Road

Day 2 of New Mexico’s Tour of the Gila saw the peloton tackle the Mogollon Pass Road Race, 70 miles for the women and 92 miles for the men, with both groups ending on the 5.5-mile Category 1 climb for which the stage is named. In the end, time trial winners Chris Wherry (Mercury) and Genevieve Jeanson (Rona), extended their holds on the overall race leads. Jeanson took a solo win, while Wherry and teammate Scott Moninger rode away together on the final climb, with Moninger taking the stage win. In the men’s race, another windy day, coupled with the presence of more than a dozen Mercury

Giovanni Lombardi(Acqua & Sapone) won the first stage of the Tour de Romandie on Wednesday, a 187-kilometer ride from Geneve to Malleray-Bevilard, taking a bunch sprint on a wet and cold day in Switzerland. Lombardi, who used to be the set-up man for Erik Zabel for many years at Telekom, is now doing the same thing for Mario Cipollini. Lombardi says his return to an Italian team "makes it easier to communicate," adding that working for Cipo "is an honor. He's the best sprinter in cycling." Cipollini skipped the race because of a cold, opening the door for his reliable lead-out man to

The 2002 Tour of the Gila got underway in Silver City, New Mexico, on Wednesday amid blustery conditions for the opening 15.7-mile out-and-back time trial. The five-day stage race in the southwest New Mexico is known for its often-blazing heat, but on Wednesday, Mercury’s Chris Wherry and Rona’s Genevieve Jeanson battled fierce winds on their way to the opening-stage victories. The time trial course features a steady uphill on the way out, and finishes with a wide but fast descent on the way back. In the men’s race, Wherry mastered the course and the extreme conditions to top Saturn’s time

Mercury swept Sunday's closing stage at the 24th Vuelta de Bisbee in southeast Arizona, keeping Scott Moninger and Chris Wherry untouchable in the top two spots on general classification. Meanwhile, Jeannie Longo (Vitalli) won the women's finale to leap past Katrina Berger (Team T-Mobile) on GC and steal the overall victory. Reprising their performances of the previous double-stage day, Moninger and Wherry crossed one-two in the 62.5-mile Sulphur Springs Road Race, finishing in 2:27:19. Twenty-four seconds later, teammate Phil Zajicek outkicked Andrew Miller Landis-Trek) for third. When the

Try as he might, Lance Armstrong just can't win Amstel Gold. Second here in 1999 and 2001, Armstrong finished fourth behind born-again Italian Michele Bartoli in an exciting, attack-riddled race Sunday in the Limburg region of Holland. It's not as if he isn't trying. Once again, Armstrong was among the main protagonists in the 37th edition of this unofficial finale of the spring classics. Armstrong, along with longtime nemesis Michael Boogerd of Rabobank, made the decisive attack on the Eyserbosweg climb 40 kilometers from the finish in the 254km circuit race.

Though it is no longer the "green wave" of yesteryear, the Mercury squad returned to its old tricks in Georgia Saturday night, washing over the front of the Athens Twilight Criterium with five laps to go and giving Canadian Gord Fraser a picture-perfect leadout for his second win under the streetlights. While Fraser served as closer for the squad, Australian powerhouse Henk Vogels put his nose in the wind all evening long to help the team control the race from the front. "Henk rides like a bull in a china shop," was Fraser’s simple summation of his teammates’ work for the evening. In a

Mercury put the hammer down on Saturday – then picked it up and slammed it right back down during a double-stage day in the 24th La Vuelta de Bisbee in southeastern Arizona. Mercury teammates Chris Wherry and Scott Moninger crossed one-two in the 86.4-mile Hereford Circuit Race, held on a 14.4-mile circuit with 442 feet of climbing per lap. Tucson’s Todd Wells (Mongoose-Hyundai) was third, 21 seconds back. In the afternoon’s 10.6-mile Warren Time Trial, it was the same top two, but in reverse order, with Moninger winning in 18:56, crossing 15 seconds faster than Wherry and setting a new

Year - Winner -- Average speed2001 - Erik Dekker  (Nl), 38.265 (kph)2000- Erik Zabel  (G), 41.304 (kph)1999- Michael Boogerd  (Nl), 38.547 (kph)1998- Rolf Järmann  (Swi), 38.276 (kph)1997- Bjarne Riis  (Dk), 41.851 (kph)1996- Stefano Zanini (I), 42.688 (kph)1995- Mauro Gianetti  (Swi), 38.509 (kph)1994- Johan Museeuw  (B), 37.261 (kph)1993- Rolf Järmann  (Swi), 37.344 (kph)1992- Olaf Ludwig  (G), 38.323 (kph)1991- Frans Maassen  (Nl), 40.135 (kph)1990- Adrie van der Poel  (Nl), 39.599 (kph)1989- Eric van Lancker  (B), 40.354 (kph)1988- Jelle Nijdam  (Nl), 37.383 (kph)1987- Joop Zoetemelk 

Mercury drove a shaft that the other guys will have a tough time digging their way out of in the old mining town of Bisbee, Arizona, placing five riders in the top 10 as the 24th La Vuelta de Bisbee got under way Friday afternoon. Scott Moninger (Mercury) posted the fastest time in the 2.7-mile Mule Pass Time Trial, which gained 831 feet of vertical in just 2.7 miles, crossing the line in 9:50, just one second ahead of teammate Phil Zajicek. Third went to Scott Price (Landis-Trek), at 9:57.“The afternoon had a red-flag wind alert, but the times were still good,” said race director Albert

The spring-classics season comes to an end on Sunday with the Amstel Gold Race, a 254.4km war of attrition on a 33-hill course that VeloNews editorial director John Wilcockson says is “by far the most difficult” in the race’s 36-year history. The Amstel Gold takes place in the hilly Limburg region of the southeast Netherlands, beginning and ending in the city of Maastricht, and its final 47km include no fewer than eight hills, mostly on narrow farm roads. The steepest, the Eyserbosweg (900 meters of 11.5-percent grade), comes with 39km to go. Next comes the longest , the Fromberg (1.6km at 5

Fassa Bortolo’s Francesco Casagrande did his Giro d’Italia ambitions the world of good here Friday by winning the hilly second stage of the Tour of Trentino to take a convincing overall lead. In a race that is regarded as a warm-up for next month's Giro d'Italia, Casagrande held off former Giro champions Gilberto Simoni, of Lampre, and Mapei rider Stefano Garzelli to finish the 166km stage between Arco and Velloi in 4:04:47. Mexican Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio, who was left behind in the final three kilometers as Casagrande launched attack after attack, finished second 23sec behind while

Turns out the U.S. track team didn’t get all dressed up for nothing after all. Rewind to the final day of competition at World Cup No. 1 in Monterrey, Mexico last Sunday. Following the final individual awards ceremony, a fully-uniformed U.S. team headed up to towards the podium for what they thought would be the presentation of the top-team award. But race officials stopped the Americans short, saying they’d recalculated some numbers and that the Germans were in fact the winners of the team award. The Americans briefly argued the point, but then relented. The German team was given the

Fassa Bortolo's Marco Zanotti won Thursday's opening stageof the Tour de Trentino, a traditional Giro d'Italia warm-up. Zanotti thus takes the overall lead of the race after coming in ahead of team-mate Denis Zanette with Belarussian Alexandre Usov finishing third. On a day when many of the bigger names took it easy in anticipationof upcoming mountain stages, former Giro d'Italia champion Stefano Garzelli(Mapei) was the highest placed, coming in 12th as Zanotti enjoyed his momentin the spotlight. "I owe it all to the team-mates who formed a train and stayed with meright until the last

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a formerU.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bikemantenance. This marks the beginning of Zinn's weekly VeloNews.com columndevoted to addressing readers' technical questions about bikes, their careand feeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficientlyas possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directlyto Zinn. We'll try to print a representative sample of questions eachThursday.Question: Do you have any advice for correcting leg lengthdiscrepancies?  I have undergone an

Lotto’s Aussie sprinter Robbie McEwen held off Tom Steels and Dutchman Stefan Van Dijck to win the 90th Grand Prix de l'Escaut in Schoten, Belgium, Wednesday. It was the 10th win of the season for 29-year-old McEwen, who said he's ready for more. "After Milan-San Remo (World Cup classic), I rested up for a while," said McEwen, winner of two stages in the Paris-Nice stage race in March. "It gave me a boost because my start to the season was pretty busy. But now I fell really motivated to win some more during the rest of the season." The Italian Mapei team was at the front of the peloton

Joe Friel is author of the successful "Training Bible" series ofbooks, a regular columnist for VeloNews and Inside Triathlonand the founder of www.ultrafit.com.Friel also offers answers to a selection of questions in this weekly columnhere on VeloNews.com. Readers can send questions to Friel in care of VeloNews.comat WebLetters@7Dogs.com. (Besure to include "Friel" in the subject line.)Question: I'm a 41 year old former Cat II rider.  I'vetaken most of the last 3 seasons off to concentrate on life, work, andother things.  I realize that I miss racing and training and wantto know the best way

Got results? Send them to POGrady@7Dogs.comby Monday morning and we’ll post them here on Monday afternoon. Word, RFTor plain-text attachments only, please, or paste the info into the bodyof your e-mail. You are welcome to include results as far as you got 'emand we'll post pictures, too (as long as you send them in JPG format andcredit the photographer). Racing replaces ranting as Little 500 gets on trackBy VeloNews Interactive Overshadowed for weeks by a controversy regarding whether an African-Americanathlete was eligible to compete, Indiana University’s 52nd Little 500 bike race,

It seems the Italians have gotten it together. With a savvy one-two punch by Paolo Bettini and Stefano Garzelli of the Mapei-Quick Step machine at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, Italy, which struggled slightly in the World Cup and one-day classics last year, made a smashing return to the top on the back of the 5-foot 6-inch Italian powerhouse. Inspired by the Italian flags flying in Saint-Nicolas, a tough Italian-flavored neighborhood overlooking the ancient city of Liège, Bettini put the icing on the cake, joining his teammate Garzelli in an attack with less than 10km to go in the 258.5km

It was a tough morning for the American sprinters on the final day of racing at track World Cup No. 1 in Monterrey, Mexico. All three of the U.S. riders – Jeff LaBauve, Tanya Lindenmuth and Tammy Thomas – were beaten 2-0 in the best of three semifinal round, meaning bronze is the best they can now hope for. On the men’s side, LaBauve fell to German Rene Wollf, the event’s top qualifier. The Texan will now face Matthias John in Sunday evening’s bronze medal match. John (Germany) was also swept out of the semis, losing two straight to Cuba’s Julio Herrera. “The legs were felling a little

Regina Schleicher (Michela Fanini) upset Petra Rossner (Saturn) in the fifth stop of the women’s World Cup when Schleicher out-muscled the favored Rossner on a steep finish of 115-km race in Valladolid, Spain, Sunday. Rossner, however, finished ahead of third-place Mirjam Melchers (Farm Frites) to regain the overall World Cup lead she lost last week at Fleche Wallone. “I really wanted to win today but Regina was just stronger than me. We were so close over the final 100 meters but I just couldn’t get past her,” Rossner said. “Of course I wanted to win, but she was stronger. My team did

As she lay on the bed in the medical tent overcome by exhaustion, Belem Guerrero said she’d never been so tired in her life. The blistering heat of the midday Mexico sun and the sizzling pace of the women’s points race had taken their toll. But it was a price Guerrero would gladly pay again, as the reward was a gold medal earned in front of her home-country fans on the final day of track World Cup No. 1 in Monterrey, Mexico. Guerrero nipped China’s Limei Yang 16 points to 13 in a race that wasn’t decided until the last of the 75 laps around the 333-meter concrete Nuevo Leon Velodromo on

11:30 a.m. Good morning. Welcome to VeloNews.com’s coverage ofthe 2002 edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. For the first timeduring this year’s Ardennes classics, the weather is cooperating and 197starters left Liege under sunny and windless skies today… just about90 minutes ago. One race note for those of you checking out the startlist we've posted. The U.S. Postal team has made a last-minute changein their roster. Number 105 Floyd Landis is on his way home after findinghis recovery from crashes in Paris-Roubaix a little harder than expected.The roster now shows that 109 - David Zabriskie has

1892 HOUA (Bel) Amateur1893 HOUA (Bel) Amateur1894 HOUA (Bel) Amateur  [The route was Liège- Bastogne - Spa]1898 TROUSSELIER (Fra) Amateur1899 FASTRE (Bel) Amateur1911 VAN DAELE (Bel) Independent LEKEUX (Bel) Amateur1912 VERSCHOORE (Bel) ROSSIUS & GAUTHY (Bel) Independent1913 MORITZ (Bel) Independent1919 DEVOS (Bel)1920 SCIEUR (Bel)1921 MOTTIAT (Bel)1922 MOTTIAT (Bel)1923 VERMANDEL (Bel)1924 VERMANDEL (Bel)1925 RONSSE (Bel) Independent1926 SMETS (Bel) Independent1927 RAES (Bel) Independent1928 MOTTARD (Bel) Independent1929 SCHEPERS (Bel) Independent1930 BUSE (Ger)1931 SCHEPERS (Bel)1932

Americans Tanya Lindenmuth, Tammy Thomas and Jeff LaBauve all took care of business Saturday morning, moving out of the qualifying rounds of the match sprint. Also getting through was San Diego resident Josiah Ng (Malaysia), who has already won a bronze medal in the keirin here at the opening round of the UCI track World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico. On the men’s side, LaBauve was the fourth fastest qualifier, posting a 10.779 on the 333.33-meter concrete track at the Nuevo Leon Velodromo. Germany’s Rene Wollf was the fastest man in the morning, clocking a 10.593. Fellow German Mathias John

Saturday night marked the debut of the scratch race at the World Cup level and it’s safe to say Erin Mirabella likes the new addition. The blonde Californian slipped away from the field on the final lap of the 30-lap affair, then held off the late charge of Canadian Mandy Poitras to land the first gold medal for the U.S. at the three-day event in Monterrey, Mexico. “I had an opening and I just went for it,” said Mirabella of her winning move. “I knew there were some strong sprinters in the field, so I didn’t want to take any chances.” It’s the second World Cup win for Mirabella. She won the

Lance Armstrong arrived in Liège, Belgium, Saturday afternoon as one of 10 Americans scheduled to race cycling’s oldest classic, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, on Sunday. Armstrong was whisked into the Palace des Princes Evêques, a giant stone structure in central Liège just in time to join his teammates at the presentation ceremony on the eve of the 88th edition of the demanding 258km race. Armstrong, who has twice finished second at Liège (1994, ’96), has marked this event, also round 4 of the UCI World Cup series, as one he’s been gunning for this year. A large crowd was packed into a tent

Start List for Liege-Bastogne-Liege - As of Friday at 4:00 p.m.DOMO - FARM FRITES001 - MUSEEUW Johan (B);002 - BRUYLANDTS Dave (B);003 - DE WOLF Steve (B);004 - KASHECHKIN Andrey (Kz);005 - KONECNY Tomas (Cz);006 - MERCKX Axel (B);007 - RODRIGUEZ Fred (USA);008 - TANKINK Bram (Nl);LOTTO - ADECCO011 - AERTS Mario (B);012 - BAGUET Serge (B);013 - BRANDT Christophe (B);014 - DETILLOUX Christophe (B);015 - MIKHAILOV Guennadi (Rus);016 - VAN LANCKER Kurt (B);017 - VAN PETEGEM Peter (B);018 - VERBRUGGHE Rik (B);MAPEI - QUICK STEP021 - FREIRE Oscar (Sp);022 - BETTINI Paolo (I);023

It’s been six years since Lance Armstrong last rode Liège-Bastogne-Liège, in the days when he was a little heavier and focused on the one-day classics instead of the three-week Tour. Liège-Bastogne-Liège was then his favorite event, and he delighted in the Belgian race’s frequent climbs and its challenging distance. In 1994, Armstrong placed second, trapped in a Gewiss team sandwich between winner Eugeni Berzin and third-placed Giorgio Furlan. The following year, the Texan came in sixth, after dropping off the winning break on the last hill. And in 1996, he was outfoxed in a three-up sprint

On a warm, hazy Friday morning, competition got underway in round 1 of the UCI track World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico. Among the early success stories were Americans Tanya Lindenmuth and Erin Mirabella, who both earned the top spots in their respective qualifying rounds. Mirabella posted a 3:46.776 in the 3km individual time trial qualifier, easily besting Colombia’s Luisa Calle, and finishing ahead of second-place qualifier Emma Davies (Great Britain). Mirabella will face Davies in Friday evening’s final. Meanwhile, Lindenmuth won her keirin heat with a time of 12.618, moving her into the

It’s called the World Class Performance Program, and it’s a name that was well deserved after the first day of racing at the opening track World Cup of the 2002 season in Monterrey, Mexico on Friday. Great Britain’s Paul Manning and Emma Davies each earned gold medals in the individual pursuit, proving at least for a day that the WCPP — the UK’s competitive cycling program — is in fact world class. After placing second in the qualifying round, Manning outgunned Spain’s Sergi Escobar (Spain) 4:31.629 to 4:32.269 to win the first World Cup of his career. Switzerland’s Franco Marvulli earned

The 2002 track World Cup season kicks off in Monterrey, Mexico, Friday, with preliminary and final-round competition in the individual pursuit, keirin, 30km points race and Olympic sprint. The U.S. — with its 12-rider delegation — is among 23 countries that have sent teams to Mexico’s third largest city in the northeastern state of Nuevo León. Monterrey is also one of Mexico’s biggest industrial centers and one of its most Americanized regions. The racing venue — known as Velodromo Nuevo León — is a 333-meter outdoor concrete track located next door to two of the city’s other major sports

11:15 a.m. Charleroi, Belgium Good Morning.We are just about readyfor the full start of this year's edition of Fleche Wallonne. Thepeloton -- 192riders from 25 teams -- is making its way through the neutral startin Charleroi to the edge of town and then on to Huy where they will docover two loops -- a large figure 8-- around that town. All for atotal of 198km. The weather is nice -- about 9 degrees Centigrade -- and thus far thereis no wind. This is a nice contrast to the weather on Sunday for Paris-Roubaix. The Women's race -- a World Cup event -- will begin in about anhour, covering

EDILSAVINO001 -LUPERINI Fabiana (I);002 -BOUBNENKOVA Svetlana (Rus);003 -CHUZHYNOVA Iryna (Ukr);004 -KHODTCHENKOVA Marina (Rus);005 -PARENTE Simona (I);006 -VERONESI Daniela (SMR);SATURN CYCLING TEAM011 -ARNDT Judith (G);012 -BESSETTE Lyne (Can);013 -BRUCKNER Kimberly (USA);014 -MARSAL Catherine (F);015 -PHILLIPS Jessica (USA);016 -ROSSNER Petra (G);ACCA DUE021 -POLIKEVICIUTE Rasa (Lit);022 -BELTMAN Chantal (Nl);023 -BRÄNDLI Nicole (Swi);024 -CANTELE Noemi (I);021 -POLIKEVICIUTE Rasa (Lit);026 -ZILIUTE Diana (Lit);VLAANDEREN - T-INTERIM LADIES031 -LJUNGSKOG Susanne (S);032 -PIETERS Cindy

When the final selection of riders hit the base of the Mur de Huyfor the third time and final time in the 66th edition of the Fleche Wallonneon Wednesday, the Belgian fans, tipping back beers and basking in the hazyspring sunshine, saw decent odds. After 197km of racing, including twoprevious trips over the steep, snaking Mur climb, the trademark obstacleof this Belgian spring race, it had come down to an impressive group ofsurvivors. Two were Belgian. First, there was Axel Merckx. Approaching the base of the climb, whichhas pitches surpassing 20 percent in places, Merckx attacked. A roar

Joe Friel is author of the successful "Training Bible" series ofbooks, a regular columnist for VeloNews and Inside Triathlonand the founder of www.ultrafit.com.Friel also offers answers to a selection of questions in this weekly column here on VeloNews.com. Readers can send questions to Friel in care of VeloNews.com at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.(Be sure to include "Friel" in the subject line.)Question - My name is Juan and I'm a fan of your web site. I'm amountain and a road biker. I really love the bikes. For that reason I tryto do my best when I'm training, so please I want (if you can do it)

Tune in Wednesday morning for live updates throughout 198km classic, Fleche-Wallonne.Men's Start list (as of 9:00 p.m. Tuesday)LOTTO - ADECCO001 - VERBRUGGHE Rik (B)002 - AERTS Mario (B)003 - BAGUET Serge (B)004 - BRANDT Christophe (B)005 - DETILLOUX Christophe (B)006 - MIKHAILOV Guennadi (Rus)007 - VAN DE WOUWER Kurt (B)008 - VAN LANCKER Kurt (B)MAPEI - QUICK STEP011 - FREIRE Oscar (Sp)012 - BETTINI Paolo (I)014 - DE WAELE Fabien (B)015 - EVANS Cadel (Aus)016 - NOE Andrea (I)017 - PAOLINI Luca (I)020 - FORNACIARI Paolo (I)COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE021 - KIVILEV Andrei (Kz)022 - CUESTA

Got results? Send them to POGrady@7Dogs.comby Monday morning and we’ll post them here on Monday afternoon. Word, RFTor plain-text attachments only, please, or paste the info into the bodyof your e-mail. You are welcome to include results as far as you got 'emand we'll post pictures, too (as long as you send them in JPG format andcredit the photographer).Herzig, Parsley triumph in “Montana Roubaix”By Geoff ProctorWith the 100th edition of the Paris-Roubaix cycling classic half a worldaway, the Montana Velo Road Race offered up an epic parallel April 14 inHelena. The hardy peloton braved heavy

Johan Museeuw is one of the most modest men you could ever meet. There's nothing flashy about this 36-year-old Belgian, who still lives modestly in the little town of Gistel, in deepest Flanders, despite his fame and continued success. By winning the epic 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, Museeuw won the 10th World Cup classic in a career that already spans 15 years -- and total adulation from his bike-crazy country. His latest victory placed him alongside three other cycling legends — Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Francesco Moser — who also won this Queen of the Classics three

Good Morning. The 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix is underway. All190 starters listed on the startlist left Compiègne at 10:50 this morning.11:07 a.m. The weather is chilly (7 degrees Centigrade) and thereis a brisk wind coming from the Northwest, which translates into a head/crosswindcoming across the left side of the course.There was an early attack at kilometer 10 this morning from rider 177- Steffen WEIGOLD (Gerolsteiner) who was soon joined by 222 - StéphaneAUGE (Jean Delatour) . They were quickly caught and the peloton is intact.It should be fairly quiet for the opening kilometers. The

Nothing, it seems, can stop Johan Museeuw. Four years ago, a crash on the wicked cobblestones of the Arenberg Forest in northern France threatened to end his career when gangrene almost took over a gash in his leg, nearly leading to amputation. The "Lion of Flanders" overcame that setback to win Roubaix in 2000, only to go down to injury again when he crashed on his motorcycle.

Team mechanics were busy in Compiègne Saturday as they prepared each of their squad's bikes for Sunday's 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix. The most common modifications for tackling the French classic's giant cobblestones are a bigger inner chainring than normal (a 44 or 45 in lieu of a 39); wider, tougher tires (up to 25mm, and the majority appear to be clinchers); and slightly padded handlebar tape instead of the normal thinner variety. Other similarities aimed at making the bike less rigid are the use of titanium or aluminum tubing (with narrower gauges and thicker wall thicknesses than

DOMO-FARM FRITES001 KNAVEN Servais (Nl)002 CASSANI Enrico (I)003 CRETSKENS Wilfried (B)004 KOERTS Jans (Nl)005 MILESI Marco (I)006 MUSEEUW Johan (B)007 RODRIGUEZ Fred (USA)008 VAN HEESWIJK Max (Nl)MAPEI -QUICK STEP011 TAFI Andrea (I)012 BODROGI Laszlo (Hun)013 DE WAELE Fabien (B)014 FORNACIARI Paolo (I)015 HORILLO Pedro (Sp)016 HUNTER Robert (SA)017 NARDELLO Daniele (I)018 ZANINI Stefano (I)LAMPRE-DAIKIN 021 DIERCKXSENS Ludo (B)022 BERTOGLIATI Rubens (Swi)023 LODDO Alberto (I)024 PAGLIARNI Luciano (Bra)025 SCIANDRI Maximilian (GB)026 SERPELLINI Marco (I)027 SPRUCH Zbigniew (Pol)028 VERSTREPEN

U.S. criterium champion Kirk O’Bee (Navigators) augmented his European palmares on Friday with a victory in Belgium’s G.P. Pino Cerami. As team director Ed Beamon described it, the 192km course featured a tough opening circuit of 128km with several sections of pavé, some climbing, “and more wind than Thor could muster on a bad hair day.” It then segued into four laps on a 16km circuit that included two climbs, the second a 15 percent grade on pavé. An early break of nearly 30 riders moved forward in the strong cross winds, but never gained more than a minute, and was reabsorbed as the

(Exchange rate as of April 12, 2002:  1€ =  $0.87)1st - 30000 €2nd - 22000 €3rd - 15000 €4th - 7500 €5th - 3000 €6th - 1600 €7th - 1320 €8th - 1250 €9th - 1120 €10th - 1050 €11th - 920 €12th - 785 €13th - 650 €14th - 585 €15th - 385 €16th - 335 €17th - 335 €18th - 335 €19th - 335 €20th - 335 €21st - 270 €22nd - 270 €23rd - 270 €24th - 270 €25th - 270 € 

Km 99.8 - TROISVILLES | rue de la Sucrerie - 2200 metersKm 106.3 - VIESLY | rue de la Chapelle - 1800 metersKm 108.5 - QUIEVY | rue de Valenciennes - 3700 metersKm 113.7 - QUIEVY à SAINT-PYTHON - 1500 metersKm 121.9 - HAUSSY - 900 metersKm 128.6 - SAULZOIR - 1200 metersKm 132.9 - VERCHAIN-MAUGRE à QUERENAING - 1600metersKm 136.0 - MAING - 2500 metersKm 139.2 - MONCHAUX SUR ECAILLON - 1600 metersKm 145.8 - HASPRES - 1700 metersKm 158.3 - HAVELUY - 2500 metersKm 166.5 - FORET D'ARENBERG | Drèves des Boules d'Herin- 2400 metersKm 173.2 - WALLERS - 1000 metersKm 179.5 - HORNAING à

1896   J. FISCHER (GER) 1897   M. GARIN (FRA) 1898   M. GARIN (FRA) 1899   A. CHAMPION (FRA) 1900   E. BOUHOURS (FRA) 1901   L. LESNA (FRA) 1902   L. LESNA (FRA) 1903   H. AUCOUTURIER (FRA) 1904   H. AUCOUTURIER (FRA) 1905   L. TROUSSELIER (FRA) 1906   H. CORNET (FRA) 1907   G. PASSERIEU (FRA) 1908   C. VAN HAUWAERT (BEL) 1909   O. LAPIZE (FRA) 1910   O. LAPIZE (FRA) 1911   O. LAPIZE (FRA) 1912   C. CRUPELANDT (FRA) 1913   F. FABER (LUX) 1914   C. CRUPELANDT (FRA)Cancelled due to World War I 1919   H. PELISSIER (FRA) 1920   P. DEMAN (BEL) 1921   H. PELISSIER (FRA) 1922   A. DEJONGHE

After trying in every stage, Euskaltel finally scored a victory for the home team when David Etxebarria won a five-up sprint in the morning sector of Friday's two-part finale of the 42nd Vuelta al Pais Vasco. Etxebarria's victory lifts him into second-place overall going into the afternoon's 15.2-km time trial. Aitor Osa of ibanesto.com finished with the lead group to all but guarantee overall victory. "I'm very glad to win this stage because we've been working hard all week to secure a victory," Etxebarria said after winning the six-climb, 96-km stage. "Now all I will think about is

North 55th Street Circuit RacePatrick O’Grady (Dogs at Large Velo) claimed a controversial victoryin Sunday’s North 55th Street Circuit Race in Boulder, Colorado, afterrunner-up Charles Pelkey (VeloNews Interactive) claimed the portly Irishspeedster tried to shoulder him into an open manhole in the final cornerof the three-mile industrial-park circuit.Two minutes later, Twining’s John Wilcockson outsprinted Mike Blair(Pixel Twiddlers) for third.

The final time trial in the 42nd Vuelta al Pais Vasco turned out to be a 15-km victory parade for home boy Aitor Osa, who sealed a dramatic victory Friday just down the road from his home in Elgoibar. The Basque cycling fans came out in their best orange to bring homethe first local overall victory at this race since Inigo Cuesta in 1998. Long riding in the shadow of his younger brother, Osa tore apart therace in a shattering attack in the cold, wet third stage. Osa's iBanesto.com squad protected his lead through the final climbing stages and the 27-year-old withstood an aggressive attack

A cold north wind was howling across the open fields of northernFrance Friday afternoon; but there was no sign of rain. That probably meansthat riders in Sunday's 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix will most likelyhave to face stinging dust blown in their faces rather than the gooey mudthrown up by the wheels in front of them. Either way, the infamous Hellof the North classic is bound to create its usual toll of terror and destruction.In fact, the course that the 190-or-so starters will face is probablythe hardest that the organizers have ever mapped out. Last year, they "discovered" three nasty

Franco Pellizotti won Thursday's fourth stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco that was shortened due to cold weather while Aitor Osa widened his overall lead. Several inches of snow fell overnight on the high peaks surrounding the start of the stage at Alsasua, prompting officials to shorten it by 64 kilometers and taking out climbs over the category-two Alto de Zuarrarrate (780 meters) and the category-three Alto de Huitzi (792 meters). A major descent to the coastal plain of northern Spain was also eliminated after several riders suffered minor hypothermia in Wednesday's frigid stage,

Good morning. The 64th edition of Gent-Wevelgem is underway. At the start Defending champion George Hincapie is in the field along with seven of U.S. Postal teammates, including Lance Armstrong. The wind is a steady and brisk breeze from the north and the day is still quite sunny. The official start time is now listed as 11:43 a.m. Almost from the start Lotto’s Nico Eeckhout made an attack. Now by kilometer 35, he has about a 4:20 lead. Behind the escapee, the wind is forcing the field into echelons. VeloNews editorial director John Wilcockson remarks that the day is already somewhat

Outrageous. That's the only way to describe the "new" Mario Cipollini. Dressed in his zebra-stripe tights, he engaged the media in a light-hearted post-race press conference Wednesday evening, discussing his, yes, outrageous, victory in the 64th edition of Ghent-Wevelgem. He has won this Belgian classic twice before, in 1992 and ’93, beating out first Johan Capiot and then Eric Vanderaerden, both in massive field sprints. Wednesday was different.

Aitor Osa was about the only guy smiling at the finish line of Wednesday's brutally cold third stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a Pais Vasco. After all, he won the stage and took the overall lead. But even the iBanesto.com rider was shivering as he slipped across the line ahead of Cofidis' Bingen Fernandez. "I've never been so cold on the bike," said a disappointed Fernandez, shivering from the front seat of the team car after Osa held him off for the stage-win and the leader's jersey. "I had no strength at the end to fight Aitor. I simply wanted the stage to be over." Don't believe those

Joe Friel is author of the successful "Training Bible" series ofbooks, a regular columnist for VeloNews and Inside Triathlonand the founder of www.ultrafit.com.Friel also offers answers to a selection of questions in this weekly column here on VeloNews.com. Readers can send questions to Friel in care of VeloNews.com at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.(Be sure to include "Friel" in the subject line.) Question: I have recently (1 year) been cycling more seriously. I did an Aids Ride in Alaska (500 miles in 6 days) and every day I feltstronger. In the past 6 years I was more of a runner and I did a

Despite a profile that looks like a roller coaster, a stage into Vitoriatypically finishes in a field sprint. That's because area's major climb- the Category I Alto de la Herrera - is nearly 40 km from the finish,giving the peloton plenty of time to set up their sprinters.Mapei's Stefano Zanini has been victorious here before, but the pelotonwas just 6 seconds late in pulling off the tried and true recipe in Tuesday'scold, windy stage of the 42nd Vuelta a Pais Vasco.Relax Fuenlabrada's Cesar Garcia Calvo outmaneuvered Euskaltel's UnaiEtxebarria to snatch the stage win after the pair

The 24 Basque riders starting the five-day Vuelta a Pais Vasco (the Tour of the Basque Country) believethey own this race.For a Basque racer, losing this week in this race issomething akin to an American team folding to France in baseball. So youcould say the New York Yankees lost to Paris today.The local boys in orange from the Euskaltel-Euskadi team tried theirbest to pull off a victory in the opening stage of the 2002 Vuelta a PaisVasco on Monday, but it was another team in orange - that of the DutchRabobank team - that triumphed. The best the locally sponsored squad couldmuster was fourth

With the cash-poor Tour of Willamette on hiatus, the Colorado racing season got off to a star-studded start April 6-7, with riders from Mercury, Rona, 7UP, Luna, and Prime Alliance contesting the Stazio Criterium and Boulder-Roubaix Road Race. In Saturday’s men’s crit at the Stazio softball complex in Boulder, Mercury’s Chris Wherry soloed away from an early break on the 1.1-mile circuit to triumph in 1:02:17, trailed seconds later by teammate Henk Vogels, then Alex Candelario (Prime Alliance). In the women’s race, world mountain-bike champ Alison Dunlap (Luna) outkicked Karen Bockel (Rona)

Good morning. Welcome to our updated reports from this year’s Ronde van Vlaanderen. There were 192 riders at the starting line today, with Gerolsteiner’s Saulius Ruskys the only rider on the original start list not to make the race. There are 264 kilometers of racing ahead, punctuated throughout the last half by short, but brutally steep climbs that will cut the peloton down to just a few by the time they reach the finish.Postings are now in chronological order At the start The weather in Flanders is bright and sunny and there is a cold wind, which should place the peloton into a head wind

Kirk O’Bee and Vassily Davidenko (Navigators) scored a one-two punch Sunday in the 24th Grand Prix Cycliste de la Ville de Rennes, a thriller that went right down to the wire … and only missed being a top-five Navigators sweep by a single placing. Team director Ed Beamon called the 189.4km race, which winds up with five laps of a 6.3km circuit in the city of Rennes, “a great event for the sprinters.” And with U.S. crit champ O’Bee in the mix, it proved to be a great event for the Navigators as well.An early break by Arturas Kasputis (AG2R) and Eddy Seigneur (Jean Delatour), followed by a

George Hincapie seems to be making a habit of collecting fourth places in World Cup classics. It's a habit he wants to break. But each time he looks to be in with a chance of victory, he comes up against a team with superior numbers, or loses out to one of the sport's veteran stars. In his fourth-place finishes at Paris-Roubaix, superior numbers have been the problem, while his frustration at Sunday's Tour of Flanders was due to both a stronger team (Mapei-Quick Step) and an experienced, aging winner -- in this case, Mapei's 35-year-old Andrea Tafi.

Come the final stage of the Tucson Classic on Sunday, Geneviève Jeanson and her Rona teammates didn’t rest on Jeanson’s laurels from the previous two days of racing. Though the powerful young Canadian held an insurmountable overall lead of more than 11 minutes, the squad dropped the hammer in the closing Speedway/Artisan Prosthetics Circuit Race, sweeping the top four spots on the day and finishing 1-2-3 on general classification. Gord Fraser, meanwhile, had a sweep of his own going. Mercury’s very own quick Canadian won his third consecutive race on Sunday, ending as he began, in a battle

Fresh from winning the Three Days of de Panne race, Lotto team rider Peter Van Petegem leads a Belgian cast of potential champions for Sunday's second leg of the World Cup, the Tour of Flanders. But pretenders beware -- the one-day race known affectionately by locals as the "Ronde" and described by French cycling legend Bernard Hinault as a "circus" -- is not for the faint-hearted. Lots of cobblestones, unpredictable windy conditions and 16 climbs spread over 264km of racing that begins in Bruges and ends in Meerbeke will separate the boys from the men. It's a "nightmare" of a race, as

The sun is shining in Belgium, although a wickedly cold east wind makes you remember that this is Tour of Flanders weekend. This annual spring classic, which celebrates its 86th edition Sunday, is a national institution here. There were even crowds out on the course Saturday, most of them visiting the Koppenberg, the legendary cobbled climb that hasn't been included in the 264km course since 1987. People here remember very clearly what happened that last time. You just have to look at two words painted in huge white letters on the road at the Koppenberg summit: "Remember Skibby." The

Fierce desert winds couldn’t blow Mercury’s Gord Fraser and Rona’s Genèvieve Jeanson off the podium on Saturday as the two won their second consecutive stages at the 17th annual Tucson Classic. Fraser and Jeanson kicked off the weekend’s racing by winning their respective prologue time trials on Friday – Jeanson by an astounding 46 seconds over the legendary Jeannie Longo (Vitalli) – then punched back in Saturday morning and went straight to work in the Gates Pass Road Race. The tough up-and-down course, a 21-mile circuit with a short 12 percent climb up the backside of Gates Pass, was made

The 17th annual Tucson Classic kicked off on Friday with the McCain Loop Prologue Time Trial, a three-mile roller-coaster ride through Tucson Mountain Park with a couple miles of uphill — on grades of 4 to 6 percent — to separate the contenders from the pretenders in the three-day Arizona stage race. Mercury speedster Gord Fraser turned the fastest time among the Pro/I-II men, crossing the line in six minutes, 48 seconds. Teammate Plamen Stoyanov was second, just 11 seconds slower, followed by Jelly Belly’s Mariano Friedick at seven minutes flat. Defending champ Scott Price (Landis/Trek-VW)

Joe Friel is author of the successful "Training Bible" series ofbooks, a regular columnist for VeloNews and Inside Triathlonand the founder of www.ultrafit.com.Friel also offers answers to a selection of questions in this weekly column here on VeloNews.com. Readers can send questions to Friel in care of VeloNews.com at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.(Be sure to include "Friel" in the subject line.)Question: Your Bible has been an inspiration for us- a groupof Mexican riders – that are following your system for our first seasonand we are really getting good results on races. Thanks.Just one question:

Marcus Ljungqvist of Sweden won the Paris to Camembert cycling race on Tuesday. He finished the 208 kilometer race ahead of French pair Ludovic Turpin and Sandy Casar and Dane Lennie Kristensen after the quartet had broken clear. The 27-year-old Swedish champion owed his victory to a good effort by his Fakta team with particularly Denmark's Lennie Kristensen putting in a lot of work. Three-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong finished in 75th place, 8:52 behind the winner. Meanwhile 1998 Tour de France champion Marco Pantani, withdrew from the race. Copyright AFP2002

The Criterium International is called the "Mini Tour de France," so it's only natural the Tour de France champion should do well here. Lance Armstrong came within a second of scoring the overall title Sunday, but Spanish rider Alberto Martinez edged the Texan in the individual time trial of this two-day, three-stage race. Martinez, a 26-year-old on the Euskaltel-Euskadi team, finished with the same time as the three-time Tour de France champion in the morning climbing stage and barely nipped Armstrong in the 8.5-km time trial in the afternoon to claim the overall victory. A pro with

It wasn't a classic setup for a sprint, but Jean Patrick Nazon won one for his La Francaise des Jeux teammates in the opening stage of the Criterium International on Saturday in northern France. Rider after rider tried to escape the clutches of the peloton in the finale of the 192-km stage starting and ending in Charleville-Mezieres, but hard work by FDJ kept it together long enough for Nazon to win the mass sprint. In a dress rehearsal for the kickoff of next weekend's Ardennes Classics, Nazon won his first race of the season in 4 hours, 52 minutes, 26 seconds (39.39 kph) on a cool,

The 2002 Solano Bicycle Classic ended with a criterium stage Saturday, and once again, Prime Alliance celebrated as Chris Horner took the overall winner’s spot on the podium, as his teammate Jonas Carney took the stage. "I did the California triple," a pleased Horner declared, referring to his March victories at Redlands, Sea Otter, and now Solano. Also celebrating a California triple were the Saturn women, who, with Judith Arndt and Lyne Bessette, collectively monopolized the women’s overall. While Saturn's Ina Teutenberg took the day by winning the final stage. From the go, Horner was up

Juan Miguel Mercado wrapped up the 39th Setmana Catalana, finishing with the lead group in a cold and miserable final stage, giving the young Spanish rider his first major win of the 2002 season. The 23-year-old Mercado was the revelation of Spanish cycling last year, winning the Vuelta a Burgos in August followed up by an impressive win at the Lagos de Covadonga in the 2001 Vuelta a España. The iBanesto.com rider didn't win a stage at Setmana Catalana, but earned enough time in the long climbing stage from Castello de Empuries to Pal on the third day to secure the victory. "Mercado is no

There was no change in the overall leaders Friday as the time trial stage of the Solano Bicycle Classic was contested in the midst of an isolated agricultural area near of Fairfield, California. In the women’s field, Saturn’s Lyne Bessette held on to her overall lead by posting a time of 30:39 over the relatively flat 12.2 mile out and back course, which was good for second on the day, six seconds behind teammate and national time trial champion Kimberly Bruckner. Saturn’s Judith Arndt came in third, 10 seconds behind Bruckner, completing the Saturn sweep over the stage and securing their

Acqua & Sapone's Miguel Perdiguero edged-out Telekom's Erik Zabel in a mass sprint and kept the Telekom ace from getting his hat-trick at the 39th Setmana Catalana. Zabel, the winner of the first two stages, couldn't get past Perdiguero while iBanesto.com’s Juan Miguel Mercado finished safely just a few seconds behind the lead group to retain his overall lead with just one stage to go. Perdiguero was satisfied with the victory in Setmana Catalana's penultimate stage after enduring some bad luck earlier in the season, with falls at the Vuelta a Valencia and Tirreno-Adriatico. "I've been

The Solano Bicycle Classic began Thursday, with the opening stage road race ending on a familiar note: last weekend’s Sea Otter overall winners Chris Horner (Prime Alliance) and Lyne Bessette (Saturn) atop the podium. On a winding course through green foothills that can only be described as gorgeous, top domestic teams fought through gusting cross winds to decide the opening stage of this Northern California NRC event. In the men’s 91-mile race—that began and ended with two long climbs—a missed turn by the lead group at mile 67became a point of controversy, as race officials scrambled to

Italy's Giuseppe Guerini gave Telekom its third stage victory in the Setmana Catalana, beating new overall leader Juan Miguel Mercado in a two-sprint to the line in a long climbing stage up the category-one climb to Col de Pal. Nearly three years ago, Guerini won the dramatic stage at Alpe d'Huez in the 1999 Tour de France when he collided with a fan on the course but recovered to take win. Nothing got in Guerini's way Wednesday except heavy fog and cool temperatures in the 157-km stage between Castello de Empuries to Pal. "I finally get to win again. I have forgotten what it's like to win.

Joe Friel is author of the successful "Training Bible" series ofbooks, a regular columnist for VeloNews and Inside Triathlonand the founder of www.ultrafit.com.Friel also offers answers to a selection of questions in this weekly column here on VeloNews.com. Readers can send questions to Friel in care of VeloNews.com at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.(Be sure to include "Friel" in the subject line.) Qustion: I have never lifted weights before, but I'm following your book—The Cyclist’s Training Bible. Since time is my biggest limiter, I'm lifting two days a week. I can workout five days a week. On

Spain´s Juan Carlos Dominguez (Phonak) took the overall lead of the 39th Setmana Catalana in Spain on Tuesday after winning the afternoon stage of the two-stage second day, a 10.3-km time trial. Erik Zabel (Telekom) won the 106-km morning stage from Lloret de Mar to Empuribrava in a sprint to make it two in a row for the German at Setmana Catalana. Zabel later lost the lead to Dominguez, the overall winner here in 1997. Americans Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) and Tyler Hamilton (CSC-Tiscali), both riding into form for more important goals later in the season, didn´t push for the stage-win in

Erik Zabel doesn´t cry over spilt milk for very long. Two days after a disappointing Milan-San Remo, the Telekom sprinter drove home a victory in the opening stage of the Setmana Catalana. Zabel -- who couldn´t win his fifth "La Classicissima" on Saturday when bad luck derailed his chances -- beat a handful of Spanish riders in the 152-km stage. Angel Vicioso, David Etxebarria, Angel Edo and David Fernández were close, but they´re not Mario Cipollini. UCI's "vampiros" swooped down at the start of the race, testing 48 riders from Itera, Milaneza, La Pecol, Relax, Fassa Bortolo and Credit

Saturn’s Lyne Bessette won the women’s road overall at the Sea Otter Classic in style Saturday, taking the final stage, along with the points jersey, in a two-up sprint against Rona superstar Genevieve Jeanson. Entering the circuit race with a one-minute, 20-second lead over teammate Kimberly Bruckner, and a comfortable 2:15 over Friday’s road race winner Susan Palmer-Komar (Talgo America), Bessette was poised for the overall victory; however the Saturn women were still without a stage win. With the assurance of a powerful team her defending her leader’s jersey, Bessette took matters into