Road

A cagey Denis Menchov (Illes Baleares) held his fire until the final kilometers, then took his best shot, chasing down and outsprinting a three-man breakaway on the Col de Manse to claim the 173.5km sixth stage of Paris-Nice race from Rasteau to Gap on Friday. The threesome of Spaniard Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), American Floyd Landis (U.S. Postal) and Belgian Dave Bruylandts (Chocolade Jacques) had surged ahead on the final climb, some 10km from the line. But Menchov leapt from the first chase group to join the trio, then pipped them at the finish in a four-up dash to the line.

Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank) took the lead in the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race after winning the 168km third stage between Maddaloni and Isernia on Friday. The 28-year-old Freire came in ahead of Ukrainian rider Vladimir Duma (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) and Rabobank teammate Michael Boogerd of the Netherlands for his third stage win of the season. He overtakes Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo), winner of the first two stages, as the overall leader. The battle started early with a series of attacks from Spaniard Angel Vicioso (Liberty Seguros), Estonian Janek Tombak (Cofidis)

Leading a strong Canadian showing that has typified the NORBA series for several years now, Alison Sydor and Seamus McGrath posted the top time-trial times at the National Mountain Bike Series opener on Friday in Waco, Texas. In a flip-flop of usual protocol, the men kicked off the day’s racing, which was held on the twisty trails of Waco’s Cameron Park. The course was a three-mile circuit that started on pavement, but quickly gave way to tight single-track that kept riders on their toes the entire time. “There wasn’t much climbing, but it was really sketchy and loose in a lot of the

Levi Leipheimer is racing in this week’s Paris-Nice, where his Rabobank team was hoping to push Erik Dekker onto the winner’s podium. That is until Team CSC blew the race apart in Stage 2, leaving Dekker and Leipheimer more than 5 minutes in their wake. Leipheimer entered Paris-Nice with a different frame of mind from last year, when he focused his entire season on the Tour de France. Leipheimer crashed out of last year’s Tour in the first road stage, breaking a bone in his hip that later impaired his preparation for the 2003 Vuelta a España. This year, Leipheimer is changing his tune

Two-time defending champion Alexandre Vinokourov dedicated his win in the 215km fifth stage of Paris-Nice to his friend Andrei Kivilev who was killed in last year's event. "It's fantastic. I wanted to win for him," said the 30-year-old Kazakh rider of the stage he was determined to win in memory of compatriot Kivilev, who died after a fall on March 11, 2003. Winner of the last two editions of Paris-Nice, Vinokourov missed a key break on Monday and now sits more than five minutes down in the overall standings. But on Thursday, Vinokourov managed to join a key CSC-driven break that resembled

Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) won his second-straight stage at Tirreno-Adriatico, beating former world champion Mario Cipollini in the race to the line at the end of Thursday's 184km second stage into Maddaloni on Thursday. The 30-year-old Petacchi continues as overall race leader after also winning Wednesday's first stage. French riders Stephane Auge and none other than Jacky Durand made the first break at the 40km mark but failed to build up sufficient distance and were quickly caught with French Cofidis rider Mederic Clain taking up the challenge with German Danilo Hondo. Some

With great fanfare, awarding of prizes for design innovations, political speeches, and a ribbon cutting ceremony, the four-day, 17th annual Taipei International Cycle Show is off, once again marking the beginning of the bicycle selling season. This where the big orders are placed by some of the world’s largest manufacturers and importers. It’s also where hush-hush new developments for as far out as the 2005 season and beyond are revealed, albeit generally to major buyers and behind closed doors. Still, new products that have not yet been seen abound and in many cases they’ve already been

With a start list that included Tinker Juarez, Dave Wiens and a pair of Subaru-Gary Fisher pros, Charlie Storm had to figure a top five would have been a great day. Throw in the fact that Storm flatted on the first lap of the 60-mile marathon race that kicked off the first stop of the NORBA Mountain Bike Series in Texas, and a top 10 would have looked pretty good. But that puncture — and one to the lead moto — turned out to be Storm’s lucky break. While he was pulled off on the side of the 20-mile circuit that twisted its way through the Broken Oak and C-Bar ranches 30 miles south of Waco,

While Shimano and RockShox/SRAM have each scheduled their official worldwide press launches for two weeks from now, quite a bit of information has already leaked out of both companies regarding their 2005 technology.In order to quell the leaks – or at least ensure the accuracy of the news that’s out there – both companies opted to open their respective information floodgates at least part of the way on Tuesday when they each issued “pre-release” press releases. Look for complete reports from RockShox’s March 28th-31st press camp in Las Vegas and Shimano’s Los Angeles product launch on April

Super sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) won the first stage of the 39th Tirreno-Adriatico as it finished in Sabaudia on the Mediterranean coast on Wednesday. The 30-year-old sprint specialist was the fastest in a bunch sprint, crossing the finish line of the 169km stage in 3:55:31. German pair Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) and Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) were second and third respectively. Petacchi said his 60th career victory and his third of the season owed much to the performance of teammate Guido Trenti. "Trenti guided me very well and although I thought I went a little early in

Snow has forced the cancellation of the fourth stage of Paris-Nice, a planned 179km race through the mountainous Loire and Auvergne regions of central France Wednesday. Race director Jean-Marie Leblanc said conditions on the day's biggest climb, the Category 2 Col de la Croix de l'Homme Mort, made racing unsafe. "It's minus four degrees (Celsius) on Col de la Croix de l'Homme Mort, the road is wet and the snow is still falling," said Leblanc after the start time was pushed back twice before finally being cancelled. German CSC rider Jörg Jaksche holds the overall race lead with a six-second

Lotto's Leon van Bon won the third stage of Paris-Nice, a 229km ride between Chapelle-Saint-Ursin and Roanne on Tuesday, finishing just ahead of Gerolsteiner's Thomas Ziegler. Van Bon and Ziegler slipped off the front of the field just before the 30km mark and built up a lead that peaked at more 13 minutes at one point. The two finished just ahead of the main field, nearly 200km after their initial escape. Quick Step's Tom Boonen won the field sprint 25 seconds after the two leaders crossed the line. German CSC rider Jörg Jaksche retained the overall race lead with a six-second advantage

Editor's note: A quick glance over the resultspage of this year's edition of Paris-Nice will suggest the Bobby Julichis having a good start to the 2004 season. As of Tuesday, Julich is thirdplace in the overall standings, 18 seconds behind his CSC teammate JörgJaksche. At this point in the year, things are shaping up nicely for the32-year-old American, who spent an afternoon earlier this year speakingwith VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood about his new teamand his hopes for the coming season. This story originally appeared inthe March 8, 2004 edition of VeloNews.When Bjarne Riis

Murcia ended up being quite successful for the team: we accomplished morethan we had set out to with two stage wins and a solid team effort. U.S.Postal currently has the most victories of any team in the professionalpeloton which isn’t bad considering we were the last to start racing. Friday’s stage at Murcia was a little harder than the profile had suggestedand some serpentine undulating roads took most of the peloton by surprise,split things up and zapped a good amount of energy out of everybody’s legsand spirits. It ended up being good for us as the challenge of the course made therace

U.S. Postal leader Lance Armstrong has decided to ride in this year's Dauphine Libere as part of his preparation for a record sixth Tour de France title in July. "I've changed my mind," said 32-year-old Armstrong, who was not expected to race in the event from June 6-13 in southeast France which he has won for the past two years. But Armstrong, who has hinted that he could quit at the end of the season, changed his mind because this year's race includes a time-trial up Mont Ventoux, which will aid his preparation for Alpe d'Huez time-trail which is seen as a key to this year's Tour de

It was a day of heavy damage in Monday’s second stage of Paris-Nice. No, no one crashed, but a half-dozen favorites were all-but-eliminated when Team CSC and U.S. Postal Service collaborated to drive a deep five-minute wedge into the eight-day race. Five Postals and the entire CSC team drove a lead group of 36 into Montargis in the windy 166.5km stage across rolling farmland south of Paris. Spanish rider Pedro Horrillo (Quick Step) rejoiced in his most important victory of his career while two-time defending champion Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile), Erik Dekker (Rabobank), Laurent

Over the past two weeks, organizers of last year’s Grand Prix FemininInternational du Canada, and the Canadian Cycling Association have sent out conflicting press releases regarding the future of this year’s race. Organizers of the 2003 event, from the Lac St Jean-Saguenay region in eastern Quebec, released a statement saying that they would not be presenting the event in 2004 – slated for August 4 to 8 – because of its potential scheduling conflict with the Athens Olympics. While the promoters said that there would be an expected lack of interest from European teams in 2004, the race would

Rona’s Emilie Roy and Michael Jones (Health Net/Maxxis) took the overall titles as the 19th Annual Tucson Bicycle Classic wrapped up with a tough circuit race on Sunday The women’s race didn’t have a surprise finish as much as it did a surprise start – or rather lack of start -- on Sunday morning. Team Rona sensation Geneviève Jeanson had already won the opening two stages of the race, had more than a ten-minute lead on G.C. and was poised to win her third successive Tucson Classic when an awkward dismount from her pedal inflamed a knee injury and the young Canadian was unable to start on

When Jorg Jaksche raced with Telekom and ONCE early in his career, he didn’t get much of a chance to ride for himself. Most of his efforts were supporting proven leaders Jan Ullrich or Joseba Beloki. Now that he’s been giving the leadership mantle since joining Team CSC over the off-season, the 27-year-old German is taking full advantage of the opportunity. Jaksche won the Tour Mediterranean in February and added an even more important victory Sunday in the 13.2km opening time trial of the 62rd Paris-Nice. “When I rode at the other teams I was always a worker for others, which was fine

Italy's Danilo Di Luca (Saeco) won the 169km fourth stage of the Tour of Murcia in Collado Bermejo on Saturday. The stage finished with a climb up the Marco Pantani Hill, named in honor of the Italian cyclist who died last month, and as Di Luca crossed the line he pointed his finger towards the sky in memory of his compatriot to claim the stage in 4:25:34. Di Luca overtook Alejandro Valverde (Kelme), Australia's Cadel Evans (T-Mobile) and compatriot Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) to win the stage; for his part, Valverde stripped the leader's jersey from compatriot Ivan Gutierrez (Illes

The men’s race at the Tucson Bicycle Classic may have boiled down to a sprint after more than three hours of racing on Saturday, but Geneviève Jeanson wasn’t about to wait around for such nonsense. As she did on this stage in 2002, the Rona rider soloed away from the women’s field to win the Gates Pass Garrett Lemire Memorial Road Race by more than nine minutes. Jeanson, who also took Friday’s individual time trial, finished her 63-mile workout on the 21-mile circuit in 2:42:26. The runner-up, her teammate Emilie Roy, wouldn’t turn up until nine minutes and two seconds later. Third went to

Max Van Heeswijk scored his second victory in three days after taking Friday’s sprint in the third stage of the Tour of Murcia. The U.S. Postal Service rider has hit a purple patch that includes four wins in three weeks of racing in Spain. This time, Van Heeswijk slipped ahead of Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) to take the honors. José Ivan Gutierrez (Illes Balears) finished safely in the main bunch to retain the overall lead he earned following Thursday’s time trial victory. Lance Armstrong (USPS) also avoided trouble to remain second overall and even played a hand to help spring Van Heeswijk to

Geneviève Jeanson (Rona) and Ryan Blickem (Aida’s Bail Bonds) were the fastest on the day as the 19th annual Tucson Bicycle Classic got under way on Friday. The 3-mile Old Tucson McCain Loop time trial on McCain Loop Road in Tucson Mountain Park began with a mile of fast rollers before serving up two miles of 4 to 6 percent climbing to the finish. Blickem covered the course in 7:22, 8 seconds ahead of Michael Jones (Health Net-Maxxis) and a further second up on Scott Blanchard (Eclipse). Jeanson won in a more convincing fashion, finishing in 8:20, 14 seconds ahead of Jeannie Longo and 26

Lance Armstrong (USPS) won the battle against Tour de France rival Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) but it was Spanish rider José Ivan Gutierrez who won the war in Thursday’s 21.8km time trial. Armstrong settled for fifth at 29 seconds slower while Ullrich finished 31st at 1:35 back, more than a minute slower than his Tour rival. While the hyped Armstrong-Ullrich showdown somewhat fizzled, Gutierrez chugged to an impressive victory against a quality field in the second stage of the five-day Tour of Murcia in Spain. “I needed a win like this,” said Gutierrez, a former national road and time trial

The race is off to a good start for the team with another victory for Max and USPS/Berry Floor. Our directors have a bit of a competition running, as there are currently two Postal race programs, one for the classics and one for the smaller tours and Ardennes classics. I think Johan is now up on victories, 4 to 2 against Dirk. The past few weeks in Europe have been frigid with snow in Majorca, Barcelona and throughout much of the rest of Europe. Races have been cancelled and training sessions have been indoors. It was a relief when we arrived in Almeria in the south of Spain on the

The hyped first confrontation of the season between Lance Armstrong (U.S.Postal Service) and Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) didn’t last long. The pair was all smiles as they posed with race favorite Alejandro Valverde(CV-Kelme) before the start of Wednesday’s opening stage of the Tour ofMurcia in Spain. But strong crosswinds forced a split in the peloton and Ullrich rolledacross the finish line with 42 other riders more than seven minutes behindArmstrong. José Antonio López (Illes Balears) was the day’s main protagonist, going on a solo move that held out until 30km to go despite the strong winds

Dear Monique,In a previous article you discussed hypoglycemia symptoms follow apre-exercise meal of carbohydrates. I have experienced this on random periods-usually after my morning coffee and bagel, and then setting out on a run.Generally this happens a mile out, and may last for the next two milesbefore passing. During the reaction period I slow down and just try tomaintain activity. What should one really do when this happens?Thanks,K.Dear Monique,I train before work and get up, get dressed, and am immediately onthe bike, usually for 1-1.5 hours. So, should I slam down an orange juiceand

Sorta like the swallows returning to Capistrano, one of my regular annual duties is to bundle-up and head out to Bloomington, Minnesota, for Quality Bicycle Products' annual open house. One of the largest bicycle distributors in the United States, QBP opens its door every February to interested shop owners who are keen on getting a glimpse at some of this year's latest technology. Representatives from many of QBP’s clients make the trip out, set up a booth and profess the merits of their products. In short, it’s a really mini-Interbike without the cigarette smoke, slot machines or

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Former world Madison champion Robert Sassone, who is being investigated after drugs were found at his home, tested positive for a steroid derivative last year, officials announced Tuesday. Traces of betamethasone, a glucocorticosteroid, were found in Sassone's urine sample after the Six Days of Noumea race, which was held in the French Pacific territory from November 28 to December 3. The use of glucocorticosteroids, which are used to treat asthma, is strictly limited under the rules of cycling. In January, a French judge took the first step towards formal charges against the 25-year-old

Dear readers,I don’t know about all of you, but I’m getting tired of talking aboutchains, even though the mail keeps pouring in about them. I do want toadd, though, that Shimano's Wayne Stetina just told me that he would neveradvise flipping over a 10-speed chain, so this method is only for 9-speedand lower.Leaving chains, here are a couple of related questions to which a singleanswer might suffice.LennardFreeing up my freehubDear Lennard,I have your "Zinn& The Art of Road Bike Maintenance" book but would like to knowwhere I can find or purchase specific instructions on how to remove theMavic

Unipublic, the organizer of the Vuelta a España, on Monday releasedthe list of teams participating in this year’s event. The race is slated to start in Leon on September 4 and finish on September 26 in Madrid. Teams selected by world ranking1. Fassa Bortolo (I)2. Quick Step (B)3. T-Mobile (G)4. Saeco (I)5. Iles Balears-Banesto (Sp)6. Cofidis (F)7. Rabobank (Nl)8. Liberty Seguros (Sp)9. U.S. Postal Service (USA)10. CSC (Dk)11. Alessio-Bianchi (I)12. Euskaltel-Euskadi (Sp)13. AG2R Prevoyance (F)14. Phonak (Swi)Invited15. Brioches La Boulangere (F)16. Cafe Baque (Sp)17. Colchon (Sp)18. Kelme

Dear Joe and Dirk,I am planning to work full time at a bicycle shop starting in Marchand am also working on upgrading to Category 2. Finding time to ride willnot be too much of an issue, but I am concerned about being on my feetfor seven to eight hours a day, four or five days a week. How much willthis affect my recovery and racing? Will it have a noticeable effect onmy peak fitness? Should I do harder workouts in the morning or after I have been standingall day? I look forward to hearing your input.CoreyNew Hampshire. Dear CoreyHaving a job in which you stand a great deal can be tough when

While most of us are busy trying to catch-up with what’s going on with2004 suspension, most manufacturers have long been working on their 2005product lines. Fact is, says Manitou’s Joel Smith, that company is “pushinghard to put the finishing touches on 2005 and move ahead with our 2006product line.” How’s that for looking ahead? Manitou invited VeloNews to Phoenix, Arizona, last month to spenda weekend riding its new 2005 fork line. While the California-based suspensionmanufacturer will unveil new improvements throughout the full range ofits 2005 line (later this summer) Smith figured it

Canberra’s Oenone Wood, 23, (Australian Institute of Sport) has proved unstoppable yet again sprinting to her 12th and most impressive victory of the year so far when she outclassed an international field on Sunday to claim honors in the opening round of the UCI women’s road cycling World Cup Series in Geelong, Australia.“I’m ecstatic to win this round of the World Cup,” said Wood after her win. “I have pay tribute to my team because they’ve looked after me all season and I couldn’t have done it without them and there’s such a positive atmosphere in the Australian team at the moment.Wood was

Dutch rider Steven De Jongh (Rabobank) was fastest in an eight-up sprint to win Sunday’s cold and blustery Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne race in Belgian. De Jongh, winner of last year’s GP E3-Harelbeke, nipped Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) and Gerben Loewik (Chocolade Jacques) a day after snow forced the cancellation of Saturday’s Het Volk. Thirty-eight riders jumped off the front as the peloton split coming over the Old Kwaremont climb as U.S. Postal’s George Hincapie and Max Van Heeswijk set a blistering pace. Quick Step was well-placed and controlled the lead group coming into the final circuit

This past week in Australia we have felt as though we were stuck in a broken record. We have had one field sprint after another, starting in the Geelong Tour and ending in the Geelong World Cup today. Our team did not have a sprinter here with legs at the finish to contest the podium, and we knew this after day one in the tour. We tried our hardest to force a different outcome in each of the races, but we never had any luck forging a breakaway that would stick to the finish. Last year at the Geelong World Cup, a breakaway went almost at the beginning of the race. The wind was blowing, and

Gordon McCauley (Monex) won the Tour de Temecula’s opening De Portola Time Trial on Friday. McCauley covered the 12-mile out and back course, with its short midpoint hill, in 24:48.9. Daniel Ramsey (Team Seasilver) took second in 24:54.6, followed by Thurlow Rogers (Jax Trek-VW) in 24:58.5. Jeannie Longo won the women’s TT in 27.25.1, ahead of Susan Cooper (Bicycle Johns) in 27:48.3 and Catherine Powers (Dasani La Grange) in 28:25.4. Today brings the Wine Country Road Race, held on an 8.5-mile circuit. Men will do 10 laps, women six. The tour concludes Sunday with the Temecula Grand Prix,

Italian Franco Pellizotti (Alessio-Bianchi) won the hilly, chilly GP di Chiasso on Saturday as the Swiss racing season opened in near-freezing temperatures with the remnants of a recent snowfall on the roadside. The 166km course began with seven circuits of 12km each, followed by five trips around a 16km loop that extended and enhanced the day’s climbing. A seven-man group escaped on the third lap and built a margin of 1:35 before Viktor Rapinski (Navigators) bridged up near the end of the fourth lap. The foursome stayed away until the first of the large circuits, where the field swept them

Team Adidas Fiat Rotwild was the first to cross the finish line on Saturday as The Cape Epic, an eight-stage mountain-bike stage race in South Africa, got under way. The 750km stage race, which began on the Garden Route in Knysna and ends March 6 at the Spier Wine Estate, just outside Cape Town, will send its 273 teams through the Western Cape and across some of the most magnificent mountain passes in South Africa. Each team consists of two riders, who must stay together throughout the race. The first stage, a 120km leg that gained 3050 meters of elevation as it crossed the Outeniqua

Snow and freezing conditions have forced the cancellation of the first of the 2004 "spring classics," the Omloop Het Volk. A wet cold front dropped snow over Belgium early Saturday, covering the route between Gent and Lokeren, creating dangerous conditions on some stretches of cobbles. Race officials waited for improvement, but finally opted to cancel the event for only the third time in its 59-year history. "We couldn't guarantee the safety of the riders," race director Wim Van Herreweghe said Saturday. Promoters remain confident that Het Volk's usual follow-up race,

Five-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has hinted he could retire at the end of the season but admits he might find the prospect of losing this year's Tour de France too hard to swallow. The 32-year-old Texan is targeting a record sixth win in cycling's blue-ribbon event and admits retirement is a thought. But he told The Times newspaper in London on Saturday: "I can't imagine being retired 12 months from now. But I'm open to the possibility there will be a tap on the shoulder and someone says 'time's up'. "This could be my last year. If I lost I don't know if I would say, 'Okay,

Alexandre Usov (Phonak) muscled to a sprint victory in Saturday’s fifth and final stage of the Tour of Valencia while Alejandro Valverde (CV-Kelme) sewed up the overall title. Saturday’s 165km final stage hit a Category 2 climb early on, then rolled back into Valencia where the bunch came in for a mass gallop. Sunny skies returned after several days of rain, but heavy winds continue to wallop the peloton. It was an impressive week for the 23-year-old Valverde, who won two stages and otherwise controlled the race, held in the same region that is home to the team’s new sponsor, Communidad

Mario Cipollini will make his long-awaited return to the Tour de France this year after organizers issued the seven remaining wildcard invitations for this year's race Friday.Fourteen first division teams have already qualified for the race in accordance with their UCI (International Cycling Union) rankings at the end of last season.Organizers have left open the possibility for a 22nd team to be added to the list at a later date.Cipollini has missed the world's biggest race for the past two years, with his non-inclusion last year during the race's centenary edition causing an uproar in

Italian Alessandro Bertolini (Alessio) claimed what will be a memorable overall victory on the final day of the Tour of Lucca in Altopascio, Italy, on Friday. The fourth and final stage of the Italian season-opener was won by Florent Brard (Chocolat Jacques), a victory made easier for the Frenchman by the absence of most of the peloton. On Thursday, organizers disqualified 120 riders – including Italian sprinters Mario Cipollini and Alessandro Petacchi – after they were deemed to be taking too long to finish the stage, a situation which had also been decided by the need for locals to regain

There was no stopping Alejandro Valverde (CV-Kelme) as he shot to his second win a row and into the overall leader’s jersey as he won a wet and messy stage into Sagunto to claim the third stage of the Tour of Valencia. Valverde timed his move perfectly, came off the fifth wheel and sprung to his third victory of the season. With the 10-second time bonus, he nudged ahead of Toni Colom (Illes Balears) by one second to take the leader’s jersey. “I have good form now and I want to take advantage of it,” said Valverde, who came across ahead of sprint specialists Isaac Galvez (Illes Balears) and

The four-stage Geelong Tour began Sunday night with an eight-kilometer prologue time trial. T-Mobile is the only all-American team here, but there are a handful of Americans dispersed on different teams. Jessica Phillips is riding with the German Nuremberger team this season. She will be based in Liepzig, Germany and racing in Europe most of the year, but their team has started the season in Australia with the tour and a short training camp. Meredith Miller, who is based in Copenhagen, Denmark is riding with the Scandinavian SATS team. SATS is a chain of gyms that is prominent throughout

I just got back from a whirlwind trip out to Wisconsin where VeloNews's Nick Ramey and I were able to visit with both Trek and Pacific Cycle. With one long day slated for our Trek visit, we had high hopes of getting a look at what the venerable company is planning for coming years and, 12 hours later, we left very satisfied. Our main guide for the day was Fisher/LeMond/Klein/Bontrager brand coordinator Ryan Atkinson. Our stops included visits to the massive 182,000-square-foot Whitewater production facility where 240 employees assemble many of the Trek, Fisher, Klein and LeMond models. While

New Zealand Commonwealth champion, Sarah Ulmer, 27, sprinted home fora win in the final stage of the Geelong Tour on Wednesday but it was Canberra’sOenone Wood, 23, (Australian Institute of Sport) who celebrated overallTour victory.The 2004 dual Australian road champion, Wood, took over the lead onTuesday from Victorian Katie Mactier, 28, (Jayco) and went into the finalstage with a slender seven second lead. But the strong support of her teamin countering all threats saw her successfully defend the leader’s bluejersey. Mactier finished in second place six seconds behind while KatherineBates,

Alejandro Valverde (CV-Kelme) is proving he’s a “todo terreno,” an all-roundrider capable of winning in any conditions. The world champion runner-up shot ahead of veteran Rolf Aldag (T-Mobile)on a steep finishing approach to claim the rainy 148.5km second stage ofthe Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana on Tuesday for his second win of theseason. “For me, this win is an injection of moral because this season couldbe my confirmation,” Valverde told Spanish television. “I haven’t set specialgoals. Every race I start that I feel good I want to go for the podium.” Valverde, who lives in nearby

Dear readers,I have gotten so much mail on the chain wear and replacement issue, thatI decided to clarify my perspective on the cost/benefit equation and postthe best samples of the mail I have recently received opposing as wellas supporting my position. I just completed writing a new book that I turned in to VeloPress lastThursday, two hours before flying off for my annual appointment to competein (or suffer through) the American Birkebeiner, the great 51km cross-countryski race in Wisconsin. The book, which is sort of my "Top 50" list of things you can do tobe faster, more efficient, more

Australian road champion Oenone Wood, 23, (AIS) took over the leadfrom Katie Mactier, 28, (Jayco) in the Geelong Tour on Tuesday, as PetraRossner (Team Nurnberger) scored a solid sprint win to take stage threeof the four-day Australian stage race.Wood was aggressive throughout the 77.5km stage which offered bonusseconds in three intermediate sprints and at the finish. Wood claimed themaximum three second bonus on the first two sprints to overtake Mactier’slead and also picked up two seconds on the third sprint. Mactier couldn’tcounter her rival’s attack.“I knew Katie (Mactier) would be trying

Spanish rider Toni Colom took another win for the new Illes Balears team Tuesday after out-sprinting David Blanco (Valencia-Kelme) in Tuesday’s opening stage of the Tour of Valencia. Colom, who won the Ruta del Sol race in 2002 while riding for Fuenlabrada, delivered the overall but unofficial title at the Mallorca Challenge earlier this month to open the Spanish racing calendar. “It’s nice to actually win the stage instead of just take the leader’s jersey like I did at Mallorca,” Colom said. “It was very rainy at the start of the stage but we’re going to keep fighting. I’m maybe not quite

Dual Australian road champion, Oenone Wood, 23, (AIS) put in a strongfinal burst on Monday to take the second stage of the Geelong Tour, a 35 kilometer criterium raced in Geelong’s Eastern Park.The Canberra rider, wearing the green and gold national champion’s jersey,pipped Sydney’s Katherine Bates, 21, (NSWIS) on the line with RochelleGilmore (AUS - Team SATS third.“We were trying to get working and attacking to get a break away butthe course proved difficult to do that on,” said Wood of the 2.2km circuiton which the riders completed 16 laps. “The course wasn’t technical, exceptfor one

Floyd Landis won Sunday’s final stage and the overall at the Tour ofthe Algarve in Portugal to mark the best start to the season ever for U.S.Postal Service. The team also won two stages at the Ruta del Sol last week.Five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong started the stagewearing the yellow jersey, but told Landis to ride for the victory. Armstrongwon Saturday’s time trial and finished fifth overall.“Lance is generous, so he said I could go for the win if I was feelingwell. Everybody worked together,” Landis told the AP. “It's good for theteam to start the year with a win, so

How is easier better?Dear Joe and Dirk,I have to confess that I don't really believe what I've been readingabout base-building.As I understand it, if I have two hours to ride on a given day, basetraining says I will achieve better conditioning if I ride at 6 percentof my maximum heart rate than I would were I to ride at 75 percent.Is that true, and if so, why? It seems counter-intuitive.Jack RawlinsDear Jack,The answer to your question really depends upon where your currentfitness levels are. Simply riding for two hours in a relatively easy state(heart rate zones 1-2) will not improve fitness

The team has started the season better than it ever has with five wins to date. Last year we didn’t have five before the Tour and only 12 in the entire year. The teams in both Ruta del Sol and Algarve were strong and successful. The nice thing is that we hadn’t really planned on being in flying form for these races; they were simply build-up for the main objectives, so it is definitely a confidence boost and a nice bonus to have the victories under the belt. Going into Algarve we knew the last two days were to be key. The time trial was a long one, 24 km, with many false flat sections and

Two-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) is known for his quicksprint, but the Spanish rider won Sunday’s Trofeo Luis Puig after holdingout on a solo bid to spoil the fiesta for the sprinters.The Spanish semi-classic held over a rolling course between Valenciaand Benidorm along Spain’s sunny Mediterranean Coast hit the difficultAlto del Coll de Rates early on. Freire joined several riders who peeledaway from the main bunch on the descent.Joining Freire were four other Spanish riders: Ruben Plaza, Toni Colom,Koldo Gil and Bingen Fernandez. The quartet held a 30-second gap on thebunch,

Katie Mactier, 28, (Jayco) leads Australia’s four-day Geelong Tour after claiming a delayed victory in the opening twilight time trial stage raced at the Bellarine Peninsula beachside town of Portarlington. Her victory came in unusual circumstances after officials amended the original result when a recording error was noticed. After reviewing the timing tape officials moved Mactier into first and Sydney’s Kate Bates, 21, (NSWIS), who was originally awarded the win, down to fourth. Bates, while disappointed, accepted the mistake with good grace while Mactier was thrilled to learn she would

A day after losing Saturday’s time trial by one second to teammate LanceArmstrong, U.S. Postal’s Floyd Landis continued strong to win Sunday’sclimbing stage and claimed the overall title at the Tour of the Algarve. The difficult 178km stage was held over narrow roads and steep climbsin the hills north of Portugal’s glimmering Algarve coast. A breakawaypeeled away early, but the favorites moved to the front for the secondand final charge up the Category summit finish at Malhao. Landis held off Peter Farazijn (Cofidis) to win by five seconds andclaim his first individual title in Europe since

Being in Australia this week has been a stark contrast to the past few weeks I spent training at home in Boulder. One week ago, I was Nordic skiing or riding my bike in sub-zero weather, trying to avoid ice patches in the shady sections of the canyons West of town. On Friday, I was riding along the Great Ocean road southwest of Melbourne watching the surfers along the coast. It was 40 degrees Celsius, the sun was beating down on us, sweat was beading on our faces, I had sunscreen spread all over my body, but was struggling cover the one spot I missed on the back of my neck with the collar of

Lance Armstrong’s arrival at the Tour of the Algarve is the biggest thingthis otherwise modest Portuguese race has seen since the arrival of MiguelIndurain in 1996.Big Mig used this five-day race to kick-start his bid at a record sixthTour, but Armstrong is hoping this race provides a better ending laterthis year than the Spaniard faced in that year’s Tour.Armstrong sat down before 20 or so eager Portuguese journalists Fridayevening to answer some questions. Had he been to Portugal before? Yes,last May for a presidential cancer panel. Does he want to go to the moon?Well, he’s actually thought

Lance Armstrong fought through a brisk headwind to claim victory in Saturday’s individual time trial and shot into the overall lead with one day left in the Volta ao Algarve. Racing in the fourth day of his season debut, the five-time Tour de France champion edged U.S. Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis by one second in the 24km time trial. “It was very windy. I was surprised to win. I started too fast and I paid the price in the end,” said Armstrong, who finished in 31 minutes, 53 seconds (45.165 kph). “I rode with the SRM, started with big watts, finished with small watts. It’s always

Lance Armstrong’s season debut turned a little soggy Friday as Portugal’s sunny Algarve coast got drenched with afternoon showers late in the 180km third stage of the Volta ao Algarve. Armstrong rode at the front of the main bunch of the day’s major obstacle at the Category 2 Fóia climb at 57km and was content to let the sprinters take over coming into Lagos, where Martin Garrido (Barbot-Gaia) pipped Stuart O’Grady (Cofidis) to take the flowers. Candido Barboso (LA Pecol) took third and retained the overall lead after sprints have finished the action in the opening three days. Going into

The first race of the year always feels a little odd. The change from a training bike and long ride in a group or alone to a race bike and an attacking peloton is quite extreme and the body senses it almost immediately. But by the second day, my mind was back into it, the legs had come around and it seems like just a week ago I was in the Vuelta a España. The Volta Algarve is a nice race to start the season, as the weather is fairly mild in the south of Portugal, the racing is quite tame, and the countryside is nice for racing with undulating terrain. The vegetation and environment seem

LA Pecol's Candido Barbosa won the second stage and moved into the overall lead at Portugal's Tour of the Algarve Thursday, edging out Spaniard Alberto Benito (Antarte) and Cofidis's recent Aussie recruit, Stuart O'Grady, at the end of a 201km haul from Castro Marim on the Spanish border to Portimao. U.S. Postal leader Lance Armstrong, whose presence at the normally low-keyearly season race has brought international attention to the event, finishedthe day in the middle of the field. "Everything's going fine, as good as possible for the first race ofthe season," said Postal director Johan

"I'm all alone." — Written on a note found at Marco Pantani’s bedside at the time of his death.

George Hincapie will line up alongside Lance Armstrong today for the opening stage of the Tour of the Algarve in southern Portugal. Hincapie was scheduled to race Ruta del Sol, but he came down with what he called “a stomach bug” and delayed his start to the 2004 season. U.S. Postal Service sport director Johan Bruyneel told The Associated Press that Armstrong chose the Algarve race to kick off his season because he wants to spend more time in the United States later this spring. “The main attraction is the date, because we're starting racing earlier this year,” Bruyneel told the AP. “The

U.S. Postal’s Dutch sprint ace, Max van Heeswijk, claimed his second stagewin in three days at the end of the fourth stage of the Ruta del Sol inJaen, Spain, on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Van Heeswijk held off Belgians Nico Mattan (Relax)andPeter van Petegem (Lotto) at the finish line of the 159.3km stage betweenLa Zubia and Jaen. It is Van Heeswijk's second stage win of the race following his victoryon stage 2 on Monday, which was the first victory of the season for U.S.Postal. Juan Carlos Dominguez, of Saunier Duval, held on to the race leader'sjersey. Thursday's fifth and final stage

Dear Lennard,I am considering purchasing a compact chainring with my next bike.I am confused. Some literature suggests that the 50/34 tooth compact chainringwith a 11-23 cassette has a more expanded range than the conventional 53/39chainring with a 12-25 cassette. Is there a formula for determining the"high" and "low" range of gearing?RobDear Rob,There sure is!Gear = (number of chainring teeth) X (tire diameter) & divide; (number of cog teeth)If you want the gear in inches, put in the tire diameter in inches.To find out how far you get with each pedal stroke (gear rollout), multiply the gear

Here's a quick update on my earlier reporton Michelin’s announced plans to begin testing its tubeless road tiretechnology.I also wanted to thank all those readers who sent in additional questionsfor me to ask Michelin’s Steve White when I finally managed to corner himon the phone. As luck would have it, White called me early this morningto clear-up my questions.The following is an edited transcript of our discussion: VeloNews: Steve, how easy will it be to seat and inflate a tubelessroad tire? I’m also curious how regular riders might be able to patch andreinflate tubeless road tires out in

Italian young gun Fillipo Pozzato (Fassa Bortolo) roared to victory in Tuesday’s 183km Trofeo Laigueglia along the Italian Riviera. Pozzato held off Lorenzo Bernucci (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) to win the race for the second consecutive year. Former world champion Romans Vainsteins (Lampre) came through third in the bunch sprint. Laigueglia is the traditional kick off to the Italian racing calendar and the 22-year-old Pozzato becomes the first racer since Eddy Merckx (1973-74) to win the race back-to-back. “This victory comes thanks to my teammates, who believed in me,” Pozzato said. “I didn’t

U.S. Postal Service wasted no time to score its first victory of the 2004 season as Max Van Heeswijk edged Oscar Freire (Rabobank) to win Monday’s second stage of the Ruta del Sol. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) came through third in the 184km stage from Arcos de la Frontera to Benalmádena to grab the overall lead in the five-day race in southern Spain. U.S. Postal’s George Hincapie didn’t take his planned departure in Sunday’s opening stage after suffering stomach problems and might race later this week alongside Lance Armstrong at the Tour of Algarve in Portugal. Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) also

Racing at altitudeDear Dirk;I've got a few questions about altitude training and just general living.First, if I'm planning on racing at about 6000 feet above sea level,how long do I have to live at a similar altitude to become acclimated? Second, should I were to be required to take a blood test, is it advisableto get a blood test before living at altitude, and some midpoint to showan increase in hematocrit level?  Do you have any general suggestionsfor adjusting to altitude?  Any information would be appreciated,DevinDear Devin,It can take about two weeks to get fully acclimated to an

In a sport long dominated by a Belgian juggernaut, Richard Groendendaal scored an upset World Cup cyclo-cross victory in front of hometown crowd on Sunday and grabbed the season’s overall title in the process. By winning the double-point final in the six-race World Cup series in Pijnacker in the Netherlands, Groenendaal unseated former World Cup leader Sven Nijs - his Rabobank teammate - and denied world champion Bart Wellens a shot at scoring cyclo-cross’s “grand slam” (the World Cup title along with the Belgian and world championships). While he rode a strong solo race at the front of the

[nid:26885]For the second consecutive year, Panaria’s Ruben Bongiorno took the field sprint at the Tour de Langkawi’s closing stage, a steamy hot, 60km criterium through Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. With no major changes to the overall classification, Colombia Selle Italia’s Freddy Gonzalez — King of the Mountains at the Giro d’Italia in 2001 and 2003 — took top honors, his biggest win to date.

Investigators on Sunday ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death of former Tour de France champion Marco Pantani who was found in a hotel room in central Italy with sedatives near his bed. The cause of death of the 34-year-old rider was not immediately known but investigators ruled out violence. Magistrate Paolo Gengarelli told reporters on Sunday that there were no illegal drugs in the room but tranquillizers were found near the body and in the kitchen section. Pantani, who had been suffering from depression, was found dead in a hotel in the Adriatic coastal resort city of

Jorg Jaksche and his CSC teammates barnstormed to victory in Sunday’s26km team time trial up the steep roads to Mont Faron high above the FrenchRiviera. While a team time trial by name, riders were awarded individual timesas eight-man teams rode the twisting course. It wouldn’t have matteredas CSC dominated the proceedings, sweeping the top three positions in thestage as well as the overall. “We rode this stage to perfection,” said CSC team manager Bjarne Riis.“The riders followed the tactics down to the last detail and on the climbthey were simply outstanding. All the riders deserve praise

Heading into the final stage of the Valley of the Sun stage race, Mariano Friedick (Jelly Belly-Aramark) and Lynn Gaggioli (T-Mobile) were just seconds out of the overall leads in the men’s and women’s races, respectively. And by the end of the day, both pulled out the overall victory to get their 2004 season off to a good start in Arizona. Friedick entered the criterium just two seconds behind Colavita Olive Oil’s Nathan O’Neill, on the strength of his second-place finish in the time trial – just 22 seconds behind O’Neill – and his victory in the road race, where he picked up a 20-second

Walter Perez of Argentina won the 15km men’s scratch race as the UCI Track World Cup season kicked off on Friday in Moscow, Russia. Perez won in 17:41:321, ahead of Volodymyr Rybin (Ukraine) and Christopher Newton (Great Britain). American Colby Pearce was fifth, the strongest American showing on the day. In the women's 20km points race, it was Olga Slyusareva (Russia) taking the win with 25 points. Belem Guerrero (Mexico) was second with 17, while Yoanka Gonzalez Perez (Cuba) took third with 11. Americans Erin Mirabella and Sarah Hammer finished 16th and 25th, respectively.