Road

Roberto Heras could finally smile after safely crossing the finish line in Sunday’s 21st stage of the 2005 Vuelta a España. While the race had all but been decided in last weekend’s epic climbing stage, it wasn’t official until he made it through Sunday’s 136.5km finale, finishing 32nd behind stage winner Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo). With that, he rode into the history books by winning a record fourth Vuelta crown. "I don’t know what I will do next year. Right now I want to enjoy this win at the Vuelta, the race that’s given me so much," said the triumphant Heras. Heras’s easiest

The second day at the 63rd International Cycle Exhibition in the Nuova Fiera Milano proved substantially more hectic. In the past the show has been limited to industry insiders for the first two days; this year, only one day was afforded. When the doors opened this morning there was an air of urgency in everyone’s step. For the consumers, it was simple excitement, but for the vendors it was anticipation of a hard day’s work ahead. Highlights Saturday included visits to Shimano and Campagnolo. FSA had Ivan Basso on hand for a marathon autograph session promoting its compact cranks. Components

The lead changed hands yet again in the Tour of Poland on Sunday as Luxembourg’s Kim Kirchen (Fassa Bortolo) won the seventh and penultimate stage. Kirchen edged Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) and Thomas Lövkvist (Française Des Jeux) to win the stage, a 61km leg from Jelenia Gora to Karpacz. Results1. Kim Kirchen (Lux), Fassa Bortolo, 61km in 1:39:002. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas-Bianchi), at 0:023. Thomas Lövkvist (Swe), Française Des Jeux, at 0:044. Jesus Hernandez (Sp), Liberty Seguros, at 0:075. Rubens Bertogliati (Swi), Saunier Duval, at 0:09Overall1. Kim Kirchen (Lux), Fassa

Rabobank has suspended Rory Sutherland, who is a member of the Australian team competing at next week's world road cycling championships in Madrid, over a failed drug test. In a statement Sunday Rabobank announced that Sutherland had tested positive for a banned substance in a control taken during last month's Tour of Germany. "The rider has asked for a B test, and while we don't know what the results of the second test are neither Sutherland or the team will be saying anymore," Rabobank insisted. The Dutch team's statement added that the substance concerned had nothing to

While the Tour de France boasts a seven-time winner and the Giro d’Italia has a handful of five-time winners (Binda, Coppi and Merckx), no one had won more than three Vueltas until this year. On Sunday, Roberto Heras made history when he became the first to win a fourth Vuelta crown after finishing safely in the bunch in the final sprint. Despite crashing in the second week and finding himself up against a stubborn Denis Menchov, the 31-year-old Spanish rider took his fourth victory with one dramatic attack in last Sunday’s stage up the brutal Pajares climb in northern Spain. To add a nice

It was mission accomplished Sunday for Tom Danielson, who shut the book on a solid Vuelta a España performance by finishing eighth overall. That’s the third-best performance by an American in the Spanish grand tour (Levi Leipheimer was third in 2001 and Lance Armstrong fourth in 1998) and bodes well for the 27-year-old’s future. His goal was to simply finish the Vuelta strongly, but once a spot in the top 10 became likely, Danielson changed his focus to defending his place in the GC. He overcame a bad stomach in stage 13 and endured two difficult climbing stages last weekend with the

Michael Friedman (Northwestern Mortgage-Fuji) won the Univest Grand Prix criterium on Sunday from a group of three riders. While the criterium doesn’t hold a UCI ranking like Saturday’s 160km road race, it is still a hard-fought event. The race in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was added last year, transforming the Univest Grand Prix from a one-day classic to a two-day omnium. The 80km criterium is run on a narrow rectangular course with a small hill before the final turn. Friedman, the 2001 under-23 national champion, escaped with Chad Hartley (TIAA-CREF), who finished second, and David Clinger

Ruben Plaza (Comunidad Valenciana) narrowly edged a surprisingly strong Roberto Heras to take the 20th stage of the Vuelta a España, a 38.9km individual time trial from Guadalajara to Alcalá de Henares. Plaza beat Liberty Seguros's Heras by a mere 0.9 seconds to win the stage, but Heras is now virtually assured the overall victory in the race, making him the only rider to win the Vuelta four times. Carlos Sastre (CSC) finished in third for the day and ensuring that he has the same spot on the final podium in Madrid tomorrow. One-time race leader Denis Menchov finished in fourth place on

Milan’s 63rd International Cycle Exhibition kicked off Friday, celebrating Italy’s passion for the road bike and doing so in the massive and very new Nuova Fiera Milano. The new venue put all of the EICMA show’s attendees on the same level: We were all lost and most standing in slack-jawed amazement at the building designed by the famous Massimiliano Fuksass. Its 21,032 square meters of floor space increases the amount of room afforded the show by a whopping 25 percent. The convention center lies just outside of Milan’s city center. It can be reached by a convenient 25-minute subway ride.

Pieter Weening (Rabobank) took the lead in the Tour of Poland after winning the sixth stage on Saturday. Weening won the 153km race from Piechowice to Karpacz in front of Kim Kirchen (Fassa Bortolo) and Thomas Dekker, who moved into second and third overall.

Melito Heredia waited as long as he could before making the winning move at the Univest Grand Prix on Saturday in Souderton, Pennsylvania. With seven laps to go on a grueling 5km circuit, he could wait no more. Heredia, racing for GS Gotham-Toga attacked a breakaway group of 11 riders and rode the rest of the way by himself. "I was thinking about that moment when I was going to attack," Heredia, said after the race. "I know it was early, but it doesn’t matter if it was 10 laps to go. I was just waiting for that moment when my body felt ready." The Univest Grand Prix begins with a 57-mile

This morning Tom and Stijn pre-rode the time trial course, as most of the guys do when they are trying to ride a good time trial, and when they got back to the hotel the verdict was that it was going to be very fast due to a very strong tail-crosswind and indeed it was. It was nice going to bed last night knowing we were going into the last major effort of the 2005 Vuelta. Time trials are usually quite chill days for the riders not seriously contending the race overall or a stage win, so Benjamin and I had time to have a relaxing breakfast this morning, and then were able to read and keep

Unsung German rookie Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner) delivered a surprise Friday to snatch the 142.9km 19th stage while Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) enjoyed a relatively easy day in the saddle with only two days left in the 60th Vuelta a España. Haussler was all smiles as he streaked through ahead of Swiss national champion Martin Elmiger (Phonak) and David Latasa (Comunidad Valenciana) to win his first professional race. The rolling race through the hills north of Madrid proved a frenetic day of racing for riders desperate to win a stage as the Vuelta rolls into its final weekend of

Michael Barry is zeroing in on finishing his third Vuelta a España, but the Discovery Channel rider says the Giro d’Italia is a harder race. Barry rode the Giro earlier this year in support of winner Paolo Savoldelli and the Canadian says he notes a big difference between the three-week tours. “The Giro stages are longer, but this year’s Vuelta is longer than the ones I’ve done before,” Barry said. “In the past the Vuelta has been flat-out racing from the start every day.” Barry enjoyed racing at the Giro, where huge crowds turned out to cheer the peloton every day. A more spirited

Germany's Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) won the fifth stage of the Tour of Poland on Friday. Wegmann outsprinted Filippo Pozzato (Quick Step) and Uros Murn (Phonak) to win the 212km race from Wroclaw to Szklarska Poreba. Italy's Luca Paolini (Quick Step) retains the overall lead by eight seconds over Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) and 12 over Pozzato. American Bobby Julich, meanwhile, finished 10th on the stage and sits 16th overall. Results1. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner, 212km in 5:28:012. Filippo Pozzato (I), Quick Step, same time3. Uros Murn (Slo), Phonak, s.t.4. Danilo Di

After nearly three weeks of racing we are now just two days away from the final stage into Madrid. Today most of the peloton was happy to be rolling off the start line knowing that the race was nearing its end. The night before the start of all races we do during the year, we are given a book filled with maps, altimetry profiles, rules, race history and most everything you can think of that has anything to do with the race we will be competing in the following day. At the start of a one-day classic the "book" is about the size of a two page flyer you might get in the mail. At the start of

Italy's Daniele Bennati (Lampre) won the fourth stage of the Tour of Poland Thursday, held over 213.4km between Inowroclaw and the western town of Leszno. It was Bennati's second stage win in the tour after he crossed the line first in Tczew to claim the second stage on Tuesday. Bennati's compatriot Luca Paolini (Quick Step) earned his fourth consecutive runner-up spot in Thursday's stage to further consolidate his overall race lead. Results1. Daniele Bennati (I) Lampre, 206km in 5:22:512. Luca Paolini (I),Quick Step, same time3. Angelo Furlan (I), Domina Vacanze, s.t.4.

Sometimes it’s cruel that only one rider can win a stage as spectacular and attack-laden as Thursday’s 18th stage in the 60th Vuelta a España. Nicki Sörensen (CSC), Javier Pascual Rodríguez (Comunidad Valenciana) and Chente García Acosta (Illes Balears) went mano a mano in the 197.5km, five-climb march over the final hard mountains of this year’s Vuelta and the Dane came out the winner. The three were the survivors of a 16-man breakaway on a day that saw no major shifts in the overall standings. Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) retained his 4:30 lead with just three stages to go in the 2005

The Phonak team has attracted more unwanted publicity after it refused to allow one of its Spanish riders, Santos Gonzalez, to start the 18th stage of the Vuelta a España following an internal doping control. A Phonak team source told AFP that Gonzalez, who was sitting eighth in the general classification, was refused a start "because during a control he was over the permitted limits set by the team." No further details were divulged to the press, although the team's brief statement suggests that Gonzalez's haematocrit (red blood cell) level may have been near or above the permitted

Christian Vande Velde stuck his nose in the wind in Thursday’s stage, leading the peloton over the final hard climb of the 2005 Vuelta a España up the Cat. 2 Puerto de Navalmoral. The 29-year-old CSC rider was looking to get a head start on the peloton in case there were any dangerous attacks from Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears), the Spanish rider who’s trying to take third place away from Carlos Sastre. "I knew that Mancebo was going to attack again and it was better to get ahead of the storm so I would be there for Carlos," Vande Velde said while he was getting a massage post-stage. "It

I know, I know. Whatever race I am in, whether it is Redlands or the Tour, it is always hardest race on earth. Yes, of course it is always relative, too: Relative to your condition, weather and even to your state of mind. If it is an easier race then you push yourself to kill the others and if it is hard like Wednesday then you hang on and do what you can when and where possible. Some of the teams here are so strong that they are playing battleship with the race. Sending guys up the road to wait for their leaders to bridge from the field and then upon connecting with one another dropping

One of the last big showdowns of the Vuelta is over and now all there is left is the time trial on Saturday. Today, as predicted Mancebo attacked on his home turf but to no avail-he was unable to gain time on his rivals up the final major ascent of the Vuelta. It is a shame OLN didn't cover the race this year as it was an exciting race which raced through some beautiful countryside back home. Levi Leipheimer e-mailed me this morning and said he was disappointed he missed the live coverage of the race on TV. Maybe next year.... Tom and Stijn did a great job today and Tom was able to

Jaan Kirsipuu (Crédit Agricole) won the third stage of the Tour of Poland, held over 212km between Ostroda and Bydgoszcz on Wednesday. Italian Luca Paolini (Quick Step) consolidated his overall lead by finishing second. Max van Heeswijk (Discovery Channel) crossed third. "It was the kind of finish I like," Kirsipuu told Reuters. "There was a small climb and the wind was blowing against us. I decided to stay behind Max van Heeswijk and to follow his pace. With 200 meters to go I made my move and I passed him." Results1. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Crédit Agricole, 198km in 5:38:092. Luca Paolini

Alejandro Valverde is fit enough to make the world road race championships later this month and has been selected for the Spanish squad, the Spanish Cycling Federation's coach said Tuesday. "I've spoken to him and I think he'll be in the best possible condition," said coach Paco Antequera, who said Valverde's indubitable will to win was an additional factor in his decision. Valverde, who rides for Illes Balears, missed the Vuelta a España following a bad knee injury suffered in the Tour de France, where he won a stage. His presence will cheer a Spanish formation already

The Vuelta a España might be all but over as far as the fight for the overall victory is concerned, but the battle is still on for the final podium spots. Race leader Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) only had to follow the wheel Wednesday to protect his 4:30 lead and watch the other top riders duke it out in the four-climb, 165.6km 17th stage. "Another day done," Heras said after finishing ninth in a small chase group. "My teammates were sensational and I felt good. The race was very fast with a lot of attacks, but we controlled them without problems." Carlos García Quesada (Comunidad

I arrived at the Discovery team hotel last night to be greeted by some seriously tired faces. There are three teams here and on each team I saw the same, the tired look did not differentiate between the riders who are leading the race and those that have been suffering at the back. They are nearly at the end of three weeks and the mental and physical efforts have taken their toll. It was a but sad to see only four riders at the Discovery team dinner table last night, but what was even crazier was to see the staff to rider ratio, which is 1:3 at the moment. Unfortunately, the team has had a

Dutch veteran cyclist Erik Dekker on Tuesday ruled himself out of the world road race championships, which begin in a week, due to an ongoing injury to his collarbone. Dekker, who has won several stages on the Tour de France, fractured his collarbone on August 20 after a crash in the Tour de Rijke. "The lack of competition I've had because of the injury - which isn't fully healed - means I have to rule myself out of selection," said the 35-year-old Rabobank rider. Dekker was supposed to return to the fray at the Tour of Poland on Monday but has flu and a sore throat. The men's

Quick Step’s Paolo Bettini was forced to dig deep to win the 16th stage of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday. The 2004 Olympic champion almost ran out of space as Fassa Bortolo’s feared sprint ace Alessandro Petacchi, who has already won four stages in this year’s Vuelta, came surging up on the outside at the end of the 162.5km stage from Leon to Valladolid in northern Spain. Already the winners of four stages in this year's Vuelta, Petacchi's Fassa Bortolo team lost control of the stage on a slight ascent close to the finish and Bettini made his move 300 meters from the line, narrowly

The flat days are misleading in Spain, as I have now learned after racing the Vuelta four times. They are usually in the wide-open countryside and the racing is nervous and not as easy as a bike rider might imagine a flat stage to be. We woke up this morning, ready for a stage without a hill but with about a dozen corners in 160 km and a lot of wind on open stretches of prairie. As we rolled out of Leon, the start town, towards the official start banner on the outskirts, the peloton was already nervous and expecting the race to open up from the gun. It did, and never really relented until

Heras: ‘Race not over yet’Roberto Heras enters final stretch of the Vuelta a España enjoying his largest lead ever in his three previous victories. Heras and his Liberty Seguros team blew apart the Vuelta in Sunday’s climbing stage, putting the three-time champion back into the driver’s seat with just five days left to go. “I will enter the final week with tranquility, confidence and, above all, humility,” Heras said during Monday’s rest day. “I have a lot of respect for my rivals and, just like we saw when I fell last week, the race is never over until you reach Madrid.” Heras entered

Italian Daniele Bennati (Lampre), won the second stage of the Tour of Poland on Tuesday. Bennati outsprinted compatriots Luca Paolini (Quick Step) and Francesco Chicchi (Fassa Bortolo) to win the 226.5km stage from Tczew to Olsztyn. Paolini took the race leader’s jersey from stage-1 winner Baden Cooke (Française des Jeux), who slipped to second at two seconds back with Bennati third in the same time. Wednesday’s third stage will be held over 212km between Ostroda and Bydgoszcz. Results1. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 226,5km in 5:54:372. Luca Paolini (I), Quick Step, same time3. Francesco

The second rest day has arrived and is now nearly gone. Today however was a real rest day, unlike our last “rest” day where we spent a good portion of the day traveling in the team cars. Yesterday, Liberty Seguros rocked the race and flipped the standings in their favor with Roberto now in gold. Not only did their team dominate the stage but also Roberto completely crushed all of his rivals. It is hard to explain how fast he went uphill, how fast the stages have been the last few days, and how strong the Liberty team has been since the start. Despite crashes and losing a rider, they still

The last rest day, and it is a real rest day this time. No trains, no planes, no automobiles. Just riding the bike for 35 easy miles and then eating and massage. Not such a bad day. But we are in León and (sorry Andy Hood) but this place is in the middle of nowhere. Granted, I am sure that there is more to do than ride and massage, but it doesn't take long before all you can see around here is the horizon. We went to a restaurant last night and we ate and drank everything within sight: Pizza, pasta, tiramisu and some freezing cold table wine. The temp helps it go down better. The

Baden Cooke (Française des Jeux) won the opening stage of a glitch-marred Tour of Poland on Monday. The Aussie won a bunch sprint at the end of the 149km stage from Gdansk to Elblag, outkicking Luca Paolini (Quick Step) and Francesco Chicchi (Fassa Bortolo) after more than three hours of racing. The Polish tour, making its debut as part of the UCI ProTour, got off to a dubious start when Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile) - who was only 48 points behind Pro Tour series leader Danilo Di Luca of Italy (Liquigas-Bianchi) in the individual rankings - was one of four riders from Kazakhstan who did

Tom Danielson has one week to go before finishing his first grand tour of his young European career. The Discovery Channel rider is sitting comfortably in the top 10 at eighth overall at 12:05 back. The 27-year-old struggled through a bad stomach in Friday’s stage that nearly took him out of action ahead of this weekend’s epic climbing stages across northern Spain. Danielson struggled through it and now he enters the final week more motivated than ever to finish strongly. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with Danielson during Monday’s rest day in León. Here are excerpts

Roberto Heras usually wins when the road turns uphill, but the three-time Vuelta a España champion won Sunday’s rainy epic thanks to a daring attack going downhill. Heras punched the accelerator on the treacherous descent off the day’s penultimate climb with some 45km to go, opening a small gap on overnight leader Denis Menchov (Rabobank). With four Liberty Seguros teammates waiting up the road, that’s all it took to build the winning difference. "We knew it would be hard today, more so with the rain," said Heras, who won in 4 hours, 53 minutes, 53 seconds. "There’s still another week to

In each grand tour, riders are faced with extremes: extreme weather; extremely hard courses; extremely good legs; extremely bad legs; extremely painful road rash and extremely good and bad moral. After three weeks, nearly every rider in the bunch has experienced each of the extremes. Extreme weather conditions are a natural part of three weeks of bicycle racing around a country filled with varied terrain and climatic zones. The first week of the Vuelta was stifling hot and dehydration and heat stroke forced several riders out of the race. Today, it was the cold and rain that caused the

Australian Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) won a sprint victory in the 73rd Grand Prix de Fourmies-La Voix du Nort in Fourmies on Sunday. McEwen outkicked Stefan Van Dijck (MrBookmaker) and Jean-Patrick Nazon (AG2R Prévoyance) to win the 200km race. Results1. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 200km in 4:28:02 (45.376 km/h)2. Stefan Van Dijck (Ned), Mr Bookmaker), same time3. Jean-Patrick Nazon (F), AG2R Prévoyance), s.t.4. Anthony Ravard (F), s.t.5. Jean-Luc Delpech (F), s.t. Bronzini, Scholz win NurembergAustralian Oenone Wood (Team Nürnberger) clinched the women’s World Cup on Sunday

We started with a small team today, four riders. Given the fact that the team is so small, many of the staff have also packed up and headed home as well. It is tough watching them go home and I felt bad for Triki today as he watched us head off to the race without him. On paper, today was one of the toughest days of the Vuelta with several second category climbs and a hard twelve-kilometer climb at the finish. Thankfully, it didn’t turn out to be all that leg crushing as the peloton was somewhat lethargic and let a dozen or so riders get up the road that were not a threat to the

Poland's national stage race, the Tour de Pologne which begins on Monday, will make a quantum leap from its original incarnation when it hosts the 24th round of the UCI ProTour. The event began as an amateur race in 1928 but has now risen to the highest echelons of pro cycling. Four of the top 10-ranked riders in the individual ProTour rankings - series leader Danilo Di Luca of Italy (Liquigas), Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile), American Bobby Julich (Team CSC), and Italian Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) -- will be among those on the start line in the northern Polish city of

Australian Robbie McEwen warmed up for the world road race championships in two weeks time by winning a sprint finish for the Paris-Brussels cycling classic Saturday in Brussels. The Davitamon rider sprinted home ahead of Dutch rider Stefan Van Dijck (MrBookmaker) and Frenchman Jean-Patrick Nazon (AG2R). "It's a team victory," said McEwen, winner here already in 2002. "My teammates, headed by Axel Merckx, put in great work to chase down the leaders. Then Peter (Van Petegem), Nico (Mattan) and Bjorn (Leukemans) put everything in place to fend off attacks." McEwen notched up his 24th

Way back in the eighth century, King Pelayo won a battle against the attacking Moors at the Lagos de Covadonga that marked the beginning of the Reconquest of Spain, which lasted 700 years. As the Spanish tend to do, they built a huge cathedral marking the spot. Flash forward to 2005 and Saturday’s epic climbing stage high in Spain’s spectacular Picos de Europa, and Roberto Heras unleashed an attack just as the peloton rode past this monument of Spanish fortitude. The three-time champion was hoping - and praying - for a similar turning of the tide in his increasingly vain efforts to shake

Sadly, we are now down to four riders. The bus seemed empty this morning when we had our meeting before the start; we only had five riders on the start line. Tomorrow it will be even worse as Triki had to abandon today as a result of the knee injuries he sustained in yesterday’s crash. The speed was high, very high right from the start. We rode at about 60 kph for the first 25 kilometers. It actually never really slowed down a whole lot as we averaged 49.5 kph for 191km. At one point I heard one of the Fassa riders comment to another that we weren’t bicycle racing but motorbike racing.

All right, so in hindsight maybe my last entry wasn’t exactly spot on. Maybe you could even say that I put a hex on Jakob and myself. But, as they say, hindsight is 20-20 and I am not looking back. I found myself on the deck for the third time. Jakob was so bad that he had to stop the race and spend the night in the hospital. The maids there had some nice souvenirs. We left brand new helmets (broken), a pair of glasses (broken) and some gels (full) and a cap (in great shape!) for good measure. It was a huge pile up and there were more than a few injuries. It always puts things into

Tom Danielson wrapped up his second week in the Vuelta a España solidly in sixth place overall, a result that’s impressed Discovery Channel team boss Johan Bruyneel. “He’s still up there in the GC. After two weeks, he’s done a lot better than we expected,” Bruyneel said after Friday’s stage. “We’re very satisfied with how he’s ridden so far.” Danielson couldn’t quite follow the favorites up the final ramps of the category-three finish on Friday, ceding 44 seconds to the top five but retained his sixth place, now at 5:47 back. Bruyneel said Danielson came into the Vuelta without any

Quebec's reigning road champion Charles Dionne has inked a two-year deal with the ProTour team Saunier Duval-Prodir team for 2006 and 2007. Dionne, winner of the San Francisco Grand Prix in 2002 and 2004, said he initially began talking with the Spanish team after his win in ’04. He put the final signature on his contract only 10 minutes before this year’s race in San Francisco on September 4. “This is the realization of one of my biggest dreams,” Dionne said from his home in St. Redempteur, Quebec. “It took a couple more years than what I thought it would take to get [to race in

It’s one thing to celebrate a win too early at the finish line, but it’s something else entirely to celebrate 100 yards from the tape. Maurico Ardila (Davitamon-Lotto) looked to have the attack-laden 13th stage in the bag when he threw his hands up in victory ahead of Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) and Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi). The only problem was, his victory gesture came as he rode under the day’s King of the Mountains banner atop the category-three finish. There was still another 100 yards or so of asphalt to the finish line and the ever-attentive Sánchez shot past the confused

After close to two weeks of racing and thousands of kilometers coveredthe race for several riders ended today with a nasty crash thirty kilometersfrom the finish. In cycling all of the hard work, suffering, teamwork,training, dieting can be nullified in a second when a crash occurs. This morning we woke up expecting a straightforward day witha little crosswind and a quick run into the finish. The race actually startedoff a little easier than expected with Fassa Bortolo putting their teamon the front from the first kilometers to keep things under control inhopes of another victory for

VdV down again; Danielson okayChristian Vande Velde (CSC) was caught up in Thursday’s big crash that took out CSC teammate Jakob Piil. The Dane was knocked unconscious and taken to a local hospital for overnight observations, but early indications are that he wasn’t otherwise seriously injured. Vande Velde, however, was banged up when riders fell in front of him like bowling pins. “Everyone went down in front of me and I went down on top of them,” Vande Velde said. “I fell on the same place I did the other day. I have a big hematoma there and I kind of aggravated it. I crashed Monday and

Disaster can strike at any time in a bicycle race, just ask Roberto Heras. The three-time Vuelta a España champion was rolling along safely tucked in the main bunch when suddenly someone clipped tires with less than 40km to go in Friday’s 12th stage, causing riders to drop like dominos all around. Jakob Piil (CSC) dropped out with a concussion and Niels Scheuneman (Rabobank) broke his hand, but all eyes were on the frail Heras. The Liberty Seguros rider fell hard on his left knee, leaving him with blood streaming down his leg as he gingerly remounted the bike. Nothing was broken, but Heras

Denis Menchov survived the battle of the Pyrénées and now he’s gaining confidence he can win the war of the Vuelta. The dogged Russian stayed glued to the wheel of Roberto Heras through two summit finishes on terrain that the Spanish rider clearly had the upper hand. “I am starting to believe I can win this Vuelta,” Menchov said as he crossed the line at Cerler with the same time as Heras. Menchov maintained his 47sec lead to Heras and entered Wednesday’s rest day optimistic for what remains of this Vuelta. Difficult climbing stages Saturday and Sunday could be Heras’s last chance to

The Eurobike trade show in Friedrichshafen first opened its doors in 1991. Back then it was a funky little thing that felt more like a gathering of the tribe than the prestigious international event it has become today. Friedrichshafen city’s old trade fair arrangement contributed to that feeling, consisting as it did of a mismatched hodgepodge of creaky buildings connected by a confusing warren of halls and passageways. The buildings were clumped around an irregular courtyard that the Eurobike show filled with test tracks, jumps, a BMX freestyle arena and the inevitable overflow of

The rest day is a couple of hours from ending and tomorrow’s daily schedule has already been placed under our hotel room door. The day flew by, as they all seem to do these days, and I feel a little more rested and the pain in my legs has released slightly as well. We woke up early this morning, early enough that we needed an alarm to get up, to travel to our next hotel that was a road trip away. At just before nine in the morning a motorcade of Discovery team cars rolled out and by noon we were at our hotel and then on our bikes for a small training session before lunch. The ride was low

Is the glass half empty or half full? For opportunists like Jakob Piil, every day that passes is another day that he didn't get to win, so his glass is half full. But for the people just trying to finish and go home, the glass is half empty, with every mountain stage another day in hell. Well, we are really more than halfway there, to be honest. But sometimes those last weeks can feel like much more. With one more rest day, a time trial and a finale in Madrid, things look more or less downhill from here. But since we aren't on the podium yet, we either have to wait for others to

Could Lance Armstrong return to racing next year to clear his name of doping allegations leveled by the French newspaper L’Equipe two weeks ago? Discovery Channel sport director Johan Bruyneel didn’t shoot down that possibility after reports that Armstrong is mulling a comeback surfaced Tuesday. “I’m not counting out anything,” Bruyneel told Spanish television at the conclusion of Tuesday’s 11th stage at the Vuelta a España. “With what’s happened in France, he would have a little extra motivation.” In a story in Tuesday’s Austin American-Statesman, the Texas newspaper reported that

Sweet win for veteranRoberto Laiseka is elusive figure in Basque cycling. Skinny and emaciated to the point of looking undernourished, the 36-year-old simply shows up when he wants to. No one on the Euskaltel-Euskadi can tell him where and when he must race. The veteran races when he feels good. Laiseka felt good enough Tuesday to deliver a much-needed victory for his troubled team, which suffered through the Tour de France and this Vuelta with little to cheer about. So far in this Vuelta, Iban Mayo has abandoned and team leader Aitor González has faded out of contention. “We needed this

Roberto Laiseka doesn’t win often, but when he does, it’s usually pretty good. Take Tuesday’s climbing stage to Cerler, as an example. The Euskaltel-Euskadi veteran attacked a group of five cautious favorites with 3km to go in the grueling 12km finishing climb high in the rainy Pyrénées to sneak away with another impressive mountain top victory. “I attacked because I knew the others would be worried about each other. It was an opportunistic win,” said Laiseka, after finishing 15 seconds ahead of Carlos Sastre (CSC). “I had some luck because I knew the last kilometer was kind of downhill, so

Seat tubes and lube?Dear Lennard,I have been in the bicycle industry for many years and have consistently had conflicting advice about using grease in a frame's seat tube when using a carbon seatpost. With the many materials that frames are using now, are there some frames that should have grease in the seat tube when using a carbon seatpost, or is using grease in a seat tube with a carbon seatpost a big no-no? What do the majority of frame and carbon seatpost manufacturers have to say about this and why isn't it more clear? Also, if grease is a good idea, is there any particular

Sorry about the last two days. It’s been hectic and I haven’t had a chance to write much. The first was the TT and that went pretty well for me and the team. My wife Leah and my dad were there, so I spent some time with them. Dad spent the day hanging out window yelling, as usual, behind me. By the end of the day, the team had three people in the top-15 overall including me! I had dinner with my wife and life was good. So the next day, yesterday, we were ready to do what was necessary to help Carlos in the mountains. I still don't know what happened at the bottom of the first climb,

We are over halfway through the Vuelta and have reached the first rest day. The last two days were tough, with lots of climbs, and a relentless pace in the peloton. Tonight we are staying at the ski station of Benasque, a small little village that attracts Spanish royalty during the ski season and bike racers during the summer. The last two days Liberty Seguros has controlled the race from start to finish despite the fact that they don’t have the race lead. Rabobank, the race leader Menchov’s team, has helped them a little but essentially it is Liberty that has chased everything down. I am

Mancebo gets his winIt’s been a long time coming, but Francisco “Paco” Mancebo finally got his first big-time, grand tour stage victory in Monday’s hump to Arcalis. They eight-year pro has been close before, including second in last year’s final time trial and third in the seventh stage of the 2004 Tour de France, but the 29-year-old Spanish rider had never won a stage in a grand tour. “I’ve been close over the years so it feels good to finally win one,” said Mancebo, who out-sprinted Roberto Heras and Denis Menchov to win. “I’m not one of those explosive riders who can blow up the race. I

The riders are now in the midst of the toughest mountain stages of the Vuelta and the race organization and drug testers are not making it any easier on them, as they put the riders in lousy hotels over the weekend, with loud music playing all night long, making for a lousy night sleep and then woke them up at the crack of dawn for blood testing. While visiting Michael this weekend in Lloret de Mar, I felt like I was having a bad nightmare, in which I was brought back to the ‘70s and stuck in a cheesy all-inclusive family resort. Normally, the guys stay in nice hotels, so this was totally

Francisco Mancebo was dropped at least twice on the grinding climb to the Arcalís ski station high in the Andorran mountains, but each time he fought his way back to rejoin a lead group composed of all of the Vuelta a España’s top players. The Illes Balears captain put everything into a last-gasp dig to bridge back to three-time Vuelta champion Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) and race leader Denis Menchov (Rabobank) with 3.5km to go, then found the legs to sprint to victory in Monday’s four-climb, 206.3km 10th stage. “I won more today with the heart than the legs,” said Mancebo, who nudged

Fabian Wegmann’s first trip to the United States was capped on Sunday afternoon with a tidy profit earned near San Francisco’s Financial District. The 25-year-old German, who rides for Levi Leipheimer’s Gerolsteiner squad, won the 108-mile Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix after catching John Lieswyn (Health Net-Maxxis) and Jason McCartney (Discovery Channel) in the final two miles, then outsprinting the two Americans for the $15,000 winner’s purse. While the sun finally broke through the famous San Francisco fog in time to shine on Wegmann as he sped across the finish line on the

Tom Danielson might have had trouble falling asleep Sunday night a few hours after riding the best time trial of his career, but it wasn’t because of any post-stage euphoria. A karaoke show was in full flight in his hotel courtyard, and he was hoping the singers would shut up soon enough for him to catch some shuteye before hitting two difficult climbing stages in the Pyrenees beginning Monday. Danielson shot to fifth place overall in the Vuelta a España after his strong sixth-place finish in Sunday’s 10th stage around the party town of Lloret de Mar. While revelers were bringing the Spanish

Denis Menchov isn’t one to show too much emotion, but the hard-nosed Russian pumped his fist in elation moments after roaring to victory in Sunday’s 48km time trial along Spain’s Costa Brava. The Rabobank captain took 49 seconds on overnight race leader Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) to win his second time trial of this year’s Vuelta. The victory shot him back into overall lead and pumped new life into the race as the Vuelta heads to back-to-back summit finishes in the Pyrénées starting Monday. “I’m very satisfied with this victory,” said Menchov, who was nine seconds faster than Ruben

For our third day at the Eurobike show in beautiful Friedrichshafen, Germany, let’s take a quick tour of some new brands coming to the U.S., and new products from some established brands. Then, in our final report, we’ll take a look at the scene here, inside the halls and out in the courtyard, in an attempt to convey the unique flavor of this terrific show, now in its 14th year. AX LightnessAX Lightness components, much coveted by weight freaks, have been trickling into the U.S. for a couple of years. Production quantities are small, so they are sometimes hard to find. But if you have your

My roommate, Tom Danielson had a fantastic ride and moved himself up into the top five overall. He is a great time trialist but an even better climber so he is motivated for the coming days. Both of us have been sweating up a storm the last 24 hours as our hotel has no air conditioning and gets direct sunlight for most of the day. We have the door and the windows open to try and get a breeze through the room but it doesn’t seem to be doing much other than attracting the tourists to our room who have no qualms about coming in and saying “hello.” The highlight of the time in Lloret has

Menchov now top rivalDenis Menchov has positioned himself to be the top rival to stop Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) from winning a record fourth Vuelta a España. Menchov, 27, had never won a time trial in his six-year pro career. Now he’s won two in the opening half of the 2005 Vuelta and he’s putting the scare in Heras and his Liberty Seguros team. “The time trial isn’t Roberto’s speciality, so he had a good ride Sunday. We can only be satisfied,” said Liberty Seguros sport director Manolo Saiz. “Menchov was strong today and we’ll see how he can do in the high mountains. He’s very

In 2002, Mario Cipollini won Milan-San Remo, dominated the sprints at the Giro d’Italia, skipped the Tour de France (his team wasn’t invited), returned to the Vuelta a España to win three stages in the first week to abandon by stage eight, then stormed into Zolder and walked away with the rainbow jersey. In 2005, Alessandro Petacchi is close to repeating that script. After winning Milan-San Remo, Petacchi ruled at the mountainous Giro and then skipped the Tour (his team was invited) to arrive fresh for the world title. In Saturday’s 189km eighth stage the Fassa Bortolo speedster put the

The Eurobike trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, is a wonderful place to gather information. It turns out it also is a good place to generate misinformation, as we inadvertently did yesterday. After seeing the Sram road group prototypes, we speculated about the shifting system, noticing that there was one shift lever behind the brake lever on each side, but no apparent way for the brake lever to swing or rotate to provide the other half of the shifting equation. Well, that’s because the one lever does it all. Today, we talked with two people who have used the system -- neither one of

We have finally arrived in Catalonia and are close to Girona tonight. Dede and Liam were at the finish today and I will get to spend the evening with them as well as tomorrow as we’ll be in Lloret de Mar for two days. Lloret is a strange town that reminds me of Niagara Falls. It is overpopulated with tourists and tourist attractions and it not one of the more attractive towns on the Costa Brava. Next to our hotel there are haunted houses, wax museums, and water parks. Tonight we’ll enjoy a buffet dinner with hundreds of sunburned tourists. Today’s stage looked flat on the profile but any

Vuelta race leader Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) faces a major test in Sunday’s 48km time trial in Lloret de Mar. The undulating course zips up down along the entire route with four climbs along the way, including the Cat. 3 Alto de Tossa at 21.4km. The hilly profile should help Heras limit the damage against the time-trial specialists, who will find the technical course provides few opportunities to truly open up the throttle. Heras will have another advantage in that he knows the course well - he lives in nearby Girona. “It’s a hard course and it’s not tailored for the specialists

Though its relationship with the city of San Francisco has occasionally shown signs of strain since its 2001 debut, the annual late-summer race here has gotten nothing but love from the tens of thousands of spectators who come out to watch each year. With a charming Golden Gate city backdrop and ladder-steep climbs, the race that took on the name of its new sponsor a few weeks ago to become the Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix has quickly earned a distinguished place on the American cycling calendar. Or, in the words of the Jittery Joe’s-Kalahari rider Tim Johnson, a veteran of all four

Eurobike, the bicycle industry’s annual trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, opened its doors Thursday for the 14th consecutive year. Although many companies these days are electing to display their new wares earlier in the summer in a race to be the first to capture dealer interest and begin filling their order books, Eurobike is still the first collective look we get at what’s in store for the new year. Unfortunately, 2005 did not treat the European bicycle industry so well. While few companies are willing to disclose hard numbers, the general indication is that bicycle sales have been

Max Van Heeswijk surged to victory in Friday’s seventh stage at the Vuelta a España in his biggest victory of what’s been a bittersweet year for the veteran Dutch sprinter. Van Heeswijk returned to the winner’s circle last month at the Benelux Tour after what was a season beset with personal problems and frustrations. Those are clearly a thing of the past as “Mad Max” charged to his first Vuelta stage win since 1997 in Friday’s chaotic sprint finish. “I knew I was strong today because I flatted but I was able to chase back on quite easily,” said Van Heeswijk, who outlasted Erik Zabel

I spent the first week of the race hoping for cool weather. Then, today we received a small dose, and I decided that the heat isn't that bad. It rained for 15 minutes and I almost froze. Thoughts of, "Be careful what you wish for," instantly popped into my head. It did dry up and then the brutal headwind appeared. I almost felt bad for the Liberty team, as they slogged their way into the wind, as Jakob and I stayed at the back with our pulses around 50 … well, not really. The tension rose towards the end and everyone completely lost their minds and went as if the Vuelta would be won

Vuelta Stage 7The countryside today’s stage passed through had long somewhat-shallow grade hills with wide-open and windy terrain, much like the foothills of Colorado. Michael said that the stage started at a quick pace and the field immediately splintered. The riders had to climb out of Teruel, which is situated in a valley. They raced over a four Category 3 climbs in the first 100km of the 200km stage, which some of the guys in the bunch said felt like more like Cat. 2’s, with some of the guys telling Michael that they felt like the Vuelta race organization was gypping them with the

With Roberto Heras showing such dominance one week into the Vuelta a España, one wonders why he falls so flat in the Tour de France. For the past two Tours, Heras has failed to deliver after making his high-profile departure from U.S. Postal Service at the end of the 2003 season. In the 2004 Tour, Heras abandoned in the Alps. This year he made it to Paris, but he was never a factor in the race. “I am feeling that my body feels 100 percent for this Vuelta,” Heras said. “And during the Tour, it just wasn’t like that, even though this year was better than last year.” The headlines Friday

Tyler Farrar (U.S. National) won the second stage of the Tour de l’Avenir in France on Friday, vaulting into fourth place overall. The 21-year-old Farrar outkicked Borut Bozic (Perutnina) and Hans Dekkers (Rabobank) in a mass-sprint finale to the 107.5-mile stage from Argentré-du-Plessis to Sainte-Scolasse-sur-Sarthe. Denmark’s Lars Bak (Team CSC) retained the yellow jersey ahead of Ukraine’s Denys Kostuyk (Jartazi Granville) and Spain’s Jesus Del Nero (Orbea). The day’s action kicked off early with a five-man break that went clear just 6km into the race. At 115km, with the gap up to more