Road

Russian motor Vladimir Karpets was more than pleased with his first win since 2004 in Monday’s rainy 10km time trial opener at the Vuelta a Castilla y León in northern Spain. The Caisse d’Epargne rider faced slick roads as rain fell on the late starters in the five-day stage race that saw solid performances by Discovery Channel captains Ivan Basso (7th at 9sec) and Levi Leipheimer (8th at 10sec). “I’m very happy because last year I finished second and third a lot in time trials, but I could never win any of them,” Karpets said. “Despite the change in the weather, I was able to pull it off.

The small town of Zamora in northwest Spain will play host to some of the biggest names in the peloton for Monday’s time trial start of the Vuelta a Castilla y León. Ivan Basso and Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel), Carlos Sastre (CSC), Denis Menchov and Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) and Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d’Epargne) are some of the bigger names taking part in the five-day race across Spain’s northern meseta and rugged mountains. Christian Vande Velde (CSC), Tom Danielson and Jason McCartney (Discovery Channel) are also penciled in for the start. Alberto Contador – fresh off winning

Stefan Schumacher is one of Germany’s brightest hopes for the future. The burly Gerolsteiner is an all-rounder who can sprint as well as climb, as he revealed in his grand tour debut in last year’s Giro d’Italia with two stage wins. “Schumi” returned to the elite ranks last year after racing in smaller German continental teams when his two-year run at Telekom (now T-Mobile) didn’t pan out as well as hoped in 2002-03. He made the most of his chance, taking the overall at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the Tour of Poland and his controversial victory at the Benelux Tour when he swiped out George

At 40 years of age and in his 19th season as a professional, Scott Moninger thought he had seen it all. He began his pro career at Team Crest with an overall victory at the Redlands Classic in 1989, and he has since done the rounds with American pro teams: four years with Coors Light, two with Chevrolet-L.A. Sheriff, four years with Mercury, three with HealthNet, and now his first season at Team BMC. Moninger has taken some 250 victories in his incomparable career, and it looked like he had his hands on one more trophy — it would have been his third overall win at Redlands — going into

Amber Neben was simply too strong for the opposition at the Redlands Classic. Wearing the yellow jersey since the prologue on Thursday, she crowned her second overall win in two years by answering every attack from the powerful Webcor Builders team on Sunday’s final stage around nine laps of the grueling Sunset Loop. Runner-up Mara Abbott of Webcor eventually broke away with Neben, and after a long chase they were joined by T-Mobile’s Kim Anderson and Team Lipton’s Kori Seehafer. These four fought out the stage win in downtown Redlands, with Seehafer looking the likely winner until she

The men’s and women’s criterium stages of the Redlands Classic on Saturday had almost identical results, with each dominated by a small breakaway group (five for the men, four for the women) that finished half-a-minute ahead of the pack.

This time there won’t be an asterisk next to his victory. Oscar Freire (Rabobank) unleashed a masterful sprint to win Saturday’s centenary celebration of Milan-San Remo ahead of Allan Davis to claim victory in emphatic style to erase the memories of 2004 when he won by a whisker ahead of the celebrating Erik Zabel.

David Millar – fresh off his victory in the prologue at Paris-Nice – says he’s taking aim at the overall title at next month’s Tour de Georgia. The Saunier Duval-Prodir rider – who vows he’s left behind his cheating ways after serving a two-year ban for admitting to French authorities he used EPO – says Georgia is an ideal race for his characteristics. “I’m going for the overall at Georgia,” said Millar, who ended up 12th overall at the Race to the Sun. “It’s a good race for me. I’m feeling good at Paris-Nice, things went better than expected there.” First, he’s going to take in a few

Some of cycling’s brightest stars will be absent or battling injury on Saturday as Milan-San Remo celebrates its centenary. While defending champion Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) will be on hand, absent from the 2007 edition of “La Primavera” will be last year's Giro d’Italia winner, Ivan Basso (Discovery Channel), and former ProTour series winner Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas). Basso, 29, has struggled to recover from spraining a wrist at Tirreno-Adriatico last Friday, while Di Luca is still experiencing the after-effects of flu. Meanwhile, world champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic)

Two climbers from Boulder, Colorado, won the pro men’s and pro women’s Oak Glen stage of the Redlands Classic on Friday afternoon. But that’s where the similarity ends. Men’s winner (and new race leader) Scott Moninger is 40 years old and has won about 250 races in his 18 seasons as a professional. Mara Abbott is 21, still at college, and in only her second season as a road racer. Her victory over prologue winner (and still race leader) Amber Neben moved Abbott into second place overall. After he out-kicked Toyota-United’s Justin England for the stage win, the omnipotent Moninger (BMC)

Outside of the USA Cycling Pro Tour events, which include the Tours of California and Georgia, Southern California’s venerable Redlands Classic boasts one of the best fields and most challenging courses of the season. Particularly this week’s 23rd edition, when, following its absence in 2006, the climb to Oak Glen is back. It will host the mountaintop finish of the 156.6km stage 1 on Friday, following Thursday afternoon’s 5km prologue, while the familiar Redlands criterium and Sunset Road Race complete the four days of racing this weekend.

Australian Tour de France hope Cadel Evans isn’t going to become Mr. July. The ex-mountain biker – fresh off finishing a solid seventh at Paris-Nice - is eyeing two form peaks this season, with the first one coming just around the corner, in time for next month’s Ardennes classics. “I’ll race Pais Vasco to get ready for the Ardennes,” Evans told VeloNews. “I want to be good in April this year. Last year, I had some headaches in the races. I am hoping for some good results in the spring classics.” The bumpy Ardennes races obviously best suit Evans’ explosive climbing capabilities and he’s

On a new uphill 5km prologue course, which was made tougher by strong SantaAnna winds Thursday, defending Redlands Classic champion Amben Neben (Stahl-SCVelo) took out a strong option on a repeat victory with a resounding 33-secondwin over runner-up Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders). Race favoriteOenone Wood (T-Mobile) placed only eighth, with a 1:07 deficit on Neben.

I remember an old Bill Cosby routine where he was "just walkin' down the street and they yanked me into the room."A lot of my life has played out that way."How'd you get your job?" (I was ...) How'd you meet your wife?" (...just walkin'...)"How'd you sell your books?" (...down the street...)"How come you're doing live shots from a snowbank?" (...and they...)"How'd you wind up replacing Larry Green on Ride the Rockies?" (...yankedme into the room.")That last one is the one that surprises me most of all. I've been tryingto tie myself to Ridethe Rockies, the

Things are coming together nicely for Tyler Farrar despite an early departure last week from Paris-Nice with a cold. The second-year pro is a key part of Cofidis’ 10-man classics unit and he’s looking forward to working for team captain Nick Nuyens. “It was nice when Nick (Nuyens) won the first race of the season [Etoille de Bessèges in France] – so that’s good for the motivation for everyone,” Farrar told VeloNews. “He’s a great captain and he’s real easy to work for.” So far in 2007, he’s been busy with nearly 20 days of racing in his legs with the meat of his spring classics program

Still suffering from the after effects of the flu, former ProTour champion Danilo Di Luca has been ruled out of Saturday's 100th anniversary edition of Milan-San Remo. The illness forced the 31-year-old Italian to miss Tirreno-Adriatico one-week stage race, which ended on Tuesday. Di Luca, who rides for the Liquigas team, won the Milano-Turin one-day semi-classic earlier this month. His best season was in 2005 when he was crowned ProTour champion. That year he won the Tour of the Basque country stage race and the Amstel Gold and Fleche Wallonne one-day classics, before finishing

Oakley has produced its incredibly popular M-Frame sunglasses for 17 years, and while the design has been tweaked over its long lifetime, the M-Frame has always held onto its distinct shape and reputation as one of the best functioning sport shields on the market. Now, the M-Frame has a little brother — Radar, which even in its infancy seems to be reaching for grandeur. Look for Oakley’s newest sports shield on riders from Team CSC, T-Mobile and Slipstream-Chipotle during 2007. “In the beginning we sponsored 7-Eleven, then Motorola, Saturn, Rabobank, ONCE and Phonak,” said Steve Blick,

Pro Tour standings following the final day of Tirreno-Adriatico on Tuesday:1. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery 56 points2. Andreas Klöden (G), 533. Davide Rebellin (I), 424. Kim Kirchen (Lux), 415. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kz), 386. Luis Sanchez (Sp), 387. Stefan Schumacher (G), 358. Tadej Valjavec (Slo), 309. Franco Pellizotti (I), 2810. Janez Brajkovic (Slo), 2511. David Lopez (Sp), 2312. Jens Voigt (G), 2013. Cadel Evans (Aus), 1514. Frank Schleck (Lux), 1015. Riccardo Ricco (I), 6

Quick Step-Innergetic stars Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini promise to be in the mix at this weekend’s Milan-San Remo, but both men readily admit they won’t be 100 percent for the Italian classic. Boonen pulled out of Paris-Nice ahead of Sunday’s finale after not winning a stage for the first time in three years with nagging back pain. The Belgian sprinter underwent chiropractic back treatments Monday and Tuesday and plans a long six-hour training ride Wednesday to test his condition. “Tom has some nagging back pain and that’s never easy for the longest race of the season,” team spokesman

Australian Scott Sunderland brought his rich and at times dramatic cycling career to an end just over two years ago. But in a few days Sunderland, now in his second year working as a manager with CSC, will be hoping that 15 years of racing among Europe's elite proves decisive once more for his riders in the big spring classics. Milan-San Remo opens cycling's one-day race season with a bang this Sunday. At nearly 300km long, it is crucial for anyone hoping to contend throughout a tough month of April. Sunderland never won the race known as La Primavera (the Spring), but that

George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer and Tyler Hamilton will be among the headliners racing the 2007 Tour de Georgia April 16-22, Medalist Sports announced today. Fifteen teams have accepted invitations to race the seven-stage, 667-mile event, including ProTour teams CSC, Discovery Channel, Saunier Duval-Prodir, Quick Step-Innergetic and Predictor-Lotto, according to the sports management agency. “The stature of the Tour de Georgia field continues to grow year after year,” said Jim Birrell, race director and managing partner of Medalist Sports. “That says something as to the quality of the

Andreas Klöden (Astana) retained his overall lead after the seventh and final stage to win the 42nd Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race on Tuesday. Koldo Fernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) won the 177km stage between Civitella del Tronto and San Benedetto del Tronto in four hours, 38 minutes and 43 seconds after a bunch sprint. It was the Spaniard's first win since he turned professional in 2004. Australian Stuart O'Grady (CSC) came in second and Italian Gabriele Balducci (Acqua e Sapone) was third. Italian sprint king Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) was knocked out of contention for the stage

Lampre’s Matteo Bono won the 162km sixth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race between San Benedetto del Tronto and San Giacomo-Monti della Laga on Monday. German Andreas Klöden(Astana) grabbed the overall race lead after he finished the stage in ninth place. Bono, who has only two professional seasons under his belt and claimed the first win of his professional career, set the pace on the final 11km climb to San Giacomo-Monti della Laga. The 23-year-old Lampre rider kicked into action with four kilometers to the line and left the breakaway group, which had formed at 27km and included

After a long lasting back and forth argument, the UCI finally came to an agreement with the ASO, the organizers of Paris-Nice, and we got the call that we would be starting Paris-Nice. The politics are complicated and at the end of the day we are neither politicians nor businessmen and most cyclists don’t really understand the issues and just want to race their bikes—so, the team, and the peloton were excited to be warming up and then rolling down the starting ramp at the prologue of the first ProTour race on the season’s calendar. Prior to leaving for Paris-Nice I had been sick and, as a

Component manufacturer Full Speed Ahead has confirmed plans to join the drivetrain market with full road and mountain-bike groups. There were plenty of rumors as far back as last year’s Taipei Cycle Show. We even reported a few, but as the industry entered last year’s fall trade show season the buzz had quieted. “We just don’t want too much attention because the worst mistake we could make would be to come out too early,” said Ric Hjertberg, FSA’s new technology manager. Although the tricky parts of the drivetrain — the shifters and the derailleurs — have not surfaced, FSA will introduce

German Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) won the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday to take a slender overall lead of the weeklong Italian stage race. Schumacher edged out compatriot Andreas Klöden (Astana) in an individual time trial over 20.5km from Civitanova to Civitanova Alta. Schumacher finished in 27 minutes and eight seconds, a second ahead of Kloden. He now leads the overall standings with Klöden in second place and Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) third. Tirreno-AdriaticoStage 51. Stefan Schumacher (G) Gerolsteiner, 20.5km in 27:082. Andreas Klöden (G) Astana, at

Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) showed why he is rightly regarded as one of the most feared sprinters in the U.S. as he charged out of the field at the Visalia Criterium on Sunday, the last day of the Quad Knopf Sequoia Cycling Classic. Dominguez, who took an impressive win in the final stage of the Amgen Tour of California three weeks ago, topped an all-Toyota podium, along with teammates Ivan Stevic and Henk Vogels. In a women's race that ran full throttle for the first of 43 laps around the 0.7-mile, six-turn course in downtown Visalia, Suzanne de Goede (T-Mobile) took the win, and

[nid:37799]The future is now for Alberto Contador after the Spanish climber pulled the double at Paris-Nice on Sunday to win the final stage and claim the overall prize that positions him as Spain’s next great hope. The 24-year-old Discovery Channel rider uncorked a searing attack on the Cat. 1 Col d’Eze to gap overnight leader Davide Rebellin and drove home a stirring victory on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais to turn a six-second deficit into a 26-second winning margin.

Italian Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval) claimed his second consecutive victory in Tirreno-Adriatico by winning the fourth stage of the race, held over 158.3 km between Pievobigliana and here Saturday. Ricco also took over the race lead from Russian Alexander Areekev (Acqua e Sapone), who had claimed his own double on Thursday by winning the stage and claiming the lead. Italian star Ivan Basso, meanwhile, was forced to pull out of the event, known as the "Race of the two seas", during Saturday's stage. The Discovery Channel team leader had started despite injuring his left wrist in a

Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health-Bissell) chalked up yet another win Saturday in the 30km Exeter Time Trial that opened this weekend's Quad Knopf Sequoia Cycling Classic in Central California, while Alison Powers (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) took her first win of the season. Two-time national time trial champion Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) trailed Jacques-Maynes by 34 seconds, while Anthony Colby (Colavita/Sutter Home), Chris Wherry (Toyota-United), and Canadian Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics), rounded out the top five. Having just returned Tuesday from racing in

[nid:37790]The Spanish armada threw down an attack in Saturday’s brutal 200km sixth stage at Paris-Nice, but Davide Rebellin stood firm to retain the overall lead with one stage to go. Climbing sensation Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) unleashed a brutal acceleration on the last of nine rated climbs, the Col du Tanneron with 20km to go, to gap the Gerolsteiner leader by 25 seconds. Rebellin never panicked and found some friends in the lead pack to check the aggression with less than 2km to go to retain his six-second grip on the maillot jaune.

Italian Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval) won Friday’s third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, a 213km leg between Marsciano and Macerata. Russian Alexander Areekev (Acqua e Sapone), winner of stage 2, retains the overall lead. Meanwhile, Italian Ivan Basso (Discovery Channel) crashed and injured his left wrist, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. He finished the stage, but subsequently was taken to hospital for X-rays. No fracture was found, according to press reports, but there was some question as to whether Basso would start Saturday's fourth stage. World and Olympic champion Paolo Bettini

It’s obvious Yaroslav Popovych enjoys life. The Ukraine attacker usually has a smile on his face and is quick with a joke, except when he’s on his bike. Then he’s everyone else’s worst nightmare. Popovych dropped the ax with 30km to go on the last of four rated climbs in Friday’s intense 178km fifth stage from Sorgues to Manosque to motor away from a breakaway that included Dave Zabriskie (CSC) and sent a panic jolt through the peloton.

Alexander Areekev (Acqua e Sapone) won the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Thursday to take the overall lead of the weeklong stage race. The 24-year-old Russian took the 202km leg from Civitavecchia to Marciano ahead of Italy's Daniele Contrini (Tinkoff Credit Systems). German Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) was third. Areekev now leads Contrini by 32 seconds with Krauss third, a further three seconds back. Spanish rider Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne), who crashed during the bunch sprint, was taken to hospital with chest injuries. Gutierrez will be under observation for 48 hours;

For the second time in two weeks, Alberto Contador delivered a big win in the 2007 season ahead of some pretty heady company. Last month at the Tour of Valencia, he beat Spanish sensation Alejandro Valverde at the key climbing stage up Alto de Campello. Contador hit the repeat button Thursday in the explosive 169.5km fourth stage at Paris-Nice. The new Discovery Channel recruit dropped the likes of L’Alpe d’Huez winner Frank Schleck and Tour de France candidate Cadel Evans on the short but steep summit finish to La Croix-Neuve to take an impressive win.

Many pros traveled to warmer environs early this in 2007 for early seasonteam training camps and plenty of quality miles on the open road. You mayalso have your own travel plans sometime over the next few weeks, in orderto train and get a jumpstart on your own race preparation. Chances arethat this cycling vacation includes plenty of restaurant eating, includingthe fast food, diners, and a variety of ethnic cuisines. Like the proswho have plenty of roadside eating experience, you too can make good foodchoices and prevent greasy platter predicaments that would normally thwartyour body

Australian Robbie McEwen held off two of his biggest rivals to win the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico Wednesday in Civitavecchia, Italy. Predictor-Lotto’s 34-year-old sprint specialist, winner of 11 stages in the Tour de France, pulled clear of Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) on the last curve with one of his trademark bursts of speed to win the 160km race in 4 hours, 38 minutes and 24 seconds. Freire, a former three-time world champion, crossed second with the Norwegian Hushovd third. McEwen said he called on his experience of two years ago to help him win the

You can’t blame Tom Boonen if he shot his arms up in triumph thinking that he had won a hard-fought, rising sprint into Maurs at the end of the lumpy 215.5km third stage at Paris-Nice. When he heard over his course radio that Russian rouleur Alexandr Kolobnev -- the lone holdout from the day’s four-man breakaway -- was dangling 20 seconds off the front with 7km to go, he assumed like everyone else his Quick Step henchmen would finish off the job to set up the mass gallop.

Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca has been ruled out of the Tirreno-Adriatico one-week stage race, his Liquigas team announced Tuesday. The 31-year-old rider, a former winner of the ProTour series, has been ruled out after he and teammate Leonardo Bertagnolli came down with flu. Their places will go to Francesco Failli and Finn Kjell Carlstrom. The team will be captained by Filippo Pozzato, the recent winner of the Het Volk semi-classic last week. Di Luca signaled his early season form by winning the Milan-Turin one-day semi-classic earlier this month. His best season was in 2005 when he won

I spent a couple of days last week in Las Vegas, with Paul Lew, ridingand inspecting his new superlight Pro VT-1 wheels. The pair I rode weighedless than – get this - 850 grams for the set. That’s not a claimed weight, either. I pulled the tires off after theride, checked the scale by using my standard calibration unit (otherwiseknown as a good old American quarter) and then measured the front at 350.5grams and the rear at 501.1. Keep in mind that includes what I’d guessto be about 10-15 grams of rim cement on the wheels. Now here comes the hard part. The wheels cost $5000 a pair with

[nid:37751]The 177km second stage of the eight-day Paris-Nice started with a lot of high hopes. David Millar was talking a wire-to-wire yellow jersey run. Thomas Voekler almost held off the peloton to steal a dramatic breakaway win. Everyone else was looking at Daniele Bennati and Tom Boonen. No one was looking at Franco Pellizotti.

Puerto inquiry tossed outA Spanish doping investigation that implicated 58 top cyclists two days prior to the Tour de France last year has been dismissed from court, Spanish judicial sources said Monday. The case, which came to light in May 2006 when police raids discovered an alleged blood-doping network run by a Madrid-based doctor, Eufemiano Fuentes, was thrown out due to a lack of evidence and the fact that there was no Spanish anti-doping law when the inquiry came to light. Residing magistrate Antonio Serrano ruled that five people at the center of the affair, including Fuentes, were

[nid:37738]It was expected to be a showdown between Daniele Bennati and Tom Boonen in the first stage of Paris-Nice, but it was French sprinter Jean-Patrick Nazon who surprised everyone with a long charge to the line in Buzançais on Monday. Nazon, who’s been all but invisible since winning a pair of Tour de France stages in 2003-04, burst down the left side of the peloton after sniffing out a hole with 200 meters to go.

So here I am in Dalton, Georgia, the town where I was born and raised. Asyou probably know by now, my life was thrown into turmoil last April whenIcrashed in the opening stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe. It’s been a tough, tough year, but I count my blessings every singleday. After I began to emerge from the coma, I eventually learned that Ihad been within minutes of dying last year. I was lucky to be in one ofthe world’s greatest hospitals, with one of the world’s best neurosurgeons,who was not only on staff, but in the building when it counted. You can’tget much luckier than that.As I

At a very unexpected moment at mid-stage today in West Flanders I realized that bicycle racers can occasionally resemble ancient gladiators. When and why did this pop into my head? When: 130km into a windy, crazy-dangerous race at 500 watts bouncing over Belgian pavé. Why: I looked down at an unidentifiable rider, unconscious, his face awash in a mix of mud and blood, yet all I cared about was shoving people out of my way and getting back on my chariot and around this “obstacle.” A minute later I was at absolute maximum sustained effort and would stay that way for a few more moments,

Henk Vogels (Toyota-United) took his first win in three years on Sunday at the Tower District Criterium, the final stage of Bentley's Central Valley Classic. Multi-time national criterium champion Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) celebrated her second win in three days when she flew across the line to take the women's crit. Alejandro Acton (Colavita-Sutter Home) and Ricardo Escuela (SuccessfulLiving.com) powered to the second and third spots behind an ebullient Vogels, while Suzanne de Goede (T-Mobile) and Kori Seehafer (Team Lipton) secured the second and third spots behind Pic. Ben

[nid:37731]Last year, David Millar underwent wind-tunnel testing for the first time and settled into a new, sleeker aerodynamic position that on paper should have made him faster. Instead, the Scot found he actually lost power — so this season he chucked the scientific posture and replaced it with his tried-and-true position, honed over years of trial and error.

Tom Boonen starts Sunday’s Paris-Nice as a man on a mission. The Belgian sprinter is building his form for his annual assault on the spring classics, where he has ruled with an iron fist the past two seasons. A back-to-back winner of the Tour of Flanders and the rare Flanders-Roubaix double in 2005, Boonen entered the 2007 season with new motivation and maturity. After an emotional and demanding 2006 season that saw him shine as the world champion, Boonen said he’s more than happy not to have to carry the burden of the rainbow jersey. That’s not to say Boonen is any less ambitious this

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) won the Tour of Murcia on Sunday after finishing safely in the bunch during the final stage, a 151km leg from Ceuti to Murcia. Danilo Napolitano (Lampre-Fondital) won the finale, outsprinting Graeme Brown (Rabobank) and José Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d’Epargne). Valverde crossed 52nd to take the overall, 35 seconds ahead of runner-up Angel Vicioso (Relax-Gam). Manuel Lloret (Fuerteventura-Canari) was third at 52 seconds. Valverde, who also won Murcia in 2004, had practically secured overall victory with a triumphant show of force in Saturday's

LAMPRE-FONDITAL1. Vila Errandonea Patxi (Sp)2. Fabio Baldato (I)3. Daniele Bennati (I)4. Claudio Corioni (I)5. David Loosli (Swi)6. Massimiliano Mori (I)7. Daniele Righi (I)8. Tadej Valjavec (SLO)CAISSE D’EPARGNE11. Joaquim Rodriguez (Sp)12. Vicente Garcia Acosta (Sp)13. David Lopez Garcia (Sp)14. Aitor Perez Arrieta (Sp)15. Francisco Perez Sanchez (Sp)16. Nicolas Portal (F)17. Vicente Reynes (Sp)18. Luis Sanchez (Sp)EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI21. Samuel Sanchez (Sp)22. Andoni Aranaga (Sp)23. Mikel Astarloza (Sp)24. Markel Irizar (Sp)25. Alan Perez (Sp)26. Ruben Perez (Sp)27. Ivan Velasco (Sp)28.

Paris-Nice, the first major stage race of the season, gets under way on Sunday without 2006 champion Floyd Landis and the Unibet.com team. The seven-stage, 1260km Race to the Sun will start with a 4.7km prologue around the Parisian suburb of Issy-Les-Moulineaux . Belgium's Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic)) and Italian rival Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) are expected to compete for the sprint finishes in the early stages. The riders will then make their way towards the south coast, with the seventh and final 129km stage being held in and around Nice on March 18. Being a short but

Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) won the fourth stage of Spain’s Tour of Murcia and seized the overall lead on Saturday. Valverde covered the 23.3km individual time trial between Alhama de Murcie and Aledo in 32 minutes, 57 seconds, beating José Angel Gomez (Saunier Duval-Prodir) by 31 seconds and Angel Vicioso (Relax-Gam) by a further four seconds. He now has 35 seconds on Vicioso and 52 on Manuel Lloret (Fuerteventura-Canari) going into Sunday’s final stage, a comparatively flat 151km leg from Ceuti to Murcie. Di Luca wins Milan-TurinDanilo Di Luca (Liquigas) outsprinted

Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health) is two for two in Bentley’s Central Valley Classic, adding a win in Saturday’s individual time trial to his victory in Friday’s stage-1 road race and solidifying his grip on the overall lead. Meanwhile, 1994 national time-trial champion Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders) rode to victory in the women’s race, vaulting from 16th place to take the white-and-black leader’s jersey from Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home). Australian Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis) was just four seconds slower than Jacques-Maynes, moving into second overall at 18 seconds

Australian Graeme Brown (Rabobank) won Friday’s third stage of the Tour of Murcia in Spain. Brown crossed ahead of compatriot Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) to win the 146km stage between Puerto Lumbreras and San Pedro del Pinatar. Cooke, meanwhile, took the overall lead from José Joaquin Rojas, winner of Wednesday’s first stage. Brown and Danilo Napolitano (Lampre-Fondital) sit second and third overall, respectively. High winds forced the cancellation of Thursday’s second stage. Riders, commissaires and race organizers agreed that winds as strong as

Unibet.com has failed in an appeal to have Paris-Nice race organizers include them in the field for this year's race, a source told AFP on Friday. The Belgian-Swedish cycling team is one of 20 ProTour teams that are supposed to have guaranteed admittance to all ProTour races. However, ASO, the company that runs Paris-Nice and the Tour de France among other events, refused to comply with UCI rules and opted not to invite Unibet.com to the Race to the Sun, which begins with a prologue on Sunday. "We began a procedure at the Nanterre (Paris region) court to try to be included in the

Under sunny California skies in the small Sierra foothills town of Raymond, Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health) and Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) donned the leaders' jerseys after winning the first stage of Bentley's Central Valley Classic, the second race on this year's NRC calendar. Jacques-Maynes crossed solo in the men's 102.5-mile race, though Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics) was bearing down on him in the final kilometer. "Wohlberg was closing fast,” Jacques-Maynes said. “This last 1K was the slowest 1K I've ever done. I was definitely hurting by that point. At the

A healthy North American presence will highlight next week’s Paris-Nice with no less than eight riders from five teams represented. The robust contingent reflects the continued strong position of U.S. and Canadian riders in the European peloton. Paris-Nice will mark the continental arrival of most of the Americans. Tyler Farrar (Cofidis) has been racing in Europe for nearly a month while Michael Barry (T-Mobile) was in Mallorca for his team presentation and training camp last month. Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer, joined by Discovery Channel teammate Tom Danielson, will be

It’s Alejandro Valverde against a galaxy of stars at the five-day Vuelta a Murcia starting in Spain on Wednesday. The Spanish sensation won his “hometown” race in 2004 and is fresh off overall victory at last week’s Tour of Valencia, but the lack of a summit finish and the inclusion of a tough individual time trial could spoil the chances for Balaverde. “I am not in optimum conditions to win,” Valverde told the Spanish daily AS. “After looking at the route, everything points that the climbing time trial between Alhama and Aledo will be decisive and there will be other favorites. This will

TorqueDear Lennard,I recently purchased my first full carbon bike, absolutely love it. Yet, I'm scared of over-torquing the seatpost clamp. Is there a torque wrench you could recommend that works on Allen wrenches? What's the worst that happens, the seatpost clamp needs replacing or I have this fear of the actual seat tube deforming, I'm not doing the Samsonite luggage monkey torque on it, but "hand tighten" is just too open to quantify.ThomasDear Thomas,First of all, carbon frames generally have a separate band clamp to tighten the seatpost, and, yes, the worst that can happen,

The Unibet.com team has slammed the agreement reached between the UnionCycliste Internationale and cycling's three grand tour organizers.Called to an emergency meeting organized by ProTour teams in Belgiumon Monday, the UCI and ASO, the organizer of the Tour de France, reachedan agreement to end a dispute that threatened the entire 2007 season. The agreement allowed for 18 of the 20 ProTour teams - all those exceptthe two most recent, Astana and Unibet.com - to be selected for eventsrun by ASO, RCS (Giro d’Italia) and Unipublic (Vuelta a España).In return, all three agreed to consider

Samuel Sánchez believes someday he might be able to challenge for the Tour de France, but first he wants to prove himself in the Vuelta a España. After years nipping at the edges of major success, the Euskaltel-Euskadi attacker broke through last year to finish third overall in the 2006 individual ProTour standings after an season that included victory at the GP Zürich, second at Flèche Wallone, two stages at the Vuelta al País Vasco, a stage at the Vuelta and seventh overall. He also played a key role in last year’s world championships, springing teammate Alejandro Valverde toward the

Alexandre Vinokourov just wants to win the Tour de France, but it seems all these other annoyances keep getting in the way. The reigning Vuelta a España champion expressed frustration over the escalating battle between the UCI and Tour de France organizers ASO and said he dreads the thought of a scenario that it might boil over to keep him out of the Tour yet again. He’s had enough of that already. “I can understand both sides of the conflict,” Vinokourov told VeloNews in an interview during last week’s Tour of Valencia. “It’s a difficult time for cycling. All the time the news is filled

This is the first of what we hope will become a regular feature on VeloNews.com. There are cyclo-cross races for cross-dressers in California, stage races named after dearly departed canines in Wyoming and a host of other events across America that offer a look into what it's like to race bikes at all levels. You don't necessarily need top pros to make it interesting. In order for the "Local Scene" to succeed, we need your help. If a race in your area deserves notice, drop us a short story, highlighting not only the racing, but some of the local character that makes it unique. Mail

German cyclist Jorg Jaksche said Monday he is ready to follow compatriot Jan Ullrich into retirement. The 2004 Paris-Nice winner has been struggling to find a team since being caught up in the Spanish Operación Puerto blood-doping scandal that broke before last year's Tour de France. "I can't really see what options I have other than stopping. My career is in ruins. I know when I'll officially announce my decision but I'll keep it to myself," he said. Jaksche is in negotiations to join second-tier Austrian team Volksbank, which has employed Ullrich as a

It took nine hours of intense haggling, but the UCI and cycling’s biggest race organizers signed a truce Monday that will save the 2007 racing season and avert a major crisis that threatened to split the sport. Next week’s Paris-Nice will start as planned without the possibility of sanctions against participating teams after cycling’s governing body and Tour de France organizer ASO hammered out a temporary agreement to keep cycling’s racing calendar intact through the 2007 season. “I am happy that the sport has got out of this crisis and look forward to a season where cycling can be the

This being my first VeloNews.com journal, let me start by introducing myself. I’m 25; hail from Boulder, Colorado, where I live with my wife, Cheynna; and ride for Team Slipstream Sports-Chipotle. The past two years, under the banner of TIAA-CREF, our program has made a slow and steady progression towards a full bi-continental program, and this year we have full schedules in both the States and Europe. As a Professional Continental team we’ll be doing some of the biggest non-ProTour races in the world and hoping for the occasional ProTour wildcard invite. In this journal I aim to provide a

If Alejandro Valverde is the here-and-now in Spanish cycling, Alberto Contador is the big hope for the future. The 24-year-old has been nipping at the edge of major success the past few seasons and since signing a two-year deal with Discovery Channel, the Madrileño seems poised for a breakthrough season. Contador revealed he’ll be a factor this season, winning Friday’s “queen stage” in the Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana ahead of Valverde. Only a crash earlier in the week kept him from taking the overall. A pro since 2003, Contador nearly died in the Vuelta a Asturias in 2004 when he

A day after losing Het Volk, Tom Boonen took revenge in Sunday’s Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne. The Quick Step-Innergetic captain took an emotional sprint victory to earn a valuable confidence-booster in the opening weekend of Belgian racing. Gert Steegmans gave him a perfect leadout and Boonen dramatically finished off the job to finish ahead of Marcel Sieberg (Milram). “Winning in Belgium always gives me a special buzz,” Boonen said. “I wasn’t sure how things would go today after yesterday’s falls as I was still suffering with a bit of a backache at the beginning of the race. My teammates were

Past Winners – Het Volk2006 - Philippe Gilbert (B) 2005 - Nick Nuyens (B) 2004 - cancelled (snow) 2003 - Johan Museeuw (B) 2002 - Peter Van Petegem (B) 2001 - Michele Bartoli (I) 2000 - Johan Museeuw (B) 1999 - Frank Vandenbroucke (B) 1998 - Peter Van Petegem (B) 1997 - Peter Van Petegem (B) 1996 - Tom Steels (B) 1995 - Franco Ballerini (I) 1994 - Wilfried Nelissen (B) 1993 - Wilfried Nelissen (B) 1992 - Johan Capiot (B) 1991 - Andreas Kappes (G) 1990 - Johan Capiot (B) 1989 - Etienne De Wilde (B) 1988 - Ronny Van Holen (B) 1987 - Teun van Vliet (Nl) 1986 - cancelled

World number one and defending World Cup champion Nicole Cooke from Wales won the opening round of the 2007 World Cup road series in Geelong, Australia, Saturday. Her performance comes two days after becoming the first non-Australian to win the lead-up three-day Geelong Tour, outsprinting Oenone Wood and fellow Australian Nikki Egyed to win Saturday's 120-kilometer race. Cooke and her Raleigh team have been training here for a month, giving her plenty of time to prepare for the first round race. "The way it all panned out, holding off the bunch, beating such a fantastic sprinter like

Italian Filippo Pozzato proved he’s the strongman of the early season after taking an impressive victory Saturday in the Belgian season opener at Het Volk ahead of Spanish headbanger Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) and pre-race favorite Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic). A winner last week at the Tour du Haut-Var, the Liquigas captain delivered on his promise to be a protagonist in the 62nd Het Volk thanks to a brilliant finale that combined strength with savvy. “This victory was sensational because it came in front of some big names – Flecha, Boonen, Nuyens, O’Grady – who will be favorites

Surprise was the word of the day in the final stage of the five-day Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana, which wrapped up Saturday in sunny Spain. Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) expressed his delight in winning his first stage race of the 2007 campaign when he came to Valencia without any intention of doing so while Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) bowled over everyone with yet another sprint victory over Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) in the final charge into Valencia. “I am very happy that I was able to achieve it with the help of the team. The truth is at the start I never imagined I

Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) floored it in the finale to win the Merco Credit Union Cycling Classic’s Downtown Grand Prix on Saturday in Merced, California. Dominguez outkicked Ricardo Escuela (Successful Living.com) and Daniel Schmatz (BMC) at the end of the 50-lap criterium, run on an 0.8-mile circuit in downtown Merced. Brooke Miller (Team TIBCO) won the 40-lap women’s race ahead of Elis Bradshaw (Metromint Cycling) and Suzanne de Goede (T-Mobile). Sunday brings the Foothills Road Race, run on a rolling, 24-mile circuit. Elite men will cover 120 miles, elite women 72. Merco Credit

ProTour cycling teams, caught up in a dispute that has led to a major schism in the sport, are hoping to hold a "last chance" meeting Monday in a bid to pacify the warring parties. The primacy of the Union Cycliste Internationale and the ProTour are being challenged by the three grand tour organizers, which control nearly half of the series’ 27-race calendar. ASO, RCS and Unipublic respectively own the Tours of France, Italy and Spain as well as a number of other races on the ProTour calendar. Nonetheless, they have virtually broken away from the ProTour after deciding not to invite

Alberto Contador gave Discovery Channel its first win of the season on European roads after taking an impressive victory in Friday’s 162km stage of the Volta a Comunidad Valenciana. The Spanish prodigy outclassed the likes of Damiano Cunego (Lampre) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) in the seven-climb “queen stage” that ended with the short but steep Cat. 1 summit at Alt del Campello. Valverde finished 13 seconds back to sneak into the leader’s jersey thanks to time bonuses and could walk away with the overall title with just one sprinter’s stage left. Tadej Valjavec

There were plenty of power meters being used at this year’s Tour of California, largely because it offered a unique early season opportunity for riders to test themselves against some of the world’s best. Indeed, four teams made racing with a power meter a very high priority at the eight-day California race, because this would be the best field the world would see prior to Paris-Nice. What better opportunity to start collecting crucial numbers? The professional teams Predictor-Lotto (Belgium), T-Mobile (Germany) and Slipstream (USA) as well as the U.S. National Team each stressed the

The ongoing conflict between cycling's international governing body and major race organizers has prompted six national federations to call for the urgent creation of a working group ahead of key major races. With the symbolic start to the season at Paris-Nice on March 11, riders and teams have been caught in the middle of a tit-for-tat feud which has escalated to potentially dangerous levels. The Union Cycliste Internationale and three top organizers have been battling since the creation of the ProTour, cycling’s top-tier racing schedule. The companies, which organize the Tour de

Two out of three ain’t bad, at least as far as Daniele Bennati is concerned. The Lampre sprinter took down Alessandro Petacchi in Thursday’s third stage of the Valencia tour in Spain, and this time there wasn’t a flat tire for Petacchi to hang the loss on. “I am happy to beat him again because it’s never easy to beat Petacchi,” said Bennati, who bolted a bike length ahead of the Milram captain in the 151.8km third stage into Vila Real. Bennati also recaptured the overall leader’s jersey with time bonuses. Bennati beat Petacchi in Tuesday’s opener, but only after Petacchi was forced to

Two major UCI-sanctioned events slated for April, the inaugural U.S. Open Cycling Championships and the fifth edition of the Tour de Georgia, are struggling to land title sponsors as their respective race dates approach. And while neither has been canceled, both face financial shortfalls that could make running them cost-prohibitive. The inaugural U.S. Open Cycling Championships is scheduled to run from Williamsburg to Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, April 7. NBC Sports has slated a national broadcast for 2 to 4:30 p.m. EST. With both men’s and women’s pro fields invited, the event is

Alessandro Petacchi gingerly stepped off the sign-in podium ahead of Wednesday’s second stage at the Volta a Comunidad Valenciana. Even though he says his left knee is close to 100 percent after his disastrous crash in last May’s Giro d’Italia, the Gentleman Sprinter isn’t taking any chances. “My leg isn’t yet 100 percent, but it’s getting better and better,” said Petacchi, who won a long sprint ahead of Spain’s Vicente Reynes. “At [Tour of] Qatar, I couldn’t make the sprints against [Tom] Boonen because my knee hurt, but my condition improved in Algarve and now I am feeling even better