8,

Despite Santiago Botero’s win in the Tour de Romandie over the weekend, Italian Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) continued his hold on the ProTour series lead. After ripping through April, winning the Vuelta a Pais Vasco, Amstel Gold and Flèche Wallone, Di Luca’s lead wasn’t under fire in the last week of the month. Bobby Julich (CSC) and George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) remained in the top 10 with 75 points. Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros), the young Spanish rider who won a stage at Romandie, nudged into the top 10 with 67 points. In the team standings, Rabobank continued its hold