Road

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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,

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 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

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

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

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

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

Tom Danielson will headline a strong Discovery Channel team for the upcoming Vuelta a España. Team boss Johan Bruyneel revealed the starting lineup that’s a strong mix of veterans and ambitious younger riders hungry for success in the 61st Vuelta. “Selecting this team was not easy for me as we have a lot of guys that are riding very strong at the moment, but I feel that we have a very solid team in place that will work well together,” Bruyneel said in a team release. “Tom Danielson is set to be our leader for this race and I believe he has prepared very well. With the team that we have to

George Hincapie narrowly missed another big victory by the smallest of margins in Wednesday’s opening prologue to kick start the ENECO Benelux tour. Hincapie – who lost the Tour de France opening prologue by less than one second to Thor Hushovd – was once again on the wrong end of the bargain in the 6.1km prologue course Wednesday, finishing one second behind winner Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner). Schumacher, 25, covered the distance in seven minutes to achieved his fifth win of the year and 14th of his career. “It’s great to come in ahead of several time trial specialists, but I'm

Millar eyes Vuelta stageDavid Millar couldn’t score his dream comeback stage victory at the Tour de France, but he’s hoping to at the upcoming Vuelta a España. Millar survived the Tour in his first race back from a two-year racing ban for admitting to using the banned blood-booster EPO and enters the August 26 start of the Vuelta much stronger. “I would like to win a stage, a road stage or a time trial, it doesn’t matter,” Millar told VeloNews at last weekend’s Clásica San Sebastián. “I came out of the Tour feeling strong, stronger than I expected and I have recuperated well. I think the

Floyd Landis might be able to keep his Tour de France crown if he wins his doping case in arbitration, but his Phonak team won’t be around next season even if he does. Team owner Andy Rihs announced Tuesday that Phonak will fold at the end of the 2006 season after its new title sponsor pulled out of the deal in the wake of Landis doping scandal.

Phonak was flying high three weeks ago with the dramatic comeback Tour de France victory of Floyd Landis, but now the team is facing an uncertain future in the wake of Landis’ disastrous failed doping control. Phonak team owner Andy Rihs and team manager John Lelangue have scheduled a Tuesday morning press conference at a Zurich hotel to discuss the team’s future, but many insiders believe the Landis scandal could spell the end of the beleaguered Swiss squad. Unconfirmed reports were flying at last weekend’s Clásica San Sebastián that iShares – the San Francisco-based online investment

George Hincapie, who roared to a best-ever ninth place in the Clásica San Sebastián race in northern Spain on Saturday, confirmed he’ll start the U.S. national championships next month. The Discovery Channel captain told VeloNews he will race in next week’s ENECO Tour in Holland (Aug. 16-23) and end his season with the U.S. national championships September 3 in his adopted hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. Hincapie won the U.S. title in 1999, but hasn’t raced in the event since. USA Cycling has switched the race from its traditional June date to later in the season, in part to attract

Big Shark Racing’s Jeff Hartman survived triple-digit temperatures to win the Overland Park Grand Prix Sunday at the Tour of Kansas City, while Brian Jensen (Jelly Belly) became the race’s first repeat overall champion since Scott Moninger in the late 1990s. Hartman and Jensen were among a group of nine riders that broke from the pack halfway through the 75-minutes-plus-five-laps criterium. The two eventually escaped from their breakaway companions, though somewhat reluctantly, on a day when the mercury soared to 103 degrees on a shadeless course featuring newly paved blacktop roads. "I had

The 2006 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah concluded Saturday with the much-anticipated Stage Six Snowbird Road Race, won by TIAA CREF rider Blake Caldwell. The 91-mile stage included three very difficult climbs and more than 12,000 feet of climbing as it traversed the Wasatch Mountains from Deer Valley Resort to Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort. The decisive third climb of the day, in Little Cottonwood Canyon affected the final General Classification as Scott Moninger took the yellow jersey from teammate and hometown favorite Jeff Louder. Team TIAA CREF forced an early break with four riders in

There were a lot of smashing fists on handlebars Saturday as the relatively unheralded Xavier Florencio (Bouygues Telecom) surprised a host of favorites with an early sprint to win the Clásica San Sebastián. The 26-year-old held off Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas) and Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) to score just his second victory of his professional career, leaving the frustrated runner’s up to bash their handlebars in an opportunity missed. “I wouldn’t have bet on it,” Florencio said with a smile when asked if he thought he was going to win the 225km, five-climb classic around the hills of

A year ago, Jelly Belly’s Brian Jensen gutted it out through a torrential downpour to win the lightning-shortened Cliff Drive Classic at the Tour of Kansas City. On Saturday, the conditions were considerably different, but the result was the same. Jensen, who calls Lawrence, Kansas, his home, soloed to victory in the 50-mile Pro-I-II race in two hours and 40 seconds, beating Team Mack’s Clark Priebe of Eagle Grove, Iowa, by more than a minute. In addition to earning his sixth victory of the season, Jensen also pocketed an additional $225 cash for winning the "King of the Mountain"

Aussie Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance) edged Christian Vande Velde (CSC) on Saturday to win the Alexian Brothers International Cycling Classic, the first of two days of racing in the Tour of Elk Grove. Canada’s Gord Fraser (Health Net-Maxxis) took third in the 100km, 27-lap circuit race, run on a 3.7km course through the Illinois town. Rachel Heal (Victory Brewing) of Great Britain won the 60km women’s event ahead of Mackenzie Dickey (Aaron’s) and Christina Dekraay (Team Fuji). Racing continues on Sunday with the American Airlines International for women and the Gullo International

Spain’s top stars are converging on the posh resort town for Saturday's big one-day race to kick-start San Sebastián’s summer festival, but it’s no guarantee fans will have the chance to cheer on a hometown winner. While Spanish riders have won the past two editions, the 225km race around the hills of Spain’s Basque Country has long been dominated by foreign riders. Take away the 2004-05 wins by Martín Perdiguero and Constantino Zaballa, respectively, and you have to go all the way back to Miguel Indurain’s win in 1990 to find another Spaniard who won this race. One of those foreigners

Stage Five of the 2006 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah entertained an estimated crowd of 30,000 fans in downtown Salt Lake City, Friday night, as the Twinlab Circuit Race tested riders with six laps of a 6.3 mile course that included a very steep climb to the Utah State Capitol before plunging and twisting back to the wide avenues of downtown. A wide and slightly downhill finishing straight encouraged sprints and attacks, making for a very fast race, won by Toyota-United rider Chris Baldwin. The stage was slotted between two of the toughest climbing stages in American cycling, but was not the

Oscar Pereiro – the man poised to be named Tour de France victor in the wake of the Floyd Landis doping scandal – hasn’t had much time to train lately. After giving an endless stream of interviews (more than 200, by his count) and a half-dozen press conferences not to mention a string of public celebrations, Pereiro has hardly had any time to think about what’s in store for the rest of the season. While he waits word from cycling authorities on the Landis case, Pereiro is committed to race the Vuelta a España, set to start on Saturday, August 26 in Málaga. “I am going to race it with a lot

It seems either Oscar Freire is winning races or facing some career-threatening health problem. There’s no in between for the three-time world champion who seems snake-bit when it comes to debilitating pain. The Rabobank sprinter – fresh off winning two stages at the Tour de France and the Vattenfall Cyclassics race in Hamburg – will miss Saturday’s Clásica San Sebastián due to strange headaches and dizzy spells that have been dogging him since the Tour. For a rider who’s suffered through back problems and infected saddle sore that kept him out of last year’s world championships, it’s just

The 2006 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah earned its reputation as one of the country’s toughest Thursday as the race entered the mountains of the Wasatch Front with the 67.5-mile 101.9 The End Road Race, which began in Provo and finished at Nebo Loop, pitted some of the best climbers in U.S. against each other as the stage culminated with a 20-mile ascent through Payson Canyon to the 9000-foot Nebo Loop summit. HealthNet-Maxxis rider Scott Moninger won the stage with a time of two minutes thirty-eight seconds at an average speed of 22.48 miles per hour. Moninger's teammate and Salt Lake

Veteran German rider Jens Voigt said winning the Tour of Germany for the first time was the finest achievement in his long cycling career, surpassing even his three stage victories at the Tour de France. The 34-year-old Voigt, riding for the Danish CSC team, cruised through the eighth and final stage of the Tour on Wednesday to maintain his 98 second lead over American Levi Leipheimer and collect the title. Australia's Graeme Brown of the Rabobank team won the final stage - a 172.1km ride from Bad Krozingen to Karlsruhe - but it was Voigt's day and he was overcome with emotion

T-Mobile will introduce a new, groundbreaking blood test that officials say will allow the team determine if its riders have been blood doping. The German ProTour team will conduct the test internally on its own riders within the coming weeks. T-Mobile is thought to be the first major cycling team to use the new detection method developed by Walter Schmidt, a professor at the University of Bayreuth. “All riders will be required to undergo a newly developed test which will be able to determine whether the individual has transfused his own blood,” T-Mobile doctor Lothar Heinrich said on the

Jan Ullrich's blood samples won't be turned over to Spanish police investigating a doping scandal, the president of the world cycling body said Wednesday. Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France winner, was among the top riders implicated in May when police arrested five people at a Madrid clinic after seizing drugs and frozen blood. The UCI samples could be used for a DNA comparison with the frozen blood found in the raid. Police suspect the samples were to be prepared for performance-enhancing transfusions to still-unidentified riders. "The blood of the riders in our possession from

After two years spent with Davitamon-Lotto as Robbie McEwen’s lead-out man at the Giro d’Italia, Australian veteran Henk Vogels will return to the North American peloton as a member of the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team. Vogels is the first new addition to the Toyota-United roster for the 2007 season. “The Toyota team looks as though they’ve done a great job this year,” Vogels said. “I was impressed with them at the Tour of Georgia. They’ve done well by themselves. I think the team wanted me for a few reasons. My physical ability is still very good, but I think what I bring in terms of

U.S. National Road Champion Chris Wherry won his second consecutive stage in the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, the KJZZ Individual Time Trial, finishing ahead of Toyota-United teammate and U.S. National Time Trial Champion Chris Baldwin. Wherry finished the stage in 15 minutes 50.67 seconds, blistering the mostly flat course with an average speed of 31.9 miles per hour - eight hundredths of a second faster than Baldwin. The race leader entering the day's stage, Sergey Lagutin of Team Navigators Insurance stopped the clock with the third fastest time of the day, 18 seconds behind Wherry.

Alexandre Vinokourov and his cadre of Astana riders will race this weekend’s Clásica San Sebastián as the team picks up the pieces in the wake of the “Operación Puerto” investigation left the squad at the edge of implosion. Vinokourov wraps up the Tour of Germany on Wednesday – his first stage race since the Dauphiné Libéré in early June – and will race in Spain’s one-day classic as final preparation for the Vuelta a España. “I can feel a lack of rhythm of competition,” Vinokourov told El Diario Vasco. “The Tour of Germany has been perfect to return to racing, because I haven’t race since

Stage Two of the 2006 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, the Steve Williams Memorial Road Race, was a hot and dry 97-mile stage from Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, to the newly constructed Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele. Riders battled shifting winds and temperatures topping 100 degrees as they raced along a portion of the historic Pony Express Trail through Utah's West Desert. The race began with a series of gradual climbs out of Lehi, then onto rolling terrain as it moved toward the finish at the motorsports park. Attacks were launched almost immediately as the race climbed out of Lehi,

German Jens Voigt of the CSC team is on the brink of winning the Tour of Germany for the first time after winning the seventh stage - a 38.2 kilometer time-trial - of the Tour in Bad Sackingen on Tuesday. It was a third stage win for Voigt, 34, and he is now one minute and 38 seconds ahead of nearest rival Gerolsteiner's Levi Leipheimer of the United States, heading into Wednesday's final stage. "I am delighted because this could be my last chance to win this Tour," Voigt said. "The conditions were ideal - not too warm and not too cold. I started really quickly to motivate myself

The road to the Vuelta a España goes through the Tour de l’Ain for Discovery Channel’s Tom Danielson. The 28-year-old is racing in the French event this week in his final competition ahead of the August 26 start of the Vuelta, where he will line up as a grand-tour team captain for the first time. "This is the best race I could do before the Vuelta," Danielson told VeloNews. "The race has shorter stages and it’s always up and down, so it’s good to get some good racing in the legs without being too taxing." Danielson won the Tour of Austria in July for his first European victory since

German Jens Voigt (CSC) consolidated his lead in the Tour of Germany by winning Monday's sixth stage by just two seconds over defending champion Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner). Kazakh Andrej Kashechkin (Astana) crossed third after the 196.6km run from Seefeld to St Christoph in the Austrian Alps. Voigt, winner of the third stage and the overall leader since Sunday, holds a 24-second advantage on Leipheimer ahead of Tuesday's penultimate stage, a time trial in Bad Sackingen. Evgeni Petrov (Lampre) sits third at 56 seconds back. The 34-year-old Voigt, who has worn the leader's