Road

Cycling-mad Belgians appear more than ready to embrace yet another hero as 24-year-old Tom Boonen claimed victory in the grueling Paris-Roubaix one-day classic on Sunday, his second major win in a week. It was a race for which Boonen became the favorite after his stunning victory in the Tour of Flanders last Sunday, where he decided not to rely on his formidable sprint powers to put his rivals to the sword. And after claiming victory in the 259km seventh race of the ProTour series on Sunday, in which his illustrious predecessors Roger De Vlaeminck, Eddy Merckx and Johan Museeuw have shone

American George Hincapie took a couple of steps closer to realizing a career-long dream on Sunday but the Discovery Channel rider was pipped at the finish line of the grueling Paris-Roubaix one-day classic. Hincapie, who has been a teammate of Lance Armstrong's since the early days of U.S. Postal, has twice come close to winning the race known as the Hell of the North - and twice, in 1999 and 2000, he finished in fourth place. This year the 31-year-old New Yorker grabbed his chance at victory with both hands, getting into the decisive breakaway with all the top contenders with 80km of

The Cobbles of Paris-RoubaixSectionDifficulty (on a scale of 1-5)26. Troisvilles (km 97.5 - 2200 meters)***25. Viesly (km 103.8 - 1800 meters)***24. Quievy (km 106.4 - 3700 meters)****23. Quievy – Saint-Python (km 111.1 - 1500 meters)**22. Escarmain (km 122.7 - 1500 meters)*21. Vertain (km 126.9 - 1900 meters)***20. Du Buat (km 133.6 - 1700 meters)***20. Preseau (143.8 - 2000 meters)*19. Aulnoy-lez-Valenciennes (km 149.7 - 2600 meters)*****18. Famars (km 153 - 1200 meters)***17. Artres - Querenaing (km 155.8 - 1400 meters)***17. Querenaing - Maing (km 157 - 2500 meters)***16.

Dominican national road champion Wendy Cruz captured the inaugural edition of the Tour of Puerto Rico Sunday, finishing third in an 84km criterium through the streets of Hato Rey. Cruz took the race lead on Friday by finishing second in the 152km race from San Juan to Mayaguez. The following morning, he won a difficult 68km mountain stage by outsprinting American Jonathan Baker, who jumped from eighth to second overall. Cruz’s margin of victory was 1:29 over Baker and 1:46 over third-placed Dominican August Sanchez of the Dominican national team. Cruz, 28, also won the race’s points and

With baby daughter Julia Paris cradled in his arms, a physically and emotionally drained George Hincapie finally stood on the Paris-Roubaix podium he’s doggedly pursued for so many years. Standing one step higher was Tom Boonen, the Belgian bomber who swept to an emotional victory in a three-up sprint that also included Spanish charger Juan Antonio Flecha.

LIQUIGAS - BIANCHI1 - BACKSTEDT Magnus SWE2 - ALBASINI Michael SUI3 - GEROSA Mauro ITA4 - LJUNGQVIST Marcus SWE5 - LODA Nicola ITA6 - RIGHETTO Marco ITA7 - SIRONI Gianluca ITA8 - ZANOTTI Marco ITAFASSA BORTOLO11 - CANCELLARA Fabian SUI12 - AUG Andrus EST13 - BALDATO Fabio ITA14 - CHICCHI Francesco ITA15 - CORIONI Claudio ITA16 - FLECHA Juan Antonio ESP17 - ONGARATO Alberto ITA18 - PETITO Roberto ITADAVITAMON - LOTTO21 - VAN PETEGEM Peter BEL22 - DE VOCHT Wim BEL23 - MATTAN Nico BEL24 - ROESEMS Bert BEL25 - STEELS Tom BEL26 - VAN BON Leon NED27 - VIERHOUTEN Aart NED28 - VOGELS Henk AUST-MOBILE

Belgian star Tom Boonen will saddle up as a major favorite for Sunday’s 103rd edition of Paris-Roubaix, the rugged one-day classic that could put the charismatic Quick Step rider on the road to emulating former three-time winner Johan Museeuw. Despite his youthful features, Boonen proved in last week's daring win in the Tour of Flanders that he has no qualms about putting some of the world's toughest and more experienced one-day riders to the sword. And a victory in the Roubaix velodrome would send his growing army of fans into an even bigger frenzy. "We saw it last week - age is

The second annual Garrett Lemire Memorial Grand Prix is scheduled Sunday in Ojai, California. This race, which honors the late Ojai resident and racer, who died in a collision with a car while participating in the 2003 Tucson Bicycle Classic, is part of USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar. Pro women race at 11:30 a.m. followed by the pro men’s at 12:35 p.m. After Lemire’s death, his friends and family created the Garrett Lemire Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization working in the local school system to educate students about cycling safety, fitness, bicycle maintenance and the

Looking at the list of casualties from Ghent-Wevelgem, I couldn't help but shudder. Broken bones; people hitting poles, cars and other riders - I know the feeling. Even the slightest injury or smallest crash has consequences. And the older you get, the more the little things mean. The back gets tight, you pull a hamstring, and bang: You’ve triggered an old injury. Then you can't train properly, or race the next race that will help you achieve your top form when you need it, and you start to worry that you’ll never get back on track. When you’re young, climbing back on the bike is

Paris-Roubaix race organizers, forced by a sinkhole to abandon the infamous cobbles of the Arenberg forest, have unearthed a series of tracks that they say will be just as intimidating in Sunday's Hell of the North. Roger de Vlaeminck who outrode Eddy Merckx in a series of mighty battles to chalk up record four wins in the 1970s has warned riders to be ready for a day of pain. “You need to be fairly agile to avoid the bumps and pitfalls but at the end of the day you've just got to accept you're going to take a fall, dust yourself down and get on with it," said the Belgian who

Di Luca seals VPV dealDanilo Di Luca started Friday’s 9.3km final time trial of the Vuelta a Pais Vasco with a 23-second head start on Bobby Julich. Making up that much time seemed unlikely on such a short course that favored the climbing legs of Di Luca, but with the way Julich’s been riding these days, you just never know. The Liquigas-Bianchi star only needed a quarter of that cushion to score the overall title in the hilly ProTour race in Spain’s Basque Country region. Di Luca finished a strong fourth at just four seconds slower than CSC’s Julich in a rainy, challenging time trial to

The most demanding, exhausting one-day race of the professional road-racing calendar starts at 11 a.m. Sunday in Compiegne, France, just north of Paris. Indeed, more than 20 percent of the course used for the 103rd Paris-Roubaix hardly qualifies as a “road” at all, in modern terms. Nearly 55km of the 259km route consists of 26 sections of bone-rattling, sometimes dangerously slick cobblestones. Known variously as the “Hell of the North” and the “Queen of the Classics,” Paris-Roubaix is one of the most dramatic events in professional cycling. Partly cloudy skies are forecast for race day,

Augusto Sanchez outsprinted fellow Dominican Wendy Cruz to win the second stage of the inaugural Tour of Puerto Rico Friday in Mayaquez. The two were part of a breakaway of seven riders who escaped the field 60km into the 152km race, which traversed the northern coast of the island. The break had a gap of nearly two minutes before the challenging terrain and 90-degree heat clipped it down to 50 seconds and a long climb in the final 15km shattered it altogether. Then, when police could not clear traffic clogging the finish area, commissaire Pablo Antonio Fana Joaquin ordered that the race be

NEW YORK (AP) -- Lance Armstrong is considering retiring after he tries for a record seventh straight Tour de France victory this July. “It's a possibility,” Armstrong said Thursday at a Central Park appearance to support New York's 2012 Olympic bid. “I am still thinking about that.” Comments Armstrong, 33, made to Italian media last week that he missed his kids and the pressure was taking a toll on him fueled speculation that this year's Tour de France would be his last. “Four more months and it's over...,” he was quoted as saying in Gazzetta dello Sport. His new two-year

San Juan, Puerto Rico – TIAA-CREF’s Tim Duggan put the chaos of a hectic morning behind him to win Thursday’s opening time trial stage of the inaugural Tour of Puerto Rico. Duggan awoke to the sounds of a howling wind and a torrential downpour, then coped with a series of logistical and mechanical problems before firing down the start ramp in front of the Olympic House in San Juan. The stage started nearly 20 minutes late and some team personnel found themselves stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic miles from the start/finish line. Duggan said TIAA-CREF was not without its problems, too. “We

Depending on your perspective, Nico Mattan’s win at the 67th edition Ghent-Wevelgem on Wednesday was either one of the most heroic come-from-behind efforts of the season, or it was something that bordered on cheating.

Road size versus 'cross sizeDear Lennard,I'm in the process of purchasing a new cyclo-cross bike and a little confused about the sizing. I currently ride a Trek Madone (M) 56 with a top tube length of 56.2 and this fits me fine. I originally thought I would get a 56 XO1, but according to Trek's website, this is an XL but the top tube length is 55.5, a little less than my road bike, and the stand over height is 1.6 larger than the road bike. Should I be on a 54 (L) with a 54.0 top tube length?Any advice would be greatly appreciated.InsungDear Insung,There is no reason to go shorter

Last time I checked in I had just crossed back over the border from my Mexican adventure. The sunshine and warmth down south seem like a nostalgic memory. After coming home just long enough to catch a cold, I was off again, this time for the first NORBA National in Tapatio Springs, Texas. The NORBA National Mountain-Bike Series had never been to Tapatio Springs before this year and it was at a golf resort so how bad could it be? The weekend started off pretty well with some threatening sky’s but not much more. The TT and Short Track went off with out a hitch but then the rains came. It was

Cofidis’s David Moncoutie won Tuesday's 166km second stage of the Tour of the Basque country between Zarauz and La Lejana on Tuesday. Aitor Osa (Illes Balears)took over the leader’s jersey, after finishing in second position, one second behind Moncoutie who timed 3:52:56. The stage was marked by an early break by Spanish rider Jon Bru who led from the front for 100km before the French rider made a late surge to achieve his first victory in the race through northern Spain. "I studied the route this morning and I realized that I had a good chance," said Moncoutie, who is in overall 23rd

Sandwiched in between last Sunday’s Tour of Flanders and this Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix is Wednesday’s Ghent-Wevelgem, a slightly shorter “semi-classic” which rejoins the sport’s highest classification on the UCI’s new ProTour. When the World Cup was created in 1989, Ghent-Wevelgem had to make due with hors categorie status, as only two events were allowed per country, and Belgium’s Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège occupied those precious spots. Unlike the hilly Flanders course and the heavily cobbled Roubaix, crosswinds often play a major factor at Ghent-Wevelgem, a 208km

It was 1997; Andreas Klier was 21 years old and had just signed his first contract as a pro. One of his first races was Het Volk, the Belgian season opener, and the blond Bavarian from Munich was excited as all hell. This is what he had been dreaming of, ever since he had started racing bikes as a kid in his club in the Bavarian capital. He had never admired the Tour de France riders much – panting up the Alps in the July sun did not seem all that appealing. Spring classics, on the other hand, sparked his imagination: the tough conditions, the cobblestones, the fanatical Flemish supporters.

Liquigas’s Danilo Di Luca won the first stage of the Tour of the Basque Country (la Vuelta ciclista al País Vasco) on Monday, a 133km route that started and finished in Zarautz in northern Spain. Di Luca, who also earned the leader's jersey with the win, finished ahead of Spaniards Miguel Angel Perdiguero (Illes Balears) and Alejandro Valverde (Phonak) in a mass sprint finish. Americans Bobby Julich (CSC) and Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) finished in the main field, while the Discovery Channel's Tom Danielson and Jason McCartney finished at 1:32 and 2:50 respectively. T-Mobile’s

Belgian Tom Boonen has worn many race numbers over his young career, but he may just pin the number 172 he wore at Sunday’s Tour of Flanders on his wall. Boonen, along with the overwhelming majority of the region of Flanders, got what both had collectively wished for when the QuickStep sprinter rode himself into the history books with the biggest win of his young career with a win at the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, or Tour of Flanders.

Petacchi retains ProTour leadDespite Tom Boonen’s stylish victory in Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, Italian sprint ace Alessandro Petacchi retains the overall lead in the ProTour series. Boonen moved into fourth on the point’s scale with 62 points, but Petacchi remains comfortably in the lead with 93 points thanks to his Milan-San Remo victory and success at Tirreno-Adriatico. T-A winner Oscar Freire, who did not start Flanders, remains in second in 78 points. Bobby Julich, winner of the first ProTour event at Paris-Nice, sits fifth at 50 points. UCI ProTour Standings, after four events1.

It wasn’t easy, but after fending off serious challenges in Sunday’s Sunset road race, both Webcor’s Christine Thorburn and Health Net’s Chris Wherry held on to the leaders’ jerseys they’d won in the opening prologue to take the overall titles at California’s Redlands Bicycle Classic. Despite heading a team weakened by illness, injury or plain old attrition, Wherry managed to protect a slim seven second advantage over Australian Trent Lowe of Jittery Joes/Kalahari to earn his first overall title in two years. After marking a late move by Lowe, Wherry threw his arm up in victory as he

Coming into Saturday’s Beaver Medical Group downtown criterium, the day’s objective for both the men’s Health Net squad and the Webcor Builder’s women’s team was not to gun it out for glory points, but to protect the yellow jersey at all costs. With that in mind, the tactic opened the door up for more opportunistic teams to light up the 1.6-km course that winds its way through downtown Redlands. The day did not disappoint. Early in the women’s race it appeared the duel would be between the sprint-heavy Quark and T-Mobile teams. On the second lap T-Mobile’s Laura Kroepsch attacked down the

Northwestern Belgium, also known as the region of Flanders, was brimming with excitement Saturday as the biggest race of the Flemish racing calendar was set to kick off at 9:40 a.m. Sunday morning in the historic city of Brugge. After 256km of racing, 17 hills and 21km of cobblestone sections, the race will end in the city of Ninove, with a new king of Flanders crowned at its 89th running since 1913. An estimated 15-20,000 enthusiastic cyclists participated in an amateur ride over the undulating course of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) Saturday, with a majority consisting of

Health Net-Maxxis rolled into stage 2 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic as the clear favorites for a stage win. After putting four riders into the top 10 at Thursday’s time trial up Mt. Rubidoux, Health Net seemed a sure bet to defend Chris Wherry’s 12-second overall lead, and even extend its dominance over the Redlands field, in Friday’s 107-mile Oak Glen road race. That is, until luck and Trent Lowe (Jittery Joe’s-Kalahari) took a hand. The former left Health Net bruised, battered and ill, and the latter took the stage win. Scroll down for a photo gallery from Casey Gibson Luck launched

T-Mobile TeamDirector: Mario Kummer1. Steffen Wesemann2. Rolf Aldag3. Andreas Klier4. Daniele Nardello5. Jan Schaffrath6. Stephan Schreck7. Serguei Ivanov8. Erik ZabelBouygues TelecomDirector: Christian Guiberteau11. Laurent Brochard12. Chavanel Sébastien13. Mathieu Claude14. Anthony Geslin15. Christophe Kern16. Franck Renier17. Thomas Voeckler18. Unai Yus KerejetaCofidisDirector: Alain Deloeuil21. Jimmy Casper22. Jimmy Engoulvent23. Peter Farazijn24. Jans Koerts25. Thierry Marichal26. Stuart O'Grady27. Staf Scheirlinckx28. Matthew WhiteCredit AgricoleDirector: Serge

German sprinter Danilo Hondo has been suspended by his Gerolsteiner team in the wake of a failed anti-doping control taken March 1, team manager Hans-Michael Holczer confirmed Friday. Team officials said Hondo will remain on suspension until results from a B-test are received. Hondo, 31, faces a two-year racing ban if found positive. Officials have refused to reveal the name of the substance. Hondo, second at Milan-San Remo last month, failed a test during the Vuelta a Murcia in early March where he won two stages. “Danilo swears he cannot explain the positive sample,” Holczer told the

Lance Armstrong voluntarily appeared before an Italian magistrate in Tuscanyon Wednesday in an effort to “clear up questions” regarding an unusualexchange between the American and Filippo Simeoni at last year’s Tour deFrance. The Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Thursdaythat Armstrong requested a meeting with magistrate Giuseppe Quattrocchiin order to clear up threatened charges of “witness intimidation” afterArmstrong chased down a break that included Simeoni for the express purposeof bringing the Domina Vacanze rider back into the peloton. (see "Mercadowins, but

Green will likely be the dominant color at the 21st edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic, as it kicks off Thursday and runs though Sunday in and around Southern California’s “Inland Empire,” the San Bernadino Valley. The usually brown valley – normally dried out by dry Santa Ana winds and the burning SoCal sun – shows something of an emerald tint this year, largely a result of the wettest California spring in recent memory, with more than double the region’s usual annual precipitation in just three months. But green hills aside, the moisture has brought unwelcome hardships to the race

Discovery Channel successfully defended its title at the Three Days of De Panne and barnstormed through the final stage to score important victories ahead of this weekend’s Tour of Flanders. Rising Belgian rider Stijn Devolder scored a major win with the overall title while veteran workhorse Viatcheslav Ekimov proved yet again he’s still one of the best after taking the win in the afternoon time trial. Devolder went into the time trial finale trailing Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Caffita) by four seconds following the morning road stage won by Belgian national champ Tom Steels

Rising like a rocky turret from the flat floor of Riverside Valley, Mt. Rubidoux – site of Thursday’s Redlands prologue – was battered by constant westerly winds that gusted up to 50 mph. It took a combination of strength, perseverance and the right equipment to give Health Net’s Chris Wherry and Webcor’s Christine Thorburn the honors on a more-than-blustery day in Southern California. For the nearly 200 riders who worked their way up the 5km asphalt corkscrew to Rubidoux’s summit, the trip up the mountain was like rolling into a sandy tornado. Riders were initially greeted by a strong

Media speculation about Lance Armstrong’s cycling future hit a fever pitch Wednesday following an interview with the French daily Le Figaro when the six-time Tour de France champion advised journalists to turn up at a press conference April 18 ahead of the Tour de Georgia. “If I were you, I’d go there. I have something important to say,” Armstrong said. “I won’t be doing the Tour forever. But it’s still too early to talk about it. I will announce it to you, to the world, only later.” Armstrong, who turns 34 in September, only reluctantly announced he’d be returning to the Tour this year for a

Depending on your current training cycle, resistance training or weighttraining is often part of the program, while the goals and emphasis ofthe resistance session may progress from an endurance to a power emphasisduring your season. Following specific nutrition guidelines for weighttraining can make the most of these muscle and power building sessions.Hormones in your body, specifically growth hormone, testosterone, insulin,and insulin like growth factor, largely control muscle growth. Nutritioncan very effectively support your efforts to increase lean body mass byaffecting these hormone

Clamping powerDear Lennard,I am hearing that disc brakes can cause the axel to shift within thedropouts when paired with standard quick release skewers causing alignmentproblems in the rotor/caliper interface. Is this true? If so, is movingto a beefier mechanism (such as a new Marzocchi QR20 fork) the only fix?Is there a difference between steel and titanium skewers in this respect?I am thinking of making the change to discs and need to know how much hiddencost there is, new fork, hub, etc.BlairDear Blair,Yes, that’s true. Indeed, the clamping force is definitely less withsome skewer designs

Editor's Note: Nineteen-year-old Larssyn Staley - the 2003 world champion in the junior women's points race - is the only American riding for the Swiss-based Andeer team. Throughout her first season on the continent,the Beaverton, Oregon, native will be sending us updates about life inthe women's peloton and providing a newcomer's perspective on racing in Europe.Two weeks ago I had my first race in Italy. After that race, I couldn’t get over the chaotic mess of the field. However, having that race under my belt, I rode in the field with ease this weekend at The Trofeo Alfredo

Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom), won the Paris-Camembert semi-classicrace in Vimoutiers, France, for a third time Tuesday.Former world champion Brochard crossed the line after 200km of ridingwith a lead of a few seconds over the first group of pursuers, includingsix-time Tour de France winner American Lance Armstrong.Brochard, 37, also won the French Cup event - a one-day race from Magnanville,west of Paris, to Vimoutiers in Normandy - in 2001 in 2003."I have really found my form," Brochard said afterwards. "PhysicallyI feel just as good as a few years ago and mentally I'm

Things are looking up for Christian Vande Velde and his chances to race in the Giro d’Italia next month. The 28-year-old American re-injured his back early in the season, but returned to racing over the weekend with eyes toward helping Team CSC captain Ivan Basso in the season’s first grand tour. “My main goal is still the Giro, even though Bjarne (Riis) is trying to keep the pressure off me, which I totally appreciate,” Vande Velde said. “I know that as long as I’m healthy, I’ll be a great asset to the team, but I don’t want to go there if I'm not a 100 percent for Ivan, because I know

CSC's Bobby Julich continued his great early season form by winning the Criterium International three-stage race as it wrapped up in Charleville-Mezieres, France, Sunday, after dominating the concluding time trial. Julich, the winner of Paris-Nice less than a month ago - the first leg of the 27-race Pro Tour series - won the 8.3km time trial to overhaul Dutchman Thomas Dekker, the winner of the 98.5km second stage which was held in the morning. Julich had come third in Sunday's second stage behind Liberty rider Jörg Jaksche and Dekker. It left the American with a three-second

The final day of racing at the world track championships in Carson, California, featured two themes which had been gaining momentum throughout this four-day event. One was good for Great Britain, the other not-so-hot for the host country. On the upside was the continued rise of the British squad. After placing a solid second behind the Australians on the track at last summer’s Olympic in Athens, the Brits climbed the final hurdle in Southern California, snagging four gold — double that of any other nation racing at the ADT Event Center velodrome. The final win came courtesy of Rob Hayles

Reigning world road race champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) warmed up for next week's Tour of Flanders by winning the Fleche Brabanconne one-day classic held over 198km between Zaventem and Beersel, Belgium, on Sunday. The 29-year-old Freire, who a few weeks ago won the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race, held off Dutchman Marc Lotz of QuickStep and Davitamon’s Belgian Axel Merckx, who took third place after 3:38:56 of racing. Freire was one of the day's main animators, the Spaniard forming part of a 15-strong group that charged out of the main field in the latter stages of the race. The

Bobby Julich is enjoying the finest form of his career, scoring his most important victories in the past month after picking up where he left off last summer with the bronze medal in the Olympic time trial. Over the winter, Julich fully recovered from a broken wrist he suffered during a fall in the stage to Plateau de Beille in the Tour de France. He snatched victory in Paris-Nice earlier this month and confirmed he’s in top form with an equally impressive win in the “mini-Tour de France” in this weekend’s Critérium International. “It’s as if I’m riding a wave after Paris-Nice and I really

Emotions ran high at the ADT Center velodrome Saturday night in Carson, California, when all four finals produced first-time world champions: Great Britain scored gold in the team pursuit and women’s sprint, Australia won the women’s pursuit, and Denmark took the men’s scratch race. The British pursuiters won in grand style, crushing a young Dutch squad in the final by a four-second margin, Defending champion Australia took bronze ahead of New Zealand. “We’ve been getting silver medals year in, year out,” said British veteran Chris Newton. “We were nearly there last year, so this makes up

Dutchman Thomas Dekker, of the Rabobank team, stunned a host of established professionals by winning the 98.5km second stage of the Criterium international race between Vieilles Forges to here on Sunday. The 20-year-old Dutchman's victory gave him the race lead and he is now well primed to take the overall honours after the third and concluding stage, an 8.3km time trial held on Sunday afternoon. (Results are now posted.) Dekker, the winner of last year’s Tour of Normandy and the prestigious GP Eddy Merckx two-man time trial (with Koen de Kort), beat out Liberty's Jörg Jaksche and

Normally if a group of event organizers announced a multi-day bike race that was slated to commence in less than year, but had no title sponsor, a route or even exact dates, you’d chalk it up as the standard baseless hyperbole that has so often characterized proposed cycling events in the U.S. But when AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke backed up the announcement of what will be the inaugural Tour of California with the boldest of statements, you have to believe this event is actually going to get off the ground as planned come February 2006. “The decision we had to make at AEG, and with

Boonen takes E3 Prijs VlaanderenBelgian sprinter Tom Boonen coasted to victory in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen Saturday as he warms up for next weekend's Tour of Flanders, the fourth race in the 27-leg Pro Tour series. Boonen, who rides for Quick Step, crossed the finish line of the 200km race ahead of Germany's Andreas Klier (T-Mobile), who had been the 24-year-old Belgian's breakaway companion for nearly a third of the race. Belgian Peter Van Petegem (Davitamon-Lotto) crossed 10 seconds later for third. Boonen's second consecutive victory here, his fifth win this year, followed

Never in the 40-year history of the kilometer time trial or 25-year history of the keirin had a Dutchman won a world title. Remarkably, within the space of a few minutes on Friday night at the ADT Center velodrome in Carson, California, the men in orange raced to gold medals in both of those disciplines. First Theo Bos, 21, won a superb kilo competition in 1:01.165, a record performance in North America, and then Teun Mulder, 23, took a dominant win in the keirin. “We can train together now in the same jersey,” quipped Bos, whose latest rainbow jersey complements the world title he won in

Spaniard Isaac Galvez (Illes Balears) drew first blood on Saturday as the three-stage Critérium International opened in Charleville-Mezieres. In claiming his first victory on French soil, the former track racer handed another disappointment to one-time sprint king Erik Zabel (T-Mobile), who crossed in second place. Robert Forster (Gerolsteiner) took third. Illes Balears was looking to add another Mallorcan to the roster when it recruited 29-year-old Galvez, a 1999 world track champion in the Madison. And after pulling out of the UCI world track championships being held in Los Angeles

Australia is assured of the gold medal in the women's 3km individual pursuit at the UCI world track cycling championships after Katie Mactier and Katherine Bates qualified for the final. Theo Bos of the Netherlands, meanwhile, rocketed to a 10.192 in 200-meter sprint qualifying and will look to add a second gold medal to the one he collected on Friday in the kilometer time trial. Mactier posted the best time of the Saturday-morning session at the ADT Center velodrome in Carson, California, finishing well ahead of her compatriot in 3 minutes, 38.325 seconds. Bates was second in

Liquigas’s Magnus Bäckstedt charged into the public eye last year when he won the most revered of all the spring classics, Paris-Roubaix, the Hell of the North. In preparing an in-depth feature for thecurrent issue of VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hoodsat down with Bäckstedt earlier this year at Liquigas's team camp.In this, the second part of a two-part interview (clickhere to see Part 1), Bäckstedt recalls the experience of winningwhat has become the most prestigious single-day bicycle race in the world.VeloNews: Were you tapped to be the guy for the cobbles? Magnus

Contador wins Setmana CatalanaSpaniard Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) won the Setmana Catalana on Friday. Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) edged American Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) by just seven seconds to won the fifth and final stage, a 17km time trial around Palau-Solita i Plegamans, near Barcelona. Contador crossed in fourth, good enough for the overall title. Danielson, meanwhile, wound up fourth overall. Setmana CatalanaStage 5, Palau-Solita i Plegamans1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), Fassa Bortolo, 17km in 19:292. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:073.

The fans that almost filled Carson, California’s ADT Event Center velodrome on Thursday night had come hoping to cheer homeboy Colby Pearce to a world championship medal in the points race. But when the Colorado rider failed to break into the top 10, the crowd turned its attention to the last race of the night: the men’s team sprint. With no American team entered, locals chose Great Britain’s Jamie Staff (also a world BMX champion) who lives just down the road, near San Diego, as a local favorite. Staff has been something of a fixture at the new Carson velodrome, training two or three times

Lance Armstrong will return to European cycling next week in a bid to relaunch his Tour de France preparations following an early setback at Paris-Nice earlier this month. Armstrong dropped out of the French stage race, the first of the 27-race Pro Tour circuit, due to illness. However the 33-year-old will get his preparations back on track by racing Sunday's Fleche Brabanconne in Belgium, his Discovery Channel team announced Thursday. Two days later the six-times Tour de France winner, who will bid for a seventh yellow jersey in July, will ride the popular one-day Paris-Camembert race,

Editor's Note: Nineteen-year-old Larssyn Staley - the 2003 world champion in the junior women's points race - is the only American riding for theSwiss-based Andeer team. Throughout her first season on the continent,the Beaverton, Oregon, native will be sending us updates about life inthe women's peloton and providing a newcomer's perspective on racing in Europe.It’s spring here in Switzerland and the air is filledwith… with… well, it’s filled with fertilizer.It seems like every field I ride past is getting covered in fertilizerby the same means by which we water our fields.

Magnus Bäckstedt turned a childhood dream into reality at Paris-Roubaix last April. To just about everyone watching the Hell of the North that day, the big man from Sweden was a surprise winner, but when you listen to Bäckstedt and appreciate the hard work and focus he brings to his job, that win over the cobbles to Roubaix may not have been such a long-shot after all. In preparing an in-depth feature for the current issue of VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood sat down with Bäckstedt earlier this year. In a two-part interview on the eve of the spring classics, Bäckstedt recounts how

Colby Pearce has a great chance to set the standard for the home country when the 2005 UCI World Track Championships get underway Thursday in the ADT Event Center, Carson, California. Pearce, 32, has had a successful World Cup season, with second and third places in the points race at two rounds of the competition. His chance to claim a world’s medal comes Thursday evening. The final of the men 40km points race is the likely highlight of this opening session of the March 24-27 track world’s, and Pearce is going to need all the vocal support the home crowd can muster. Earning a medal will be

Lance Armstrong will race the Tour of Flanders on April 3, but he’ll go as a “domestique” to help longtime teammate George Hincapie, said Discovery Channel sport director Johan Bruyneel. Armstrong hasn’t raced since March 9 when he pulled out of Paris-Nice with a slight fever, but has been building his fitness in training near his European base in Girona, Spain. Armstrong is expected to return to action at Paris-Camembert on March 29, though he still might race at Brabantse Pijl two days earlier. “He’ll go to Flanders as a ‘domestique,’ but not to win,” Bruyneel was quoted on the Spanish

The ABCs of tire sizeDear Lennard,What does the c stand for on a 700c rim and or tire? What unit of measurement is this and how is it determined?BWDear BW,The “c” is not a unit of measurement. It merely designates a certain international rim/tire standard. A 700C rim has a 622mm bead-seat diameter (diameter of the tire bead circle), and you will often find this number imprinted on 700C tires and rim strips. Obviously, there is nothing you could measure on the wheel or tire and come up with 700 units of anything (the outer diameter of a 700C X 23mm road tire is about 668mm).To illustrate the

Davide Rebellin admits it will be all but impossible to repeat last year’s winning streak, when he took a rare treble with a sweep of the Ardennes classics. Coming into the 2005 season, the Gerolsteiner rider is instead hoping to spread the wealth, targeting wins from March to October as he eyes cycling’s new ProTour. Rebellin came up short in last weekend’s Milan-San Remo, but he was one of the main protagonists on the ill-fated attack over the Poggio. That new aggressiveness will be the hallmark of the Italian’s 2005 campaign. Earlier this year, VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood

Chris Horner (Saunier Duval) let his presence be known in dramatic fashion in Tuesday’s second stage of the Setmana Catalana, starting an early sprint and nearly sneaking away with the stage victory. Horner was part of a larger group that chased back on to a front group of 25 riders with 2km to go in the mountainous 168.8km stage from Lloret de Mar to Empuriabrava. Horner started an early sprint, but was swarmed by Italian Claudio Corioni (Fassa Bortolo) at the line to take eighth in his best result so far in his European return. Corioni held off Aitor Perez (Spiuk) to score his first

The finally finally shone on Southern California's San Dimas Stage Race on Sunday as Ivan Dominguez (Health Net-Maxxis) and Tina Mayolo Pic (Quark) won the closing criterium in Old Town San Dimas. Our man Casey Gibson was on the scene, and below is a sampling of what he saw through his lens.

Talk of major changes in the Milan-San Remo route look closer to becoming reality after race officials publicly acknowledged that the Cipressa and Poggio climbs just don’t pack the punch they used to. Race director Angelo Zomegnan told reporters “we’re thinking about” adding another major climb in the final run of the 294km Milan-San Remo which ended Saturday in a bunch sprint for the sixth time in seven years. “A race as long as this and it’s decided in the final meters, does that seem normal?” Zomegnan said. “If you think about it, in 10 years nothing much has happened or not much, except

Imagine that you are a fireman stationed in the small town of Amer in Spain. Now if you really didn't know anything about cycling, I can guarantee thatyou'd think the sport is pretty weird. You’d probably be right, too.You see, the Amer fire station sits at the bottom of one of the veryfew quality climbs within a short distance of Girona. So on any given day,in addition to the usual hard-working firemen washing the trucks and coilinghose, you’re bound to see a steady parade of bike riders, even a grandtour winner or two: Roberto, Lance, George, Tyler, Levi, Floyd, Fred, Michael…need I

Gord Fraser (Health Net-Maxxis) and Erinne Willock (Webcor Builders) took the rain-soaked second stage of the San Dimas Stage Race on Saturday. Fraser won a 24-man dash to the line at the end of the 98-mile Incycle-Cannondale Road Race, run on a 7-mile loop with a flat 1km straight to the finish line. Willock had a wider margin of victory in the 56-mile women’s race, crossing 19 seconds ahead of the raging pack. Tina Pic (Quark) took the bunch sprint with Magen Long (The Bicycle Store) third. General-classification standings were not available. Racing concludes Sunday with the San Dimas

Alessandro Petacchi is now the undisputed king of the sprints following his emotional victory down the Via Roma in Saturday’s Milan-San Remo. Mario Cipollini, who finished with the lead bunch in what he promises will be his last Milan-San Remo, was quick to tip his hat to Petacchi in a clear passing of the baton in the power rankings of the Italian sprinter hierarchy. “I can imagine what he feels at this moment,” Cipollini said Saturday on the Via Roma just three years after he won. “It’s his consecration as a rider of high quality.” It’s also chaos at the finish when an Italian wins the

[nid:30483]There is no longer an asterisk next to Alessandro Petacchi’s palmares. For the sprinter who’s dominated the speed game since his breakthrough 2000 season, Petacchi was being pegged as a man who couldn’t win a mass gallop in long-distance races. The naysayers only pointed to the 2004 Milan-San Remo and the 2003 Paris-Tours, two occasions when the “gentleman sprinter” died – or some say choked – at the line.

Germany’s Trixi Worrack (Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung) won the seventh edition of the 118km Primavera Rosa, the women’s Milan-San Remo, on Saturday. The 23-year-old Worrack jumped in the last kilometer to win the third round of the women’s World Cup by a second over Britain’s Nicole Cooke (Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan) and Australian Oenone Wood (Nurnberger) on the Via Roma de San Remo. In the World Cup competition, Wood leads with 85 points, followed by Worrack with 80 and Netherlander Suzanne De Goede (Van Bemmelen) third with 78.

Start List - Milan-San Remo (as of March 18, 2005)1. Oscar Freire Gomez (Sp), Rabobank2. Erik Dekker (Nl), Rabobank3. Jan Boven (Nl), Rabobank4. Maarten Den Bakker (Nl), Rabobank5. Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Sp), Rabobank6. Karsten Kroon (Nl), Rabobank7. Gerben LÖwik (Nl), Rabobank8. Marc Wauters (B), Rabobank9. Ruggero Marzoli (I), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil10. Gabriele Balducci (I), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil11. Jure Golcer (SLO), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil12. Simone Masciarelli (I), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil13. Bo Hamburger (Dk), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil14. Giuseppe Palumbo (I),

World champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) will saddle up for Milan-San Remo on Saturday as perhaps the smartest bet for victory after the 29-year-old won three stages at Tirreno-Adriatico last week on his way to taking the overall honors. In a race where those who took part were guaranteed long, uninterrupted days of racing, unlike at Paris-Nice, Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) also showed his form, beating the likes of Freire, Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis), Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) and Norway's Thor Hushovd on his way to matching Freire's stage tally of

Tom Boonen says Quick Step teammate Paolo Bettini enters Saturday’s Milan-San Remo as the leader, but didn’t discount his chances if it comes down to a sprint on the Via Roma. “The past two times I’ve raced here I lost a lot on the Poggio, losing my position. The key will be at the front,” Boonen said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport on the eve of the classic kickoff. “I’m sure I will be able to hang on going over the Cipressa and the Poggio.” Boonen downplayed the hint of rivalry between himself and Olympic champion Bettini, who enters La Primavera after struggling with an

Health Net-Maxxis swept the opener at California’s San Dimas Stage Race on Friday, putting Scott Moninger atop the podium followed by three of his teammates. Moninger won the Glendora Chevrolet Time Trial, shortened by rainy weather to just 3.8 miles up Glendora Canyon Road, in 13:33, followed by Chris Wherry at 24 seconds back, John Lieswyn at 0:24 and Mike Jones at 0:35. In women’s racing, it was a pair of T-Mobiles bracketing a Rona as Kristin Armstrong took the honors in 15:46 ahead of Canadian Genèvieve Jeanson at 0:19 and Kimberly Baldwin at 0:31. Stage 2, Saturday’s

Lance Armstrong received yet another award this week after receivingthe Grand Prix de l’Academie des Sports in Paris on Tuesday, where he toldreporters he’s behind in his preparation for the Tour de France. Armstrong said wintry weather at the recent Paris-Nice wasn’t the idealsetting for his return to Europe. Cold weather and a fever prompted theTexan to not start the fourth stage. “Maybe I shouldn’t have started Paris-Nice. It was a hard race, veryfast, intense and with bad weather,” he said. “I must admit I’m a littlebit behind, more than I normally would be.” Armstrong insisted he’ll

Paolo Bettini would rather win the Tour of Flanders instead of another Milan-San Remo. That’s not to say the Cricket isn’t interested in Saturday’s classicissima, a race he won in 2003. “Milan-San Remo is an objective, but this year I really like the Tour of Flanders, a race I’ve never won,” he said in an interview with the Spanish daily AS. “It’s not easy to say, ‘I wan to win a race,’ and later go do it. One of my characteristics is tenacity. When I set an objective, I prepare for it 100 percent to achieve it.” The Quick Step star didn’t have his trademark bounce in Tirreno-Adriatico,

Following his overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico, Spain's Oscar Freirehas assumed the leader's jersey of the UCI's new ProTour race series.Freire moved past the series's first overall leader, American BobbyJulich (CSC). Like Freire, Julich won 50 ProTour points for his overallvictory at Paris-Nice, but the Rabobank sprinter also earned three additionalpoints for his three stage victories in the week-long Italian stage race.The next event in the ProTour is Saturday's edition of Milan-San Remo, a former World Cup event with a points distribution identical to those earned

Dear Monique,Many thanks for all of the nutrition advice recently posted in yourweb column. I had a couple of follow-up questions that I hoped you couldhelp me with. What should my basic caloric intake be on the days that Ido not train or ride, and what should comprise the majority of these calories?I am currently at 145 lb. and want to maintain this weight.Jed H.Dear Jed,Your questions bring up the important consideration of nutritionalrecovery on rest or very light training days. On rest days most enduranceathletes are concerned about not overeating, and adjusting to a drop incalorie

Team CSC boss Bjarne Riis took personal satisfaction in Bobby Julich’s dramatic victory in Paris-Nice. After all, it was the 1996 Tour de France winner who helped resurrect Julich’s fortunes by bringing him into the iconoclastic Danish team for the 2004 season. Julich was quick to praise Riis for his revival. When asked before the start of Sunday’s stage how he could explain his winning ways, Julich gave a precise answer. “One thing and that’s Bjarne Riis,” said Julich, who became the first American to the Race to the Sun. “Bjarne has a gift. He takes chances on people. We all believe in

It's not every day that the President shows up for your bike show. Butas a measure of how important the bicycle industry has become to the economicengine of Taiwan, PresidentChen Shui-bian took a break from his saber-rattling with mainland Chinaover the issue of Taiwan's independence to deliver the keynote speech atthe opening of the 18th annual Taipei International Cycle Show, March 4- 7. With an impressive contingent of gat-packing bodyguards discreetly protecting his flanks for the ribbon-cutting, President Chen proclaimed himself a card-carrying member of the bicycle fan club.

Rabobanks's Oscar Freire won the overall title at Tirreno-Adriatico as the week-long event ended in Civitanova, Italy, on Tuesday. Freire was well-placed in the middle of the field at the end of a race won by Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi who, like Freire, has won three stages in this, the second event in the new UCI Pro Tour. "I did not take part in the sprint, but I am particularly pleased because, apart from winning the race, I won three stages," Freire said. "I didn't expect I would do as well as that." Earning 50 points for the overall title and one point for each of