Road

It’s been a season of close calls and falls for Fred Rodriguez. The three-time U.S. champion has piled up a armload of seconds and thirds as well as gotten caught up in his fair share of pile ups this season, including one that sent him tumbling out of the Tour de France. Rodriguez, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Sunday, is back in action at the Vuelta a España where he’s looking for a stage victory to save what he’s called a “sour season.” The Californian came into the Vuelta to help teammate Robbie McEwen to hunt for a stage victory in the first week. The Aussie sprinter missed the

Frenchman Stephane Auge of Cofidis claimed the 192km fifth stage of the ProTour's Tour of Poland from Legnica to Jelenia Gora on Friday.Auge edged out fellow escapee American AaronOlson (Saunier Duval) with Max van Heeswijk (Discovery)  leadinghome the peloton 21 seconds back.Italian Daniele Bennati held on to the leader's yellow jersey after finishing sixth.Auge broke away from the peloton after just 12km and was soon joined by Olson. The pair gradually increased their advantage to over 14 minutes before the peloton put on a serious chase, but the pair just held off the pursuit

Luca Paolini left his role as Paolo Bettini’s sidekick at Quick Step-Innergetic last season to sign a big-money contract with Liquigas to become a team leader. Save for a win at the GP Citta di Camaiori, the glory has been sparse. But on Thursday the 29-year-old Italian attacked early out of a 11-man breakaway featuring none other than Bettini to claim a victory in a major stage race for the first time in his career. "It’s great to finally win in a big tour," Paolini said after holding off an attack with 4km to go in Thursday’s hilly 12th stage. "I’ve been trying to win with many attacks in

Transitional stages are ideal for the opportunist as there is a good chance a breakaway will get away and make it to the line as the sprinters’ teams are not interested in chasing as the course is too hard for their sprinter, and it is interest of the overall leader’s team to let the break go as it makes it easier on them to control the race. Today, we had another transitional day, like yesterday’s stage, and we all knew the break would succeed and make it to Burgos ahead of the peloton. Egoi Martinez, our fervent Basque teammate, was the opportunist today, and took advantage of his

Discovery Channel doesn’t have the Lance Armstrong guarantee anymore, so the squad has to find satisfaction in more modest goals. The team no longer rules the Tour de France like it did seven Julys in a row, but a gutsy solo victory by Egoi Martinez in Wednesday’s 11th stage of the Vuelta a España delivered the team a unique accomplishment in the first year of the post-Armstrong era - stage victories and stints in leader’s jerseys in all three grand tours. “This victory was important for the team,” said Martinez, who shot away from a pair of riders with 12km to go. “Even without Armstrong,

Don’t expect to see Paolo Bettini in Madrid. The Quick Step-Innergetic rider told VeloNews in a rest-day interview Monday he’s planning an early Vuelta exit to put the finishing touches on his preparations for the Salzburg world championships later this month. “I will probably leave around the stage near Granada,” Bettini said, referring to stage 17. “The (Italian) team is arriving in Salzburg on Sunday and I need to go home at least one day to see my wife, or she’ll kill me!” Such is the life of one of cycling’s superstars as he prepares for what’s the last major race that the 32-year-old

Frayed nerves and frustration poured out of Carlos Sastre at the finish line of Tuesday’s hilly 10th stage, opening up raw wounds between Team CSC and Caisse d’Epargne dating back to the 2006 Tour de France. An exasperated Sastre – third overall at 44 seconds back – couldn’t believe that it was left up to his Team CSC troops to lead the chase to trim the nine-minute difference a 15-man breakaway held midway through Tuesday’s stage. "Caisse d’Epargne wants to win the Vuelta without working," Sastre told reporters. "We were the ones who had to prevent Karpets and Paulinho from getting back

Italian Fabrizio Guidi handed Phonak what could be one of its final victories after winning the third stage of the Tour of Poland and seizing the overall lead on Wednesday. After 225.5 km of racing from Gdansk to Torun in the north of the country the Italian took possession of the leader's jersey after holding off compatriot Daniele Bennati and Spaniard Koldo Fernandez. Swiss outfit Phonak announced it would pull out of the sport shortly after American Floyd Landis tested positive for a skewed testosterone-epitestosterone ratio after winning the Tour de France in July. Meanwhile, New

A rest day is the calm before the storm. As always in a grand tour, today’s stage after yesterday’s rest day was fast as it seems every rider had found renewed motivation and ‘fresh’ legs. In our team meeting Johan reminded us of what we already were envisioning: that the start would be fast. He also told us that we had to be in the breakaway as we are leading the team classification and also, having a rider in the breakaway would also give us a shot at a stage victory. We knew the stage was going to be up and down on sinuous roads along the coast but the race profile in the “Libro

Astana – kept out of the 2006 Tour de France for alleged links to Operación Puerto - is making up for lost time with a vengeance in the 2006 Vuelta a España. Sergio Paulinho, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, attacked a 15-man group with just under 1km to go in Tuesday’s 199.3km 10th stage, leaping away over a small finishing climb to give the troubled Astana team its third consecutive stage victory of this year's Vuelta. "Things are going well for the team," said Paulinho, hailed as Portugal’s best prospect since José Azevedo. "We’ve won two stages with Alexandre (Vinokourov) and now

Germany's publicly funded television network ARD will terminate its contract with 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich at year's end. Ullrich had been paid up to $152,000 for exclusive interviews, diaries and appearances in ARD entertainment shows. ARD gave no reason for ending the contract, which had run since 1999 -- except for a one-year break in 2002, when Ullrich was banned for testing positive for amphetamines. Meanwhile, Germany's top sports official asked Ullrich to come clean about doping allegations. "Get things sorted out, take a DNA test, come out clean," urged

Reversing his fortunes of 2005, Jittery Joe’s sprinter Jeff Hopkins took his first NRC win in the US 10K Classic on Labor Day in Marietta, Georgia. Edging out last year’s winner Emile Abraham (AEG-Toshiba-JetNetwork) and 26 other riders who got away from the remaining 140 finishers, Hopkins began his sprint not completely aware what was at stake. "I thought that there were still two dudes away from the (previous) break, so I thought we were sprinting for third. I didn’t get a chance to do a victory salute or anything." Hopkins said minutes after he came across the line. With three other

Sunday’s stage offered up a mix of emotions for the team as we had several guys in the front, or near the front, on the last ascent to the finish, yet Janez was unable to hold on to the jersey as Valverde, and Vinokourov rode away. The stage was likely the hardest day of the Vuelta with over 5,000 meters of climbing, stifling temperatures, and little recovery between the long ascents. Today, we are fortunate to have a rest day and can have an easy day on the bike, keep our legs up and spend some time with our families. In some ways it seems the race just started as the last week has

It’s just 10 short months until the 2007 Tour de France kicks off in London, but if this year's Tour of Britain is anything to go by, there is much to be worried about. Professional cycling is not big business in Britain and the Tour of Britain barely registers a blip on the scale next to the earth-shuddering event that is the Tour de France. In fact, it is such a small event, that roads used for the tour are only closed progressively by a largely ineffective rolling roadblock. This season's event, which finished on Sunday, was wrought with troubles, not least a protest by the

The real battle for the Vuelta a España unfolded seven kilometers from the summit of La Cobertoria in Sunday’s ninth stage when the Kazakh tandem of Alexandre Vinokourov and Andrey Kashechkin darted out of the main bunch in a daring heist. Only an explosive counter-attack by Alejandro Valverde with two kilometers saved the day for the Spanish armada. Valverde grabbed the race leader’s gold jersey and Vinokourov hung on to win the stage, setting up what’s likely going to be the dominant battle for the remainder of the Vuelta. “The Kazakhs are going to be the most dangerous rivals,” Valverde

Day three of the Eurobike Exhibition in Friedrichschafen, Germany, marks final day that the show is closed to the public, it also marks our final day of web coverage for the 2006 edition. When the doors open on Sunday morning and the hordes pay their 19 euros each to bump elbows among the exhibitors things get crazy. Most product managers duck out to avoid the chaos, something that can be described as a shark-like feeding frenzy. At least here, the chum is merely comprised of stickers and catalogs. The Eurobike Exhibition had over 820 registered exhibitors from 69 countries, spread out over

Martin Pedersen (CSC) won the Tour of Britain on Sunday, while Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) won an 82km finale marred by a collision involving two motorcycles accompanying the riders. Boonen won the final stage in 2 hours, 41 seconds. Pedersen finished in the main pack with the same time to claim the overall victory ahead of Luis Pasamontes (Unibet.com) and Filippo Pozzato (Quick Step-Innergetic). Authorities said five people -- including the motorcyclists -- were hurt in the crash on The Mall in central London. Injuries included head wounds and fractured ankles. No further details

A pair of Alexanders conquered Sunday’s epic, six-climb “queen stage” across the abrupt mountains of northern Spain to seize control of the 61st Vuelta a España. Alexandre Vinokourov – the attacking Kazakh from Astana – jumped with teammate Andrey Kashechkin with 7km to go on the final 8km La Cobertoria climb to win for the second day in a row and confirm his candidacy for overall victory despite a slow start. Alejandro Valverde – the dashing Spanish star hunting the first grand-tour victory of his career – counter-attacked with 2km to go to drop archrivals Carlos Sastre (CSC), Danilo Di

To the delight of a partisan hometown crowd, Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie won the first-ever all-American national road championship in Greenville, South Carolina, Sunday, crossing the finish line alone in front of a decimated field that produced only 31 finishers. Fellow ProTour rider Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteiner finished second, 16 seconds behind Hincapie, with TIAA-CREF’s Danny Pate rounding out the podium, 1:20 off the winning pace. It was Hincapie’s second national road championship, following a win in Philadelphia in 1998.

Alexandre Vinokourov has been waiting a long time for a win like this one. It almost came Friday on the barren slopes of El Morredero, but the attacking Kazakh was reeled in with just 200 meters from the line by a surging Alejandro Valverde. Vinorokourov returned the favor in Saturday’s hilly 181.6km eighth stage across Spain’s Galicia region, shooting past a hapless Luca Paolini (Liquigas) late on a rising finish straight into Lugo to win for the first time in an Astana jersey. "After the disappointment of yesterday, I really wanted to win today," Vinokourov said after holding off the

QuickStep's Francesco Chicchi won a farcical fifth stage of the Tour of Britain from Rochester to Canterbury on Saturday. Italian rider Chicchi edged T-Mobile's Mark Cavendish into second place, while Aart Vierhouten of Skil-Shimano finished third. But it was the chaotic start to the Kent stage that dominated the day as the entire peloton was accidentally sent in the wrong direction during the neutral zone. It is thought the police escort leading the riders had taken the wrong route and the stage was halted for 20 minutes while riders and race officials tried to determine the

In the first week of racing there were few attacks, controlled racing and many field sprints, but today the tide changed and we became the lucky ones responsible for controlling the peloton on its most energetic and aggressive day. After more than 70km of relentless attacks and an average speed of more than 50kph, the field finally lost some steam and relented. It was as much a relief to us as almost everybody else as virtually the whole peloton stopped for a pee once there was one rider clear and off the front, the race was in control and we had slowed down. Our goal going into the stage

Team CSC’s Bjarne Riis said all he can do is wait concerning the fate of star rider Ivan Basso, who went before members of the Italian Olympic disciplinary commission earlier this week to face down allegations that he works with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. Riis reiterated statements he made last week to a Danish newspaper, reaffirming that Basso must prove his innocence to the team before he is allowed to return to racing. Basso was among nine riders from four teams kicked out of the 2006 Tour de France for alleged links to Fuentes, who is at the center of a wide-ranging investigation

The droning thud of an incessant techno beat, bounced throughout the halls of the Eurobike exhibition in Friedrichschafen, Germany, on Friday, the second full day of the show. The electronic sounds so loved by many Germans, added a challenge to the task of gathering manufacturer information. It would be the anthem of the day, one that turned out to be filled with German engineering. German culture is known for its advanced design and precise production. German bicycle manufacturers are no exception, many of them compete directly with manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW for national

After a week of racing things are starting to sort themselves out and, thankfully, our team is looking very good for the moment. Janez the Wonder Boy has continued where he left off two days ago, when we were in the mountains, and has come away from today's mountaintop finish with the leader's gold jersey. Triki, Stijn and Tom also did a great climb and were there right there leading into the final kilometers. Three of them crossed the line among the first 10 riders. Janez is leading every jersey competition other than the points for the moment, and we are also leading the team

Discovery Channel put a rider atop the overall Vuelta a España standings in Friday’s 154.2km seventh stage up the grinding Alto de el Morredero climb, but it wasn’t the rider they expected to see in the gold jersey. Tom Danielson’s bid to become the first American to win the Vuelta took a serious blow after struggling halfway up the 18km climb to lose more than three minutes while teammate Janez Brajkovic continued to show savvy beyond his 22 years and calmly rode his way into the overall lead. “This is my first grand tour and I came here to help Tom and to gain experience,” said Brajkovic,

When 2005 national time-trial champion Chris Baldwin thinks back on his attempt to defend his title Friday in Greenville, South Carolina, he’s going to have to either laugh or cry.

Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) pipped two Germans in a tight sprint to end an otherwise long trudge across the sun-baked plains of northern Spain in Thursday’s 177km sixth stage from Zamora to León. The Norwegian came around big German André Greipel (T-Mobile) in the final 75 meters and held off another German, Erik Zabel (Milram), to sneak to his first victory in the 2006 Vuelta a España after three second places earlier this week. "It’s true I’ve had a problem to win a stage here, but I think it cost me a little when I got the leader’s jersey. You always think about trying to defend a

Belgian cyclist Christophe Brandt, who suffered multiple injuries in a high speed crash on Tuesday, was brought out of a medically induced coma after showing signs of improvement on Thursday. The 29-year-old Davitamon team rider was due to stay in a coma for two days as doctors assessed his injuries following the accident on the Sels to Merxem Cup race. But in a statement his team reported: "After doctors examined him and saw an improvement in the condition of his lungs they decided to bring Christophe out of the coma earlier than planned. He is now awake and has been speaking with his

Thursday marked the opening of the Eurobike trade show for the 15th consecutive year The show takes place in Friedrichshafen a small village on the banks of Lake Constance in southern Germany, the home of the once-great Zeppelin airships. There has been a quiet grumble over the past few years about the state of the cycling industry in Europe and the rest of the world; that it has been stale or even in some cases faltering. One couldn’t know it by the volume of exhibitors at Eurobike. Even more assuring was the amount of time and capital exhibitors were putting into their displays. The

Filippo Pozzato (Quick Step-Innergetic) won the rain-soaked third stage of the Tour of Britain from Bradford to Sheffield on Thursday. The Italian rider crossed the finish line 32 seconds ahead of Michael Rogers (T-Mobile), with defending champion Nick Nuyens (Quick Step-Innergetic) third. Road race world champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) crashed late in the stage and finished well off the pace. Overnight leader Matt Goss of SA.com dropped out of contention after suffering a knee injury. The Australian rider was replaced in the overall lead by Denmark's Martin Pedersen (CSC),

There was quiet jubilation at the Discovery Channel camp ahead of Thursday’s sixth stage, with three riders in the top 10 overall and Janez Brajkovic nearly pulling off a surprise up Wednesday’s summit finish at La Covatilla. "It was great to be up there with Di Luca," Brajkovic told VeloNews.com Thursday morning. "I had great legs and Johan (Bruyneel) told me to follow the attacks if I could. I could stay with Di Luca without any problem, but he was able to beat me in the sprint. I am here at this Vuelta to gain experience and learn about big tours for the future. Right now I doubt that I

American cycling will mark a major turning point Sunday when the first winner of an all-American professional road championship is crowned in Greenville, South Carolina. After 21 years of awarding the USPRO stars-and-stripes jersey to the first American across the line – no matter how many foreigner riders finished ahead of him - USA Cycling decided last year to get in line with top cycling nations and hold an American-only national championship, citing a matured U.S. peloton that has grown to more than 160 professionals. Rights to host the event, which until this year has always been

Frank Vandenbroucke has signed a contract with the second-tier professional Italian outfit Acqua Sapone, according to press reports Wednesday in Brussels. Vandenbroucke, a former winner of the tough Liège-Bastogne-Liège one-day classic, is reported to have signed a deal until 2007. The 31-year-old Belgian, notorious for his run-ins with the cycling authorities over issues of doping and more recently, depression, will thus join his ninth professional team. He was recently sacked by another Continental level team, Unibet, after he failed to reach targets they had set him as part of his move

Danilo Di Luca poured a season of bitterness into his pedals to score a sweet victory atop a big pile of granite in western Spain to take the overall lead in the Vuelta a España Wednesday. The defending ProTour champion attacked with just under 3km to go in the 177km four-climb fifth stage from Plasencia to the Vuelta’s first summit finish at La Covatilla to win for the first time this season and surge into the overall lead. “I came to this Vuelta to win a stage and that came sooner than expected. I will not fight for the overall victory in this race. I am at this Vuelta to get into top

Australian Matthew Goss (SA.com) took the yellow jersey after the second stage of the Tour of Britain from Blackpool to Liverpool, won by Britain's Roger Hammond on Wednesday. The 32-year-old won the stage from Holland's Aart Vierhouten, while Russell Downing (DFL) was third. Road race world champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) was 16th. In the overall standings, Goss was two seconds ahead of first stage winner Martin Pedersen (CSC) after picking up time bonuses from intermediate sprints. Spaniard Luis Pasamontes (Unibet.com) was in third place and only eight seconds

On the eve of the 15th edition of Germany’s Eurobike trade show, Scott USA took over the famed Graf Zeppelin Haus in downtown Friedrichshafen to unveil two new models for the upcoming 2007 season, both focused on setting new lightweight and engineering standards in a very competitive marketplace. The Addict road frame, soon to be Saunier Duval’s new ProTour race machine, tips the scale at just 790 grams (56cm), while the original prototype Spark full-suspension mountain frame, now used by Thomas Frischknecht on the World Cup circuit, weighs in at 1700 grams (with rear shock). Scott claims

When a blue Discovery Channel jersey streaked out to follow Danilo Di Luca up the La Covatilla climb, even the Spanish TV announcers got it wrong, thinking it was either Tom Danielson or Triki Beltrán. It was neither. Discovery had another, lesser-known option on the final climb Wednesday: Janez Brajkovic, a 115-pound, 22-year-old Slovenian who has been pulling surprises ever since beating the favored Thomas Dekker in the U-23 world time trial championships in 2004. On Wednesday, he almost delivered an even bigger stunner. “Janez was impressive today, and even though I knew he was strong,

At the start today I had flashbacks as we had ridden the same stage and started in the same spot in 2004. It was a vicious day in the heat and our team was pummeled by Liberty Seguros; in fact they throttled the entire peloton. Today, thankfully, was a little different. From the start, riders attacked relentlessly until we hit the first slopes of the first climb – the Puerto del Piornal – thirty kilometers into the race. On a mountain day a good chunk of the peloton - the sprinters and those not vying for the stage or the overall - try to get into the breakaway as the ride up front is

Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso, who was excluded from the Tour de France after being implicated in a Spanish doping investigation, denied using banned substances Tuesday in his first appearance before Italian anti-doping authorities. "It is clear that I have never engaged in doping," Basso said at the end of a two-hour hearing before a panel of the Italian Olympic Committee. The hearing was adjourned to Sept. 12, when a decision on whether to refer the case to the Italian cycling federation is expected, said Massimo Martelli, Basso's lawyer. The federation could try him or

Fred Rodriguez will race the world championships next month in Salzburg after what he hopes will be a successful and crash-free Vuelta a España. The Davitamon-Lotto sprinter is racing his second Vuelta, looking to help Robbie McEwen win a stage and then try something for himself in the second half. "I will be doing the world’s and then going back for the Vegas (Interbike) show and returning to Europe for Paris-Tours to help Robbie [McEwen]," Rodriguez told VeloNews.com after Monday’s third stage. "It’s important for me to be in Vegas for the work I do with my foundation and with my coffee

With the heart of a warrior and the squeaky voice of a teen-ager, Erik Zabel proved he still has a few victories left in his 36-year-old legs. The German veteran profited from a strong setup from the Milram train to score his first grand-tour victory since the 2003 Vuelta, relegating the younger generation to the runner-up status to which he has lately become so accustomed. FullResults "Today I am very happy because the whole team worked for me and it’s good to see the train is working better and better," said Zabel after notching just his second win of the season. "I am very happy with

Martin Pedersen (CSC) took the yellow jersey with a dramatic sprint-finish victory in the first stage of the Tour of Britain on Tuesday. The Danish rider was part of a three-man breakaway with Australian Mathew Goss (SA.com) and Luis Pasamontes (Unibet.com) and the trio engaged in a thrilling battle for first place in the 162km stage from Glasgow Green to Castle Douglas. Pedersen eventually finished two seconds ahead of Goss, while Spaniard Pasamontes was five seconds off the lead in third place. Defending champ Nick Nuyens (Quick Step-Innergetic) finished 15th in a large peloton that also

In the grooveDear Lennard,I use the Fulcrum Racing 1 wheels with a Shimano drive train, thoughI have a titanium (11-25) cassette made by Cycle Dynamics. The freehubbody is grooved by each of the cogs (see attached photo). My bikeshop says this is a normal consequence of using a cassette with individualcogs. I don't buy it. I think it is the result of the softer material (aluminum)used in this free hub body. My other wheels, with steel free hub bodies,are not grooved. My drive train makes a periodic, soft noise that I havenot been able to eliminate, and I fear it may be related to the

Today we spent another day in the extreme, oppressive heat, although at least today’s stage was 100km shorter than yesterday's so we didn't wilt as badly or go through quite as many bottles. The heat is affecting the whole peloton and it’s all any one was talking about today: Their feet were sore from swelling in their shoes; their lungs were sore from breathing in the hot air; their mouths were dry; they were sunburned; they had headaches; or they were just plain uncomfortable. To keep cool during the race we unzip our jerseys and leave them blowing in the wind. We loosen our

Two reigning world cycling champions will be among the attractions when the six-day Tour of Britain makes its way from Glasgow, Scotland, to the Mall in London starting Tuesday. Belgian star Tom Boonen, the road race world champion, will lead a Quick Step-Innergetic team that has its eye on defending the overall victory they secured for Nick Nuyens last year on the race's second year in existence. Despite the staging of the three-week Vuelta a España, the Belgian outfit has sent a strong team that should have enthusiasts turning out in their droves along the race's 870km route,

The UCI has granted T-Mobile a four-year racing license, the German team announced Monday on its web site. Officials at the sport's governing body were not immediately available for comment. The team is reshaping itself in the aftermath of series of doping scandals in cycling. On July 21, T-Mobile fired 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, who had been considered a leading contender for this year's race but was forced out after Spanish media reports said his name turned up on a list of 56 cyclists who had contact with a Spanish doctor charged with doping.. In November, the team

For VeloNews staffers who cover the racing scene, the Tour, the Giro and the Vuelta are usually the busiest times of the year. But we on the tech side have our own “grand tour” – it's called "show season," and it's about to kick off with the Eurobike trade show, opening Wednesday in Friedrichshafen, Germany. A week and a half after that show closes, we have the EICMA show in Milan. And a week after that, manufacturers descend upon Las Vegas for Interbike (September 25-29). Most have already begun to peddle their wares.

Monday’s long stinker of a stage ended fast and hot as Saunier Duval put down the double hammer, sending David Millar on the attack in the final kilometer and then unleashing Spanish prospect Francisco Ventoso against the veterans to earn a surprise victory. Temperatures surged into the 100s for the Vuelta’s longest stage, 219km from Córdoba to Almendralejo, and the peloton replied in kind, finishing nearly 20 minutes slower than the slowest projected time. A three-man escape featuring another Saunier Duval rider – the most aggressive rider from the Tour de France David de al Fuente – was

The peloton is lethargic due to the heat and racing in the south and center of Spain makes it is easy to understand why the country invented the siesta; it is simply too hot to move. On the road today, our computers read between 44-47 degrees Celsius (111-116F) all day. Yet, because everyone is off work during siesta, it is a great time to have a bike race as they can all come out and watch it live or on television (most Spaniards opt to watch it on television as it is even too hot to stand out in the heat all day). Unfortunately, the show must go on no matter the temperature, we slog

Magnus Bäckstedt sees the Vuelta a España with very clear objectives: to take home a scalp. The 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner has suffered through a difficult season and is looking to the Vuelta for redemption. “I’m here for a stage win,” Bäckstedt told VeloNews. “I so want one now, after having a seriously shitty year, it’s all I can think about.” Bäckstedt helped motor his Liquigas troops to a ninth place finish in Saturday’s team time trial and said he feels good after the short, but intense effort in Málaga. “I felt good up at Holland [Eneco Tour], now if I have the legs I want to try to do

Up-and-coming Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Bianchi) stunned a host of favorites to win the Grand Prix Ouest-France Sunday in Plouay. Nibali claimed his first victory in the ProTour series after 217km of racing on the tough Britanny circuit. The 22-year-old Sicilian held off experienced Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) in a two-man sprint after Flecha's long-distance dash for the finish line ran out of steam. Italian Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval-Prodir) finished third. Spaniard Alejandro Valverde, who is taking part in the Vuelta a España, retained the lead of the ProTour

This year’s Vuelta a España has attracted a world-class lineup of sprinters, but one rider looking ahead to next month’s world championships surprised the favorites in Sunday’s heated charge into Córdoba. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) sprang past front-runners Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) and Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) to win the 176km second stage, marked by an early unsuccessful breakaway and glaring heat. FULLRESULTS "I am not a pure sprinter and I don’t plan to make a sprint until I know the legs feel good," said Bettini, who grabbed his second career Vuelta stage. "I am

Andréas Klöden, third in this year's Tour de France, confirmed Saturday that he will join the Astana team next season from T-Mobile. "What clinched the decision for me is that I'm going to a very strong team which includes Alexandre Vinokourov and Andrey Kashechkin with whom I can go far next season," he said on his website. Klöden’s contract with T-Mobile expires at the end of the 2006 season. The 31-year-old Klöden’s first major success came at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney when he collected bronze in the road race. In 2004 the German finished second in the Tour de France behind

Tom Danielson expressed satisfaction with the opening salvo of the 2006 Vuelta a España. Discovery Channel finished a solid fourth place, nine seconds behind winners Team CSC, which was good enough for Danielson in his first stage as an outright team leader in his European career. VeloNews.com caught up with him after the stage: VeloNews.com: An interesting first stage of the Vuelta. How did things go for you in the team time trial? Tom Danielson: I think it was exciting and we posted a good time. It was challenging. As you could see from the mistakes the team made, Team CSC was just so

Team CSC’s Carlos Sastre pulled within 12 seconds of the yellow jersey in last month’s Tour de France but later faded to a no-glory fourth place, so perhaps it was only fitting that the mild-mannered Spaniard took the gold jersey Saturday in an thrilling team time trial to kick-start the 2006 Vuelta a España. Sastre made a late decision to start the Vuelta – his third grand tour of this season and his fifth in a row dating back to the 2005 Tour de France – and he’s glad he did. "I am not thinking about the Tour anymore," Sastre said. "This is a childhood dream to take the Vuelta jersey,

For the last three days we have been waiting in a hotel in Málaga, anticipating the start of the Vuelta a España. Over the last weeks we finished our final training sessions in preparation for the event, and during the final run in to the race all that was left to do was test our time-trial equipment and keep our legs loose by riding a little every day. Those final three days are long ones, as we need to rest, so we aren’t walking around town and visiting the city. We're sitting in our beds, reading with our legs up and minds focused on the coming weeks of racing. Why do we have to be

Tom Danielson will line up Saturday as an outright protected team captain for the first time of his career, poised to improve on his seventh place finish in last year’s Vuelta a España. The 28-year-old says it’s all systems go for a three-week Vuelta laden with mountains and short on time trials, a recipe that could serve up Danielson with the chance to become just the second American to stand on the final Vuelta podium. Fresh off his first European victory at the Tour of Austria, Danielson will lead a strong and motivated Discovery Channel team keen to make up for disappointment from this

The Vuelta a España clicks into gear on Saturday for three weeks of racing which organizers hope provides the sport's beleaguered fans drama on the bike, and not off it. After a summer of doping scandals, the Vuelta hopes to avoid following in the controversial slipstream of the Tour de France. After a scandal-plagued start, when race favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso were among those suspended over doping suspicions, American Floyd Landis won the Tour's yellow jersey in July only to test positive for after stage 17. Landis is likely to lose that title, which would then go to

Former up-and-coming cycling star Frank Vandenbroucke's colorful career has taken on a new hue after it was revealed he has been riding incognito among Italian amateurs, using a license bearing the photo of none other than reigning world champion Tom Boonen. Vandenbroucke, who in the past has been implicated in several doping affairs, was recently sacked by the Belgian Unibet.com team. His desire to race has not abated, but it was to general surprise that he began racing in the tough Italian amateur scene thanks to a false racing license with Boonen's photo on it. Widespread media

The 61st Vuelta a España kicks off Saturday with a different twist. Rather than a short opening prologue or a road stage, the season’s third grand tour debuts with a team time trial that’s only 7.2km long. The pancake-flat course should create some interesting splits in what’s sure to be a wild first week of the Vuelta, with two summit finishes and a series of hard, flat stages across the stinking heat of Spain’s western plains before the second weekend closes. Nine-man teams will start at 7 p.m. in four-minute intervals on a course that’s expected to take about eight minutes at speeds

Denis Menchov admits he won’t be the five-star favorite to win the Vuelta a España while Rabobank teammate Oscar Freire confirms he won’t be taking Saturday’s start. Menchov – who was named winner of the 2005 Vuelta after Roberto Heras tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO – said his efforts from the Tour de France could cost him in the mountainous Vuelta. “I’ve love to win, but the Vuelta is a secondary objective this year after the Tour and I don’t feel as fresh this time,” Menchov told the Spanish daily MARCA. “I think I have a chance, but psychologically I don’t feel as sharp

The Eneco Benelux Tour ended bitterly for George Hincapie on Wednesday after arch-rival Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) hooked him in the final 50 meters, sending the Discovery Channel leader sprawling to the ground and causing him to lose the race on time bonuses. Schumacher started the 201km seventh and final stage three seconds behind race leader Hincapie, but the German rider bounded ahead to finish third behind winner Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) and runner-up Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval-Prodir) to earn a four-second bonus that nudges him into overall victory in the eight-day

Discovery Channel officials said they felt “robbed” of victory in the Eneco Tour following the controversial finish to Wednesday’s finale when German rider Stefan Schumacher caused George Hincapie to crash less than 100 meters from the line. Schumacher barged Hincapie’s line and sent the race leader toppling to the ground in disbelief and anger as the Gerolsteiner rider took four bonus seconds with third-place to claim overall victory by one second. “It was so unfair what happened to him,” Discovery Channel sport director Dirk Demol told VeloNews. “George felt so strong and the team did an

Tour de France winner-in-waiting Oscar Pereiro said he expects Caisse d’Epargne teammate Alejandro Valverde to win the Vuelta a España, which is set to start on Saturday in sunny Málaga. He said Valverde will have fresher legs and more motivation for the season’s final three-week grand tour following the chaos that’s come in the wake of the Floyd Landis doping scandal. “I bet that Valverde will win the Vuelta,” Pereiro said in an interview with the Spanish daily AS. “Alejandro and I are good teammates and good friends. The circumstances of the road will put us in our place and dictate if

German David Kopp (Gerolsteiner) sprinted to victory in the sixth and penultimate stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux on Tuesday. Italy's Marco Zanotti (Unibet.com) and Belgian Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) crossed second and third in the 213km stage from Bornem to St. Truiden, a nervy racec marked by numerous falls. "Normally I should launch the sprint for my leader (Stefan Schumacher), but I found myself alone on the front and decided to attack and go for the win," explained the 27-year-old Kopp. George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) holds the overall race lead going into

Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis doesn't believe Ivan Basso can race again for his squad unless he is acquitted in the doping scandal that barred the Italian cyclist from the Tour de France. CSC suspended Basso after he was among nine riders pulled from the Tour on the eve of the race. The cyclists had been implicated in an alleged blood-doping program in Madrid. "I have difficulties seeing a future for Basso with CSC unless he is totally cleared," Riis told the Politiken on Tuesday. "I feel really bad about this case. Basso is the worst that could happen to me – it has ruined my image. I

Unlike last month’s Tour de France, the Discovery Channel enters the Vuelta a España with a pre-designated leader, team manager Johann Bruyneel said Tuesday. During a conference call with reporters, Bruyneel said the entire team, which lacked a clear leader at the Tour, will be built around enhancing the general classification hopes of American Tom Danielson, who joined his team manager in the call on Tuesday. Bruyneel, joined by Danielson, discussed the team’s strategy and approach for the Spanish grand tour, which begins in Málaga Saturday, August 26, with a 7.2km team time trial, and

Three-time world champion Oscar Freire said he is unsure he will be able to take Saturday’s start of the Vuelta a España as he continues to suffer the dizzy spells that forced his departure from the Tour de France. The Rabobank sprinter won the Vattenfall Cyclassics in late July, but was forced to skip the Clásica San Sebastián as the problem worsened. He’s been taking medication, but is worried he won’t be stable enough to race the vertiginous Vuelta. "I don’t know if I can start. My head hurts and I suffer dizziness. I am training and I will decide in the next few days, according to how

Tom Boonen made the most of home advantage when winning the fifth stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux Monday in Balen, Belgium. The Quick Step rider came out on top in a sprint just meters from the house where he lives, with New Zealand's Julian Dean (Crédit Agricole) and Italy's Simone Cadamuro (Milram) taking second and third. George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) retained the leader's red jersey with just two stages remaining. Germany's Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) is lying second with Vincenzo Nibali (ILiquigas) third. Boonen, who was adding this to his successes in

American George Hincapie moved up from fourth to lead the overall standings in the Eneco Tour of Benelux after capturing Sunday's stage-4 time trial around Landgraaf in the Netherlands. The Discovery Channel rider took the leader's red jersey from Belgium's Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) after covering the 16.1km race against the clock in 19 minutes, 58 seconds. Up-and-coming Italian rider Vicenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Bianchi) came in second, only 36 one-hundredths of a second adrift, with Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) seven seconds back in third. Boonen trailed in 62nd,

Eufemiano Fuentes, the Spanish doctor accused of running an extensive blood-doping network, had contacts in France and Germany, doping expert Werne Franke charged on Sunday. "The Spanish investigation files mention houses in France and Germany that were involved in the doping," Franke said in Focus magazine. Former Olympic champ and Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich is alleged to have been given EPO and other banned substances by Fuentes, who was accused of running a blood-doping ring. The 32-year-old Ullrich has repeatedly denied all doping allegations and says he does not know

Pure insanity. That’s how the new national criterium champion Brad Huff (TIAA-CREF) described the final lap of the 100km USPRO championships on Sunday in Downers Grove, Illinois. Only the Navigators could muster any semblance of a lead-out, and their efforts were not in vain as Aussie Hilton Clarke blew past Toyota-United’s Tony Cruz and Huff after the decisive final corner to take the win. Huff charged to the front with 300 meters and held it until near the final corner at 150 meters when Cruz pulled even with him. The pair swung wide out of the corner, and Clarke took the inside line and

The first red, white and blue USPRO jersey of the year will on the line Sunday at the national criterium championships, and it will be U.S. cycling’s Big Three — Health Net-Maxxis, Toyota-United and Navigators Insurance — throwing the heaviest blows. But many of the men likely to win the100km race in Downers Grove, Illinois, are not eligible for the U.S. national jersey, which will go to the first American across the line. Gord Fraser, Health Net’s Canadian sprinter, will be retiring at the end of the season and will surely be looking to go out on a high note. His New Zealander teammate Greg

World champion Tom Boonen won a sprint finish to take the third stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux on Saturday ahead of Discovery’s Max Van Heeswijk and Australian Baden Cooke (UniBet). Quick Step team leader Boonen, who also won Thursday's first stage, extends his overall lead to an 11-second advantage over Liquigas’s Manuel Quinziato, who won on Friday. Boonen later revealed that he had initially set out to set-up victory bids for two of his teammates. "I decided to lead out the sprint for my teammates Wouter Weylandt and Steven De Jongh," explained Boonen after the 185km stage.

Julich season over after pulling plug at BeneluxBobby Julich’s season is likely over after the veteran American didn’t start the 185km third stage at the Eneco Benelux Tour on Saturday. Team CSC officials said the defending champion has been struggling with his form since coming back from a broken wrist suffered in the first time trial of the 2006 Tour de France. “You could see he was empty both in the head and in the body and he was afraid of getting caught up in a crash and decided it was just better to go home and prepare for next season,” Team CSC sport director Tristan Hoffman told

Pinkham Notch, N.H. (AP) Tyler Hamilton, who's been suspended from sanctioned races for the past two years, returned to the White Mountains Saturday to win the only race he has been free to ride the 7.6-mile Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb. Grosse Point, Mich.-native Aimee Vasse won for the women, coming in at 1:08:31 to place 22nd overall in a field of almost 600 riders. Hamilton's time was 52:21. His suspension over a blood doping offense ends Sept. 22, just in time for the World Cycling Championships on Sept. 24. For Hamilton, of Marblehead, Mass., the race was a

Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas) unleashed a late-stage attack to surprise the bunch to steal home his first career victory in Friday’s second stage while Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) finished safely in the main pack to retain the overall lead at the Eneco Tour. The 26-year-old Italian jumped clear with just over 2km to go go and held off the main pack to snatch the victory while scores of riders finished more than a minute off the winning time after a crash late in the stage. “When I saw there were just 40 riders on the last lap and that everyone was tired and no team was able to set the

The doping case against former road cycling world champion Oscar Camenzind has been reopened. The state court of Schwyz ordered investigative magistrate Martin Eichenberg to take such action. The decision was first reported in the Swiss news magazine Facts on Thursday and confirmed by Eichenberg on Friday. Camenzind rode for the Phonak cycling team, Floyd Landis's squad at the 2006 Tour de France. Landis tested positive for a skewed testosterone-epitestosterone ratio after winning the Tour and was fired. The team will shut down at the end of the season because of a lack of

Boonen nails itWorld champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) won his first race since abandoning the Tour de France and surged into the overall lead Thursday at the Eneco Tour. Boonen earned a 10-second time bonus with the relatively easy sprint victory in the first stage and overtook Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) in the overall standings. The big Belgian received a textbook-perfect leadout and easily held off Simone Cadamuro (Milram) and Enrico Gasparatto (Liquigas), who came through third. “This is my first race after the Tour and after the problems that I’ve [had] in France, now