Road

Italian Alberto Loddo pulled off a hattrick of stage victories at the Tour de Langkawi Tuesday, winning the Tour’s fifth stage in a field sprint at the end of a 167-kilometer race from Kota Bharu to Kuala Terengganu. With the most of the field finishing together, Crédit Agricole’s Anthony Charteau easily held on to the comfortable four-minute lead in the overall standings, a buffer he earned on Sunday in the stage to Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands.

The Cable GuyDear Lennard,To my untrained eye, Vision Tech brake cables look strikingly similarto Shimano STI derailleur cables. I notice that Team CSC uses Nokoncables with the Vision Aero Brake Levers. What are my options fordifferent brands of cables (and housings) to use with the Vision levers,other than the Vision cables. (I already have extra STI cables, soinstead of buying new Vision cables, if it is safe and compatible, I wouldthink I could use these.)ChrisDear Chris,The Vision DragOn Brake Cable is just a brake cable with a shift cableend to fit into one of those little tiny Vision

Peiper positive on Olson, BarryT-Mobile sport director Allan Peiper is raving about the possibilities for new team members Michael Barry and Aaron Olson. Both are part of the team’s new international profile that includes riders from a dozen nations. Speaking on the team’s web page, Peiper said both riders can expect plenty of room to stretch their wings in the refitted T-Mobile organization. Barry is hoping to earn his first berth for the Tour de France this July. “It is a new challenge from Michael. He is a seasoned pro, having raced for so many years at U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel,”

As directeur sportif for the top team in North America, JeffCorbett has carved out a nice position for himself at Health Net-Maxxis.A former pro racer, Corbett, 36, founded the 7Up team in 1998, managingand racing on its various incarnations, as the team became 7Up-ColoradoCyclist in 2000 and 7Up-Nutra Fig in 2001. Corbett’s last year as a rider-managerwas 2002, the year Canadian Charles Dionne put the 7Up-Nutra Fig team onthe map with a win at the San Francisco Grand Prix ahead of Henk Vogelsand Lance Armstrong. In 2003 Corbett focused solely on directing the 7Up-Maxxisteam, which merged

Italian Alberto Loddo claimed his second stage victory at the Tour de Langkawi Monday in an intense bunch sprint that resulted in at least 10 riders crashing just 50-meters from the finish line.

The directive for the day was simple. If a promising move peeled off the front of the peloton during the early portions of the Tour de Langkawi’s stage three run from Kuala Kangsar to Cameron Highlands, Slipstream team director Johnny Weltz’s wanted one of his six riders to be there. Beyond that he asked only that they make sure to “help each other out.” Weltz knew that the first climbing test of this 10-day event in Malaysia would challenge his young team in ways it hadn’t yet faced in 2007. He was cautiously optimistic that they would be up to the task. “I feel like we can be

The 2007 road racing season kicks off this week in Europe after a long winter full of doping innuendo and infighting between cycling’s major powers. First up is the French traditional opener Tuesday at the Grand Prix d’Ouverture La Marseillaise followed by the five-day Etoile de Bessège. Seven ProTour teams are among the 18-team field for the 140km La Marseillaise opener, including Ag2r, Bouygues Telecom, Crédit Agricole, Cofidis, FDJeux, T-Mobile and Unibet.com. Etoile start Wednesday in Pézenas and wraps up Sunday in Bessèges with a mix of stages across southern France. The expansive

Tyler Hamilton will likely race on European roads Tuesday for the first time since serving a two-year racing ban in what’s sure to be an emotional comeback after one of the most contentious doping cases in cycling history. Hamilton (Tinkoff Credit Systems) is expected to start Tuesday’s Grand Prix de La Marseillaise and then line up for his first European stage race since 2004 in the five-day Etoile de Bessèges on Wednesday. Hamilton, 35, is named on start lists for both French races that will mark his first European-level competition since the 2004 Vuelta a España when he pulled out after

Anthony Charteau Sunday became the first Frenchman to claim the yellow jersey after conquering stage three of the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, which saw racers ride up the popular Cameron Highlands. It was an unexpected finish for Charteau, who is not considered to be among the more renowned climbers in the race and was to have set the pace for teammate and main rider, Francesco Bellotti.

Welcome to a new and regular feature on VeloNews.com. Each Sunday throughout the race season we expect to be interviewing major players within the cycling community, from racers to team directors to race organizers and retired stars. This first installation we catch up with Tyler Farrar, the up-and-coming sprinter/would-be classics specialist entering his second elite pro season with trademark enthusiasm and energy. Of the new generation of Americans breaking in the European scene, Farrar’s enjoyed the highest profile. Even when racing among the espoirs ranks, he already had a pro contract

Ask Pat McQuaid if he’s happy he took the job of UCI president and his first reaction is laughter. During a tenure that began in the fall of 2005, the Irishman has seen his sport saddled by doping controversies and internal squabbling. The latest row is the UCI’s ongoing battle with ASO, the organization that owns the Tour de France and several smaller races, including Paris-Nice. ASO recently balked at allotting a Paris-Nice start position to Unibet.com, the newest ProTour team. McQuaid has countered that ASO is being deceptive about their true intentions, and are intent on breaking the

Argentine Maximiliano Richeze earned an impressive win at the end of the second stage of the Tour de Langkawi on Saturday, edging out a hard-charging field at the end of a 166-kilometer stage between the Malaysian cities of Kangar and Kulim. Richeze, who along with his Ceramiche Panaria teammate, Ruben Bongiorno, were pipped at the end of Friday’s opening stage by Italian Alberto Loddo (Selle Italia), fought hard in the final 250 meters to fend off a big group of strong sprinters, earning both the checkered flag and the overall leader’s jersey.

Scroll through the list of winners from past 11 editions of the Tour de Langkawi, and there are only a few names that really jump off the page. There is the Discovery Channel’s Tom Danielson, who turned his 2003 win of the Malaysian national tour into a ProTour contract with Fassa Bortolo in ’04. Fellow American Chris Horner is also there, but he endured a sizable gap between his 2000 Langkawi victory and a return to the European peloton in 2005. Indeed, while the early-season stage race has always attracted major league talent — Tafi, Vinokourov, Bettini and Landis are names that have

To say it’s been a difficult past two years for Simon Donnellan would be an understatement. The Brit’ turned resident of Malaysia has been at the center of a Tour de Langkawi firestorm, which saw the race on the brink of cancellation before being rescued by the Malaysian government. Donnellan first became involved with the 10-day event while working as a radio engineer for The Events Group, a U.K.-based sports management company that helped run the race during its formative years. He then made a move he probably now regrets, agreeing to buy the event from its local organizers in late 2004.

Belgian Wilfried Cretskens (Quick Step) was crowned winner of the Tour of Qatar after the sixth and final stage on Friday. Tom Boonen, Cretskens's compatriot and teammate, won the 134km stage between Sealine Beach and Doha. Indeed, Boonen won four of the tour’s six stages. But the overall win went to 33-year-old Cretskens, the first tour success of his career. The one stage the former world champion failed to win, on Thursday, saw Cretskens leapfrog him into the leader's jersey and maintain a lead of more than two minutes. "Today was a very special day," said Cretskens. "The team

Ex-Phonak team manager John Lelangue blasted Floyd Landis in an interview with AFP and said he feels personally “betrayed” by the American Tour de France winner. In one of his first public interviews since the collapse of the Phonak team following the Landis doping case, a bitter Lelangue expressed his confidence in the anti-doping controls, adding that the American shouldn’t count on any support from him. “I suffered an enormous deception, a true human betrayal on the part of Landis,” Lelangue told AFP. “I told him at the time that I believed the tests and I believed the results and that

Italy’s Alberto Loddo (Selle Italia-Serramenti) provided a sizzling start to the 12th edition of the Le Tour de Langkawi when he charged to the line to claim the first stage on a day when Malaysia’s first continental team, LeTua Cycling, grabbed two top-10 slots in the overall classification Friday.

UCI chief Pat McQuaid says the organizers of Paris-Nice are violating international cycling rules by refusing to invite one of the 20 ProTour teams to its event, and charged that Amaury Sports Organization has hopes of "breaking" the UCI’s ProTour series. The UCI has threatened to bar ASO from running its race, which is sanctioned by the UCI and can be held only if the organizer respects all UCI rules and regulations. "The UCI will not budge on a matter of rules and the legitimate rights of teams and riders," said McQuaid from Malaysia in a telephone interview with AFP. "I hope the

Belgium's Greg Van Avermaet (Predictor-Lotto) won the fifth and penultimate stage of the Tour of Qatar on Thursday. Van Avermaet beat home German Marcel Sieberg and Frenchman Stephane Poulhies in a sprint finish to the 156km stage between Al-Zubarah and Mesaieed. Fellow Belgian Wilfried Cretskens (Quick Step), who was part of the race-deciding 10-man breakaway, took the race leader's jersey from teammate and compatriot Tom Boonen, who finished 20th, more than two minutes down, along with the main chasing pack. Tour rookie Van Avermaet was overjoyed with his stage win. "It's my

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, who has been linked to a damaging Spanish doping inquiry, has agreed to submit to a DNA test in an effort to clear his name. "I want this affair to be sorted out quickly so that I can get back on my bike," Ullrich was quoted as saying by his agent Wolfgang Strohband in an article published by Bild. On Tuesday, Bonn prosecutors said they wanted to compare samples in Switzerland with those from blood seized by Spanish authorities during Operacion Puerto from properties owned by the infamous Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. Ullrich has agreed to

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has threatened to stop Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) holding the upcoming Paris-Nice, unless it respects the rule that states all 20 ProTour teams start every race on the ProTour circuit. The race is sanctioned by the UCI and can be held only if the organizer respects all UCI rules and regulations. According to several team managers at Doha, where the Tour of Qatar is taking place, the UCI has sent a letter to all the ProTour teams telling them that ASO's decision not to invite Unibet.com to Paris-Nice could see the French organizer banned from

Large crowds will greet the competitors of the 2007 Amgen Tour of California when the race kicks off with a short, intense time trial through the streets of San Francisco. The first rider will leave the start ramp in front of the Ferry Building at Pier 1 at 1 p.m. for the 1.9-mile prologue stage sponsored by Union Bank of California. After a fast ride down the Embarcadero, riders will make a sharp left onto Bay Street for a steep climb up Telegraph Hill. It will take most riders somewhere between five and six minutes to complete the painful effort. Last year Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer

Starting on the northern side of the San Francisco Bay, Stage 1 will cover almost 100 miles from Sausalito to Santa Rosa. The stage, sponsored by Herbalife, begins with a climb from Mill Valley up to Mt. Tamalpais State Park before turning toward Muir Beach. The course mirrors Stage 1 of the 2006 race all the way to Valley Ford, but after that it follows a longer, more difficult route into the finishing town of Santa Rosa. This year’s route will head further north to Bodega Bay and then turn onto Coleman Valley Road, a landmark climb in Northern California. That climb will provide

The pleasant roadside views of Sonoma County wineries will mark the start of Stage 2, but the scenery will soon be forgotten when the peloton hits a major climb just 12 miles into the race. The ascent of the steep Trinity Road climb followed by a treacherous descent toward more wineries in Napa Valley will be sure to break up the field. After that, the peloton will continue east toward Sacramento. Riders will pass Lake Berryessa, then head through Davis, known as one of the best cycling towns in the U.S. With a quick turn to the north, the route will then follow the Sacramento River to the

After a neutral start with parade laps through Stockton’s revitalized downtown area, the peloton will head west through California’s farmlands. Riders will travel through Tracy and then encounter Patterson Pass, a new climb in this year’s race. Following Patterson Pass, they’ll pass through the city of Livermore before connecting to a climb up Calaveras Road. This long, constant grade, which was also used in the 2006 Amgen Tour of California, leads to the most difficult climb of the race, the Category 1 (most difficult) Sierra Road climb in San José. After completing this KOM (King of the

The remarkable views of Stage 4 will make it a favorite for riders and spectators alike. Beginning in Seaside with a short neutral lap and traveling along a similar route to last year’s Stage 4, the peloton will head south on scenic Highway 1 where the mountains and redwood forests flank the PacificOcean. At more than 130 miles long, and with three KOMs, this is the longest stage ofthe race and will test the riders on consistently hilly and technical terrain. The six-hour day will take the riders through Big Sur and past Hearst Castle before shifting inland toward the finish at the

The quaint Danish village of Solvang has become a cycling destination and serves as the host city of many ProTour team training camps each winter. At only 14.5-miles long, the Stage 5 time trial in Solvang is an ideal location for spectators to view the race. Conveniently, the start and finish are located just two blocks apart. The route will highlight some of the most beautiful areas and towns of Central California, winding through quaint towns, vineyards, farms and one short but steep climb. Shorter, flatterand faster than last year’s time trial, Stage 5will be a challenging test for the

This could be the pivotal stage of this year’s Amgen Tour of California. Stage 6 is not only long, at 105 miles, but it features four King of the Mountain climbs, two sprints and a demanding finishing circuit in Santa Clarita. With this year’s individual time trial being less selective than last year’s, there could be several contenders separated by just a few seconds at this point in the race. After a start in view of the Santa Barbara shoreline, Stage 6, which is sponsored by Health Net, will be the last chance for a solid favorite to emerge before the circuit race finale in Long Beach.

The Stage 7 circuit race is flat and fast, and sure to be a favorite with spectators. This is where the sprinters will come to the fore, as the pack races 10 laps around a circuit course in downtown Long Beach. Sponsored by Amgen, the stage includes part of the famous Long Beach Grand Prix course used for CART races. These roads are wide and fast. Views of San Pedro Bay and the Pacific Ocean will be visible for the entire course, with a backdrop of the famed Queen Mary in the bay. Course designers expect a hard sprint to the finish. Just like with the grand tours of Europe, a win on the

If the rest of the 2007 Tour de Langkawi comes off like Thursday’s team unveiling, it’s a safe bet that the scandal-scarred race has put its past troubles in the rearview mirror. Following a year in which financial uncertainty and in-fighting between controlling factions put the event’s future in doubt, the Malaysian national tour popped the cork on its 12th edition during a pomp-and-circumstance filled ceremony along the boardwalk of the posh seaside Awana Hotel on the island of Langkawi. “It will difficult to make people forget the issues of unpaid debts that the race faced in the past,”

American classics hope Tyler Farrar will be staying with Cofidis through the end of his contract this season and won’t be joining Discovery Channel - at least for now. Farrar’s name was linked to the American team last week when he appeared on a list of Discovery Channel riders for the 2007 season. The 22-year-old admitted he’s spoken with Discovery Channel representatives, but denied he was poised to leave the French team just as the 2007 season kicks into gear. “I was just as surprised as everyone else. I was at the Cofidis team presentation and someone pulled out a copy of Het Laatste

At its customary pre-season training camp in Solvang, California, the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team opened the doors of the Royal Scandinavian Inn to the media on Monday and Tuesday for an opportunity to meet the team’s riders. In lieu of an official team presentation, which will be offered via video on the team’s Web site, thepaceline.com, team representatives arranged one-on-one interviews with print, Web and video journalists in Solvang, a small Danish settlement in central California. Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, a part owner of the team, was in attendance at

Led by 2006 Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso, the Discovery Channel CyclingTeam is heading into the 2007 season with high hopes. The team is now holdingits traditional pre-seasontraining camp in Solvang, California. Earlier this week, the team openedits doors to reporters and photographers. VeloNews photographerCasey Gibson was there to capture the scene.

Come the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the entire episode could make ideal fodder for one of NBC’s sappy vignettes about struggle and sacrifice. But right now Mike Friedman is ready to put his ordeal with dangerous blood clots, doping innuendo and an aborted spring racing campaign behind him. The 24-year-old just wants to race his bike and build on a promising debut season in 2006 where he finished top American at the International Championship in Philadelphia, and won a pair of U.S. national track titles. “People hear blood and they immediately think drugs,” lamented Friedman, who last

Belgian Tom Boonen dominated Australian Graeme Brown in a bunch sprint to win an explosive fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar on Wednedsday. Quick Step’s Boonen thus picked up his third individual stage win in as many days after a mainly flat 139km of racing between the Camelodrome and the Gulf of Doha. Brazilian Murilo Fischer (Liquigas) finished third behind Rabobank’s Brown, who on Monday was accused of causing mayhem in the bunch sprint during which Predictor-Lotto’s Tom Steels crashed and was left with a broken collarbone. Boonen will take a 27-second lead over teammate Steven De Jongh

Sastre focusing on Tour-Vuelta doubleTeam CSC’s Carlos Sastre believes he can aim even higher at the Tour de France and is taking aim at the final podium for the 2007 edition. Fourth overall in last year’s Tour as well as at the Vuelta a España, the Spanish climber said he’ll skip the Giro d’Italia to focus on preparing exclusively for the Tour before rebounding for a run at the Spanish tour. “I will work for victory in both the Tour and the Vuelta,” Sastre told Spanish journalists. “These are the most important races for me and I’d honestly like to shine.” The decision will end Sastre’s

Lastweek I reported on the first day of the CyclingScience Symposium and Expo at the Hotel Boulderado in Boulder, Colorado. The conference featured a second day of lectures, followed by a third expo day at which purveyors of equipment and services for improving cycling performance offered their products for public view. Tied up by other commitments, I was unable to attend the expo, but I did find the second lecture day to be fascinating. Computer-modeling your musclesDan Heil, Ph.D., FACSM, an associate professor of exercise physiology at Montana State University in Bozeman gave a very

Tour de France officials are frustrated over the slow progress of the Floyd Landis disciplinary case and are looking at the very likely prospect that the case won’t be resolved before the start of the 2007 Tour. Speaking to the Spanish daily AS during a break at the Tour of Qatar, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme deplored the slow pace of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Asked if he expects the case to be resolved before the July 7 start in London, Prudhomme replied, “Unfortunately, I am afraid not. " “It’s the same thing that happened to the Vuelta a España with Denis Menchov,” he

Belgium's Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won the third stage of the Tour of Qatar around Doha on Tuesday, beating Italian sprint king Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) for the second consecutive day. Austria's Bernard Eisel (T-Mobile) took third spot behind Boonen who strengthened his grip on the leader's gold jersey. Boonen said afterwards: "I was in about 50th place with three kilometers to go, which was too far back, but Matteo Tosatto helped me get up to the front. I then let the Milram team do the work before waiting for the right moment to start my sprint." Boonen refused to go

Christian Vande Velde rides into the 2007 season with renewed confidence he can pick up where he left off last year, which included a stop atop a winner’s podium for the first time in his European racing career. “It’s not easy to win in Europe. Now that I’ve done it, I know it’s possible again and it doesn’t seem so far-fetched,” Vande Velde said. “The confidence is going to play a big factor. Just knowing you can do it and knowing you’ve succeeded the year before, you’re just going to have more confidence overall.” The 30-year-old all-rounder won the Tour of Luxembourg, his first victory

Former world champion Tom Boonen won the second stage of the Tour of Qatar over 135km from Al Wakra to Doha on Monday, moving into the overall leader's gold jersey in the process. The Quick Step rider beat Milram's Alessandro Petacchi and Frenchman Jean-Patrick Nazon in a sprint finish to snatch the gold jersey from his Dutch teammate Steven de Jong, who held it after Quick Step's team time trial victory in Sunday's opening stage. The defending Tour of Qatar champion Boonen admitted he had been lucky to win after Pettachi's Milram team launched their leader's sprint

Belgians narrowly averted what could have been viewed as a national tragedy at this year’s Cyclo-cross World Championships as defending champion Erwin Vervecken came from behind to win the elite men’s race on Sunday. In an event often swept by the Belgian squad, Vervecken was the only one of his countrymen who managed to step onto the podium in front of a huge home crowd in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, as the efforts of pre-race favorites Sven Nys and Bart Wellens were hampered by crashes and a series of difficulties throughout.

Belgium’s Quick Step-Innergetic team shrugged off this week's doping allegations to take top honors in the opening stage of the Tour of Qatar, a team time trial in Doha on Sunday. Dutchman Steven De Jongh crossed the line first after the six kilometer race against the clock to be the first to take charge of the leader's gold jersey. Quick Step, with former world champion Tom Boonen riding in Qatar, covered the circuit in a time of six minutes 33 seconds. Quick Step was followed in by Milram, four seconds adrift, with Liguigas another four seconds back in third. "It was very tough,"

Katie Compton gave the United States its second silver medal in two days at the World Cyclo-cross Championships today in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, as France’s Maryline Salvetat overcame a rough start to battle her way to victory in the women’s race on Sunday. Salvetat’s teammate Laurence Laboucher hung on for third, while pre-race favorite Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) faded to fifth after crashing at the halfway point while in the lead.

Belgians and Americans got off to a great start at the world cyclo-cross championships in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, Saturday, as host-country prospect Joeri Adams and U.S. rider Danny Summerhill sprinted to a tight finish in the junior men’s event. Summerhill battled back from a crash with two laps to go to earn second, as pre-race favorite Jiri Polnicky (Czech Republic) crossed the line one second later in third.

"Last year," said Lars Boom, "I was not happy with second." On Saturday, the young Dutchman made up for that disappointment by finally winning the under-23 title at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, in his final year as an espoir. Belgium's Niels Albert took the silver and Roman Villa of France the bronze, while defending champion Zdenek Stybar (Czech Republic) could manage no better than fourth.

Sporting a modified team logo, a new bike sponsor and four new riders, the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team presented its 2007 roster to the media Thursday in Agoura Hills, California. The team introduced four marquee additions to its roster — Australians Henk Vogels and Caleb Manion, Irishman Mark Scanlon and American Burke Swindlehurst. Both Vogels and Scanlon come from ProTour teams — Vogels from Davitamon-Lotto and Scanlon from Ag2r. Gone are Argentinean sprinter J.J. Haedo, to CSC, and all-rounder Tony Cruz, who returned to Discovery Channel. Returning riders include 2005 USPRO champion

Sprinters Tom Boonen and Alessandro Petacchi will fight their first duels of the season when the Tour of Qatar clicks into gear Sunday in Doha. Boonen, the 2005 world champion who rides for Quick Step, shook off the opposition to win four of last year's stages and the overall crown. However, this year the Belgian's hopes will be tempered by 33-year-old Milram sprinter Petacchi, who will be burning to get a few wins under his belt following a 2006 season blighted by injury. "I'm back and in top form. I hope this year will be as successful for me as 2005," said the Italian, who

Tour de France runner-up Oscar Pereiro wants an apology from French authorities after what he says was a smear campaign to slight his reputation. The Spanish rider expressed satisfaction that the French anti-doping agency Thursday threw out cases of 10 riders after it was confirmed that riders had medical clearances to use certain banned substances that popped up in anti-doping controls during last year’s Tour de France. "The damage can be repaired from France," Pereiro told the Spanish news agency EFE. "I could have my name cleared by an apology and regret fromLe Monde and the French

Juan José Haedo is busy packing his bags as he prepares for his big European adventure with Team CSC, but first he has a detour through the United States and some old haunting grounds at the Tour of California. The Argentine ace, who turns 26 on Friday, will be traveling to California for a two-week training camp with his new Team CSC teammates before making his team debut at the Tour of California, where he won two races last year to attract the attention of several European teams to his aggressive, fearless sprinting style. “It’s a big step to take, to come from racing in the USA to

Hi Monique,
In your column about weight loss and body composition monitoring, you mentioned that scales that compute body fat should use a formula appropriate to athletes. Can you comment further about that means? What errors can be induced? I have an electronic scale that I know shows variability with hydration levels,but I was wondering what other errors could be involved.
Thanks,
DHDear DH,

Alessandro Petacchi hopes a return to form at the Tour of Qatar will help him erase a disappointing 2006 campaign that saw him riddled with injuries. The Milram sprinter will bring his full train to the desert race (January 28 to February 2) with ambitions of snagging a victory and boosting his confidence ahead of what the “gentleman sprinter" hopes will be a comeback season. “I want to regain the sensations I had at the beginning of last year. I’ve had a good training block and I am motivated for the coming season,” Petacchi said. “I haven’t been able to raise my arms in victory since last

Tuesdays at VeloNews.com usually feature Lennard Zinn's "Technical Q&A"column, in which VeloNews' senior technical writer fields questionsfrom you, our readers. But this week, Boulder, Colorado, is playing hostto the first (and hopefully annual) CyclingScience Symposium and Expo, organized by the Serotta InternationalCycling Institute. Yup, it's a sort of bike geek Woodstock (albeit on a much smaller scale) and we knewexactly where we'd find our friend Lennard. For the next few daysZinn will be attending the seminar and, when he gets some time, even sendingus a few reports

Two-time Giro d’Italia winner Gilberto Simoni is hoping to earn a berth on the Italian Olympic team to compete for a gold medal in mountain biking in 2008. The veteran Italian has enjoyed recent success on fat tires, including the Italian national marathon championship last year. “We are hoping to make a special program for Gilberto next year and give him some time to race more mountain bikes to gain selection to the national team for Beijing,” Saunier Duval-Prodir general manager Mauro Gianetti told VeloNews. “We believe he can win another Giro and we hope he will race next year through

A Belgian newspaper Tuesday leveled dramatic allegations of illicit doping practices dating back 30 years against Quick Step-Innergetic manager Patrick Lefevere, one of cycling’s most powerful team managers. Lefevere vehemently denied the allegations, calling the front-page report in Het Laatste Nieuws “complete rubbish” and quickly promised legal action against the Belgian national daily. The paper alleges Lefevere, current president of the international professional team’s group, of taking drugs during his own racing career (he admitted to taking amphetamines) in the 1970s as well as

David Millar lost two weeks of his pre-season prep’ time to a training crash earlier this month in Spain, but he’s hoping that will be little more than a speed bump in what will be his first full season of racing since 2003. Millar -- the 29-year-old Scot who served a two-year racing ban after admitting to French authorities that EPO fueled some of his biggest professional exploits – took a forced rest after high-siding onto his left leg in a spill in a round-about earlier this month. The mishap postponed training, but Millar said he’s motivated more than ever as he hopes to put his

Last season was perhaps the worst year professional cycling has ever experienced. Victories achieved with panache were overshadowed by media headlines relating to positive drug tests, doping investigations and political strife between the sport’s governing body and the race organizers. It was a tough year to be a professional cyclist and with each news story my pedal stroke seemed to get heavier from the negativity. The sport I had gone to bed dreaming about as a kid was, very sadly, in the public’s perception, a sport full of cheaters and hoaxes. And, it now needs to change. T-Mobile, is a

American Sarah Hammer’s trophy case could soon need structural reinforcing. The world individual pursuit champion added another gold medal to her stack with a win in her signature event during day two of the track World Cup in Los Angeles. Earlier in the day, Hammer set a new U.S. record of 3:32.058. After the effort Hammer said she would just "put it on cruise" in the evening’s gold-medal match against Germany’s Verena Joos. Sure enough, Hammer quickly made up time against her rival, gaining time with every lap to build such a comfortable lead she sat up well before the line and waved to

Another day, another gold for Sarah Hammer — our man Casey Gibson was on hand and snapping away. Here's what he saw.

Sarah Hammer put to rest any ideas that she’s not a top mass-start racer with a gold medal in the Los Angeles World Cup scratch race, her third win of the three-day event. Hammer won the opening-night points race and followed it up with gold in the individual pursuit. Hammer and American Becky Quinn repeated the tactic that put them one-two at last year’s World Cup scratch race in Los Angeles. Hammer hit the front with a few to go, Quinn battled to get on her wheel, then Hammer dialed up the pace so high no one could come around her. There was no need for the UCI officials to check the photo

That's a wrap — three days of racing, three golds for Sarah Hammer and three cheers for our man Casey Gibson, whose shutter kept clicking from lights on to lights out.

Former Swiss cycling champion Martin Elmiger relaunched his professional career by winning the Tour Down Under after some thrilling final-day drama on Sunday. Australian sprint king Robbie McEwen meanwhile claimed victory in the 81km, 18-lap final stage, extending his record victory tally in the race to 12. McEwen, a three-time winner of the Tour de France green jersey, held off fellow Australian Mark Renshaw, who gestured prior to the finish line about being squeezed into the barriers by the Predictor-Lotto sprinter. McEwen was unapologetic.

It may be the off-season to you, but not to the intrepid Casey Gibson, who has lugged his bag of camera bodies, lenses and computer gear from snowy Colorado to the ADT Event Center in Carson, California, for the UCI track World Cup. Here's a peek at what he sent home.

World individual pursuit champion Sarah Hammer (Ouch Pro Cycling) set a national record in a qualifying ride on day two of the Los Angeles World Cup. Hammer turned a 3:32.058 on Saturday to beat the old mark of 3:32.865, which she set in October at the 2006 track national championships. The record-breaking ride followed Hammer's victory in the points race the night before. "I really didn’t expect to break the record after doing the points race last night," Hammer said while getting her legs rubbed down after the effort. "It wasn’t a good ride, legs-wise. I was hurting. But the goal

It turns out there is a little something to those rainbow stripes. At the opening night of the Los Angeles Track World Cup, American Sarah Hammer, Brit Chris Hoy and Aussie Anna Meares showed their respective fields just why their biceps are circled with cycling’s most powerful design. Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and his friend, CSC rider Dave Zabriskie, were among the crowd of thousands at the Home Depot Center velodrome. Hammer, a world champion in the individual pursuit, won the January 19 women’s points race with some last-lap assistance from her American teammate Becky Quinn.

Swiss racer Martin Elmiger was rewarded for his persistence with the lead of the Tour Down Under after the fourth and penultimate stage on Saturday. On another rain-soaked day in the hills around Adelaide, Elmiger took the ochre jersey from overnight leader Karl Menzies of UniSA after the Australian managed only to finish 11th in the 147 kilometer stage. The 24-year-old Belgian Pieter Ghyllebert won the stage, picking up his maiden professional win and the second in the five-stage race for his Chocolade Jacques outfit. Teammate Steven Caethoven celebrated a fine win on Thursday. A former

The arrival of Iban Mayo helps bolster Saunier Duval-Prodir as a major player going into the 2007 season and gives the Spanish team more options in the grand tours. With Gilberto Simoni focusing on the Giro d’Italia and rising star José Ángel Goméz Marchante the man for the Vuelta a España, team management can only hope the troubled Basque climber can return to the same heights he enjoyed when winning Alpe d’Huez at the 2003 Tour and the overall at the 2004 Dauphiné Libéré. “Mayo is a major ‘star’ but we have 28 riders on this team who will be able to achieve goals,” said Saunier

The on-again, off-again courtship between Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov and Jan Ullrich may be back on again, if recent press reports are to be believed. Back in November 2006, Tinkoff Credit Systems team manager Omar Piscina told Agence France Presse that title sponsor Tinkoff was "a huge fan" and wanted to sign Ullrich, but that the former Tour de France winner didn’t seem interested. "It has been more than a month since we spoke," Piscina said at the time. On Friday, during a team presentation in Moscow, Tinkov confirmed reports that he had tried to sign Ullrich and said the major

Unibet sprinter Baden Cooke underlined his early season ambitions by claiming a well-deserved victory onthe rain-soaked third stage of the Tour Down Under Friday. Cooke, a former Tour de France green jersey winner, flew first over the finish line of the 128km stage, drenched but happy having stayed true to his morning pledge to claim a win in the early part of the season. Five seconds further back was Australian Chris Jongewaard (UniSA), one of six riders contending the finale, who was initially part of a 19-man breakaway but whose powerful riding left the peloton trailing 14 minutes

Young Belgian Steven Caethoven swept past two-time race winner Stuart O'Grady less than 300 meters from the finish line to claim victory in stage two of the Tour Down Under Thursday. A textbook team tactic by Caethoven's Chocolade Jacques riders stunned the Australian after he had led a brave attack to close out the day's racing. CSC team leader O'Grady had worked hard throughout the day in pursuit of a stage win, a consolation of sorts after he finished Wednesday’s stage more than 26 minutes in arrears. However, O’Grady’s hopes were scuppered when Pieter Ghyllebert, one

Australian Baden Cooke is hoping that an off-the-bike battle will not prevent him unleashing the kind of form that won him the Tour de France green jersey on the European cycling scene. The 28-year-old's chances of challenging in major one-day classics, and the Tour de France, have been put in doubt because of a long-running dispute between cycling’s biggest players, and they’re not men on bikes. Cooke joined Swedish-registered Unibet last season, after leaving Francaise des Jeux. Cooke brought with him an impressive resume, including the 2003 Tour de France points jersey. Unibet

Top Australian cyclist Baden Cooke is hoping an off-the-bike row will not prevent him unleashing the kind of form that won him the Tour de France green jersey in 2003. The 28-year-old's chances of challenging in major one-day classics and the Tour may be scuppered by a dispute between cycling bosses. Cooke joined Swedish-registered Unibet last season from Française des Jeux, with whom he won the Tour points competition four years ago. Unibet became the latest addition to the UCI ProTour at the end of 2006, thus paving the way for automatic inclusion in 27 of the series' biggest

A successful early breakaway effort blew a hole in the hopes of many race favorites at Australia’s Tour Down Under on Wednesday as powerful Tasmanian rider Karl Menzies claimed one of the biggest wins of his career. The UniSA rider held off Swiss ace Martin Elmiger (Ag2r) in a sprint for the line and then exploded with joy after picking up the race leader's ochre jersey. "This is as big as it gets for me, this is the best result for a long way," beamed the big 29-year-old, who finished more than 26 minutes ahead of 93 of the race's 111 riders. “That was everything I had on Sunday at

The 2008 Tour de France cycling race, sans prologue, will start in Brittany on Saturday, July 5, going from Brest on the Atlantic coast to Plumelec, organizers announced Wednesday. The second stage will run from Auray to St. Brieuc on Sunday, July 6, while the third stage starts at St. Malo. Further details about the early stages of the 2008 Tour will be unveiled January 25 in Rennes. Discovery announces 28-man rosterDiscovery Channel has fleshed out its roster for 2007, signing Spanish climber Alberto Contador, British trackie Steve Cummings and U.S. mountain biker-turned roadie John

Saul Raisin - the 25-year-old American climber who nearly died from a brain hemorrhage after a high-speed crash last April – continues to defy expectations. This week, Raisin joined his Crédit Agricole teammates for the team’s preseason camp along France’s Cote d’Azur and is laying plans for a comeback to racing this season. “I’ve just been surprising everyone, including myself on how well I am doing,” Raisin told VeloNews. “The doctors can’t believe it. Statistically, I should be dead or in a wheelchair. At first I just wanted to be able to live a normal life again. Now I think I can race

World champion Paolo Bettini skipped training in Spain on Tuesday as a precaution after smashing his left knee into his handlebars during a ride Monday, but team officials were quick to say it won’t keep the Grillo off his bike for too long. The Quick Step-Innergetic captain donned his rainbow jersey and rode for about 10 minutes during the team rollout Tuesday morning to pose for pictures for the assembled media, but quickly returned to the team hotel to rest the knee. “It’s nothing serious, but we don’t want to take any unnecessary risks,” said team spokesman Alessandro Tegner. “It’s

Questions about cutting carbon, shifting problems, chain length and more

Former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis has pleaded for cycling to get its house in order, or face losing further credibility in the eyes of an increasingly suspect public. The CSC team manager led his Danish-based team to the top of the ProTour rankings last year, despite losing his star rider, Ivan Basso, following the release of allegations from a doping investigation in Spain. Basso, last year's Giro d’Italia winner, was released by CSC. After Italian sporting authorities cleared the Italian ace, who was tipped as Lance Armstrong's successor, he has since moved to Discovery

Australian sprinter Mark Renshaw announced his aims for the five-day Tour Down Under stage race by winning a 50km inner-city criterium in Adelaide, Australia on Tuesday. The on-form Credit Agricole rider got the better of sprint heavyweight Robbie McEwen in a tight bunch finish to continue his sizzling early season form. The criterium is classified as the TDU’s “prelude,” and does not count toward the Tour’s overall classification. Hilton Clarke, of Navigators, finished second just ahead of SouthAustralia.com rider Simon Clarke, a promising 20-year-old who is no relation. Early in the race

Veterans Robbie McEwen and Stuart O'Grady are among the favorites whenthey saddle up for Australia's Tour Down Under on Wednesday. Sprint king McEwen is well known for his exploits at the Giro d'Italiaand his three points jersey wins at the Tour de France. But McEwen, whowill debut his Predictor-Lotto team's new pink and black jersey this week,has big obstacles to overcome if he hopes to extend his record tally of11 stage wins at this five-day home race. The Belgium-based Australianfailed to win any stages last year, when the speed of Allan Davis, ridinghere for the UniSA