Road Racing

One star continued to shine, while another emerged at the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia on Sunday. For the third straight day Brazilian Mendonca Pagliarini took top honors in a bunch sprint, this time winning the 172.9km stage 4 trip from Gerik to Tanah Merah. But getting equal billing on this day was Canadian mountain biker Roland Green, who showed it didn’t matter whether it was dirt or tarmac when it comes to climbing.

It has to be cause for concern when you look around and see you’re off the front of a bike race with only a two-time world champion on your wheel … and Daphny van den Brandt is no different than anyone else. “I was worried,” Van den Brandt said after earning her first world title in the women’s cyclo-cross world championship in Monopoli, Italy on Sunday. “If you have Hanka Kupfernagel with you in a cyclo-cross race, there really is no time you can relax.” Like virtually every other race on the world’s course in Monopoli this weekend, the outcome of the women’s event was decided largely on

The third day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi lacked the bloody drama of its predecessor, but when the bunch cleared the line in the mining city of Ipoh the result was the same. For the second day in a row Brazilian Mendonca Pagliarini took a sprint-finish win in Malaysia. The pair of victories are the first of the 24-year-old’s 2-year pro cycling career. In the chase for the overall, there was no change at the top, as Saturn’s Nathan O’Neill maintained his 23-second lead over Canadian national team rider Roland Green.

The question at the post-race press conference might have raised a few eyebrows, but the point was well made. “So, is this becoming a version of the Belgian national championship,” asked the German reporter, "with maybe a few other nations invited to fill out the field?” Newly crowned world cyclo-cross champion Bart Wellens smiled, cast a glance at Mario De Clerq on his left and Erwin Vervecken on his right and shrugged.

The finish stretch for the second day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi looked to be perfect for a clean, hard-fought sprint. The road was wide and the final straightaway long. But after what overall race leader Nathan O’Neill called “a bunch of guys racing like it was the last crusade,” two major crashes wreaked havoc on stage 2 Saturday in Malaysia. In the aftermath, Saturn’s Charles Dionne was one of at least a half dozen riders who ended up in the hospital, suffering from a severe laceration on his left thigh and several broken fingers according to a hospital official. Up front Mendonca

In his first race as a member of the American Saturn squad, Australian Nathan O’Neill showed his new employer what a good hire they’d made. O’Neill was the only rider to post a sub-12-minute time, winning the opening stage of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi on Langkawi Island in Malaysia Friday. O’Neill clocked an 11:53 around the rolling 9.5km time trial course, 23 seconds faster than second-place finisher Roland Green (Canadian National). Third place went to fellow Saturn rider Tom Danielson, with Canadian teammate Eric Wohlberg one place back in fourth. All told four Canadians placed in the top

Dear Lennard Zinn;We've been looking around for a good road bike for my girlfriend andone thing we've noticed is that the Shimano STI shifters do not fit herparticularly well. She has relatively small hands and the levers are justtoo far away from the bar for her to comfortably brake. I believe thatShimano addressed this issue in the mountain bike brake set up, but dothey or anyone else address it in the road arena? --MikeDear Mike;There is no alternative, short brake lever from Campagnolo or Shimanowith an integrated shift lever like ErgoPower or STI in it. You can addressit with the

Ag2R's Mikel Astarloza relied on the sprinting prowess of his teammate Jaan Kirsipuu to hold off a final stage challenge from Stuart O'Grady, and a host of other Australians, hoping to keep the Spaniard from claiming the overall title at the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under. Meanwhile, Ceramiche-Panaria powerhouse Graeme Brown should have had little reason to complain after surviving a week of frustration to finally win a stage in this year’s race.

Fabio Sacchi says he is enjoying the scorching heat of South Australia that baked the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under peloton with temperatures reaching 110 degrees Friday. But when asked about the heat Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen is putting upon his overall lead in the six-stage race that ends on Sunday, the Saeco leader becomes a bit wary. After the 144km fourth stage from Unley to Goolwa on Friday, Sacchi’s overall lead on McEwen dropped from 10 seconds to eight. Racing into a head wind, Australia’s Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com) won the leg in a sprint from Graeme Brown (Panaria), Stuart

With Robbie McEwen and Graeme Brown battling the final sprint in the third stage of the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under on Thursday, surprisingly much of the day’s attention was turned to a war of words between race leader Fabio Sacchi (Saeco) and Aussie Stuart O’Grady. Sacchi blasted the Credit Agricole star for questioning the abilities of the visiting Italian team. Sacchi, who continued to hold the race leader’s jersey after the third stage from Glenelg to Hahndorf, was upset over comments made by O’Grady in his daily newspaper column. Published in the local Adelaide newspaper The

Saeco’s Fabio Sacchi has learned one thing about racing in Australia: forget trusting anyone, even your mates. Sacchi took the race lead by winning yesterday's second stage through the Barossa Valley to Kapunda. The result continues the Milan rider's success in the event, which includes two spells in the yellow leader's jersey and a stage win from the 2001 and 2002 races. Asked what his past appearances in the race had taught him, he said he came away with just one clear lesson. “I learned not to trust anyone, including your friends,” Sacchi noted. By Sunday, when the 735km race ends in

Dear Lennard Zinn;My question has to do with Campy Record 10-speed rear derailleur and cog compatibility. My current setup has 53x39 chainrings, a 12x25 cogset with a short (standard) cage rear derailleur, and I recently switched to a Wipperman 10-speed chain. For mountain riding, I would like to substitute a cogset with a larger inside cog - say, 26 to 29 teeth - rather than switching to a triple chainring setup. How high can I go before I have to use a medium or long cage derailleur? Also, for cost considerations, is there any problem using a Chorus 10-speed cogset if the rest of the

With the Holidays behind us it's officially Buyer's Guide season around here and we're working fast-and-furious to produce the most interesting guide you've ever flipped through. Whether you're in the market for a new bike or not, we've planned plenty of engaging copy to pique your interest in the latest product trends in bicycles, wheels, forks, stems, handlebars and a few other critical categories. But unlike any other bike-related Buyer's Guide that has been produced, ours isn't designed to denigrate your intelligence with features such as: "How to buy your

That sweet position on your road bike should be as comfortable as your favorite pair of slippers — and once you find it, you won’t want to give it up. But discovering the perfect position in the first place often requires many tiny adjustments in the height and reach of your handlebar to get it right. In the current issue of VeloNews, technical writer Lennard Zinn helps you work through the steps necessary to find that perfect position. As mentioned in the article, Alan Hills of Hills-Scientific.com in Boulder, Colorado, has shared a handy program he designed to choose the stems for his

Transplanted from California less than a year ago (there, it's official, everyone in Colorado can now hate me) the guys here at the office say the winter has been unusually mild. My early morning frozen water bottles and icy trails might disagree, but hey, at least we're out there and not relegated to the trainer (like I was told I would be before moving out here). Weather aside, the racing/product seasons are right around the corner and we're gearing-up for some pretty hectic travel schedules. For racing coverage, Jason's off to Malaysia, Charles is heading over 'cross

Dear readers;I get a lot of questions about cranks – crank lengths, non-standardcranks, compatibility, etc., so I thought I’d just combine a number ofthem here.  --LennardDear Lennard;I would like to read your comments or opinions on a product calledPowerCranks (see at Powercranks.com). I would like to buy a pair to improvemy technique. Thanks for your help. --HeltonDear Helton;PowerCranks are cranks with a clutch bearing at the bottom-bracketconnection in order to only engage the bottom bracket in the forward direction.You can only keep them turning if you pull up and around the entire

A question that I receive often through my "Tech Q&A" column on thissite is how one should remove a seatpost that is stuck in a frame. Ratherthan answer each one, I can simply reprint the section from Chapter 10of "Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance" that touches on thatvery subject.Removing a seatpost that has frustrated all normal methods of removingit is a difficult job requiring lots of attention and skill because ofthe risk involved. This may be a job best done by a shop, because if youmake a mistake you run the risk of destroying your frame. If you’re not100-percent confident

Well, things are certainly back up-to-speed here at the magazine after the holidays. I hope you had a good one. You'll be glad to know that even though we're all a little teary-eyed over Jeremy "Showtime" McGrath's sudden retirement, we're still focused on getting another issue out the door. It's NORBA's 20th anniversary and in the spirit of celebrating, we're working on a pretty interesting feature piece highlighting the highs (and some lows) of the governing body of mountain biking.Personally, I'm working on a few techy pieces that highlight just how far technology has come in the past 20

Dear Lennard ZinnI'm 50 and have arthritis in my left hip. I've been riding a pretty laid-back road bike for years (A LeMond with a 72.5 seat angle, seat all the way back)I do Yoga regularly, and that has helped, but my hips ache when I ride. I’m wondering if sitting further back might be "working" my hips more. The second part is that I have another frame I could have built up, but it's radically different: 73.5 seat, 40.5 stays. The front end is almost the same as the LeMond. Both bikes are steel, the other frame is 753. I'm 6'2" and weigh240. Some people have said the shorter bike would

Dear Lennard Zinn; My right foot (third and fourth toes especially) goes to sleep after only a short time on the bike (10-15 minutes).  I've had the problem for quite a while, but just got new shoes (with plenty of toe room) and it's back - these shoes are stiffer than my others too.  If I stand or unclip for a few seconds it helps, but comes right back.  I use the same MTB shoes for road and MTB riding (recreational) - the problem is worse on the road.  What can I do to help?  --JeffAnswer: It sounds like perhaps you need custom orthotics. I have a similar problem, which in my case was

Dear Lennard Zinn;Everyone knows you don't have to work as hard if you're drafting off the person in front of you. How does your work effort change if someone is drafting behind you?Here is why I ask: I always thought that if you were riding by yourself, then you had to work harder than if somebody was drafting behind you because as you move through the air, it flows past your bike and body and creates turbulence as it swirls around in the void of space behind you. This almost creates a suction behind you pulling you back against your forward progress (if my logic is correct).

One of the more frequent questions I get on my “Tech Q&A" column is why Campagnolo changed its 10-speed chain and eliminated the PermaLink and, therefore, the tool to install it, now requiring the purchase of a different chain tool. In late July, I visited Campagnolo in Vicenza, Italy, and I got the answer to this question directly from Mario Meggiolan, the engineer who designed the new chain tool as well as the carbon Hyperon wheel. Campagnolo first supplied the PermaLink with 10-speed chains because that was the best way it could see at the time to make such a narrow chain strong enough.

The U.S. distributor of Look Cycling products, Veltec Sports, has issued a voluntary recall of the French manufacturer’s “Carbostem” handlebar stems. According to a Veltec release issued Friday, there have been no accidents or injuries involving any of the stems, but Look has reported that the stems, constructed of carbon fiber and aluminum, are subject to failure as a result of fatigue. Obviously, if that were to occur, a rider could lose control and crash. Therefore, Veltec is overseeing a full recall of the small number of stems distributed in the U.S. Veltec’s vice president of

Watch your head, because the component war continues to wage at full-fury. First, with Shimano's intentional/accidental shot over the bow with its posterboy Armstrong showing up all big and beautiful in the latest Sports Illustrated sporting next-gen Dura-Ace. And now with Campagnolo granting VeloNews the first detailed images of its much-rumored electronic gruppo. Our visit to Campagnolo world headquarters in Vicenza, Italy last week (look for a full report in two weeks) certainly helped smooth-out the tight-lipped policy that Campagnolo has so far held about any official comment about

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a former U.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bike maintenance. Zinn's VeloNews.com column is devoted to addressing readers' technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directly to Zinn. Zinn’s column appears each Tuesday on VeloNews.com.Question:The question about the MTB carbon steerer tube and the recent column about carbon forks begs the question – what do you think about

With the racing off-season in full bloom, the past two weeks provided a short window of opportunity to sneak out of the office. But unlike a leisurely jaunt to ride the back roads of Tucson or a few days railing Fruita singletrack, we needed to get some work done (so said the boss). With a week's notice, I was told I needed to, "Pack my bags and grab as many notebooks as I could," because we were off to Italy for a manufacturer meet-and-greet. Part social call, part product fact-finding tour, this trip provided the opportunity to introduce myself to a good segment of the Italian manufacturers

If Dr. Irwin Goldstein’s warnings about cycling-caused impotency or those Specialized saddle ads of a few years ago weren’t enough, now we learn from our evening news and newspapers and news magazines that the pounding experienced on a mountain bike now poses risks to your manhood as well. So, what do we do? Of course, after the Goldstein scare we were offered a flood of bike saddles designed to cure the problem. Are we now going to have bike designers claiming their suspension systems will not only improve your comfort and bike handling, but will also enhance your personal life? But isn’t

After years of being the bridesmaid, Ann Grande (Kona-Kenwood) finally won her long sought-after national cyclo-cross championships on Sunday, overcoming the elements and a deep field at the nationals at the Domaine Chandon winery in Napa, California. An hour later, Jonathan Page (Richard Sachs), 26, put in a dominating race to score what could be the first of many elite national titles and ensure himself of a trip to Monopoli, Italy, as part of the U.S. team for the world championships.

The epic Pacific storm that camped out on the Northern California coast made a soupy mess out of the first day of the national cyclo-cross championships at the Domaine Chandon winery in Yountville, California, on Saturday, producing a sloppy, but compelling day of racing. The day was capped by the repeat win in the under-23 championship by Giant’s Adam Craig, who beat out Kona-Kenwood’s Barry Wicks and a surprising Ryan Trebon (Krystals) of North Carolina. Eight inches of rain fell on Domaine Chandon, just north of Napa, on Friday, forcing organizers to re-route the course around some of the

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a former U.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bike maintenance. Zinn's VeloNews.com column is devoted to addressing readers' technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Zinn’s column appears each Tuesday on VeloNews.com. Question:I have a question on the durability of the RockShox World Cup carbon steer tube. I am very comfortable on my MTB with a low front end but it is causing problems on steep descents. I am

A can of beer always helps to make problems seem less important, butsometimes, it can actually fix bike problems! Aluminum beveragecans are 0.1mm thick and are easy to cut with a knife or a pair of scissors,rendering them quite useful for making minor spacing adjustments on a bike. Slipping seatpostA seatpost that gradually slips downward as you ride can be causedby an ovalized seat tube, a sizing difference between the seatpost andseat tube or a tolerance buildup over a number of parts; the latter isparticularly rampant with suspension seatposts in oversized seat tubes.What can you do? A

The Verge Mid-Atlantic Championship Cyclo-Cross Series ended with a double race weekend that saw riders contending with 10 inches of snow on two totally different types of courses. With several series titles coming down to the wire, it became apparent that the best bike handlers were going to have the edge heading into the weekend. The combination of snow, mud and unseasonably cold weather changed two notoriously fast courses, Phelps School 'Cross and First State Velo Sport 'Cross, into treacherous, ice skating rinks. Conditions changed from hard-packed snow and ice to mud as each day went

With valuable UCI points on offer and only two weeks remaining before the U.S. national cyclo-cross championships, one of the strongest fields of the year lined up at the inaugural UCI Category 3 Saturn Stumptown ’Cross Classic in Portland on December 1. Mongoose-Hyundai’s Marc Gullickson and Clif Bar’s Gina Hall showed their form is on target to make them favorites in two week’s time in Napa, and they each took advantage of solid teamwork to earn the victories. The Saturn Stumptown ’Cross Classic utilized an exciting new Euro-style course at the Jackson Middle School in southwest Portland.

Unless you’re from Southern California, Florida or some similar sun-drenchedlocale, winter can turn your local trail into an inhospitable place forriding. But if you find the hum of indoor rollers an even less invitingoption than standing up to Old Man Winter, you’re in luck. The key, ofcourse, is staying warm and dry, and modern clothing technology has createdsome formidable barriers to the cold and wet of winter. Keeping your core warm is critical to survival, and maintaining toastyextremities will keep frostbite away. Thanks to advances in winter shoedesign, frozen feet are less likely

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, aformer U.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes andbike maintenance. Zinn's VeloNews.com column is devoted to addressing readers'technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riderscan use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directly to Zinn. Zinn’s column appears each Tuesday on VeloNews.com.Carbon road forks:I get so many questions about carbon forks that I have decided to focus this column entirely on questions related to

Cold, blustery wind met the riders for the Stedman Co. Grand Prix ofCyclo-Cross, round five of the Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series. Race promoters used every inch of the South Kingstown, RI venue to create a course some felt was the best yet in the 2002 Verge Series. The excitement of the racing certainly was at a high level, as Johannes Huseby of Independent Fabrication emerged from a strong group of six to take the win by mere inches over British U23 Champion Sean Snodden (Je James). Many considered Huseby's 2001 Verge Series victory at this same venue to be a breakthrough

The Mongoose-Hyundai duo of Marc Gullickson and Todd Wells brought their show to the Northwest over the weekend and walked away with another victory at the REI Metro Cup UCI cyclo-cross race in Tacoma, Washington, on Saturday. Gullickson and Wells went one-two against a full line-up of West Coast cyclo-cross stars, including Jackson Stewart (Clif Bar), Jonny Sundt (K2), Justin Robinson (Spokesman-Bullion Stil), Dale Knapp (Kona-Kenwood) and Andy (Clif Bar) and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Spokesman-Bullion Stil). The field also featured 2000 national champion Tim Johnson (Saturn) and Trek-VW’s Travis

The gods have been with the organizers of the Giro d’Italia for the past six years, which have produced six winners from the home nation. That trend could well continue in 2003 because it’s unlikely that Italy’s favorite three riders, Gilberto Simoni (the 2001 winner), Stefano Garzelli (winner in 2000) and Francesco Casagrande (second in 2000) will vaporize as they did in 2002. You will remember that Garzelli won two stages and led the race commandingly this year before being expelled for an inopportune, and still unexplained, positive drug test involving Probenecid –- the easily detected

What has 10 arms and is azure blue, brimstone red and safety yellow? Yeah, I don't know either, but I do know we're up to our collars in winter riding jackets around here. Thanks to a nasty little winter squall that raced into town this weekend, Lennard and I have been riding our brains out in the frosty coldness that is late November. Here in Boulder, Sunday cracked a high of just about freezing, which is ideal conditions for the jackets we've rounded-up for this particular test. From relatively affordable, to downright ludicrous in price, it's interesting to see what an extra $100 (or

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, aformer U.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes andbike maintenance. Zinn's VeloNews.com column is devoted to addressing readers'technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riderscan use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directly to Zinn. Zinn’s column appears each Tuesday on VeloNews.com.Question:I've been thinking about putting a 650mm wheel on the front of my bike.Will it help with acceleration as well as by dropping the front

The Mongoose streak continued this weekend as Todd Wells and Marc Gullickson took top spots in U.S.’s two top UCI-sanctioned cyclo-cross series at opposite ends of the country over the weekend. Wells scored a win at the second round of the Redline Cup o’ Cross at Utah’s Soldier Hollow, site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Nordic skiing events, Saturday. Wells topped an elite field that included his teammate Gullickson, who promptly hopped a flight, flew to the east Coast and took on Sunday’s fourth round of New England's Verge series in Connecticut. Soldier Hollow victorySaturday’s race in Utah

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a formerU.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bikemaintenance. Zinn's VeloNews.com column is devoted to addressing readers'technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riderscan use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can sendbrief technical questions directly toZinn. Zinn’s column appears regularly on VeloNews.com.Question:It would seem like the ultimate night riding light would be an L.E.D.light for light weight and efficiency. Has there been anyone working

Ever wonder how manufacturers choose the colors and graphics for their upcoming products? While some take a decidedly low-key approach ("My girlfriend's eyes are azure blue, so let's go with that"), others are meticulous in their selection process. When GT was still GT, the company was rumored to have spent almost a quarter million dollars researching the "perfect" looks for its 2001 product line. Part of that process including using involved focus groups and scientific analysis in which participants were hooked-up to diagnostic equipment to monitor specific emotions as subjects were

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a former U.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bike maintenance. Zinn's VeloNews.com column is devoted to addressing readers' technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directly to Zinn. Zinn’s column appears regularly on VeloNews.com.Question -- Recently you wrote about a chain lube thatvirtually stopped chain wear. I can't remember the name of the lube.--Dave Answer --

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a formerU.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bikemaintenance. This is Zinn's VeloNews.com column devoted to addressing readers'technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riderscan use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can sendbrief technical questions directly toZinn. Zinn’s column with a representative selection of reader questionappears each Tuesday.Question -- Recently you wrote about a chain lube thatvirtually stopped chain wear.  I can't remember the

Marc Gullickson (Mongoose-Hyundai) won his third straight Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series race of the year at the Cycle-Smart Amherst International Cyclo-Cross, Amherst, Massachusetts. As in his last Verge Series win two weeks ago in Gloucester his teammate Todd Wells had a lot to do with the final result. The elite men's race started out looking much like the Clif Bar domination of the women's elite race, fast starters Andy Jaques-Maynes and Jackson Stewart in the red Clif Bar skinsuits took turns leading and forcing the pace for much of the first two laps. Meanwhile,

Sunday - Redline Cup-Round 1 It didn’t take long for Todd Wells to dismantle the field at the first round of the Redline Cup in Tacoma, Washington, on Sunday. The Mongoose rider and 2002 national cyclo-cross champion broke clear of the field on the first lap with Andy Jacques-Maynes (Clif Bar), then dropped Jacques-Maynes a half lap latter and rolled to a 26-second win in the UCI-sanctioned event. "Todd is way too strong," said Jacques-Maynes, who finished second. "He’s obviously the strongest guy out here. It’s really a race for second. I was feeling great and had a great day yesterday (at

Shimano’s next-generation XTR website lets you see the functional capabilities of this revolutionary component group in cyber-space.  Simply click on drive train, shifting or braking for systems demonstrations and the company’s philosophy on developing these cutting edge mountain biking tools. “What impresses me most about how the new website came together is it’s about as close as you can come to actually riding the product.  It’s like a virtual test ride.” Says Devin Walton, Product Manager for Shimano American Corporation. This futuristic cyber bike ride lets you see action diagrams of

John Parker, legendary founder of Yeti Bicycles, dropped us a line to inform us that his world-class cadre of old Yeti race bikes and prototypes have begun showing up on e-bay. Highlights includeJulie Furtado's 1990 Durango World Championship-winning Yeti C-26 (with an opening bid of $7500), complete with all original equipment including a prototype Manitou fork, Yeti quill stem and Onza Ti bar ends. Other bikes to be auctioned at a later time- include those built for John "The Eagle" Tomac, Myles Rockwell, Paul Tracy and Carolyn Curl. For more visit www.yetifan.com or click straight on

What a week Italian Michele Bartoli has had. A week after being left off the victorious "Squadra Azzurri" at the world championships, rather than slip into "polemica" Bartoli let his legs do the talking. He won Milan-Turin on Wednesday and culminated his revenge tour with a dramatic victory in Saturday's Giro di Lombardia. Bartoli held off compatriot Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Swiss rider Oscar Carmenzind (Phonak) in an exciting sprint to win the finale of the 10-round World Cup series. The victory was Bartoli's second World Cup victory this season (he won Amstel Gold in April) and

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What a year. On Sunday in Zolder, Belgium, Mario Cipollini capped an incredible, sometimes turbulent season by taking the world champion's crown that he has coveted ever since the Zolder course was announced. Cipollini was carried along by a unified Italian squad that delivered him to the line with the precision usually reserved for a well-oiled professional trade team. And at the finish, Cipollini easily beat out Australian Robbie McEwen and German Erik Zabel for the rainbow jersey, and left his two rivals fighting for the scraps. The Zolder course had "sprinter" written all over it, with

Marc Gullickson (Mongoose-Hyundai) won his second straight Verge New England championship cyclo-cross series race of the year at the ECV Cyclo-cross in Gloucester, MA. Unlike last week when "Gully" attacked on the opening lap and rode alone for the rest of the race, this was a tactical win where U.S. National Champion Todd Wells was instrumental in setting up his teammate's victory.

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The first successful breakaway of the 2002 World Road Race Championships delivered French junior Arnaud Gerard to victory on Saturday in Zolder, Belgium. Gerard emerged from a six-man group to take the sprint finish ahead of Jukka Vastaranta of Finland and Nicolas Sanderson of Australia. The weather in Zolder was cool and cloudy for the second day in a row, after three days of sunshine earlier in the week for the time trial championships. On Saturday morning, the junior men set a blazing pace from the start as the field of 164 riders exploded off the line, on their way to an average speed of

Susanne Ljungskog survived crashes, rain and a blistering pace to prevail over a three-rider break in the final kilometer to win the world title in Saturday's exciting, rough and tumble 128-km elite women's road race. The Swede didn't stop after she bridged out to three riders who were narrowing down on victory just 600 meters to the finish-line. Ljungskog roared to the gold medal in 2 hours, 59 minutes, 15 seconds (42.845 kph) while Swiss rider Nicole Brandli took her second silver at these world's and Spanish rider Joanne Somarriba hung on for bronze. "I felt strong and I just did it

U.S. national cyclo-cross champion Todd Wells of Mongoose-Hyundai flew the colors of the stars-and-stripes jersey in the first Central Massachusetts Cyclo-cross To End Homelessness. Last year's revelation picked up where he left off last year, breaking away early with his teammate Marc Gullickson, and taking his first UCI 'cross win of 2002. A steady rain on race day turned the course into a slick, muddy quagmire by the time the elite men took the line at 3:00 for the last race of the day.Wells and Gullickson both had good starts, but the real rocket on lap one was Clif Bar rider Andy

Dutch rider Suzanne De Goede sprinted her way to the gold medal in the women's junior road race on a cold Friday morning in Zolder while American Magen Long finished a strong fifth place. Long started the sprint early, but De Goede came around to win in dominant fashion in 1 hour, 59 minutes. German Claudia Stumpf took silver while Swede Monica Holder hung on for the bronze. Long was ecstatic with the solid finish, the best result so far by an American at the 2002 world cycling championships. Long almost didn't come to the world's because he mother is sick back home in the hospital, but

On the first day of the road races at the world championships in Zolder, Belgium on Friday, things played out the way they were anticipated, with cold, overcast weather and races that boiled down to field sprint finishes. In the under-23 men's race, things worked out perfectly for Italian Francesco Chicchi, who came out of no-man's land to pull off the sprint win on the Circuit Zolder auto racetrack. Chicchi stayed in front of an ugly pileup with 250 meters to go, and then came from six spots back, swooped across the road from right to left, and then came around Dutchman Hans Dekkers at the

Santiago Botero must be relieved he decided to come to Zolder. The Colombian suffered through much of the 2002 Vuelta a España despite winning a stage and wondered out loud if he would compete in the world championships. But a strong fourth-place finish in the Vuelta’s final time trial helped change his mind. On a blustery, flat course in northern Belgium, Botero became the first Colombian to win a world championship gold medal. Riding a 55x11 through strong crosswinds and headwinds topping 25 kph that buffeted the 57 riders, Botero made up time on Michael Rich to edge the German by just 8

Russian Mikhail Ignatiev upset the pre-race favorites and ripped his way through gusting winds to capture the gold medal in the junior men’s individual time trial Wednesday. Ignatiev was fastest at both splits to win in 28 minutes, 30.37 seconds (48.831 kph) to relegate junior track individual pursuit world champion Mark Jamieson into the silver medal by 10.36 seconds. Italian Vincenzo Nibali was good enough for third at 25.98 seconds slower. Cold winds blew hard across the 23.2-km course from Hassalt to Zolder, but they couldn’t slow down the burly Russian. “We are Russians and we are

In a women’s field that boasted some heavy duty résumés, a virtual unknown almost walked off with the top prize on another calm sunny day in Zolder, Belgium. Indeed, it wasn't until the closing minutes of the women’s world time trial championship, 1996 Olympic champion Zoulfia Zabirova claimed the top prize ahead of Switzerland’s Nicole Brändli, who bumped her surprising countrywoman Karin Thürig down to the bronze medal position. Lost in the shuffle were the two favorites, France’s Jeannie Longo and the Netherlands’ Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel, who had combined to win six of the seven

Tears of joy opened the 2002 road cycling world championships Tuesday as Italian Anna Zugno won the gold medal in the junior women's individual time trial. Starting in the penultimate position in a field of 41 starters, Zugno covered the flat 11.2-km course from Hasselt to Zolder in 15 minutes, 54.21 seconds (42.255 kph) to edge compatriot Tatiana Guderzo by 6.54 seconds. German rider Claudia Hecht finished third at 7.21 seconds slower. Zugno burst into tears after realizing she came across the line with the fastest time. The emotions didn't stop there as she hugged and cried her way

With the sun shining and a daylong wind having died away, a triumphant Tomas Vaitkus flew across the line at the Circuit Zolder racetrack in Belgium to take home the men’s under-23 time trial title on the first day of competition at the world road championships. The 20-year-old Lithuanian, the only rider to crack 39 minutes for the 33.2km course on Tuesday, obliterated the competition, finishing 42 seconds better than runner-up Alexandr Bespalov of Russia. Starting second-to-last on the point-to-point course from Hasselt to Zolder, Vaitkus was spared much of the wind that buffeted riders who

The Interbike International Bicycle Expo is wrapping up in Las Vegas Tuesday afternoon. As VeloNews editors fold up their laptops and lend a hand breaking down our booth, we thought we’d put up a few more shots of items that caught our interest today. Cervelo – When the Toronto-based frame builder signed on as bike sponsor of the CSC-Tiscali team, Cervelo earned the distinction of being the smallest manufacturer supplying the Division 1 peloton. The company doesn’t reveal its precise numbers, but its safe to say that annual production is somewhere in the mid-four figures. Precise numbers or

Jakob Piil took his most important victory of his career while Paolo Bettini widened his overall World Cup series lead to nine points over rival Johan Museeuw in Sunday's Paris-Tours race. Piil, a 29-year-old Danish rider on the CSC-Tiscali team, was the worthy winner over Frenchman Jacky Durand, who played rope-a-dope over the final 10km in the 253-km World Cup race on a sunny, brisk autumn day in France. Durand refused to take a pull after the pair dropped two riders from an original five-man break that attacked with just 5 km in the monster 252-km race. Durand, who won Paris-Tours in

The doors opened on the 2002 Interbike International Bicycle Expo on Sundayas crowds of dealers, industry types and shop rats descended on the SandsConvention Center in Las Vegas. In the mix, VeloNews editors scouredthe halls for a glimpse at what will by plying the roads and trails inthe coming year. We'll offer updates throughout the show, but these are things that jumpedout at us on our first day. Pinarello Dogma: With a front triangle built using Dedacciai'snew magnesium tubeset, the Dogma stole show today as every roadie in Vegasmade a pilgrimage to visit this near-holy beauty. With

Marc Gullickson of Mongoose/Hyundai flew across the country to start in the DownEast Cyclo-Cross. His competition saw him fly away early in the race. The former U.S. National Champion and Overall SuperCup champion grabbed the lead on lap 1, breaking away with the newly married Jonathan Page (Richard Sachs), and never looked back as he claimed the race title. With that win, Gullickson also takes the blue leader's jersey in the 2002 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series. Gullickson had an atypically poor start in his first 'cross race of the year, and had to work hard to pull back

It's been almost a full year since Manitou (in conjunction with Cane Creek, RaceFace, and Chris King) unveiled the evolutionary OnePointFive standard. And while most of the initial gee-whiz (or so-what?) factor has worn off, most of us are left wondering how an oversize headset, steerer and stem (not to mention frame) will really improve our riding? We’ve seen an increasing number of manufacturers producing OnePointFive standard components and forks, (a surprise move with once-skeptical Marzocchi adopting the standard) but most of us are still searching for some harder reasoning to

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a former U.S.national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bike maintenance.This is Zinn's regular VeloNews.com column devoted to addressing readers'technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riderscan use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can sendbrief technical questions directly to Zinn. We'll try to print a representativesample of questions regularly.First, some follow-up from previous columns:Comment on rim weight:Froma July, 2002 column,"As an aside- the old wheels

Australia is now assured both gold and silver medals in the main event of the world track cycling championships after Jobie Dajka joined compatriot Sean Eadie in the final in Copenhagen Sunday. Dajka, the 20-year-old keirin champion, dominated reigning champion Arnaud Tournant of France over the two legs of their semi-final, minutes after 33-year-old Eadie had ousted Florian Rousseau twice in their semi. Australia, who are leading the gold medals charge here, have not won the men's sprint title since Darryn Hill won in Bogota in 1995.

Australia's Sean Eadie won the world sprint title at the world track cycling championships in Copenhagen Sunday after beating compatriot Jobie Dajka in a third leg decider. It is Australia's first medal in track cycling's main event since Darryn Hill won the sprint title in Bogota in 1995. France, who won all three medals last year, took the bronze when Florian Rousseau held off his compatriot and the reigning champion Arnaud Tournant in their two-heat match. Meanwhile, French duo Jerome Neuville and Franck Perque handed France their only gold medal here when they retained their world

More than 35,000 fans poured into Madrid’s largest soccer stadium Sunday to watch Kelme’s Aitor Gonzalez become crowned the 2002 Vuelta a Espana champion on a dramatic final-day time trial duel. Gonzalez won the 41-km individual time trial and erased a 1 minute, 8 second-deficit to Roberto Heras to grab the race leader’s jersey away from the U.S. Postal Service rider who held the lead since the treacherous Angliru stage a week ago. "I came to this Vuelta to win," said Gonzalez, who beat defending champion Angel Casero by 1:23 in the time trial. "Nobody counted me among the favorites, and

The Miami Cycling Classic, Sunday, September 29, went a little bit coconuts when Saturn’s Eric Wohlberg pedaled to victory in the course’s first solo finish, according to race manager and producer, Lee Marks of Velo Racing. Chris Wherry of Mercury followed for second and Saturn’s Ivan Dominguez took out Mercury’s Henk Vogels on the line in a bunch sprint for third place in the final race of the Pro Cycling Tour. “That was a great race. It was the first time the race hasn’t ended in a bunch sprint, except for '99 when Mercury with Fraser and Sayers pulled it off,” said Marks. “The race was

Good morning and welcome to stage 20 of the Vuelta a España. Saturday's 141.2-km 20th stage from Avila to the Warner Bros. theme park in the outskirts of Madrid features two category-three climbs — Alto de la Paramera at 15 km and the Alto Navas del Rey at 66 km. It's rolling flat to the finish with a sharp descent about 5 km from the finish. With tomorrow's time trial to come, all expectations are that today's stage will end in a sprint. 3:35 p.m. Just 3km into the race Oscar Laguna (Relax) has gone off the front. Behind him the peloton seems uninterested. 3:45 p.m. With 60km to go Laguna