Road

The 8.3km final hump to La Pandera to cap the 172km 15th stage of the Vuelta a España proved too short for Roberto Heras (U.S. Postal) and too steep for Isidro Nozal (ONCE), but just right for Alejandro Valverde (Kelme). Heras attacked as promised, but couldn't make up the time he needed to against Nozal on the steepest climb of the Vuelta. The young race leader forfeited some time to his rival - 1 minute, 11 seconds - but retained a comfortable 4:02 margin over Heras. "We're still pretty happy with how things went," said Johan Bruyneel, U.S. Postal's sport director. "The team controlled

Germany's Michael Rich (Gerolsteiner) won the 67th Grand Prix des Nations time trial Sunday in Dieppe, France. Rich, who will celebrate his 34th birthday on Tuesday, won the 70km race,the biggest time trial in the world, by a second from Belgian specialist Bert Roesems. Ukrainian veteran Serhiy Honcher came third ahead of defending champion Uwe Peschel of Germany, with Hungarian Laszlo Bodrogi finishing fifth and Australian Michael Rogers sixth. Rich is also the reigning German time-trial champion. Switzerland’s Karin Thuerig won the 35km women’s race, outpacing last year’s winner, German

Alessandro Petacchi just can’t help himself. Even in the sloppy sprint finish at the end of Saturday’s 14th stage, the Fassa Bortolo strong man still had the legs to claim his fourth stage of the Vuelta a España. Giovanni Lombardi (Domina Vacanze) tried to surprise Petacchi with an early sprint, but the Italian surged late to hold off Fred Rodriguez (Caldirola) by a half-bike length to claim victory. “This certainly was the hardest stage to win,” said Petacchi, who came through in 3 hours, 44 minutes, 16 seconds (44.9 kph). “It was a very strange sprint. Lombardi started very early and I

Yesterday was a second big test for Roberto and Triki. To place on the podium they both need to ride well in the time trials. They can climb without difficulty so it is against the clock that they need to limit their losses. Going into the time trial both of our leaders had the two Fassa leaders breathing down their backs. The course was fairly flat, a loop that started and ended in downtown Albacete. Most of the 53 km course was on roads wide open to the wind with a few rolling hills. It was a nice circuit but not a particularly spectator friendly one - most of the loop was devoid of human

Now there's no doubt at all who's the strong man of the Vuelta a España. After some pesky questions regarding who was the true leader at ONCE, Isidro Nozal roared to his second time-trial victory in little more than a week and firmly established himself as the man to beat with nine days left in the 21-stage Vuelta. Nozal covered the windy 53.3km course - the Vuelta's longest in 35 years - in 1 hour, 2 minutes, 3 seconds (51.5 kph) and relegated time-trial specialist David Millar (Cofidis) into second place yet again by 13 seconds. No one else could come within 40 seconds. Nozal’s closest

U.S. Postal’s Roberto Heras knows the cards are stacked against him going into Friday’s 53.3km individual time trial at Albacete. Already at 3:28 behind race leader Isidro Nozal (ONCE), Heras admits his chances of winning the Vuelta a España are slim. “If Nozal responds like he did in Zaragoza, the Vuelta will be his. I can only hope to lose as little time as possible so I won’t be off the podium,” Heras said after Thursday’s stage. “This stage will be more decisive than the two (remaining) summit finishes. In La Pandera, if you’re in form and remain calm, you won’t lose much time.” The

SA Cycling has announced the names of riders selected to represent the U.S. in the elite men’s road race at the 2003 World Championships in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on October 12, 2003.Bobby Julich (Reno, Nevada)Chris Baldwin (Bouder, Colo.)Chris Horner (Bend, Ore.)Christian Vande Velde (Boulder, Colo.)David Clinger (Los Angeles, Calif.)Floyd Landis (San Diego, Calif.)George Hincapie (Greenville, S.C.)Guido Trenti (Milan, Italy)John Leiswyn (Ames, Iowa)Levi Leipheimer (Santa Rosa, Calif.)Mark McCormack (Northeaston, Mass.)Tim Johnson (Boston, Mass.)Care to comment? Send letters to

They’re called abanicos in Spanish – echelons to the rest of the cycling world – and U.S. Postal Service played the peloton like a fiddle in the brisk cross-winds of Thursday’s 168.8km 12th stage of the Vuelta a España. With 50km to go, Postal Service massed at the front as the peloton roared across the bleak, treeless plains of Castilla-La Mancha. Strong winds were cracking from the left and the Posties' blistering pace quickly blew the peloton into three groups. Caught out of position were Fassa Bortolo’s Dario Frigo, who started the day fourth at 3:05 back, and defending champion Aitor

While the rest of Spanish cycling is buckling under the imminent disappearance of ONCE and iBanesto.com, Kelme is poised to renew its contract with a key co-sponsor that will ensure the team's presence in the peloton through 2006. Kelme, a Spanish shoe-maker, has committed to staying with the team and the team's co-sponsor, the Valencia provincial government, is expected to sign on for three more seasons. Despite the assurance, Kelme hasn't been in the market this spring and seems committed to staying with established team leader Oscar Sevilla and rising star Alejandro Valverde. More talk

In our meeting this morning Johan told us about a stage in the Vuelta back in 1996 when Tony Rominger lost his shot at the overall due to inattention on a flat stage with crosswinds. It was the same stage we rode today from Cuenca to Albacete. Needless to say, we were all ready for a fight in the wind and an attempt at gaining Roberto and Triki a minute or so before tomorrow’s TT. Back to workAfter the rest day, Wednesday’s stage was insanely and relentlessly fast, with a never-ending succession of attacks and counter-attacks. At the end of the hilly 165km stage we had crossed the line in

Many observers at the Vuelta a España are making comparisons between the break-through performance of Isidro Nozal at this year's race and the Vuelta victory scored by Melchor Mauri in 1991. Like Mauri, Nozal rides for ONCE, is in his fifth year as a professional and was aged 25 going into the Vuelta. In his first four seasons, Nozal won a single race (a 9.7km time trial at last year’s Clasica de Alcobendas), while Mauri had just two criterium wins in his palmarès. When it was pointed out to Nozal last week that his ascendancy at the Vuelta was just like Mauri’s 12 years ago, Nozal said,

I feel as if I haven’t stopped moving for the past week. Seven days ago, I was sitting tranquilly in our little apartment in Spain and since then, I have traveled to San Francisco, attended several sponsor events, visited with friends, raced in San Rafael and in the T-Mobile International, traveled to Italy, and started racing in the week-long Giro Toscana. Welcome to the world of a professional cyclist. Amazingly, I still feel energetic and am eager to get on the bike each day. While arriving at the prologue yesterday in Pistoia, we were notified of an unfortunate accident that had

Erik Zabel made it through three stages in the Pyrénées to win Monday’s frenetic stage into Sabadell and snagged another victory after he got over a tough cobble-stoned Category 3 climb late in Wednesday’s 162km 11th stage. Zabel’s Team Telekom did great work to reel in the attacking David Etxebarria (Euskaltel) and Santos Gonzalez (Domina Vacanze), erasing a 39-second gap with 10km to go put Zabel in position to win. Gonzalez and Etxebarria were caught with 500 meters to go and Zabel charged up the left hand side of the finishing straight to nip a surging Tom Boonen (Quick Step) by inches.

Race leader Isidro Nozal is the revelation of the Vuelta a España,holding onto the race leader’s golden jersey through three difficult daysin the Pyrénées despite working hard to help protect ONCE’sdesignated leader in Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano.Despite his golden run and a growing consensus that the Vuelta is histo lose, the modest rider insists he’s still a gregario for Galdeano.“I have it very clear – I work for the team and I do it with pleasure,”Nozal told journalists on Tuesday’s rest day. “Everyone dreams of winningthe Vuelta, but now I am concentrating on helping the team. I still

USA Cycling on Wednesday announced its long team selections for the 2003Road World Championships to be held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, October6-12.From this list, the final selections will be made and announced on Monday,September 22.(Selections for junior categories have been finalized.)Elite Men Road Race (12 Start Positions)Automatic Qualifiers:Mark McCormack (Northeaston, Mass.)Tom Danielson (Durango, Colo.) *Chris Horner (Bend, Ore.)Long list for remaining 10 start positions:George Hincapie (Greenville, S.C.)Floyd Landis (San Diego, Calif.)Bobby Julich (Reno, Nevada)Levi Leipheimer

Dear readers;Issue No. 17 of VeloNewsincludes an article on balanced vegetarian eating. As a result, I've received a number of great cooking suggestions and so, instead of my usual Q&A column, I thought I should provide you with some of those recipe contributions this week. Bon Appetit and thank you to everyone who provided comments, suggestions, and recipes on vegetarian diets for the endurance athlete. Monique Doug’s RajmaThis is an Indian dish, which is a bean curry.1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed2 tbsp. vegetable oil (canola oil)½ tsp. Cumin seeds1 onion, thinly sliced1 fresh

October is just around the corner and, if you’re a cyclist, that can meanonly one thing. No, not road world’s. I’m talking about the Interbike tradeshow. Coincidentally, the powers that be at Interbike were either unable orunwilling to reschedule their event (October 12 -14) around the road world’sin Hamilton, Ontario, (October 6 -12) the first time that event has hitNorth America since 1986. So, die-hard techie/race fans must choose betweenthe elite men’s road race or the opening day of Interbike. I suppose thosetruly devoted could hop on a plane immediately after the eventand scoot on out

Today we have a day off. And I think I can safely say that it is well deserved. Monday’s stage was, once again, fast and furious from the start. Whatlooked to be an easy stage on the course profile turned out to be a fairlyhilly nervous and aggressive day. At day’s end when we climbed in the teambus in Sabadell to travel to our hotel four hours down the road in Valenciawe were all a little tired and looking forward to a relaxed day with norace sign on, race food, or race radios plugged into our ears. Everybodyfrom the staff to the riders looked happy to be at the hotel in Valencialast

Being in San Francisco this past weekend felt like a bit of homecoming, as it was my first visit to the United States since the Philadelphia Liberty Classic in June. I have been in Europe most of the summer, training and racing. It was neat to see everyone in American cycling gathered for this event. I have nice memories of the race in San Francisco. The last time I was here was to watch my husband, Michael, race through the streets and up the hills. I wasn’t racing much at the time and was attending school so I walked around the course, wandering through the hundreds of thousands of

Dear Lennard;I have 1990 Campagnolo 8-speed set-up, which still works fine, but,I have beaten my two sets of wheels to a pulp and they can no longer betrued to round. I would like some lighter, new-fangled (and hopefully round)wheels, however none of the new-fangled wheelsets are compatible with Campy8-speed and you can't buy new Campy 8-speed hubs anymore. Now,  I’mtoo cheap to drop $700+ to upgrade the whole drive-train to Shimano 9 orCampy 9/10, then another $300 to $800 on wheels. Do you have any feedback on how well the "Wheels Manufacturing CassetteConversion Kit" works? Excel Sports

Erik Zabel might not be as fast as he used to be, but the Telekom veteran still got around the man who is regarded as the peloton’s fastest these days to win Monday´s 10th stage of the Vuelta a España. Fassa Bortolo´s Alessandro Petacchi delivered on his promise to get through the Pyrénées and almost rewarded his team with his third Vuelta victory, but Zabel had his own plans. After Fassa and ONCE worked hard to reel in a six-man break early in the race and control a frenetic final 10km, Petacchi shot to the line with 400 meters to go up a slightly rising finish into Sabadell, a Barcelona

With two more days in the Pyrénées under our belts, we are now on our waytoward the coast and Barcelona on Monday night.On Saturday, we once again started racing fast out of the blocks - notan ideal way to start a stage that has four climbs over 10 km long (see"ONCE'sRodriguez takes stage 8 at Vuelta").  Again, everybody onthe team, save Roberto and Triki, were to follow the attacks and keep therace under control so that they would have a good situation as we nearedthe finish.Forty kilometers into the race we began the big climbs. One after another,they hit us with little recovery in

Coming into the final stretch of the T-Mobile International, Saturn’s Chris Horner knew he’d won the race, he just didn’t know preciselywhen. Away on a solo break — with a one-minute advantage over teammate Mark McCormack and loud crowds drowning out his earpiece — Horner passed through the start/finish area on San Francisco’s Embarcadero and kept right on rolling until spectators lining the area waved him around. “I absolutely believed I had another [5-mile] lap to ride,” Horner smiled, adding, “And I would have held them all off if I had to.” Course understanding aside, Horner and USPRO

Gunn-Rita Dahle (Merida) has completed her streak of World Cup victories, taking the fifth and final race in Kaprun in decisive fashion, ahead of teammate and new world champion Sabine Spitz of Germany. Marie-Helene Premont (Oryx) confirmed her status among the elite women riders by finishing third. The weather gods finally smiled, and for the first time in a week racegoers were treated to sunshine. Marga Fullana led the charge up the first steep climb, but by the end of the first of four laps it wasDahle at the front and pulling away. Fullana steadily dropped back, leaving Spitz and Premont

Who could have imagined a bunch sprint atop a 2410-meter chunk of rock in the heart of the Pyrénées? But that's just what happened in Sunday's 174.8km ninth stage. Okay, it wasn't a classic Mario Cipollini train, but Kelme phenom Alejandro Valverde won a 13-up sprint in an exciting summit finish up the "especial" Port d'Envalira climb in Andorra. "I'm very happy. I don't know what to say," said Valverde after nipping Italian Dario Frigo (Fassa Bortolo). "This stage was full speed all day. The team had a lot of confidence in me. I'm very happy with what's happened so far." Despite efforts

Swiss Alex Zülle (Phonak), double winner of the Vuelta a España (1996 and 1997), abandoned this year’s race on Sunday and said he would not race any more grand tours. Obviously tired, the 35-year-old Zülle – who was 114th overall at more than an hour off the lead – told Spanish radio: "I can’t keep the pace. You will not see me me any more in the Vuelta. It was my last grand tour. I will re-examine my calendar the next year, and I will take part only in small tours and the classics." Twice on the podium of the Tour de France (1996 and 1999), Zülle excelled in time trials but was less

Sabrina Jonnier and Nathan Rennie are the 2003 World Cup downhill champions, each battling it out on the final run of the season in what were possibly the tightest races in the history of the World Cup. Marla Streb (Luna) and David Vasquez Lopez (MSC Bikes) won their respective races on a muddy, strength-sapping course in Kaprun, Austria, but all attention was on the overall standings. The bottom portion of the course gave many riders problems. If they slid too far down in the final corner, they would get bogged in a swampy dip just before the drop to the finish, with some riders coming to

Someone needs to tell Isidro Nozal he's not supposed to be leading the Vuelta a España. Nozal retained the overall lead in Saturday's eighth stage on a day when all of the Vuelta's main players stayed on equal footing in the four-climb romp across the Pyrénées except U.S. Postal's Manuel Beltran, the one man poised to step into his shoes. Nozal powered the lead group across the line in the sun-blasted Plá de Beret ski area at 3:51 behind stage-winner Joaquin Rodriguez (ONCE-Eroski). Beltran couldn't match the accelerations initiated by a re-energized Aitor Gonzalez (Fassa Bortolo) and lost

The Bay Area is heating up as riders from across the globe have amassed in San Francisco for the T-Mobile International, an event that, in just its third year, is being hailed as the strongest field ever assembled on American soil. Organized and directed under San Francisco Cycling LLC, a joint cooperative of Tailwind Sports, the management company that runs the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team, and Threshold Sports, organizing body of the Pro Cycling Tour, the event has again drawn Postal’s Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, as well as first-time appearances from two-time Giro

Defending Vuelta champion Aitor Gonzalez has had a season he'd like to forget. Now he's making a Vuelta he wants to remember. Although he won a stage at the Giro d'Italia, Gonzalez couldn't deliver the big win for his Fassa Bortolo team. Then his Tour de France was short-circuited by a virus that ran through the Fassa team and sent everyone home early except Ivan Basso and two teammates. Going into the Vuelta's second week, Gonzalez is slowly coming back to life, and he let the peloton see it on the Col del Portillón at 120km into Saturday's eighth stage when he rode strongly over the steep

With five kilometers to go to victory in Friday’s difficult four-climb stage, Michael Rasmussen knew he had it in the bag. The former mountain bike world champion held off a counter-attack from U.S. Postal’s Manuel Beltran and Cofidis’ Luis Perez on the Category 1 summit finish to the Cauterets Cam-Basque ski station and slipped across the line to win the seventh stage of the Vuelta a España. “This is a dream come true for me, to win a stage with a mountain top finish in a grand tour,” said Rasmussen, who won in 5 hours, 1 minute, 14 seconds. “By far this is the most important victory of my

Jan Ullrich, second in the Tour de France this year, said he is aiming to win a triple of the Tour, the Giro d'Italia and to defend his Olympic title during the next three years. "First I would like another victory in the Tour de France," said the 1997 Tour winner said on his website Friday. "The Giro is important for me, too. The last time I raced in the event I vowed I would return and win it. I would also like to defend my gold medal at next year's Athens Olympics." The 29-year-old Ullrich, winner of the Olympic road race in Sydney, surprised many by making the 2003 Tour de France a real

Michael Rasmussen's big win in Friday's seventh stage of the Vuelta a España further reinforces his belief that he made the right decision to leave behind mountain bike racing at the end of the 2000 season and take a chance on the road. While bigger names such as Cadel Evans and Miguel Martinez have garnered more attention in their transition from fat to skinny tires, Rasmussen's proven the most successful. He scored a big victory in the "queen's stage" of the 2002 Tour of Burgos and capped his conversion with the historic win Friday. "This is the Formula 1 of bicycle racing. It's the best

The first time trial is over, we are in the Pyrénées, and the race for the overall is starting to sort itself out. The two big tests for the team leaders have taken place over the past two days: a time trial and a hard mountain stage. Thankfully, our leaders have come out near the top in both tests. Yesterday’s time trial looked easy on paper. The profile showed a flat course on straight roads with a few 180-degree turns in the center of the roadway. We woke up to howling gale-force winds, and when Floyd, Roberto and Triki returned from previewing the course the warning was that it was

The Vuelta a España always serves up surprises and Isidro Nozal’s winning ride in Thursday’s 43.8km individual time trial ranks as the biggest so far this year. To be sure, Nozal promised he’d put everything into defending his 50-second hold on the race leader’s jersey, but no one expected him to do it in such dominant fashion. Not even Nozal himself. “I thought I had good chances to limit my losses and keep the jersey, but I never dreamed of winning like this,” said Nozal, who powered through fierce winds to beat David Millar by an impressive 1 minute, 20 seconds. Nozal, whose lone

The king is dead; long live the king No, those weren’t obscene gestures from Alessandro Petacchi as he roared across the finish line victorious in Wednesday’s 165km fifth stage of the Vuelta a España. Two fingers, then six and another four followed by another two -- that was Petacchi’s version of sign language for what has been his history-making season. Petacchi became the first rider in history to win at least two stages in every major tour and wanted the rest of the world to know. “I made signs to show that it wasn’t by chance that I won. If you win once you can say it’s just luck,”

Dear Monique:What is your opinion regarding the effect of sodium phosphate loadingon cycling performance for a time trial?Thanks,LKDear LK;Sodium phosphate is a phosphate salt, and phosphate salts can playan important role in metabolism at it relates to sports performance. Phosphatesalts may buffer lactic acid and produce energy via the oxygen energy system-and consequently enhance performance during aerobic endurance activities.The important questions regarding the use of phosphate salts are the following.Does the research support that phosphate salt loading actually improvesperformance? Are

With two stage wins and the points jersey lead to his credit, Alessandro Petacchi vows he won’t abandon the Vuelta a España as the race heads Friday into three decisive and very difficult climbing stages in the Pyrenees. Petacchi was heavily criticized after abandoning the Tour de France in the opening mountain stage in the Alps, pulling out on the first major climb of the race after winning four stages and controlling the points jersey. “I like this jersey a lot and I want to arrive in Madrid to win the jersey,” Petacchi said after winning Wednesday’s fifth stage. “This is like the jersey

For the last two stages we have had 54 tooth chainrings fitted on our bikes. On Tuesday we left the coast and headed directly south towards Burgos. The wind howled at our backs as we headed inland towards the center of the country. Thankfully, we had those bigger gears on our bikes, as we were often rolling along in the 54x11 at 70kph. Tuesday’s stage was nervous from the start, as everybody was anticipating a battle for the front on the hills and in the wind. Racing in a nervous peloton drains your energy. We were constantly fighting to push to the front and keep everybody together and

Winning a stage in any grand tour used to be a big deal for the Euskaltel-Euskadi team until the orange-clad Basques barnstormed through this summer’s Tour de France. Haimar Zubeldia and Iban Mayo were the Tour revelations, with Mayo winning at Alpe d’Huez and Zubeldia and Mayo finishing 5-6, respectively. Since both have pulled the plug on their seasons, stage victories might be all Euskaltel can hope for in the 2003 Vuelta a España. Euskaltel worked two riders into the winning move Tuesday and Unai Etxebarria slipped away from an eight-man break with just under 15km to go in the 151km

First off, let's correct an oversight:Last week when I mentioned ceramic bearings (see "TechnicalQ&A with Lennard Zinn: Campy's Carbon Clincher"), I forgotto mention Zipp’s ceramic bearings in the Z3. I wrote about it in a "TourTech" report during this year's Tour de France.--LennardKeeping a classic on the trailsDear Lennard;My question concerns my desire to keep my old Bridgestone MB1 runningas a single speed. I'm afraid during the five years of hard use it underwent,it developed quite a bad case of "indexed steering" and an inability tokeep the headset tight. My local shop informed me that

I just got back to VeloNews's almost fully re-carpeted headquartersafter a bit of time over in Europe covering the 2003 Eurobike trade show.My first time to the show, I was impressed by the superb organization (those crafty Germans!) of the event. Promoters had the foresight to place similar categories of product ineach of the halls (for example, clothing was mostly in one hall, whileItalian manufacturers were mostly placed in another). This organization made the show easier to digest for us ever-complaining journalists as well as the attending professionaland citizen crowds. Look for

Australian Cadel Evans (Telekom) has retired from the Vuelta a España after breaking his collarbone in a fall, it was revealed on Tuesday. The former mountain bike World Cup champion, considered an outside bet for overall victory, did not start the fourth stage from Santander to Burgos following a fall in the closing stages of Monday’s race in rainy conditions. The Australian, who had been ambitious to excel in stage races –even leading the 2002 Giro d’Italia for a day - has had an unfortunate season, breaking his collarbone three times this year, first at the Amstel Gold race in April and

French rider Pierrick Fedrigo (Credit Agricole) won the 136km sixth stage of the Tour of Avenir from Saint Flour to Mende on Tuesday. Spanish rider Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel) retained the overall lead. Ullrich expected to sign with Bianchi Despite threats to move to another team, Tour de France runner-up Jan Ullrich is expected to sign a three-year contract extension with Bianchi. Ullrich, 29, has complained that he needs a stronger team if he wants to dethrone Lance Armstrong in next year’s Tour. His former Telekom team came out last week with public comments that he’s welcome back at the

Fassa Bortolo's Alessandro Petacchi won the third stage of the 2003 Vuelta a España, a 154.3km race from Cangas de Onís to Santander on Monday. By easily out-sprinting Telekom's Erik Zabel and Quick Step's Tom Boonen, Petacchi became only the third rider in history to win stages in all three grand tours in the same season and the first to do it since 1958, when Italian Pierino Baffi achieved the feat 45 years ago. Petacchi won six stages in the Giro d'Italia and four in the Tour de France this year. "I'm very happy because I wanted to win in the three big races and give this win to the

Jonas Carney (Prime Alliance) wrapped-up the American Criterium Championship Series by winning the 42nd Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix Sunday afternoon. This was his fourth win in the seven-race series which includes some of America’s longest-running and most notorious criteriums (Athens Twilight, Superweek, Tour of Somerville) and ended Sunday in Manhattan Beach. Racers competed on a 1.4 mile loop, an out-and-back course along North Valley Road which included two 180-degree turns and a short, seven-percent grade climb at the halfway mark. With a headwind along one straightaway and the

The Vuelta, unlike any other three-week race, started with a tough day in the mountains. Climbing the second day of the race is dangerous for the GC riders, especially after a tough TTT the night before. In our team meeting before the race we talked about the climbs and how the Vuelta could be lost on stage 2, but not won. At the end of the day, this was the case with several team leaders minutes off of the overall lead. The last few days we have woken up to gray skies and threatening rain. On Sunday, rain began to fall down half way through the stage, just prior to the second climb. ONCE

Filip Meirhaeghe had been close before. Three times in his long mountain biking career he’d walked onto the podium at the world mountain bike championships, but all three times he’d not been the winner, twice settling for bronze in the late 1990s, before grabbing silver a year ago after finishing an agonizing 19 seconds behind Canadian Roland Green. But this time, with Green not a factor and Meirhaeghe on fire again, the Belgian used a stunning charge from outside the top 10 to finally capture that elusive world title. “I’d had thoughts that I was not meant to win this,” admitted

Well, that was fast. World champion Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze) has pulled out of the Vuelta a España, missing the start of the race’s second stage Sunday and catching an early flight back to Italy. Cipollini abandoned the race after having completed only one stage, Saturday’s opening 28-kilometer team time trial. Cipollini rode poorly during the stage, having to be pushed by teammates on several occasions, leading to Domina Vacanze receiving a fine from race officials. In a statement given to Spanish radio station Onda Cero, the Vuelta’s race director, Victor Cordero characterized

Vasseur takes the Tour of HesseCedric Vasseur (Cofidis) took the final overall victory at Germany’s Tour of Hesse, as Telekom’s Daniele Nardello took the fifth and final stage of the race, a 170.2km run between Wetzlar and Wiesbaden.Results–Stage 51. Daniele Nardello (I), Telekom, at 170.2 km in 4:23:06 2. Franck Renier (F) 3. Serge Baguet (B), both s.t. 4. Sven Teutenberg (G), at 0:3:01 5. Rene Haselbacher (A), at 0:5:16 6. Danilo Hondo (G)Final Standings 1. Cedric Vasseur (F), Cofidis, 22:35:16. 2. Maryan Hary (F), at 0:03 3. Axel Merckx (B), at 0:07 4. Sylvain Chavanel (F), at 0:37 5.

Cofidis's Luis Perez scored his maiden win in the second stage of the Vuelta a España Sunday, a 148km ride between Gijon and Cangas de Onis. ONCE's Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano was overtaken as the overall race leader by teammate Joaquin Rodriguez. The 29-year-old Spaniard broke away with compatriot Carlos Sastre on the final climb of the day, the first category Fito, and then outsprinted Sastre in the streets of Cangas de Onis. His time at the end of the 148-km stage was three hours 27 minutes 32 seconds -14 seconds ahead of the peloton. The Cofidis rider said: "Last year a fall prevented

Image files for Vuelta

Johan Museeuw may miss the road cycling world championships in Canada next month after his house was raided in a police drugs investigation, his manager said in an interview published on Saturday. "I still have full confidence in Johan Museeuw," Patrick Lefevere, manager of the Quick-Step team told La Derniere Heure - Les Sports. "The inquiry will prove Johan made no errors. But, on the other hand, I fear his image is damaged." Museeuw will continue with his race program over the next few days starting with the Dutch Delta Ronde this weekend, but Lefevere said his preparation for the

Despite losing two riders early on, ONCE-Eroski lived up to its role of overwhelming favorite in the opening team time trial event in the Vuelta a España on Saturday. It was a repeat of the Spanish squad's 2002 victory in the same stage over American squad U.S. Postal-Berry Floor. ONCE-Eroski clocked 32 minutes, 1 second for the 28km course starting and finishing in Gijon, 10 seconds faster than Postal and 24 seconds ahead of third-placed Ibanesto.com. Spaniard Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano, 29, crossed the line at the head of the ONCE-Eroski team to take the first gold leader's jersey of

Go ahead, call him the heir apparent. Greg Minnaar is more than worthy. First he shocked the downhill-racing world in 2001, snatching the overall World Cup title from Nicolas Vouilloz. Now, after hiring Vouilloz’s former coach to be his personal trainer, the South African has taken over the spot the retired Frenchman owned for so many years, winning the downhill title at the world mountain biking championships in Lugano, Switzerland, on Saturday. Taking off from the No. 3 qualifier’s spot, Minnaar blasted his way down the steep, 1.45-mile track on Monte Tamaro, posting a 4:37.78. That was

Fassa Bortolo1 Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Sp)2 Juan José De Los Angeles Segui (Sp)3 Dario Frigo (I)4 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr)5 Serguei Ivanov (Rus)6 Alessandro Petacchi (I)7 Matteo Tosatto (I)8 Guido Trenti (USA)9 Tadej Valjavec (Slo)U.S.Postal Service11 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Sp)12 Michael Barry (Can)13 Manuel Beltran Martinez (Sp)14 George Hincapie (USA)15 Benoît Joachim (Lux)16 Floyd Landis (USA)17 Matt White(Aus)18 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Sp)19 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned)ONCE - Eroski21 Igor Gonzalez De Galdeano (Sp)22 José Azevedo (Por)23 Marcos Antonio Serrano Rodriguez (Sp)24 Jan Hruska

It’s probably to early to call it a full-fledged changing of the guard, but after years of gated-racing domination by the likes of Eric Carter and Brian Lopes, there was a new face atop the four-cross podium at the world mountain bike championships in Lugano, Switzerland, on Friday night. Bolstered by blazing fast starts throughout the night, Czech rider Michal Prokop earned the first major win of his career in front of an estimated crowd of 5000. In the women’s race, there was no big surprise – just the continued domination of Frenchwoman Anne-Caroline Chausson, who earned the fourth (every

This year's Vuelta a España will kick off Saturday against a harsh economic backdrop with the sport in crisis in the host nation following the recent news that Banesto and ONCE will both end their long sponsorship of cycling at the end of the season. The Kelme team is also having its problems and minor races are falling by the wayside in a poor climate for cycling. "It's the worst news I've had since my fall in the Tour de France," said ONCE’s Joseba Beloki, several times a podium finisher in the world's toughest race, on learning last month that his sponsor had elected to pull out the

Veterinarian Jos Landuyt has admitted selling hormones to professional cyclists, the public prosecutor's office in Kortrijk in western Belgium has said. Landuyt, who comes from Oostrozebeke, which is about 15km from Kortrijk, was interviewed late on Thursday after police raided 20 houses, including that of the country's leading cyclist, Johan Museeuw. The prosecutors' office mentioned no cyclists by name, and Musseuw has yet to make any comment to the media on the matter. Kintana withdraws from Vuelta after B test positiveSpanish rider Aitor Kintana has withdrawn from the Tour of Spain

Dear readers;Just as I was about to send this column in today, I received a pressrelease that might interest a few of you, particularly if you are in needof a good carbon fix. Campagnolo announced on Thursday that its carbon Hyperon wheels are nowalso available as clinchers. "The carbon rims for clincher tires turned out to be much more complicatedthan expected," the release noted. "It was not a matter of adapting therim for tubular tires but of designed a completely new rim. The requirementsof a rim for clincher tires are completely different from those of a rimfor tubular tires. Issues of

Dear Monique:Iam confused as to which hydration drink to use while riding. I havetried Extran (fructose), Accelerade (sucrose, maltodextrin, and protein),and countless others. All claim their products speed hydration. Since notall products are available in all areas, I am not sure which product toselect. Is it better to consume drinks that contain glucose?ThanksKRDear Monique:Would it be more beneficial to consume sports gels/mixtures that mostlycontain glucose, rather than sucrose and maltose? It would seem that nothaving to convert from the others to glucose would decrease the delivery.If

After a two-day hiatus, racing at the 2003 world mountain bike championships in Lugano, Switzerland, got rolling again Wednesday with Australia’s Lisa Mathison running away with victory in the junior women’s cross-country in the morning, and Poland taking the team relay in the afternoon. It was Mathison’s second straight junior crown, as she also won in Kaprun, Austria last year. “I thought it would be way tougher this year because there were more second-year juniors in this race,” said Mathison about her chunky 3:54 margin over second-place finisher Eva Lechner of Italy. Almut Grieb of

Tour revelation Iban Mayo looks to be staying with Euskaltel-Euskadi after all despite a flurry of reports that he was prepared to join a foreign team after last-minute haggling over his contract became too much. Mayo won the stage to Alpe d’Huez to become one of the hottest tickets in Spanish cycling. Last week, he was poised to sign a three-year contract extension to stay with the boys in orange from Spain’s Basque Country. But late bickering over the final amount almost torpedoed the deal and Mayo was prepared to join a foreign team, with such squads at Rabobank, Saeco and Quick Step

A crop of top quality, home-grown riders will be vying for top honors when the 58th edition of the Vuelta a España gets underway in the northern coastal city of Gijon on Saturday. Spanish riders have dominated the race for the past three years and with big guns Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich preferring to stay away and focus their preparations on next year's Tour de France they should have a chance to maintain their supremacy. But even without the presence of the top two from this year's French race, the Vuelta promises to be an exciting affair after the organizers again opted for a

Organizers of the Vuelta a España announced late Wednesday that the Italian Domina Vacanze team – with Mario Cipollini in tow - will be at the start line of Spain’s national tour on Saturday in Gijon. "Mario Cipollini and his team are currently on the road to Gijon,” a spokesman for Vuelta organizer Unipublic told the French wire service AFP on Wednesday. The spokesman noted that despite an earlier announcement, Unipublic had not yet "officially excluded Domina Vacanze from the Vuelta.” The team has since guaranteed that Cipollini, the reigning world road champion, will be in Gijon for

The big news of Tyler Hamilton's transfer to the Swiss Phonak team has made headlines throughout Europe. Hamilton enjoyed a banner year, winning Liége-Bastogne-Liége, the Tour of Romandie and a stage in the Tour de France while riding with a fractured collar bone. The New Englander officially announced Monday a two-year deal to join the Phonak team, which has yet to race in the Tour. Team officials were upbeat about their chances to earn a place in the 2004 Tour. "Over the past two years our strategy has been in keeping with the marketing strategy of the sponsor: young, international, but

Saying Spain’s national tour deserves more respect than has been shown by Mario Cipollini, organizers of the Vuelta a España have ejected the Domina Vacanze team from the race after the world champion made it clear he would not attend. Race director Victor Cordero told the French wire service AFP on Tuesday that he disapproved of the attitude of Italian team, after it had initially promised to field Cipollini. "The Vuelta and cycling deserve more respect,” Cordero said. “There will only be 21 instead of 22 teams at the start line. To tell us Sunday that Cipollini is not coming is to show a

Injured Tour de France contender Joseba Beloki said he'll wait one more week for ONCE sport director Manolo Saiz to find a new sponsor before signing with a foreign team. Beloki, 30, told the Spanish daily AS that he wants to stay with Saiz if he can find a new sponsor to take over for the Spanish lottery ONCE, which is ending its long-running sponsorship at the end of this season. "I'll wait one more week for Saiz. If nothing happens, I'll sign with a foreign team," Beloki said. The three-time Tour podium finisher has been linked to such teams as Rabobank, CSC, Gerolsteiner and Phonak,

American riders dominated the downhill competition at the Masters Mountain Bike World Championships, taking six of eight titles awarded. Four other categories did not have titles awarded because each had only one rider. The UCI announced shortly before the world’s that a minimum of three riders were required for a title to be awarded (originally, the organization had said six, but reduced it to three after protests). All four were upper age groups, three of them women's categories, and U.S. riders won these events also. Lars Tribus (Chumba Racing), won the hotly contested men's 30-34 group

Mark McCormack (Saturn) and Genevieve Jeanson (Rona/Esker) left little doubt Monday as each won their fourth consecutive stage of the Mad River Valley Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont. The Voler Burlington Criterium offered little if any rest to the riders, as the unique general classification points format required racers to stay aggressive throughout this final stage. Certainly that was true in McCormack’s case as he countered a brief early attack with Mark Walters (Navigators) and went clear to stay. McCormack and Walters rode a very smart race, working well together and maintaining

After a week of training with Michael and a couple of his teammates in the Pyrénées, I was feeling super motivated to race. The boys whipped me into flying form, as I followed them up col after col, panting away. They were doing long, steady rides in the mountains in preparation for the upcoming Vuelta a España, but for me, it was like two to five hours of motor pacing each day. I boarded a plane Saturday night for Nuremberg, after a slight glitch in my travel arrangements. I was happy to arrive at the hotel at a reasonable enough hour to have a good dinner and sleep. None of my T-Mobile

Mark McCormack (Saturn) and Geneviève Jeanson (Rona-Esker) followed their victories in Friday’s prologue by winning stage 1 of the Mad River Valley Green Mountain Stage Race, the Moretown Circuit Race. McCormack, who has won this race in each of the previous two years, got into a break with Mark Walters (Navigators), Cameron Hughes (LeMond Fitness-Cra-Z Soap), Tim Johnson (Saturn), and Alex Lavallee (Trek-Volkswagen) at the top of the second KOM sprint. With the top-three overall riders on board, the group maintained its lead, despite several attempts from riders in the field to bridge.

Jan Ullrich won't be racing in October's world championships, his manager Wolfgang Strohband told the German news agency SID on Sunday. Strohband said the 29-year-old would end his season in next week's Hessen Rundfahrt in Germany to close up his 2003 season. Officials from the T-Mobile race are trying to persuade the Bianchi rider to start the Sept. 14 race in San Francisco, but SID reported Ullrich will attend the Formula 1 race in Italy the same day to kick off his vacation. "I didn't race that much this year and I don't want to overdo it," Ullrich told SID. "To prepare for the world's

After 78km of racing through the foothills of the Swiss Alps in harsh, windy conditions, the battle for the World Mountain Bike Marathon Championship in Lugano came down to the final 100 meters on Sunday as hometown hero Thomas Frischknecht outsprinted Bart Brentjens of the Netherlands to claim the first-ever world marathon title. Carsten Bresser of Germany rounded out the podium in third, four minutes behind the leaders. With more than 9300 feet of climbing and strong alpine winds, the elements and topography alone provided enough opportunity for the favorites to sort themselves out at

Although Mark McCormack (Saturn) really had to really work for it, he and Geneviève Jeanson (Rona-Esker) made it three wins in three days during stage 2 of the Mad River Valley Green Mountain Stage Race, the Sugarbush Chamber Mad River Road Race. The men saw lots of breakaway attempts, but none succeeded as the GC leaders kept everything tight in the pack. As the riders approached the first of the two final climbs up to Appalachian Gap, Tim Johnson (Saturn) started to drive the field and formed two break groups in hopes of stretching out the field for McCormack. But when the field caught

Erin Mirabella (Frisco Cycling Club) lapped the field and held off a late charge by Ashley Kimmet (Colavita-Bolla) to win the women’s points race Saturday during the final night of the USCF National Track Cycling Championships in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. The race started off slowly, but soon began to break apart. An attack by Lauren Shirock (Coyote Cycling) got the action rolling. Then Mari Holden (Team T-Mobile) and Kimmet, the 2001 junior world silver medalist in the points race, got away to take the lead with 35 laps remaining. Mirabella and Sarah Hammer (Team T-Mobile) charged to

Steve Tilford (Shimano-Moots) was among four Americans to claim world titles on Saturday during the first day of the Masters Mountain Bike World Championships in Bromont, Québec. Tilford took his fifth masters world’s title in the men's 40-44 age group, finishing nearly four minutes ahead of Thierry Salomon of Switzerland, with Patrick Meersschaert (Belgium) third. Other U.S. titlists were 70-year-old Frederic Schmidt (Waco Bicycle Club) in the 65-plus category, Seattle's James Wagner (Ti Cycles) in the 60-64 category and Lydia Barter (Team Bicycle Alley) in the women's 50+ age

It’s the second night of the 2003 Eurobike trade and the VeloNews crewand I just had dinner with Jan Ullrich –well, kind of…To be honest, we were seated next to him as he went about his businessentertaining a table full of Bianchi corporate brass. In Friedrichshafenfor an autograph signing session at the Bianchi booth on Saturday, it wasrefreshing to see Ullrich slurping down his pasta only a few feet awayfrom our table. Refreshing not because he ordered the same dish as I did,but because he so very nonchalantly signed autographs from the occasionalpasserby who recognized him.The highlight of

Mark McCormack (Saturn) and Genevieve Jeanson (Rona-Esker) were victorious in the pouring rain in the hill climb prologue of the Mad River Valley Green Mountain Stage Race. Jeanson led a barrage of Rona riders up the final climb in the 13km hill climb stage. Sporting her brand new Canadian national championship jersey, she escaped from the field just after the beginning neutral zone and won the stage easily over teammates Johanna Buick and Shani Block. The Rona squad not only swept the podium, but placed riders in the top four places, and five out of the top 10. The American contingent was

Photo Gallery: U.S. National Track Championships -Day 3