Canadians Seamus McGrath and Kiara Bisaro walked away with stage wins on day two of the Sea Otter Classic mountain bike stage race. But Friday’s time trial didn’t change the names at the top of the overall standings, as American Alison Dunlap and Swiss rider Thomas Frischknecht maintained their GC leads.
The women kicked off racing, taking on the 5-mile TT course under mostly clear skies at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. The course started next to the finish of the dual slalom track, heading up a slight rise before dumping riders onto the raceway tarmac.
There another short
The action was hot despite the cold and rain in Friday’s third stage of the Tour of Aragon in Spain. Constantino Zaballa (Saunier Duval) won a photo-finish, seven-up sprint against Oscar Laguna (Relax-Bodysol) as Denis Menchov (Illes Balears) retained the overall lead.
Zaballa and Laguna were part of a seven-man break that peeled away from the main bunch over the final Category 3 climb about 25km from the finish line, and the chase was on. Illes Balears checked an early move that chugged away over the day’s main obstacles – two Cat. 1 climbs in the opening 90km.
Menchov was part of the
A Spanish judge will launch an investigation into the accusations of professional cyclist Jesus Manzano that a system of organized doping existed while he was riding for the Kelme team.
Although Spain has no specific anti-doping laws, an unnamed Madrid judge said through a statement that he had opened the investigation because of a possible breach of public-health legislation.
According to the penal code, such offenses can carry a sentence of up to six years in prison.
Manzano, who rode with the Kelme team for three years but was dropped from the squad last September, published his
For 16 of the 17 laps in Friday’s women’s circuit race at the Laguna Seca Raceway it seemed that the winner would emerge from the lumbering pack. But after a disappointing ride in yesterday’s prologue, Lyne Bessette (Quark) decided that leaving her fortunes to a field sprint was a bad idea. So with less than a lap to go, Bessette launched a go-for-broke attack on the course’s main climb. And it worked.
“I wanted to take one shot,” said Bessette. “I didn’t want to do two attacks at 80 percent, I wanted to do one at 100 percent. I knew it wasn’t going to come down to a field sprint, because
Representatives of French cycling, which has been rocked recently by the Cofidis doping affair, have agreed that doping testers should be allowed to carry out random controls at riders' homes.
Random dope testing at athletes' homes is against the law in France – however, since the Cofidis affair exploded in January, a number of top riders have spoken out about the need for harsh measures.
A roundtable meeting held in Paris Friday brought together the management of top teams, the French cycling federation, riders and race organizers in a bid to thrash out the possible solutions to the
With 75 percent of the 2.9-mile track on pavement, it was no surprise that road tactics played a big part in the opening mountain bike event at the 2004 Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California on Thursday. It was also no surprise that a pair of supreme riders — Alison Dunlap and Thomas Frischknecht — walked away with the inaugural wins in the first-ever super cross-country.
In the women’s race, Dunlap (Luna) took a sprint win ahead of Canadian Chrissy Redden (Subaru-Gary Fisher). The pair was part of a 28-rider group that separated itself from the field early in the 75-minute race, which
Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) was the easy winner in Thursday’s 167kmsecond stage in the Tour of Aragon in Spain. Russian Denis Menchov (IllesBalears), winner of Wednesday’s climbing stage, easily retained the leader’sjersey in the sunny day in the saddle.Petacchi won by two bike lengths ahead of Massimo Strazzer (SaunierDuval) in the Italian’s first victory since his dramatic breakdown in lastmonth’s Milan-San Remo.“I’m very happy to win today,” Petacchi said. “Illes Balears helpedus control the stage and my team worked perfectly for me in the sprint.The team said this was a stage for
World road champion Igor Astarloa appears set to leave the embattled Cofidis team if he cannot compete in two one-day classics next week.
Cofidis president Francois Migraine announced last Friday that France's top team would be suspended from all racing while an investigation into alleged doping among several former and current riders is held.
The decision meant that another of the team's reigning champions, Britain's David Millar - who won the time trial title in Canada - was prevented from competing in his World Cup track debut at Manchester on Saturday. Millar has expressed support for
On paper a three-kilometer, downhill time trial would seem perfectly suitedto a rider with power to burn and trained in the art of the short hardeffort. As it turned out, that’s exactly the type of ride that did wintoday’s prologue at the Sea Otter Classic road stage race. New ZealanderHayden Godfrey (Health Net) spends a big portion of the season racing theteam and individual pursuits, making his physiology ideally suited forthe sub-3:00 effort.
Godfrey’s win, and Health Net placing all six riders in the top 10,marked the first crack in Chris Horner’s dominance of the domestic racingscene
Last Friday we finished up racing in the Tour of the Basque country. Nice terrain, green hills, and cold wet weather. The race is a five-day Hors Categorie UCI race which many teams have as an objective for the early season or use as a trampoline to gain fitness before the Ardennes classics.
The race offers up undulating and mountainous terrain, with several climbs each day - 25 over the five days - with much of the distance of the race being covered on narrow farm roads.
Our team went to Pays Basque with loose objectives. Floyd knew he would be able to race for the overall but the rest of
While scaled back in size for 2004, the Sea Otter Classic road stage race still aspires to be one of the better multi-day races in the U.S. With only three stages, down from the four in 2003, Sea Otter organizers have chosen to center all of the racing around the grounds of the Laguna Seca raceway, with every stage starting and finishing on the track’s familiar tarmac. Racing commences Thursday, and runs through Saturday.
As the final event of the active California spring stage race season, Sea Otter seems the perfect opportunity for Webcor’s Chris Horner to complete the Golden State sweep.
Tom Boonen (Quick Step) proved he’s the natural successor for the departingJohan Museeuw after the young Belgian won Wednesday’s Scheldeprijs Vlaanderenon the same day his mentor, teammate and friend raced his last as a pro.
In what was the final race for Belgian classics legend Johan Museeuw, fittingly, it was his 23-year-old Quick Step team-mate who took the plaudits.
Boonen, whom many believe is worthy of emulating his revered compatriot, held off Lotto’s Robbie McEwen and De Nardi's Simone Cadamuro at the finish line of the 200km race between Antwerp and Schoten. It was his second
The doping investigation which prompted France’s top team to withdraw from competition has already cast a deep shadow over July's Tour de France. The Cofidis affair has stirred up memories of the 1998 "Tour of Shame" which was rocked by police raids and led to the Festina trial in 2000 in which Richard Virenque and his teammates revealed the widespread use of doping in cycling.
Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc has so far declined to take any measures against Cofidis, even though he has already barred Spanish team Kelme from the race on doping grounds.
"Let's be patient. Let's
Dear Monique,Since the beginning of the year, I've been exercising regularly to lose weight. As a former competitive cyclist, my preferred method, up to this point, has been to take part in "spinning" sessions, or riding my indoor trainer, four to five days per week. I've also recently started to mix in some moderate weight/resistance training two to three times per week.
Here's my problem. Since the beginning of January, when I started my routine on a more regular basis, I have not been able to lose a single pound. According to my heart rate monitor, I've burned enough calories in four
Dear Lennard,I would like to know how to assess whether a bicycle crank arm or the pedal shaft is bent following a road crash or just hitting an object with the pedal as often happens off-road.
Apart from obvious signs like the crank arm hitting the frame or other visible damage, there should be a way to determine that the pedal shaft is perfectly horizontal and 90 degrees to the frame. Hitting an object with the pedal may slightly bend parts upward when the pedal is at the bottom. Then when the pedal is at the 12 o'clock position the damage is effectively doubled as the effective bend is
French rider Franck Bouyer (La Boulangère) won the Paris-Camembert race in France on Tuesday, edging Thomas Lovkist (FDJeux.com) to take the French semi-classic.
Bouyer, a winner of a stage last week in the Circuit de la Sarthe, escaped with Lovkist and held off the Swede to take the victory. Johan Coenem (Mr Bookmaker) led the main bunch in at 20 seconds back.
Paris-Camembert was the sixth leg of the French Cup series and Bouyer moves into third overall behind series leader Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole).
65th Paris-Camembert Lepetit (FRA 1.2)1. Franck Bouyer (F), La Boulangère, 4:29
Dear Joe,I am 41-years-old and I do just about any activity that involves cycling, including triathlons and duathlons. One of the things that I noticed is that I can maintain a higher heart rate running than I can while on my bike.
Is there a different lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR) for running than there is for cycling?Thank you,Steven Crane
Dear Steven,Yes. Actually, this is quite normal for an athlete to have differences in heart rate at lactate threshold for different sports.
Part of the answer involves the amount of muscle fibers used within different sports. Running simply
Bobby Julich (Team CSC) is scheduled to fly to the United States on Tuesday, where he will race in the Tour of Georgia later this month.
It’s the first time the American has raced in front of the home crowd since 1996 and Julich is expecting a strong race following his impressive spring campaign in Europe.
Julich finished third at Paris-Nice in March and won the final time trial at the Tour of the Basque Country on Friday, his first win in Europe since 1997.
“Anything that happens in Georgia now will be icing on the cake,” Julich said after nipping compatriot Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) by
Australian veteran Scott Sunderland couldn't have asked for a better debut on the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, the third round in the ten-race World Cup on Sunday.
Sunderland, at 37 made his debut on the world's toughest one-day cycling race over 261 km - 51 of which were over 26 bike-rattling cobblestones. Afterwards, the Aussie positively gushed with delight as teammate Magnus Backstedt secured an historic victory for Sweden, and for their Italian team Alessio. Backstedt, a 29-year-old sprinter, signaled his intentions with a second place finish behind Tom Boonen in Wednesday's
FDJeux.com’s Baden Cooke said Monday that he is about to file suit against a French newspaper over an article suggesting that he had injected himself with a banned stimulant.
Tuesday's edition of Le Monde includes extracts from a telephone conversation recorded by the police in September 2001. In it French cyclist Philippe Boyer, who was handed a one year prison sentence last year for drug trafficking, is claimed to be talking to a supposed friend of Cooke's, a woman called Sandrine.
She tells Boyer that Cooke, who won the Tour de France green points jersey last year, had felt ill after
Magnus Backstedt (Alessio) was as surprised as anyone after realizing a childhood dream by winning the 102nd edition of Paris-Roubaix in a sprint finish on Sunday.
The big Swede, 6-foot-3 and just under 200 pounds, outsprinted Tristan Hoffman (CSC) and Roger Hammond (MrBookmaker.com) to win the grueling 261km “Hell of the North.”
One of the greatest episodes in the history of cycling's World Cup will come to an end Sunday when Belgian classics king Johan Museeuw races his final Paris-Roubaix.
Considered the toughest one-day race in the world, the French classic needs no introduction. Tour de France legend Bernard Hinault once described it in less-than-glowing terms.
"It's not a race, it's more like a cyclo-cross," raged Hinault, who, nonetheless, had to have a go and eventually tamed the "Hell of the North" himself in 1981.
The 38-year-old Museeuw, who will finally hang up his wheels three days afterwards at the GP
As a former two-time winner of Paris-Roubaix, Marc Madiot knows all about the effects the weather can have on anyone's chances of victory on the race known as the "Hell of the North.”
Madiot, now the team manager with Fdjeux.com, won the race in 1985, sandwiched in between the two victories of Irish sprinter Sean Kelly, then did it again six years later, in 1991.
In good conditions, Paris-Roubaix is enough to give any pro rider cause for concern. But add a sprinkling of rain on one of the race's 26 cobblestone sections, and buoyant hopes of victory can soon drown in despair.
"When it
Cofidis, the sponsor of France's top cycling team, has made no decision on its future in the sport following its decision to pull the team out of all competitions.
The credit company's president, Francois Migraine, said very little after an emergency meeting Saturday in Marcq-en-Baroeil, France, with his team managers and a select few riders.
"It was a discussion between me and them," said Migraine.
Team sprinter Jimmy Casper, meanwhile, said Cofidis simply wanted to put things right and expressed confidence that its future could be assured.
"The boss told us we have to get back on the
During the days preceding Paris-Roubaix, the talk is often of the weather, which, over the years, has often put the hell in the Hell of the North at this one-of-a-kind spring classic.
TUNE IN TO VELONEWS.COM beginning at 8 a.m. Eastern time Sunday for our live updates from the 102nd Paris-Roubaix, with on-the-spot assistance from VeloNews editor Kip Mikler, European correspondent Andrew Hood and photographer Graham Watson.
If it rains for Sunday’s 102nd running of the race, as it did memorably two years ago, the 26 cobblestone sections of the 261km route will become the enemy of the 184
American Jennie Reed won gold in the keirin on Saturday during round three of the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester, England.
Reed, of Kirkland, Washington, fourth in yesterday’s women's sprint, beat Susan Panzer (Germany) and Daniela Larreal (Venezuela) in the keirin to take the first gold medal of the event for the United States.
ResultsWomen500 meter time trial1. Yvonne Hijgenaar (Ned) 35.1892. Yonghua Jiang (Chn) 35.3103. Victoria Pendleton (GB) 35.4993000 meter individual pursuit1. Katherine Bates (Aus), 3:35.352, beat 2. Emma Davies (GB), 3:42.768; 3. Hanka Kupfernagel (G), 3:43.275,
Johan Museeuw seeks a record-equaling fourth victory in the Paris-Roubaix classic on Sunday, knowing that most of his rivals come from within his own Quick Step-Davitamon team.
Victory would put Museeuw on a par with compatriot Roger de Vlaeminck, the only man to have conquered the cobblestones of "The Hell of the North" four times.
Apart from last year's winner, Peter Van Petegem, Musseuw's leading rivals will be familiar faces. Belgian hopeful Tom Boonen, winner of the Ghent-Wevelgem classic this week, Hungary's Laszlo Bodrogi, 2001 winner Servais Knaven from the Netherlands and
Bobby Julich (CSC) was back in the spotlight Friday at the Vuelta a Pais Vasco after nipping compatriot Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) by less than one second to win his first race since 1998.
Julich was ecstatic with the narrow victory on a technical, rain-slicked 8.5km course that featured a short, steep climb in the rugged mountains of northern Spain.
“It’s unbelievable. What a comeback in less than a couple of months,” Julich said after covering the course in 11 minutes, 57 seconds (42.62 kph). “The moment I signed with Bjarne Riis I knew this was possible. This feels really good.”
Russian
France's top cycling team, Cofidis, will not be entering any more races for the foreseeable future, beginning with Sunday's Paris-Roubaix classic, the third race in the 10-leg World Cup.
Cofidis is battling a series of doping allegations, and press reports in Friday's newspapers only served to further put the team in the mire.
Today, the team's sponsor, credit company Cofidis, issued a statement that said in part: "In the face of the seriousness of recent allegations, the Cofidis company has decided to take some time out to reflect on the current situation. As a consequence, as of today and
With 4 to 8 inches of snow expected to fall over Boulder, Colorado, between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, the Colorado Roubaix road race has been rescheduled for late May.
The tough event, which features a rolling, 17-mile loop circumnavigating washboard dirt, paved and gravel roads around the Boulder Reservoir, was being billed as the stateside race most closely resembling a Paris-Roubaix-style event. Scheduled one day before the European classic, the race was expected to draw Colorado-based members of Health Net, Ofoto, and TIAA-CREF-5280, and many in the area’s elite-level
Bradley McGee signaled his intentions to better his Olympic bronze medal from four years ago when Athens comes around by scoring a comprehensive World Cup win in the 4000-meter individual pursuit Friday night in Manchester, England.
The Australian, who rides with the French professional road team FDJeux.com, finished nearly seven seconds ahead of Sergi Escobar Roure in the final with a time of 4:19.696. Great Britain's Paul Manning won the ride-off for bronze against Russian Alexander Serov.
The event was McGee's only chance of staking his claim to a spot on the Australian Olympic team
Four American racers were poised to jump into contention for the overall title at the demanding Vuelta al Pais Vasco going into today’s challenging climbing stage to Lekunberri, won by Denis Menchov (Illes Balears).
Floyd Landis (U.S. Postal Service) and Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) started Thursday’s stage in the select group of 20 riders tied with the same time as leader Alejandro Valverde (Kelme).
Bobby Julich (CSC) and Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) sit just eight seconds out of the lead going into the climb-riddled stage, which features a long Category 1 climb that tops out just 3km from the
Denis Menchov, a quiet Russian on the Illes Balears team, ruined the party for the hometown heroes of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team in Thursday’s decisive climbing stage in the Vuelta a Pais Vasco.
Menchov punched the accelerator with 500 meters to go up the short but steep Category 1 Alto Azpiroz climb near the finish of the 182km fourth stage to quickly drop David Etxebarria (Euskaltel).
The Russian didn’t look back as he crested the summit and hammered the final 3km to the finish line to score his second stage win this season and seize the overall lead. Menchov, the best young rider of the
Germany's Jan Ullrich said Thursday he is happy to amble along at the back of the peloton in preparation for his main challenge of the year - facing Lance Armstrong during what is bound to be an unmissable Tour de France in July.
Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner who returned to form with another runner-up finish behind Armstrong last year, is taking part in this week's Circuit de La Sarthe race with no ambitions of winning stages or the race itself.
While 32-year-old Armstrong has increased his training load ahead of the July 3-25 showpiece, during which the American U.S. Postal rider will bid
Poke around our sport a bit and you’re sure to find a handful of ex-pro’s still making a healthy living as shills… er… spokespersons for a particular product. Sometimes, like George Foreman pitching his line of “Double Knockout” grills, many of the cycling spokespeople know (or care) little about the product they’ve associated themselves with (no offense George).
Still, even if you throw out the long list of “big time” names connected to product solely to make a quick buck, you’ll get a healthy list of riders who are seriously committed to improving the sport and bettering a particular
It would have been a shame, really, if it had ended any other way.
After treating the local fans to a display of power in the 66th running of Ghent-Wevelgem in Belgium on Wednesday, the Quick Step-Davitamon team turned to its young gun Tom Boonen to close the deal. The 23-year-old did so magnificently, continuing his rise to stardom by outfoxing a group of seasoned sprinters including Magnus Backstedt (Alessio-Bianchi) and Jaan Kirsipuu (AG2R), who finished second and third respectively.
The troubled Kelme team hopes winning will help erase the bad memories of the past few weeks.
The Spanish team brushed off recent doping allegations by ex-rider Jesus Manzano and won Wednesday’s third stage of the Tour of the Basque Country and bounced back into the overall lead.
First-year pro Carlos Zarate held on during an epic solo move to win his first pro victory while Alejandro Valverde, winner of the opening stage, shot ahead of the peloton to claim second and recapture the overall lead.
“I still can’t believe I won,” said Zarate, who held a nearly two-minute lead over the Category
Ludovic Turpin gave France its second winner in two days at the Circuitde la Sarthe as the Ag2r rider held off a pair of Aussies to win the secondstage.Two riders -- Yuryi Kristvov (Ag2r) and Luis Sanchez (Liberty Seguros)– went on the attack early on to build up an eight-minute lead. Kristvovwas reeled in with just 5km to go to set up the sprint.Franck Bouyer (La Boulangere) retained the overall lead after finishingsafely in the main pack that came into Montreuil for a mass gallop. Turpinedged Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) and Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros), whocame through third. American Fred
Dear Lennard,For the sake of example, let’s say you are in 39/17 and switch to 53/23 (or whatever the equivalent ratio is). Assuming the gear size is the same, is the 53/23 more efficient because the chain is on a larger tooth cog?When compared, does the rider have more leverage on generating rotation of the rear wheel when using the larger ring? Also, does the 53T chainring reduce leverage that the crank arm exerts on the chain and thus the back wheel?TreyFrom Wayne Stetina at ShimanoAn interesting question to be sure. Basically at the heart of the debateabout any potential advantages for
It’s spring in Basque Country and that means rainy, cool weather. Tuesday’s 180km second stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco followed that script as riders hit a string of short, but steep climbs in the rugged mountains of northern Spain.
Beat Zberg (Gerolsteiner) was fastest out of a group of 40 riders that cleared the day’s many hurdles to claim the stage victory ahead of Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel). Danilo Di Luca (Saeco) started his sprint too early and faded to fourth, but it was a good move as he slipped into the overall leader’s jersey.
The rollercoaster stage featured a tough
Spanish cyclist Jesus Manzano appeared in court in Turin, Italy, on Tuesdaywhere he was questioned by prosecutors who are trying to find out moreabout doping in the sport.Manzano, whose recent claims about doping practices at his former Kelmeteam have rocked the sport to its foundations in Spain, appeared in frontof public prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello at the city's Palace of Justice.Guariniello, who is leading his own investigation into doping practicesin the sport in Italy, quizzed Manzano for three-and-a-half hours."It was a long and tough interrogation," said the 25-year-old, who
Getting back on the horse that threw yaDear Joe,I'm a 60-year-old recreational rider (2500 miles per year) who endo-edand fractured my C1 and C2 vertebra last July.Ignoring the fact that everyone thinks I'm crazy to get back on thebike, what are some things to watch out for as I recondition my body aftera six-month layoff?My physical therapist has me doing isometric, stretching and weighttraining to increase my neck flexibility and strengthen my neck and backmuscles. I have some residual limitation in my neck movement as a resultof my injury. For example, it's hard for me to look left and
Kelme’s Alejandro Valverde won the first stage of the Tour du Pays Basque – the Tour of the Basque country – a 139km run around Bergara, on Monday.
Valverde, recent winner of the Tour of Murcia, prevailed in a sprint finish at the end of the opening day's stage, which featured three climbs. His compatriot Angel Vicioso and Davide Rebellin of Italy filled the minor placings.
While Valverde was celebrating, fellow Spaniard Joseba Beloki retired before the end after failing to keep up with the pace.
I the final Category 2 climb nine kilometers from the end the Saeco riders Gilberto Simoni and
As a team, we made the most of our time between the Castilla and Flanders World Cups by scheduling a sponsor visit to our sponsor to SRM in Germany, getting in some solid training rides and organizing a pre-ride of the course in Flanders.
The SRM headquarters is close to the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands. Ulrich Schoberer, the inventor of the SRM, welcomed us to the company. The company is named after him, though for English speakers, Schoberer Rad Messtechnik is a little bit more difficult to say than “SRM.” Schoberer is a great host, he took us for nice dinners, did some testing
Many longtime observers of the Tour of Flanders, the traditional kickoff to northern Europe’s World Cup classics, estimated Sunday’s crowds to be the largest in recent memory for the Belgian race known here as the “Ronde.”
From the frigid morning start in Bruge’s historic Grote Markt to the surprise finish in the small town of Meerbeke, thousands pressed against the barriers lining the 257km course. Most were straining to see, among other things, one last glimpse of Johan Museeuw in action: a legendary Belgian in a legendary Belgian event.
Zulfia Zabirova took a page from the men’s playbook to win the women’s Tour of Flanders. Like many past Flanders champions, she used the cobbled slopes of the day’s penultimate climb, the infamous Muur de Geraardsbergen, to catapult to a solo victory in the first World Cup edition of the race.
After starting in Oudenaarde and scaling the Kruisberg, the 96km Ronde Van Vlaanderen Vrouwen merged with the men’s course just before the Boigneberg, the first of the final eight climbs the two races shared on the day. Despite Farm Frites-Hartol’s concerted efforts to control the race for Leontien Van
The Tour of Flanders, the second leg of the ten-race World Cup, smiled unkindly on a few of the Australian riders competing over a tough 257km of cobblestones and short steep climbs from Bruges to Meerbeke on Sunday.
Victorian Baden Cooke, one of a handful of realistic contenders for theFlemish classic known as the Ronde --won by the relatively unknown but experienced German Steffen Wesemann -- crashed out just after the halfway stage. His Fdjeux.com team-mate Matt Wilson, the Australian national champion, failed to finish as steady crosswinds pounded the peloton throughout. With 64km
Boston, MA (April 3-4, 2003) - Hundreds of collegiate cyclists from the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) convened on the Boston area for the third annual Boston Beanpot Classic.
The races included the BU team time trial in historic Concord, a criterium on the Tufts campus in Somerville, and the Grafton Hills road race promoted by Harvard. Saturday night featured a catered banquet dinner by Wentworth with keynote speaker Jonathan Vaughters providing tales and tips to the hundreds of attendees. The University of Vermont took top honors in Division 1 for the weekend, and fought
When Johan Museeuw began racing as a professional cyclist, in 1988, Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, Dustin Hoffman’s “Rain Man” was selling out movie theaters, and the Netherlands became the first European country to be linked to the Internet. Museeuw, now 39, competes in his final four races in the first part of April, determined to add at least one more victory to his record haul of 11 World Cup classics.
Nothing could make Museeuw happier than winning Sunday’s Tour of Flanders (the Ronde van Vlaanderen), or April 11’s Paris-Roubaix. The legendary Belgian rider has won
Cycling's most successful active one-day rider – Johan Museeuw, the “Lion of Flanders” — will continue winding down his lengthy career on the second race of the 10-leg World Cup here on Sunday.
Museeuw, who is gunning for a record fourth victory in the 88th Tour of Flanders before he retires after the GP de l'Escaut on April 14, admits that as he approaches hanging up his bike for good, what should be his final roar on the “Ronde” could turn out to be more of a whimper.
The 38-year-old Belgian conceded this week that his failing legs "on the harder climbs" mean he could end up playing a
After finishing third in the fourth and final stage, U.S Postal’s George Hincapie has won the overall title at the Three Days of De Panne, the warm-up before this weekend’s World Cup race, the Tour of Flanders.
Quick Step’s Hungarian time trial specialist, Lazlo Bodrogi, won the final stage a 13.7km time trial at Le Panne in northern Belgium.
Hincapie's victory is the ninth of the season by the Postal team. Hincapie entered Thursday's 13.7km time trial in third place overall, 16 seconds back of race leader Baden Cooke of FDJeux.com. Hincapie finished the stage five seconds behind Bodrogi to
This time of year is almost like Christmas for those of us who love bicycles and the annual improvements to the technology that adds to the pleasureof riding them. That's right, it’s time for the 2005 product roll-outs!
I've really been enjoying the fact that next year’s suspension product lines are going to be marked by serious competition and some major developments. Manufacturers have been particularly eager to showcase technology to help them hold or regain a foothold in the lucrative bicycle suspension fork and shock market. Manitou was first this year to debut its 2005 product
FDJeux’s Aussie sprinter Baden Cooke moved into the overall lead after scoring a win in stage 2 of the Three Days of De Panne, a 237km race from Zottegem to Coxyde in Northern Belgium Wednesday.
Cooke, who finished second in Tuesday’s opening stage, beat Saeco’s Giosué Bonomi and Rabobank’s Steven De Jongh, who took third.
The day was marked by an early escape by Rabobank’s Matt Hayman, Bart Voskamp (Chocolade Jacques) and Stefan Van Dijk, who eventually built a lead of nearly eight minutes on the main field, before the Gerolsteiner team of race leader Daniel Hondo took up the chase.
Upon
One January 1, 2004, caffeine was removed from the World Anti-DopingAgency prohibited list, after being a “controlled to restricted drug” inthe world of athletic performance for years, and moved to the “monitoringlist.”
Prior to this change caffeine urine levels of greater than 12 microgramsper millimeter were considered illegal. The reason for this change, notesWADA, is really very practical. This old limit has always given caffeinea unique position as a “potentially” performance-enhancing drug, implyingthat higher doses of caffeine are required to improve performance. However,this is
Gerolsteiner’s Danilo Hondo won the first stage of the Three Days of De Panne on Tuesday, taking a sprint win at the end of 196km race from Middelkerke to Zottegem, Belgium.
Hondo charged to the line, beating Baden Cooke (fdjeux.com), U.S. Postal’s George Hincapie and Luca Paolini (Quick Step) and 20 others who had formed a strong breakaway group about 9km from the finish.
With time bonuses considered, Hondo now enjoys a four-second lead over Cooke on GC, with Hincapie rounding out the top three at six seconds. American David Clinger (Domina Vacanze) also made the break and finished the day
Avoiding the grindDear Lennard,I'm having a problem with my 13-39 X 53/39 Campy Chorus (2003) set-up.When it is on the 39 ring and in the 26 or 29 cog, the space between thecog and the upper roller/jockey of the derailleur is so close that thechain is rubbed/grinded in between. I have tried turning the screw on thederailleur cage but to no avail. It appears that the chain is too longeven if I followed the somewhat confusing instruction of the Campy manual.Can you please share any other tip to determine proper chain length? I'vesearched the VeloNews archives for your feature on this asI
Usually when the time changes in the spring of each year, it is accompanied by an improvement in the weather, but here in Salamanca, we experienced a serious digression in the conditions over night as Europe moved into to daylight savings time.
We awoke to dark skies and snow flurries. It was hard to believe we were in Spain or that it was the end of March. In keeping with the mood, Cathy Marsal wished me a “Merry Christmas” as we were warming up. It seems like the spring weather has been especially harsh this year in Europe.
Michael sent me a text message from France, where he was racing
Over the past week, I have been in Northern Europe getting reacquainted with the cold weather. I have had a good schedule in the last months as I have only raced in the south of Spain and Portugal and have not had to suffer and endure the frigid temps in the rest of Europe.
In Dwaars door Vlandaaren, a one-day race in Flanders; I was initiated to the cobbles, bergs, wind and cold. All in all, it was a pretty good experience and one I would go back and fight through again. This year we have a great team for the classics, as Max, Devolder, George and Eki’ are all riding well enough to win any
Dear Joe and Dirk,Mine has to be a pretty common problem. With work, kids, a job, a mortgage… well you know the drill. When it gets down to it, I can really only ride maybe three days a week for two hours max. Some weeks it is only two days with one of the rides being on the trainer.
With such minimal training time, should I spend a larger percentage of my time doing hard riding (intervals, etc) since I am less likely to over-train? How should you adjust the time spent in each zone when you have more than adequate recovery time?Thanks,Don
Don,You are not uncommon and trying to get the
The delicate operation of putting the roof over the Olympic velodrome in Athens has been completed two days ahead of schedule, a spokesman for the structure's Spanish designer, Santiago Calatrava, reported Sunday.
The spokesman said the roof's success augured well for the controversial yet-to-be installed cover over the Olympic stadium, also designed by Calatrava.
"This represents a good test," he said.
The Olympic stadium roof will be installed using the same technique as its cycling cousin, which weighed 4000 tons and measured 106 by 154 meters. It was slid into place along 135 meters of
Team CSC just keeps rolling. After the Danish-based squad earned wins for Jörg Jaksche at the Mediterranean Tour and Paris-Nice, it was the turn this weekend of Jaksche’s fellow German Jens Voigt to dominate the Critérium International.
Voigt, 32, won both of Sunday’s two stages to take the overall victory by 12 seconds over the emerging Spanish star José Ivan Gutierrez of Balears-Banesto.
A still-improving Lance Armstrong finished third another two seconds back, with CSC’s rejuvenated Bobby Julich a further two seconds behind in fourth.
In the closing 8.3km time trial, Voigt beat
Chris Horner and Lyne Bessette successfully defended their respective leader's jersey on Sunday's final stage of the 20th-anniversary Redlands Bicycle Classic, with Horner taking his fourth win in five years and Bessette winning the women's race for the second time. On the closing Sunset Loop road race, Bessette was content to defend the race lead and seal the overall win, opening the door for an opportunistic and gutsy win by Victory Brewing's Nicole Demars. However, in the men's race, Horner took the opportunity to deliver one more blow to the reeling Health Net team, setting up his Webcor
The Cours Aristide Briand in Charleville-Mezières is not as long or as wide as the Champs-Élysées in Paris, but French sprinter Jean-Patrick Nazon likes them both. He was won the most important sprints of his career on the two avenues, and he continued that run on Saturday in the opening stage of the two-day Critérium International.
Last July, on a sultry summer’s day, Nazon took the final stage of the Tour de France thanks more to his bustling style than his erratic finishing speed. That gave this 6-foot, 163-pound rider a half-length verdict over his inherently faster Aussie rivals Baden
At Saturday’s criteriums at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, the Genesis Scuba squad showed why it will be a favorite at criteriums all year long, with Tina Pic and Laura Van Gilder going one-two in the women’s race, while in the men’s event, Jelly Belly-Aramark continued to build its case as an upper echelon team for the 2004 season, delivering Alex Candelario to one of the biggest wins of his career. The men’s race also saw some controversy at the finish, with Gord Fraser tangling with Charles Dionne, and Fraser getting relegated from his third-place finish.
The men’s race saw non-stop
The Vuelta Castilla y Léon is a three-day tour that started in Valladolid and traveled to Salamanca. The field was incredibly strong here, 160 riders, including several world and Olympic champions. The terrain is rather desolate in this region of Spain, as there are not too many trees, mountains or small towns in the countryside, so the high winds that nature provides have had a profound effect on the racing.
T-Mobile started this race with five girls – Dotsie Cowden, Amber Neben, Kimberly Bruckner, Stacey Peters and me. After day one, we began calling ourselves the “Bad News Bears,” as
Tour de France winner Stephen Roche has rejected suggestions by an Italian judge that he took performance-enhancing drugs during his career, according to the Irish Independent.
"I have never taken performance-enhancing drugs, whether banned or unbanned, on or off the list, at any time,” said Roche. "In fact, I underwent hundreds of tests during my career and all were negative.”
The issue of drug taking during Roche's career, during which he won the Tour, the Giro d’Italia and the world championship road race all in one season (1987), arose after the publication this week of an Italian
For Chris Horner, Friday’s Panorama Point circuit race was simply another day of defending his yellow leader’s jersey at the Redlands Bicycle Classic. For Lyne Bessette, however, Friday’s race finally saw her overtake Geneviève Jeanson (RONA) and move into the women’s overall race lead. Horner and Bessette now lead the race, while Ivan Dominguez (Colavita Olive Oil) and Kristin Armstrong (T-Mobile) took big stage wins for their teams.
Despite winning the prologue and the stage 1 Crestline road race, Jeanson has shown weaknesses all week long, most notably on Thursday’s stage to Oak Glen,
Organizers of the Tour de France on Friday ruled out the possibility of the scandalized Kelme team being handed a wild-card invitation to this year's race.
The decision comes days after former Kelme professional Jesus Manzano blew the whistle on what he claims to be systematic doping within the Spanish team.
Last month, Tour organizers announced the 21 teams for this year's race - at which American Lance Armstrong will be bidding for a record sixth victory - but left open the possibility of a 22nd team participating.
Today, Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc said the option of having a 22nd
Spanish rider Joaquin Rodriguez (Saunier Duval) won the Setmana Catalana on Friday by just two seconds after finishing seventh on the 168km fifth and final stage, between Solsona and Parets del Valles.
Angel Edo (Milaneza) won the stage ahead of Josep Jufre (Relax-Bodysol) and Martin Perdiguero (Saunier Duval), while Rodriguez finished with a bunch just behind, holding onto half of the four-second lead he gained after finishing second behind American Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) on the race's hardest climbing stage on Thursday. Leipheimer wound up 14th overall.
The start of Friday's final
Rabobank’s Levi Leipheimer brushed off the effects of a crash earlier in the week to win the fourth stage of Setmana Catalana atop the Port del Compte on Thursday.
Saunier Duval’s Joaquin Rodriguez, who finished alongside the American, took the overall lead after the 179.5km stage ride from Palau Solita I Plegamans which finished on the summit of the Category 1 Port del Compte.
The stage started with attacks after the first kilometer. By the third kilometer, Gonzalo Bayarri (Phonak) tried his luck and managed to build a small gap on the field. He was soon joined by nine others, including
Unless you’ve been vacationing on the dark side of the moon for the past year, you’re probably aware the UCI has mandated the use of helmets for the pro peloton.
While the majority of the 2003 pro road season saw riders with certified skid-lids worn during mass start stages and events, all bets were off for team and individual time trials. For the 2003 season the UCI simply let the time trialists slide when it came to wearing a protective helmet (the millimeter-thin aerodynamic fairings the riders wore don’t offer any protection).
Welcome to 2004You may have noticed riders no longer
Former world Madison champion Robert Sassone, who is being investigated after drugs were found at his home, has admitted making a "mistake" which would ruin his life.
Sassone, 26, who also tested positive for a steroid derivative last year, printed an open letter in the French-language New Caledonians newspaper on Thursday saying he was paying heavily for his actions.
"I didn't kill anyone, but this mistake, which I will explain to the judge, I'm paying for heavily and in cash. It will ruin my life because I dreamt of a career in cycling," said Sassone, a member of the Cofidis team until
Webcor. Jittery Joe’s. Jelly Belly. For the second day in a row, those were the three teams represented on the men’s podium at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, as Chris Horner won for the third day in a row and extended his overall race lead. Meanwhile, the women’s race tightened up, as Lyne Bessette took the stage victory on Oak Glen and cut deeply into Geneviève Jeanson’s race lead.
For the second day, Horner’s Webcor squad held in check the efforts of the big-budget Health Net-Maxxis team to put the pressure on Horner. As they did on Wednesday’s Crestline stage, Health Net banked on the
Saeco’s Mirko Celestino won the second stage of the five-stage Coppi-Bartali international as it finished in Faenza Thursday.
Celestino, took a 12-man sprint at the end of the day’s 206km stage from Riccione in northern Italy. By beating Ruggero Marzoli and Giuliano Figueras to the line, Celestino also assumed the overall lead going into Friday’s 176km stage from Emilia to Scandiano.
Astarloa injuredWorld road race champion Igor Astarloa (Cofidis) suffered head and neck injuries in an accident while out riding, according to Gazzetta dello sport.
The 27-year-old Spaniard was training near
Heading into this year’s U.S. road racing season, it was pretty clear that there were only one or two teams that could be called powerhouse squads. For the rest, the addition of some seasoned professionals gave them credibility, but they would have to step it up at the races to show that they belonged in the upper echelon of U.S. teams. The Webcor Builders team clearly fell in that second group, but at least on the first road stage of the Redlands Bicycle Classic in Southern California, they showed that they’re ready to make that step.
Webcor successfully defended Chris Horner’s yellow race
Isaac Galvez handed his Illes Balears-Banesto team a welcome stage victory on the third day of Setmana Catalana in Montcada I Reixac on Wednesday, pipping T-Mobile's Erik Zabel on the finish line.
After two days of Swiss domination, with wins going to Fabian Cancellara and Beat Zberg, Galvez finally handed Spain a victory following the 159.5km stage from Castello d'Empuries.
Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Saunier Duval) took the overall race lead after finishing third.
Galvez, meanwhile, had to wait for a photo finish decision before being told he had beat T-Mobile veteran Zabel, who
Is repair an option?Dear Lennard,I have had trouble with my car rack not holding the fork properly.Recently, a bike with a Deda Black Magic fork was victimized by this lousypiece of gear. While the bike stayed on the rack, one of the fork tipswas twisted (the other came out of the mount). It was an easy matter tobend the tip back into shape. However, is it safe to ride the bike?JimDear Jim,No, it is not safe. You need to buy a new fork… and should considerbuying a new rack.LennardSlip-slidin' awayDear Lennard,I recently purchased a USE Alien carbon seatpost for my Look KG461(27.2 mm). It is a