Road

In less than two days I will be lining up with some of the premiere cyclo-cross racers in the world at Cross Vegas during the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas. It’s safe to say I am completely unprepared. An extremely busy summer at the bike shop kept training time to a minimum, but you know what they say, “duty calls.” I guess I shouldn’t really complain because just nine months ago I was standing on the front porch of my Boulder, Colorado, town home staring at a letter from the United States Anti-Doping Agency stating I had committed a doping violation. Me, the guy who first took the

One more in the bag. That brings my tally of grand tours to nine out of 10 finished. None have been the same, all have had their ups and downs, but one thing is 100-percent certain and that unfortuneately is that there is nothing like the Tour de France. For instance, on Sunday I was in the bus on the way to the airport, watching the podium presentation on TV, instead of sipping Champagne with my team. In fact, I was already checked in to my flight to Barcelona before Carlos had finished all his interviews! That kind of scenario leaves you with a strange feeling, but one you quickly get

Big names and big teams have dominated the world’s for the past several years, with established stars such as Oscar Freire, Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini from Spain, Belgium and Italy, respectively, taking the rainbow jersey in the elite men’s road race. Is it time for an outsider to hold off the favorites? On paper, the 19.1km circuit in Stuttgart looks like it could be challenging enough to serve up an attack-laden finale and perhaps deliver a breakaway victor to end the run of relatively large bunch sprints that have dominated the world championships for the better part of a decade. Each

Professional cycling teams have agreed to cover the significant cost of random doping controls as the sport continues to look for effective solutions to weeding out drugs cheats. The Tour de France was hit with several doping scandals in 2007, a year in which the ongoing Operación Puerto doping affair in Spain dominated the headlines for the troubled sport. The latest anti-doping initiative is the brainchild of the International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT) association. It has been inspired by the internal anti-doping programs of the CSC, T-Mobile and Slipstream teams, and will be

The UCI cyclocross season had its West Coast kickoff this past weekend in Washington state with Star Crossed, a Saturday-night party disguised as a ’cross race at Marymoor Park Velodrome in Redmond, followed by Sunday’s Rad Racing Gran Prix at Steilacoom Park in Lakewood.

Veteran cycling team director Len Pettyjohn and 17-year pro Scott Moninger have joined the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team as director and assistant director, respectively. Harm Jansen will direct his final race for Toyota-United at the World Championship Sports Network USA Crits Finals on Thursday in Las Vegas. Pettyjohn, 66, has worked with the likes of Greg LeMond, Davis Phinney, Alexi Grewal and Moninger while directing a number of domestic teams, from the Panasonic squad of 1980-81 to the dominant Coors Light team of the early 1990s. Moninger, 41, has 275 victories to his credit and

After three long weeks of sometimes exciting racing, the remaining 145 riders rolled into a festive welcome in the heart of downtown Madrid to conclude the 2007 Vuelta a España with an exhilarating finishing sprint. Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) used his lethal bike stab to hold off Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) to win his third stage in Sunday’s final romp into Madrid and bring an end to the season’s final grand tour.

Samuel Sánchez delivered his third stage victory of this year’s Vuelta a España to secure his Basque Euskaltel-Euskadi team its first-ever podium finish in a grand tour in the team’s 14-year history. Sánchez roared over Saturday’s short 20km individual time trial in the suburbs north of Madrid to knock Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) off the podium and give compatriot Carlos Sastre (CSC) a good fright for the second spot on the podium.

The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) has backed UCI demands for a doping investigation into Spanish cycling ace Alejandro Valverde. The UCI believes it has enough evidence on Valverde to show that he was involved in the Operación Puerto doping affair in Spain, and has recently said he would be banned for next week's world road race championships. Valverde, who finished third in last year's championships, has always protested his innocence - and has recently won the support of the Spanish cycling federation (RFEC). The RFEC believes its rider has no case to answer and said it would

SRAM announced Thursday that it intends to acquire wheel and component maker Zipp within the next 60 days. The two signed a non-binding letter of intent. The purchase would add a vital piece to SRAM’s puzzle, which already includes road and mountain bike drivetrain components (branded SRAM), suspension parts (branded RockShox), brakes (branded Avid) and road and mountain bike cranks, bars, stems and seatposts (branded Truvativ). “Zipp is a great company and respected brand, with a strong management team, advanced technology and superb manufacturing capability,” said Stan Day, SRAM’s chief

SRAM announced Thursday that it intends to acquire wheel and component maker Zipp within the next 60 days. The two signed a non-binding letter of intent. The purchase would add a vital piece to SRAM’s puzzle, which already includes road and mountain bike drivetrain components (branded SRAM), suspension parts (branded RockShox), brakes (branded Avid) and road and mountain bike cranks, bars, stems and seatposts (branded Truvativ). “Zipp is a great company and respected brand, with a strong management team, advanced technology and superb manufacturing capability,” said Stan Day, SRAM’s chief

Yesterday it was Vladimir Efimkin, today it was Cadel Evans. Team CSC’s Carlos Sastre played executioner for the second straight day and clawed his way ahead of Evans into second place overall Friday at the Vuelta a España after a grueling, six-climb stage finishing atop the rainy and foggy Abantos summit. Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) won ahead of ahead of Dani Moreno (Relax-GAM) to score his second stage victory of this year’s Vuelta while Sastre crossed the line third just ahead of race leader Denis Menchov (Rabobank) at three seconds back.

American Floyd Landis has been formally stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after an arbitration panel ruled against his challenge of a positive doping test result from that year’s edition of the race.

Belgian cycling star Tom Boonen has pulled out of the world road race championships due to injuries on his knee and back, the Belgian cycling federation said Thursday. Quick Step's 2005 world champion has thus been forced to bring the curtain down on what has been a mitigated season by his high standards. Boonen, who counts the prestigious Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders one-day classics among his many victories, crashed last week during a stage on the Vuelta a España and abandoned the race complaining of back and knee pain. A fitness test on Thursday confirmed Boonen's worst

Team CSC’s Carlos Sastre has been complaining all week that the 2007 Vuelta a España just wasn’t hard enough. With the top GC spots jammed in a deadlock since the climbing stage to Cerler in the Pyrénées, it seemed the relatively easy second half of the Vuelta was dooming the 32-year-old Spanish climber to yet another fourth-place result in a grand tour. Sastre – already twice fourth in the Tour de France and once fourth in the Vuelta -- was so frustrated, so fed up, that he even said he wasn’t going to attack anymore.

UCI president Pat McQuaid is ready to give in to demands by organizers of cycling's three three-week Tours who want out of the ProTour calendar of races. McQuaid said that major changes could be made to the ProTour race series as early as next year. The UCI introduced the ProTour calendar three years ago in a bid to promote a rich series of races with all the top teams and riders. However a powerful coalition consisting of the organizers of the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España, has constantly opposed the ProTour, which has no system of relegation or promotion for teams

A second sprint victory in the Vuelta a España couldn’t erase disappointment for Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) after being overlooked for a spot on the Italian national team for next week’s world championships. The Liguigas-bound rider found out overnight he was left off the Stuttgart squad and smashed that frustration into his pedals Wednesday to beat the men whom he wanted to support, Paolo Bettini, and compatriot Alessandro Petacchi in the 175km 17th stage from Ciudad Real to Talavera de la Reina.

I had the chance to catch “The Flying Scotsman” at a special showing at the Boulder Theater. While the movie takes some liberties with the order of events and the details of how they unfolded, it tells the gist of Graeme Obree’s story ratherwell. In many ways, it reminded me that – as far as the UCI is concerned – the more things change, the more they remain the same. The film’s characterization of the UCI, and its troglodyte attitude toward maverick innovators like Obree, is unfortunately quite accurate, especially when those inventive types beat established cycling stars using

Normally I try and refrain from writing race reports. I figure that most people read enough “this guy attacked and then those teams chased that guy and then this team did the lead out and those guys sprinted and that guy won” and if I can come up with something about our lives or experiences that give insight into what racing a bike is all about it might be more interesting. At least I tell myself that… I figure that I update my blog with all the standard race report action and have tried to maintain the philosophy that if writing is on a real web site rather than a blog I should put some

I have been wearing a black bracelet that says “Harden The F**k Up” since the first of July. Stuart O’Grady gave them to us before the start of the Tour de France in London and we all wore them with pride. Even when things are going good, you are always one hundred corners away from victory but only one away from defeat. Then, of course, when Stuey crashed horrifically out of the Tour, broke 10 bones, and was stuck in a hospital bed we didn't even think of taking them off. I still haven't, it reminds me how easy it is take things for granted. Stuey lives in Monaco, thousands of

The U.S. team comes with one of its strongest and competitive squads since 2003 for this year’s 2007 UCI road world championships, set for September 26-30 in Stuttgart, Germany. The American team, which will be looking to improve on its two-medal haul from last year in Austria, brings defending world time trial champion Kristin Armstrong and such ProTour riders as George Hinicapie, Bobby Julich, Dave Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde. Eight elite men, including seven from ProTour teams, eight elite women and six U23 men were named to the U.S. national team as USA Cycling released the

Colombians made a name for themselves in the 1980s and 1990s by winning when the road turned uphill. Such stars as Lucho Herrera, Fabio Parra and the latest incarnation in the form of Mauricio Soler put Colombia on the international cycling map thanks to their bird-like builds and innate ability to soar like condors up Europe’s steepest roads. Santiago Botero broke the mold with his consistency in the race against the clock, but Colombians and summit finishes were synonymous in the peloton.

The 155 remaining riders of the 62nd Vuelta a España enjoy their second and final rest day Monday as the season’s final grand tour enters its final week of racing. Overall leader Denis Menchov looks unbeatable with only six stages remaining. The 29-year-old Russian rolled out of the Pyrénées last weekend with a solid lead of 2:01 over surprisingly tough Vladimir Efimkin (Caisse d’Epargne) and 2:27 to third-place Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto). Eternal podium contender Carlos Sastre (CSC) is poised in fourth at 3:02 if any of the leaders tumble. “I feel like I have the Vuelta 70 percent

[nid:40552]Ivan Dominguez put an emphatic stamp on his run to the Tour of Missouri's sprint points title, winning the final stage of this 562.2-mile, six-day race, which concluded Sunday in downtown St. Louis. Dominguez (Toyota-United) emerged from a scrambled sprint along Market Street, comfortably holding off Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) and Dominique Rollin (KodakGallery-Sierra Nevada), who were second and third in the 74.2-mile, seven-lap circuit race.

When the road drops downhill, there’s no one faster than Samuel Sánchez. Perhaps Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) didn’t know what was in store when Sánchez disappeared off the Cat. 1 Alto de Monachil summit some 20km from the finish line in Granada. But Manuel “Triki” Beltrán (Liquigas) sure did.

In a symbolic sign of the times, Slipstream’s Danny Pate launched a brave solo attack inside a kilometer to go and held it all the way to the line, taking victory in stage 5 of the Tour of Missouri Saturday. Pate’s triumph is arguably the biggest win in the short history of the Boulder, Colorado-based team that is poised to take over the mantel of American cycling following the imminent demise of Discovery Channel.

Navigators to end sponsorshipThe Navigators Insurance pro cycling team, the longest-running professional team in American cycling, will come to an end this season as its title sponsor has opted not to renew its sponsorship for 2008. Navigators Insurance has sponsored the New Jersey-based professional team bearing its name for 14 years, making it the longest continuous team sponsorship in American cycling history and one of the longest running in the world. The team began in 1994 with the mission to help encourage and provide opportunity for budding American cycling talent, and with the

Iowan Jason McCartney (Discovery) attacked out a breakaway group of 11 to win the 14th stage of the 2007 Vuelta a España, a hilly 207-kilometer ride Puerto Lumbreras to Villacarrillo, on Saturday.

Just when it looked like the Vuelta a España was stuck on the repeat button, all hell broke loose in Friday´s 176km 13th stage. Take away the wild battles in the Pyrenees, and it seemed the Vuelta had stolen the script from the movie “Groundhog Day.” Day after day, the same plot unfolded: an early break, lots of TV for Spain´s second-division no-hopers, the peloton on siesta, the sprint teams revving up the chase, the breakaway caught with 8km to go, a sprinter sweeping across the line in the fight to see who gets kisses from the podium girls.

Luciano Pagliarini took a convincing sprint win at the conclusion of stage 4 of the Tour of Missouri on Friday, moving into a tie atop the points jersey standings in the process. [nid:40511]The Brazilian Prodir-Saunier Duval rider blasted straight up the gut of the finishing straight of Columbia’s East Walnut Street, lunging his bike across the line ahead of Canadian Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) and Cuban Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United), who were a distant second and third respectively.

Denis Menchov will never be accused of being outspoken. A man of few words, the 29-year-old Russian clearly prefers to let his legs do the talking. So far through this Vuelta a España, the Rabobank captain has kept his cards close to his chest. He’s ridden with solid consistency in the decisive mountain and time trial stages to take firm control of the race, but he’s loath to talk about it. For the past few days, Menchov has more or less avoided the media as the Vuelta pushes south toward the next decisive stage in Sunday’s mountain stage into Granada. Until then, Menchov seems intent on

Okay, I admit I have no idea where I am. I am driving southwest right now to our new hotel. We are entering the region of Murcia, which is somewhat akin to the southwest of the states: Desert, sharp mountains, rocks, sleepy villages, nada. But this is all part of my new tactic of making the race go by faster. I know the date and the stage, but apart from that, I have no idea where I was today or yesterday after the stage ended. This is quite common during a long stage race in a different land. But given that I have lived here in Spain for the last 10 years and know Spain from its food to

German rider Andreas Klöden, who suffered a bad accident in training at the beginning of September, announced on Thursday that he has withdrawn from this month's world road championships in Stuttgart. "Unfortunately, I do not have enough time to be to 100 percent ready for the beginning of the world championships," said the 32-year-old Astana rider on his website. "I have told the people in charge of the German cycling federation that I won't be racing in Stuttgart. It would not have been fair to replace one of my colleagues who is fit.” Klöden suffered a hand and hip injury when

If there was any doubt that Alessandro Petacchi was back at his best, he erased them with an emphatic finishing surge Thursday to claim his second straight sprint victory at the Vuelta a España. On a day when another breakaway attempt fell short, Milram did the heavy lifting to reel in the attackers to put Ale-Jet in position to win the 173km 12th stage from Algemesí to Hellín.

The rollercoaster ride that is George Hincapie's cycling career took a decidedly upward turn on Thursday, as the American posted a solid sixth-place effort in the Tour of Missouri's stage 3 time trial. Hincapie was more than two minutes back of teammate and stage winner Levi Leipheimer, but he put time into all the other members of Wednesday's decisive 12-man breakaway, and now has a commanding lead in the overall standings of this six-day, 600-mile race that ends Sunday in St. Louis.

A long stage and a long break and the Tour of Missouri is changed for good. Our man Casey Gibson was there to see it all.

Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) made yet another comeback after sprinting to victory in Wednesday’s otherwise routine 11th stage at the Vuelta a España. It was his first major victory since the Italian ace tested non-negative for Salbutamol at the Giro d’Italia and his career teetered on the edge of disaster. The Italian cycling federation eventually cleared Petacchi of what could have been a two-year racing ban, but the proud Petacchi was forced to sit on the sidelines during the Tour de France.

Barring a repeat of the bad luck that has periodically plagued George Hincapie the last couple years, the American is in solid position to win the overall title at the inaugural Tour of Missouri. On Wednesday, the Discovery Channel rider was part of a 12-rider break that rolled off the front of the field early in the rolling 125.6-mile stage 2 run from Clinton to Springfield and never looked back. At the finish, when Hincapie darted out of the small pack to take the stage win, the trailing field was more than 14 minutes behind.

How ironic is it that on the rest day we wake up two hours earlier than on any other day during the entire race? Okay, okay, I know getting up at 7:30 is not that early at all. Shoot, a majority of the working people out there have already been to the gym and commuted to work by this time. But it is really early for us right now and keep in mind that this is Spain. Let's put it this way, one of our neighbors yelled at Leah yesterday for walking our dog before 9 in the morning! That's because when their dog hears our over-grown Weimaraner, he freaks out, starts barking and wakes

It seems like just yesterday that the Slipstream squad was hanging out in Julien, California, banging out some early season miles and planning the loooong year ahead. Somehow, it’s already September and I’m now at the Tour of Missouri and just about to wrap up another season; amazing how fast the year goes by. Not that I’m done quite yet. For one thing, I still have six days of racing here and then another six in October in Mexico, but with fall in the air the mood circulating the dining room is certainly that of eager anticipation of the coming off-season. Plans of vacations to come,

When the Dura-Ace 7800 group was introduced for the 2004 season, it didn’t feature a hint of carbon fiber despite the fact that Campagnolo was offering ample amounts of the material throughout its flagship Record group. At the time Shimano relied on its ability to forge high quality aluminum at its Osaka factories. Four years later, carbon fiber is quite evident in Shimano's 2008 line. Four of Dura-Ace’s five wheel models feature carbon fiber rims, while a fifth uses scandium. The just released XTR Shadow rear derailleur sports a true carbon fiber pulley cage. And to put the icing on

Photo Gallery Below On a day when I pause every year to reflect on what the future may holdfor all of us, I think about the things that give me a little hope forthat future. One of those things is seeing kids on bikes. The future seems a lotbrighter to me if lots of kids are riding bikes, ensuring a healthier nextgeneration of adults treading more lightly on the earth with another toolto combat global warming and oil dependence. There are a number of great programs around the country that are successfulin creating passionate young bike riders, and I think all of them shouldbe encouraged. I

Cuban speedster Ivan Dominguez earned the first yellow jersey of the inaugural Tour of Missouri, blasting across the line at the end of stage 1 on a sun-splashed Tuesday in Kansas City. The Toyota United rider’s triumph came at the expense of Canadian Zach Bell (Symmetrics) and American Kyle Wamsley (Navigators) who were second and third respectively on the opening day of this six-stage, 600-mile race that will head west to east across the Show Me State before finishing on Sunday in St. Louis.

The inaugural six-stage Tour of Missouri, the third and final of America’s three “grand tours,” kicks off Tuesday in Kansas City. The 600-mile course will travel a counter-clockwise route, ending on Sunday, September 16, in St. Louis. In between the state’s largest cities are stops in Clinton, Springfield, Branson, Lebanon, Columbia, Jefferson City, and St. Charles.

Mark Cavendish (T-Mobile) began his bid to win the Tour of Britain in style with a powerful finish to take the first stage on Monday in Southampton. Cavendish, who held the yellow jersey after the prologue, stormed away in the sprint finish after good work by teammates Roger Hammond and Frantisek Rabon had given him an ideal platform. The 22-year-old from the Isle of Man blew away Steven Caethoven and Juan Jose Haedo in the final 200 meters to clinch his 10th stage win of the season. and take a 14-second lead over Russia's Nikolai Trusov. Holland's Piet Rooijakkers, who took the

How much is Denis Menchov dominating the 2007 Vuelta a España? If the amount of lipstick on his cheeks from receiving kisses from the podium girls is any indication, a lot. The 29-year-old Rabobank captain won the longest and hardest stage of this year’s Vuelta on a sunny and windy Monday high in Andorra to carry a solid lead of more than two minutes to compatriot Vladimir Efimkin (Caisse d’Epargne) into Tuesday’s rest day. Just add up the quality podium time Menchov enjoyed: stage winner, race leader, mountain jersey and the combined jersey. That’s a lot of kisses.

Monday’s exciting stage at the Vuelta a España saw the return of polemica, a tried and true European journalistic tradition of a battle of words fought out in headlines. The “he said-she said” tug-of-wars used to fill the pages of European sports dailies until the dirty business of doping scandals took all the fun out of being a cycling journalist. Those glory days returned briefly Monday as exhausted and frustrated riders started to point fingers at one another at the finish of the frenetic 214km “queen stage” across the Spanish Pyrenees. The first salvo came from Team CSC’s Carlos

[nid:40410]Two years ago, Denis Menchov was declared victor of the Vuelta a España months after Roberto Heras tested positive for EPO and was eventually dethroned. The Rabobank rider never enjoyed his moment on the winner’s podium and remains bitter about the whole business. Flash forward to Sunday’s first of two decisive climbing stages across the Spanish Pyrénées, when the soft-spoken Russian followed the attacking Leonardo Piepoli to climb solidly into the leader’s jersey .

Nearly three minutes ahead of a confusion-laden finale, and after some 160 kilometers in the breakaway, Will Frischkorn (Slipstream-Chipotle) soloed to victory in the Univest Grand Prix in Souderton, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Frischkorn launched a perfect counter following teammate Tim Duggan’s probing attack with eight laps of the race’s 5-kilometer finishing circuit remaining. Duggan and Frischkorn accounted for half of a four-man break that entered the finishing loops together following a challenging 109-kilometer loop through the Montgomery County countryside. Together with Columbian

Wind. Friend, foe, annoyance and pain in the ass...literally. The last three days have been ridden in and around Zarragoza home of tumbleweed and wind. There isn't anything to stop the wind around here other than the occasional guard rail or rock. So everyone knows when they come in this area it is gonna be spectacular in some way, shape or form. So that is no doubt why the organizers always seem to map the race through this area, it certainly isn't because of the spectators. And of course it didn't disappoint. Spills, thrills and Zarragoza. It splits the field, causes tension

Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel) became stronger as the 52.2km individual time trial into Zaragoza unfolded to surge into the overall leader’s jersey Saturday at the Vuelta a España. His rivals are hoping that trend doesn’t continue going into a pair of decisive climbing stages in the Pyrénées, or this Vuelta might well be over.

Cycling's international governing body, the UCI, on Saturday upheld its earlier decision to exclude Spain’s Alejandro Valverde from the World Cycling Championships in Stuttgart at the end of the month. The announcement comes after the Spanish cycling federation openlydefied the UCI by registering Valverde for the championships. Valverde's participation at the event on September 25-30 had been up in the air because of growing suspicions over his alleged links to the Operación Puerto doping affair in Spain. Operación Puertoerupted in May 2006 after police raided the premises of

Perhaps Oscar Freire has a sixth sense. After winning three out of the first six stages at the Vuelta a España, the Rabobank sprinter had his crash radar up and decided to take himself out of Friday’s sprint into Zaragoza. Sure enough. There was a nasty spill with about 30km to go that took down American Christian Vande Velde (CSC) when the peloton was roaring at 65kph to erase the day’s main breakaway.

Evans believes in Vuelta chancesCadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) was the big question mark coming into this year’s Vuelta a España. Would the Tour de France runner-up come to Spain intent on winning the Vuelta or was he here instead to prepare for the world championships? Evans admitted he didn’t even know the answer to that question until Tuesday’s climbing stage at Lagos de Covadonga. Despite having the Spanish Armada and Russian émigré Denis Menchov ganging up on him, Evans held tough and enters Saturday’s decisive time trial as the heavy favorite to ride into contention for overall

Oscar Freire (Rabobank) is slipperier than a fish in the fast-moving waters of the bunch sprints at the Vuelta a España. For the better part of Thursday’s 184.3km sixth stage across Spain’s Rioja wine country, Freire was jabbering with friends at the back of the peloton, flitting around as if killing time before getting down to the business end of the stage.

I love it when a plan comes together!Col. John "Hannibal" SmithThe A-Team We don't have the strongest team out there, but we made the most outof every member of the team on Tuesday. In the process we squeezed outevery possible second from the opposition.Carlos is looking good and he is more secure with the team by the daywhich makes him calm and relaxed and that makes us calm......and on andon.Placing three of us in the break sounds better than it really is, giventhat there were 38 of us! But two of us climb quite well and we used thatto launch Carlos up the Covadonga: Me for the middle

It’s going to take more than a nasty crash to keep Christian Vande Velde from finishing this year’s Vuelta a España. The 31-year-old American is racing what’s his last major European race in a Team CSC jersey before switching to the up-and-coming Slipstream squad for the 2008 season and he wants to go out on a winning note. “I didn’t want to stop the race. The truth is, I felt horrible and I’m still pretty beat up. I still don’t feel great,” Vande Velde told VeloNews. “I want to go out with CSC on a good note. I hope to feel better in the coming days.” Vande Velde crashed twice in the

With a few short weeks before the 2007 world championship road race, Oscar Freire (Rabobank) looks almost unbeatable in the sprint as he aims for his fourth rainbow jersey in Stuttgart on September 30. [nid:40358]The three-time world champ scored his second win in five days in Wednesday’s 157.4km fifth stage at the Vuelta a España with an explosive sprint that left the rest in the peloton shaking their heads in disbelief.

Bjarne Riis’s self-imposed exile is over and the controversial Dane returned to his spot behind the wheel of the CSC team car following weeks of seclusion in the wake of his admission that he doped on the way to his 1996 Tour de France victory. It’s Riis’s first race appearance since deciding to skip the 2007 Tour following a dramatic confession that he used the banned blood booster EPO and other illegal performance-enhancing drugs during his racing career. “I considered leaving the sport. It was a very difficult period for me, but I took my responsibility,” Riis said outside the Team CSC

I don't know if it is Carlos, the team or just the Vuelta, but we have stayed at some very nice hotels. Last night we stayed in the middle of Oviedo. Oviedo is the capital of Austurias, one of the nicest provinces of Spain. So we arrived at AC hotel in Oviedo after a hard stage and a one hour plus transfer. Karsten had been knocked out in the back of the bus for past 30 minutes as we pulled into the hotel. As we stumbled through the modern lobby and crammed into the elevator, Karsten, still half sleeping proceeded to spill half his lemonade on a business man, his silk suit and 1000 euro

Gerolsteiner team boss Hans-Michael Holczer says he was left in tears after the German mineral water company announced it would not extend its sponsorship. Gerolsteiner will not sponsor the team past the end of the 2008 season, and riders such as German Stefan Schumacher and Italian Davide Rebellin will be left without a team. The German mineral water supplier has sponsored the ProTour team since 1998, but with several high-profile doping scandals involving riders from other teams tarnishing the sport's image, the German company decided to call it a day. "There were tears in my eyes,"

German cycling team T-Mobile has been rocked by a new doping scandal after Italian rider Lorenzo Bernucci was sacked on Tuesday for failing a drugs test. Bernucci, 27, tested positive for the banned appetite suppressant Sibutramine on August 15 during the Tour of Germany. "We do not know if this was an attempt at performance enhancement or just poor judgment," said team general manager Bob Stapleton. "But we know it is unacceptable that riders take any medication without the approval of the team doctor. It's a clear violation of our code of conduct and we have acted on that

[nid:40341]Good thing Vladimir Efimkin's twin brother, Alexander, isn't at the Vuelta a España. Just moments after surprising the favorites on the Vuelta's hardest climb to surge into the overall leader's jersey, the 25-year-old Caisse d'Epargne rider was beating the drum of Alexander, who rides on rival Barloworld. "My brother is the one who you will be hearing about in the coming years," said Efimkin, who soloed to victory in Tuesday's epic climb to Lagos de Covadonga. "He trains harder than me, he's a better climber than me.

Reigning world champion Paolo Bettini says he’s not superstitious, but he was probably having his doubts after what’s been a long season for the usually prolific Tuscan tiger. Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) came into the Vuelta a España with just one victory on the 2007 season and was relieved with his sprint victory Monday ahead of Óscar Freire Gómez (Rabobank) and Allan Davis (Discovery Channel) to end a winless streak dating back to February’s Tour of California.

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) escaped to victory at the Grand Prix de Plouay on Sunday. Voeckler, a hero in France after valiantly and improbably holding on to the Tour de France's yellow jersey for 10 days in 2004 before losing it to Lance Armstrong, shot off from the pack with 2.5km to ride and held off the fast-finishing peloton to secure the win. Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) finished second with Italian Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas), the ProTour leader, in third. As he passed the red flag marking the final kilometer, Voeckler only had a few seconds' gap

Unlike Interbike in the United States, Eurobike’s final day is open to the public. Anyone with 20 extra euros can show up at the Messe Friedrichshafen and see the bicycle industry’s best. Because of this, most of the show's business is done by Saturday afternoon, freeing exhibitors from spec’ and sales meetings, plus the press, just in time to be thrown to an inquisitive public. We saw a lot on Saturday, some of which can be quickly explained and some that will require more attention. Over the next few weeks, in a lead-up to Interbike, we will try to explore in detail some of those

If you have to go looking for work, it helps to have a solid résumé, and Levi Leipheimer isn't exactly lacking in that department — plus he has a nice red-white-and-blue suit to wear to the interview. Just ask Casey Gibson, who was on hand to see Leipheimer win the U.S. professional road race on Sunday in South Carolina.

Discovery Channel went one-two on Sunday at the Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championships in Greenville, South Carolina, with Levi Leipheimer soloing to victory by more than a minute over defending champion George Hincapie with Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe’s) third.

A day after finishing second, Spanish ace Oscar Freire (Rabobank) got it right in Sunday’s crash-marred second stage to win and move into the overall lead at the Vuelta a España. And a day after American climber Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) was KO’d with a broken shoulder, it was Christian Vande Velde’s turn. The Team CSC rider crashed twice but was able to finish the hilly stage despite some nasty road rash.

We are off and running. September 1st has come and gone. The Vuelta is a rare and special race with an interesting peloton, facing different circumstances. Some have raced a lot; some very little; some have a contract; some don't; some are Spanish; many are not. Racing in your own country in front of your people, eating your food and enjoying your customs can give you that little bit of an edge. As for the rest of us, this race serves as a good test of desire and mental strength. For myself, I like the Vuelta, have a friend and teammate who can win the race and I can have some success

[nid:40251]Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) picked up where he left off, putting a nice bookend victory in Saturday’s 154.4km opener at the Vuelta a España to go along with his triumph in the final stage on the Champs Elysées at the Tour de France. The brawny Italian hitched a ride on Milram’s setup train and out-kicked a superstar field to win for the eighth time this season ahead of three-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Alessandro Petacchi (Milram), who came through third.

Vuelta a España organizer Unipublic released the final start list for the three-week national tour, which begins on Saturday, with a 146.4-kilometer stage in Vigo, Spain. 2007 Vuelta a España - Start ListAg2r Prevoyance1. Arrieta Lujambio José Luis, (Sp)2. Deignan Philip, (Irl)3. Dion Renaud, (F)4. Mandri Rene, (Est)5. DuPont Hubert, (F)6. Goubert Stéphane, (F)7. Krivtsov Yuriy, (Ukr)8. Usov Alexandre, (Blr)9. Turpin Ludovic, (F)Andalucia - Cajasur11. Perez Rodriguez Luis, (Sp)12. Lopez Gil José Antonio, (Sp)13. Martinez Perez Francisco Jose, (Sp)14. Olmo Menacho Juan, (Sp)15. Ortega Ocana

It looks like Johan Bruyneel’s planned retirement could be a short one. The Belgian sport director of Discovery Channel is in talks with the troubled Astana team to take over as general manager just weeks after announcing he would retire from cycling at the end of the 2007 season. Bruyneel confirmed he’s been contacted by officials from the Astana team to join the Kazakhstan-sponsored squad for the 2008 season and beyond. “It’s true I’ve had conversations with them but I’ve just returned from vacations and I haven’t had a chance to fully consider it,” Bruyneel told journalists ahead of

This year hasn’t been stellar, results-wise, for Team CSC’s David Zabriskie. But his second consecutive time-trial win at the 2007 USA Cycling Professional Championships on Saturday may have brightened things up a bit.

Some people think time trials are boring. But not us — especially not when Dave Zabriskie pips Danny Pate by a second to score his second consecutive stars-and-stripes jersey, and Saul Raisin returns to racing after a long convalescence. Casey Gibson was there, too, and sent us these shots of the day's action.

If the scale of parking problems are an indication of interest, then Eurobike qualifies as a success. The line just to park at the Messe Friedrichshafen on the second day of the trade show was an hour long. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, all of it bound for Eurobike. The show, held on Germany’s southern border, attracts exhibitors from more than 36 countries — and that includes everyone, from the biggest players to the most obscure little guys. Here’s what caught our attention on Friday. LightweightThe famous German Lightweight wheels have a new look these days. The new black all-carbon spokes

Tom Danielson lines up Saturday for the Vuelta a España with a clean bill of health following a painful and sometimes bizarre battle with debilitating stomach problems. Danielson missed what was expected to be a Tour de France debut this year following a series of recurring stomach problems that derailed efforts at the Volta a Catalunya and the Dauphiné Libéré earlier this season. “I was in so much pain I wanted to cut open my stomach and give birth to an alien,” Danielson told VeloNews. “June and July were really dark months. My body was screwed up, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t pedal. I was

Once home to the early 20th century’s famous Graf Zeppelin factory, the southern German town of Friedrichshafen now plays host to retirees and tourists visiting Lake Constance and – once a year – to what is becoming one of the world’s biggest bicycle industry trade shows. Thursday marked the opening of the 16th Eurobike show, with more than 850 exhibitors from 36 countries showing their wares in an astounding 13 exhibition halls. Despite the ample space, navigating the aisles was already tough Thursday — and that’s before the show opens to the general public on its final day on

Ever since the Vuelta a España moved to September in the racing calendar a decade ago, the Spanish race has been trying to reinvent what a three-week grand tour should look like. High-octane shorter stages, opening day team time trials, closing day time trials, finales inside 80,000-seat football stadiums, nothing wasn’t worth a try for season’s third big tour. There was once an even a zany idea about having 26 or so teams starting and then get rid of the four slowest squads through elimination rounds. It all gave the Vuelta an exciting, unpredictable edge. No one really knew what to

Erik Zabel's inclusion in a preliminary squad for the world road cycling championships has led to the resignation of German cycling federation vice-president (BDR) Dieter Kuehnle. Zabel, a six-time winner of the Tour de France's green jersey, was named Wednesday in a preliminary 21-man squad for the competition to be held in Stuttgart from September 26-30. However the fallout from Zabel's recent confession to having "briefly" used the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin) in 1996, when he won the first of his six points competitions at the Tour de France, has failed to