Road

Reigning champion Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) won the fifth stage of the Tour of Germany on Sunday, a 163km leg between Bad Tolz and Seefeld. The American crossed just two seconds ahead of Kazakhstan's Andrei Kaschechkin (Astana) and Italy's Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre-Fondital). A riders' protest ahead of the start of Sunday's decisive climbing stage prompted organizers to eliminate the day's hardest ascent, the 2,020-meter Kühtaisattel climb, which was pelted with high winds, freezing temperatures and icy roads. "You have to think of the safety of the riders. The

Shawn Milne (Navigators Insurance) and Tina Pic (Colavita-Cooking Light) won their respective events Saturday evening during the Bank of America Invitational criterium in Charlotte, North Carolina. [nid:36034]In the 53-mile men’s race, Milne bridged to Jackson Stewart (Kodakgallery.com-Sierra Nevada) and Rahsaan Bahati (TIAA-CREF) with about 15 laps of the 1.2-mile course remaining, and the three began to extend their lead over the bunch.

Astana is Vuelta-bound and Alexandre Vinokourov will be team captain. The troubled team filed the necessary paperwork Friday with Vuelta a España organizers to get the green light to start the season’s third grand tour, set to start Aug. 26 in Málaga. While the issue of the team’s ProTour license has yet to be settled, Vuelta organizers will allow the team to race if none of the riders are implicated in the ongoing “Operación Puerto” doping investigation in Spain. Vinokourov, currently racing in the Tour of Germany, said he’s unsure what to expect in the mountainous Vuelta. The Kazakh was

Swiss Fabian Cancellara (CSC) won the Tour of Denmark on Sunday, while German Robert Forster (Gerolsteiner) won the sixth and final stage. In the overall standings, Cancellara, who grabbed the yellow jersey in Saturday's fifth stage, finished 20 seconds ahead of Australian teammate Stuart O'Grady and 51 seconds ahead of German Thomas Ziegler (T-Mobile). Forster won Sunday's 154.5km final stage between Gilleleje and Copenhagen. T-Mobile's Olaf Pollack came in second, followed by Magnus Backstedt (Liquigas-Bianchi). Sixteen teams and 128 riders competed in the 872.3km route

Australia's Graeme Brown (Rabobank) won the fourth stage of the Tour of Germany on Saturday, a 203km leg between Heidenheim and Bad Tolz. Brown won a tense sprint finish against German duo Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) and Erik Zabel (Milram), finishing in four hours, 34 minutes and 38 seconds. The 36-year-old Zabel took the overall lead from Russian Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Channel). Gusev slipped back to second, seven seconds behind Zabel, with German Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) third, eight seconds down. "It was my last chance to take the lead before the mountains," Zabel told

Team CSC made what’s likely cycling history on Thursday when the team won three races in three different events all on the same day. With ProTour squads boasting enough riders on their roster to run three programs, Team CSC scored an unprecedented “hat-trick” Thursday, taking stage-wins at the Deutschland Tour with Jens Voigt, Tour of Denmark with Fabian Cancellara and Paris-Corrèze with Marcus Ljungqvist. “It’s a very special time for the team,” Team CSC sport director Tristan Hoffman told VeloNews. “We have a good combination of riders on the team who can win races. We have a very good

A prosecutor in northern Italy has asked for an investigation into a group of Spanish cyclists suspected of using doping products during competition in Italy, Spanish daily El Pais reported on Friday. Other investigators have also asked to question Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso later this month. According to the paper, the cyclists targeted by a Bergamo prosecutor are Marcos Serrano, Joseba Beloki, Unai Osa and Angel Vicioso. Italian police, according to El Pais, "have received documents sent to them by Spanish police which indicate several Spanish riders used doping products

Five North Americans are among a preliminarystart list for the 61st Vuelta a España Released Friday by race officials in Spain, all 20 official teams have outlined their early starting riders and substitutes for the season’s third grand tour, set to start Aug. 26 in Málaga. Getting the nod are Ryder Hesjedal (Phonak), MichaelBarry and TomDanielson (Discovery Channel), ChrisHorner and FredRodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto). AaronOlson (Saunier Duval) is listed as a substitute. Barry will back for his fifth Vuelta start while Danielson is expected to line up as team captain for Discovery Channel

Gerald Ciolek, of the continental Wiesenhof team won a frantic sprint at the end of the third stage of the Tour of Germany, Friday, a 203.3km race from Witzenhausen to Schweinfurt. The stage was marked by a long 145km solo break by Saunier Duval’s Marco Pinotti, who was eventually reeled in with 25km to go, setting up a fast closing stretch with none of the top sprinters’ teams able to control the field as it rushed through the final kilometers into Schweinfurt. Ciolek - who at 19 is seen as the next great hope of German cycling - clinched his first victory on the ProTour after pipping

Spanish star Alejandro Valverde will return to competition next weekend for the summer classic Clásica San Sebastián, but isn’t expected to race the weeklong Vuelta a Burgos. Valverde, 26, fractured his clavicle in stage three of the 2006 Tour de France and will use the one-day race on Aug. 12 in northern Spain to prepare for his run at the Vuelta a España title. Illes Balears-Caisse d’Epargne officials said Valverde isn’t quite in condition to race the Burgos tour, set for Aug. 6-10. “As of today he won’t race the Vuelta a Burgos but he will be at the Clásica,” sport director Eusebio

Fields have been announced for the two biggest races on the North American road-racing calendar, the Bank of America Invitational Criterium and the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. With the Tour of Utah beginning just 36 hours after the Charlotte, North Carolina, B of A Criterium ends — and with the August 13 Tour of Elk Grove Criterium, held near Chicago, taking place the day after Utah ends — it’s a good bet that the North American peloton will be split into two, with sprinters looking to bring home cash from the calendar’s biggest prize lists. The Bank of America Invitational Criterium,

German CSC rider Jens Voigt on Thursday won the second stage of the Tour of Germany over 181.5km between Mindent and Goslar ahead of Italian Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Kazakh Andrey Kaschechkin (Astana). The German CSC rider clinched victory after mounting a bold attack on the final climb before outpacing Rebellin and Kaschechkin in a sprint finish at the end of the 181.5km stage. Voigt, 35, a stage winner at this month's Tour de France and a yellow jersey holder during the 2001 and 2005 editions of cycling's most prestigious event, was delighted with his victory. "To

Kazakh rider Assan Bazayev gave the Astana team a much needed boost as he landed the first stage of the Tour of Germany ProTour cycling race, over 198.2km between Dusseldorf and Bielefeld, on Wednesday. The 25-year-old beat home Lampre's Danilo Napolitano and veteran Germansprint specialist Erik Zabel (Milram) to give the team its first victory under its new sponsor. The win lifted some of the gloom surrounding the squad since the team was unceremoniously thrown out of the Tour de France on the eve of the race because several of their proposed line-up had been implicated in a doping

Sastre unsure as Vuelta expects heavy Spanish accentWith the “Puerto Nine” not welcome and a host of foreign stars expected to skip the season’s final grand tour, Vuelta a España organizers are putting a heavy Spanish accent of the 2006 edition. Race organizers revealed a preliminary start list Tuesday that’s laden with Spanish stars and lean on foreign riders. Defending champion Denis Menchov and his Danish climbing Rabobank counterpart Michael Rasmussen are the biggest foreign stars expected for the Aug. 26 start in Málaga. Confirmed Spanish riders include Tour de France runner-up Oscar

Discovery Channel's Vladimir Gusev won the 5.5km prologue of the Tour of Germany in Dusseldorf on Tuesday. The 24-year-old time-trial specialist timed 6minutes 42.61seconds and finished ahead of Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) and German national time trial champion Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner). Defending Tour of Germany winner Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) finished in 111th place, 42 seconds off the Russian's pace, though he raced cautiously because of the persistent rain and strong winds. Gusev, who has been a professional since 2004 and joined the Discovery team at the beginning

Levi Leipheimer lines up as defending champion Tuesday at the nine-day Tour of Germany with hopes of erasing a disappointing Tour de France. The 33-year-old Gerolsteiner captain will be looking to redeem himself after finishing a distant 13th overall at the Tour, the first time he’s not been among the Tour’s top 10 in four arrivals on the Champs Élysées. This could be Leipheimer’s last major race for Gerolsteiner, after penning a deal to join Discovery Channel for 2007. The Californian won last year’s Deutschland Tour after a strong performance in a brutal climbing stage in Austria and

Comunidad Valenciana – the continental team which has taken more licks than most in the fallout of “Operación Puerto” – received some good news late last week from the Spanish courts. The team was notified that none of 13 riders supposedly implicated in the ongoing police investigation have any pending legal action against them, essentially clearing them of allegations that have dogged the team since mid-May. Thirteen riders were cleared after a court secretary notified the team with an official document dated July 28. The riders cleared include: Vicente Ballesteros, David Bernabéu, David

Some of Oscar Freire’s biggest wins have come at the expense of one man: That perennial German warrior Erik Zabel. The Spanish sprinter took his third world title in 2004 in Verona in Italy with Zabel taking second, a win that came months after Freire out-stabbed Zabel on the Via Roma to win Milan-San Remo that spring. In Sunday’s Vattenfall Cyclassics, Freire once again revealed he has one of the best bike stabs in the game, sneaking away with a photo-finish mass sprint with Zabel getting the worse end of the bargain. Last year’s winner Filippo Pozzato came through third.FULLRESULTS “I

Normally, the final stage of a stage race is supposed to be more of a celebratory parade than a decisive day in the saddle. But that's never been the case at the International Tour de Toona. Coming into the final stage, the top-2 men overall - Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) and Chris Baldwin (Toyota United) - were separated by only 3 seconds on general classification with 52-seconds of time bonuses up for grabs. Any one individual could win a maximum of 30-seconds. Kyle Wamsley (Colavita - Sutter Homes) would take the stage win, but the battle for yellow continued throughout the

While Floyd Landis traveled back to the United States this weekend, his fate and the outcome of his counter-analysis are still pending in Europe. The test results of the “B” sample could be known as early as Monday, but a bank holiday in France could delay the test another day or two if it already hasn’t been carried out. Landis’s lawyers said in a Saturday press conference that they don’t expect any changes in the counter-analysis. “We’re expecting that [counter-analysis] will return positive because he produced it,” said José María Buxeda, one of two Spanish attorneys Landis has

T-Mobile said Sunday it would part company with manager Olaf Ludwig as it seeks to clean up the team's image following the drugs scandal that embroiled sacked rider Jan Ullrich. T-Mobile said in a statement that it would terminate its contract with Ludwig's OLC company, which is responsible for its men's cycling team, one year ahead of schedule after a loss of confidence in the organisation. "After long discussions before and after the Tour de France, we have decided to terminate our contract with OLC from October 31 this year," T-Mobile said in a statement. The contract had

Saturday's epic 145.9km point-to-point road race was all it was cracked up to be - causing a decisive shift in the men's overall classification, although not without controversy. Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) won the race from a 6-man group sprint, snatching a 20-second time bonus and the yellow jersey along with it. Chris Baldwin (Toyota United) finished second, taking a 15-second time bonus, and putting him into second overall. Baldwin now trails Lagutin by only 3 seconds in general classification going into tomorrow's criterium, which has a total of 52 seconds of time

T-Mobile boss Olaf Ludwig on Saturday denied speculation his cycling team's sponsors had demanded his dismissal for his apparent defense of tainted star rider Jan Ullrich. "There has been no sacking or breaking of contract," Ludwig said before a meeting of sporting directors on the eve of the HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg. "There have been discussions and there will be more in the days to come." The former professional cyclist, the team's owner via his OLC company, has a contract until 2008 with phone company T-Mobile. But Ludwig angered the sponsors by suggesting things could

Floyd Landis is poised to make the wrong kind of history if his counter-analysis comes back positive: he could become the first Tour de France winner to lose his crown for a doping violation. On Thursday, Landis vehemently denied allegations he doped en route to winning the wild 2006 Tour, but if results of his “B” sample confirm initial tests that revealed “unusual” testosterone levels in his urine, Landis could lose his Tour victory. “All I want to do is ask that everybody take a step back,” Landis said. “All I'm asking for is just that I be given a chance to prove that I'm

The first ProTour cycling event since the Floyd Landis positive doping test, the Vattenfall Cyclassics, takes place in Hamburg, Germany, on Sunday when team and UCI officials will surely be talking about the matter. Though Sunday's 250km, 11th edition of the HEW Cyclassics in theory should be the main event, it is likely that the cycling world will still be taking stock of the news of the positive test for testosterone by the Tour de France winner which broke on Thursday. Of course Landis will not be present at the race but team staff, sponsors, UCI officials and riders will have

UCI ready to release ‘Puerto’ documents Amid the Floyd Landis doping scandal, the UCI released a communiqué late Thursday outlining the next steps in the “Operación Puerto” doping investigation in Spain. With Spanish authorities continuing its investigation, the UCI is moving forward with its own process to discipline riders with alleged contacts with the suspected blood doping ring operated out of Spain. “The UCI is preparing to send the files of riders involved in [Operación Puerto] to the national federations concerned and has asked for disciplinary proceedings to be started in

Friday's fifth stage at the International Tour de Toona ended in breakaway finishes for both the men and women with no effect on general classification. The men raced four 20-mile circuits through the Mennonite farmlands of Martinsburg, Penn. Bernard van Ulden (Navigators Insurance) outsprinted Mark McCormack (Colavita/Sutter Homes) in a 3-up breakway that was out in front for 79 of the stage's 80 miles. For the women's race, it was Brooke Miller (Palo Alto Bicycles/TIBCO) who nipped Webcor's Felicia Gomez at the line in The pro men's race started off aggressive from

The Astana cycling team, thrown out of the Tour de France when several of its riders were linked to a Spanish doping scandal, will compete in this weekend's Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg, the team announced on Friday. Led by Kazakh star Alexandre Vinokourov and directed by Australian Neil Stephens, the team will also take part in the Tour of Germany on August 1-9. The UCI on Thursday announced the team, formerly known as Liberty Seguros, could continue competing as long as none of its riders or officials were linked to Spain's Operation Puerto investigation. The UCI's

(Hollidaysburg, Penn.) - The Tour de 'Toona's fourth day of racing took place Thursday in Hollidaysburg - where the Slinky toy is manufactured - and did not result in any significant changes on general classification, allowing the sprinters to take center stage. Juan Jose "JJ" Haedo (Toyota United) easily took the uphill sprint, scoring the team's second stage victory. The men's race saw several mutt breakaways go up the road, but none posed a serious threat on the undulating course. In the women's race 4-time national criterium champion Tina Pic (Colavita) maintained

Mariano Friedick (Toyota United) scored a 10-second winner's time bonus to take the lead at the International Tour de Toona on Tuesday. Meanwhile, four-time national criterium champion Tina Pic (Colavita) took the stage-2 field sprint ahead of Lipton's Laura van Gilder, but Alison Powers (Advil-Chapstick) retained the yellow jersey heading into Wednesday’s decisive 98-mile stage, which features a Category 1 climb over Blue Knob ski resort at mid-race. In the men’s race, a five-man breakaway got away early and nearly made it until the end. Stefano Barberi (Toyota-United) and Bernard

Americans returned from the 38th Tour de l'Abitibi this weekend where some of the nation’s best junior cyclists claimed three stage wins and fifth place overall. One of the most prestigious junior stage races in the world, the 2.HC rated UCI event is the only North American junior race on the UCI Calendar and is often referred to as the "Tour de France for juniors." More than 160 junior cyclists, including 54 Americans, from seven countries lined up for eight stages in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northern Quebec. U.S. National Team rider Kevin Soller (Breckenridge, Colorado)

Five Astaná riders who were forced out of the 2006 Tour de France because of alleged links to a blood doping investigation have been formally cleared by Spanish courts. Joseba Beloki, Isidro Nozal, Sergio Paulinho, Allan Davis and Alberto Contador have all received a written document officially clearing them of any links to the ongoing “Operación Puerto,” the Spanish newspaper El Diario Vasco reported Wednesday. The five riders received a legal document signed by Manuel Sánchez Martín, secretary for the Spanish court heading up the “Operación Puerto” investigation, stating, “there are not

Wednesday’s 96-mile point-to-point road race took the riders through four counties starting from the Johnstown Galleria Mall and finishing at the Logan Valley Mall in Altoona. The yellow jersey would change hands in both the men's and women's race on a day of attrition over an undulating course. Frank Pipp (Target Training) was the surprise winner in the men's race, nipping prologue winner Karl Menzies (Health Net) and Ciaran Powers (Navigators) at the line. The 20-second time bonus was enough to put Pipp into second place overall. But Menzies second place finish was good enough

Karl Menzies (Health Net-Maxxis) and Alison Powers (Advil-Chapstick) scored the opening victories on Monday as the International Tour de Toona got under way with the Altoona Beasley prologue in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania. Organizers welcomed a record number of pre-registered participants to central Pennsylvania for the evening 3.1-mile (5.6km) time trial, which saw riders leaving the start house every 30 seconds. Just over five seconds separated the top five pro men contenders. Menzies turned the fastest time of the day, 5:09.19, followed by Shawn Milne (Navigators Insurance) in

Jan Ullrich has vowed to win the Tour de France before he retires from pro cycling — and he has been in contact with seven-time champion Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel team. ''I have always said, 'I will finish with a Tour victory,' '' Ullrich told the Swiss daily Blick. ''Unfortunately, this year I was prevented from doing so. That's why I will try to add another year.'' While he has been in contact with Discovery Channel, Ullrich said that no concrete agreement had been reached. The team is said to have hired Gerolsteiner rider Levi

I promised in my July 3 column to follow up about bruising, inflammation, Tyler Hamilton’s lower back and heart attacks. I set it aside for the Tour, but I’ve been reminded enough that it’s time to spell it out. I was in Europe at the time, having come over with my wife to visit a dear friend in Germany who had just barely survived a massive heart attack a few weeks before. He is an extremely strong man, former Olympian and many-time German national champion in judo who was almost never sick. He was one of the last people you might expect to suffer a heart attack, as is Hugh Walton, another

Next year is going to be a good one for tech-heads. We already have so much 2007 stuff to ride and talk about — and we’re still more than a month away from the season’s first trade show. The latest look ahead came this past week when Michael Zellmann, SRAM’s PR and media manager, visited VeloNews HQ in Boulder showing off SRAM’s new Force road group. At the Sea Otter classic in April, both Lennard Zinn and I had the opportunity to ride a pre-production version of the new components, which were very close to the finished product. The group Zellmann dropped off is from the first official

New Tour de France champion Floyd Landis leapt to second in the latestPro Tour standings released on Monday.The American's victory moves him to just 20 points behind leader AlejandroValverde of Spain, while Australian Cadel Evans's top five finish on theTour propelled him to sixth in the standings. Standings1. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) 195 points2. Floyd Landis (USA) 1753. Frank Schleck (LUX) 1504. Tom Boonen (BEL) 1455. Ivan Basso (ITA) 1386. Cadel Evans (AUS) 1207. Christophe Moreau (FRA) 1188. Jsrg Jaksche (GER) 1109. Alessandro Ballan (ITA) 11010. Damiano Cunego (ITA) 10611.

Full coverage of the 2006Tour de France

Scott “Iceman” Moninger (Health Net-Maxxis) returned to Mt. Evans to takehis sixth victory in the Bob Cook Memorial Hillclimb, dropping the seemingly ageless Ned Overend (Specialized) by five seconds on the final pitches. Local mainstay Mike Carter (Colorado Velo – Denver Spoke) and Navigator’s PhilZajicek came home in third and fourth respectively. This year’s race saw beautiful Colorado weather saw the mountain’s wildlifecome out to watch the race, with reports of marmots and mountain goatsplaying chicken on the road with the racers. Some of the pro racers entertained thoughts of

German star Jan Ullrich will not be welcomed back at the T-Mobile team that has sacked him due to doping allegations against him, even if he proves he is innocent. The German T-Mobile squad has confirmed that it has terminated its contract with Ullrich after the 1997 Tour de France champion made his dismissal public first. Ullrich, 32, was sacked on Thursday night, along with his Spanish teammate Oscar Sevilla. The two had been suspended due to their implication in the Spanish drugs investigation named “Operacíon Puerto.” And Ullrich slammed the team for the way it sacked him. “I am very

A Spanish judge upheld charges Thursday against two doctors at the center of a major doping investigation in cycling. The two doctors, Eufemiano Fuentes and Jose Merino Batres, reiterated their innocence while the court upheld the charges of crimes against public health. It is up to the provincial court to decide whether to order the doctors to stand trial or to drop the case. Five people - including Fuentes and Merino Batres - were arrested and charged in May when police seized drugs and frozen blood at a Madrid clinic. The samples were thought to have been prepared for

With 16 days of hard racing behind them, the peloton is headed for the last day in mountains. From a nutritional perspective, the biggest challenge of a three week stage race like the Tour de France is not only eating to achieve full muscle glycogen recovery off the bike, when riders have large team meals and recovery snacks available to them. But they must also meet the demands of glycogen depletion on the bike, an almost impossible task given the intricacies of race dynamics, stomach and intestinal tolerances, and the gargantuan fuel demands and fluid losses that occur during a

Aren’t aero’ covers on components a no-no?Dear Lennard,Floyd Landis's aerodynamic cranks have been described as both a "fairing" and a "cover." I thought aerodynamic covers on components isn't allowed.Steve Dear Steve,It isn’t allowed to have a cover on a component that is strictly for aerodynamics, but a cover can be made that serves an aerodynamic purpose while at the same time increasing the strength or rigidity of the component. That argument could be made with Floyd’s crank cover.Lennard How do they rig those aero-bar brakes?Dear Lennard,I've seen a brake lever on the CSC

After reachinghis 1000-mile goal in June, Major Jason Bryan gets to turn hisattention to other - more important - matters, like heading home. -EditorThis week I will return my bike to the same shipping container I removedit from ten months ago - a symbolic, bitter-sweet (more sweet than bitter)end to a dreadful, wonderful year.Below are a few reflections of my cycling experience and life in generalfor the deployed Soldier — a few observations you won’t get anywhere else.Third country nationals do most of the “undesirable” work around thecamp. They are always quick with a greeting and a smile,

Talk about close finishes. On the last day of the Cascade Cycling Classic, a circuit race held on a demanding 17-mile loop, Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) won a tiebreaker based on stage finishes against Jeff Louder (Health Net-Maxxis) to win the final overall classification. Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Kristen LaSasso (Lipton) maintained her 23-second lead over teammate Kristen Armstrong to take the overall victory. MenIn the men’s circuit race Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe’s) took the stage victory, out-dueling breakaway partners Glen Chadwick (Navigators), Aaron Olson (Saunier

As T-Mobile held a team press conference on the Tour de France’s second rest day ahead of three tough days in the Alps, Jan Ullrich released his own statement, saying he should be considered innocent of doping allegations until proven otherwise. T-Mobile suspended the 32-year-old German and teammate Oscar Sevilla after they were linked to a doctor in Spain said to have organized a blood-doping and performance-enhancing network. The inquiry, dubbed Operacíon Puerto, uncovered large amounts of doping substances, packs of frozen blood and a list with some 200 names of athletes. "In any state

After a double day of competition domestique riders Jeff Louder (Health Net-Maxxis) and Kristen LaSasso (Lipton) continue to lead the Cascade Cycling Classic. Saturday’s racing included a flat, 6.6-mile time trial in the morning and a technical, downtown criterium in the evening. Men’s time trialLouder rode bravely in the morning time trial to retain the leaders jersey by a scant nine seconds over his teammate Nathan O’Neill. O’Neill now sits in second place overall, with Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) moving down to third. Louder, who seemed a bit stunned by his performance, said being in

Good friends, albeit from different teams, took the spoils on Friday in the 87-mile men’s Cascade Lakes Road Race. Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators) won stage 3 of Oregon’s Cascade Cycling Classic while Jeff Louder (Health Net-Maxxis), his Salt Lake City friend and training partner, moved into the overall lead. In the 75-mile women’s race, which was staged at the base of Mount Bachelor, 12 miles down the road from the men’s start, Kristen Armstrong (Lipton) won a sprint finish from Dotsie Bausch (Colavita-Cooking Light) and Mara Abbot (Rio Grande). MenThe action in the men’s race started

Tom Zirbel (Priority Health) won Thursday’s 81-mile McKenzie Pass Road Race in dramatic fashion. Within a mile of the mountaintop finish, Zirbel launched an attack from a group of 12 riders, narrowly holding off second- and third-place finishers Sergey Lagutin (Navigators) and Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) at the line to claim victory in Stage 2 of the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Oregon. On the first day of competition for the women’s field, Kristen LaSasso (Lipton) rode solo across the line to take the victory by nearly two-minutes over breakaway partner Kirsten Robbins (Victory

Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) took the first stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic on Wednesday. Emerging from an 18-man group made up almost entirely of Toyota-United, Navigators and Health Net Maxxis riders, Wherry rode steadily up a steep, mile-long climb to the summit of Pilot Butte, a scenic overlook just outside downtown Bend. Sergey Lagutin (Navigators) and Jeff Louder (Health Net-Maxxis) finished second and third respectively, only seconds behind. The 91-mile Ironhorse-Brooks Resources Prineville road race started out calmly with only one escapee, Gordon McCauley (Successful Living),

Landis's drivetrain doesn't look standardDear Lennard,What's up with the crank used by Floyd Landis? And What about Landis's rear derailleur? It didn't look like a normal Record model.Chris Dear Chris,According to Francesco Zenere at Campagnolo, Landis's rear derailleur and Ergo Power levers are 2006 series Record models. And BMC made a special cover for Landis's Campy cranks for improved aerodynamic efficiency in time trials.Lennard What about Hincapie’s steerer in Paris-Roubaix?Dear Lennard,George Hincapie's bike had a blasted and black-anodized aluminum

Newly crowned national road champions Matt Cooke and Craig Lewis are celebrating their respective recent victories at the elite and under-23 road championships in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania. Cooke (LSV-Kelly Benefit Strategies) took the nation’s second-most prestigious road title on July 8 by attacking his two breakaway companions in the final meters of the hilly 176km road race, while on July 10 Lewis (TIAA-CREF) — who nearly died at the 2004 Dodge Tour de Georgia after he was struck by a vehicle — caught and passed teammate Steven Cozza in the final kilometer, leaving behind Priority

A dramatic and tactical U23 road race capped off a two-year comeback for Craig Lewis (TIAA-CREF) after the 21-year-old captured his first national championship in Monday’s 176km race at the 2006 USA Cycling National Festival at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, Pennsylvania. Lewis, a promising young pro whose career was put in jeopardy after a horrendous crash at the 2004 Tour de Georgia left him with two punctured lungs and 47 broken bones, marked his triumphant return with an emphatic stamp over a solid 125-rider field of emerging world-class cyclists. Lewis was part of a

The director of the T-Mobile cycling team has been fired because of allegations that he had been in contact with a Spanish doctor accused of doping. The T-Mobile team had already suspended sporting director Rudy Pevenage and riders Jan Ullrich and Oscar Sevilla after they allegedly had contact with Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, who is accused of being at the center of a blood-doping ring. Fuentes has been charged in Spain with crimes against public health. Spokesman Christian Frommert said Pevenage was fired Saturday because the evidence indicated that he had had contacts with Fuentes. "He told

Kristin Armstrong (Team Lipton) and Matt Cooke (LSV-Kelly Benefit Strategies) claimed the women’s and men’s elite road race titles Saturday at the USA Cycling National Festival at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, Pennsylvania. Armstrong, Thursday’s elite women’s national time trial champion, took the title at the line ahead of five riders in a sprint finish. Just one second behind Armstrong, Christine Thorburn (Webcor-Platinum) took second and Amber Neben (Buitenpoort/Flexpoint) took third in a photo finish. The final kilometer of the course featured a 250-meter climb before a

The first stars-and-stripes jerseys were handed out Thursday as time trial champions were crowned at the 2006 USA Cycling National Festival at Seven Springs. Kristin Armstrong (Team Lipton) defended her national title on the rolling, 30-kilometer course through Laurel Hill State Park by posting a time of 46 minutes and 46.07 seconds. Last year Armstrong placed third at the world championships, but the veteran time trialist called this year’s course "the hardest in my career." "I was like ‘Whoa, this is hard!’" Armstrong said of the unusually steep climbs and headwind on the return side of

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has dropped all defamation lawsuits in France over allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs, his French lawyers said. The cyclist made the decision after being vindicated by three other recent rulings in his favor, Donald Manasse and Christian Charriere-Bournazel said in a statement. "Mr Armstrong considers that his honor and reputation have been re-established for all people who examine the facts in good faith and that no further purpose is served now in pursuing other actions in defamation," they said. A defamation case against

Cycling politics and controversy aside, I’m stoked about the Tour deFrance. I sure hope OLN provides coverage to the American ForcesNetwork (AFN) so I can enjoy a few stages on television. We got everyvolley of the French Open and PLENTY of World Cup coverage; hopefully they’lldo the same for the TdF.The best part of all is the fact that the completion of “The Tour” willmark yet another milestone in the completion of “my tour.” When thepeloton crosses the finish line in Paris, I’ll be that much closer to achievingmy ultimate goal… going home.Our softball team is now gimp with pulled

I was struck when reading this question about what a strange world some of us cyclists live in, where bodily encounters with solid objects and even riding over fallen riders are commonplace. It got me thinking in the wee hours not only about bicycle geometry, which was the original gist of the question, but also about bruising, inflammation, Tyler Hamilton’s lower back and heart attacks! Now, either these are more closely connected than we may think, or maybe I should do more sleeping and less pondering in the wee hours, as connections between divergent thoughts that seem so profound long

Former cycling trainer Freddy Sergant was sentenced to four years in jail Monday in a trial centered on a doping ring that supplied a cocktail of amphetamines, cocaine and heroin to riders in France and Belgium. Sergant received the harshest of 23 sentences, with none of the defendants escaping punishment. The sentencing comes amid a scandal that threw the Tour de France into chaos on the eve of the race. Several top cyclists were withdrawn Friday because of a doping investigation in Spain. Sergant, a Belgian believed to be the key figure, also was fined more than $230,000. His wife,

The following riders were named in the ongoing Opera?ion Puerto doping case by Spanish investigators on Thursday:

Astaná-Würth
Michele Scarponi (I)
Marcos Antonio Serrano (Sp)
David Etxebarria (Sp)
Joseba Beloki (Sp)
Angel Vicioso (Sp)
Isidro Nozal (Sp)
Unai Osa (Sp)
Jörg Jaksche (G)
Giampaolo Caruso (I)

CSC
Ivan Basso (I)

Caisse D'Epargne-Iles Baleares
Constantino Zaballa (Sp)

Saunier Duval
Carlos Zarate (Sp)

Ag2r
Francisco Mancebo (Sp)

Pre-race favorite Jan Ullrich got the green light to start the Tour de France because accusations linking him to a growing Spanish doping inquiry were deemed too weak to keep the 1997 champ out of the race, officials said. “For the Tour de France, for now, there is no problem with Ullrich,” Tour spokesman Philippe Sudres told The Associated Press, who added the Tour would reconsider if more evidence becomes available. “He has not been formally identified.” Tour officials notified T-Mobile representatives that allegations made against Ullrich and teammate Oscar Sevilla in a series of damning

Tour de France officials and representatives from Astaná-Würth are both taking their cases to the Court of Arbitration in Sport following Monday’s request by Tour organizer ASO to kick the scandal-stained Astaná-Würth out of Saturday’s start of the 2006 Tour. Tour officials sent faxes to Astaná-Würth as well as to the UCI and representatives of the professional teams association Monday after indicating the the Spanish team – formerly Liberty Seguros-Würth – was no longer welcome for the 93rd Tour, set to start Saturday with a prologue in Strasbourg. The decision was precipitated by a string

Just days before the start of the Tour de France, former winner Jan Ullrich has been dragged into Spain's blood-doping scandal. Spanish newspaper El País claimed Monday that documents found in a raid ona laboratory run by tainted doctor Eufemiano Fuentes could relate to the 1997 champion. However Ullrich said in a team statement: "That has nothing to do with me," and his T-Mobile sporting director and mentor Rudy Pevenage added: "We have done nothing wrong." T-Mobile's director of communication Christian Frommert added: "These are serious accustions. We are in contact with all the

On the eve of his sixth Tour de France start, Fred Rodriguez wants to giveback what he’s been fortunate enough to experience at the highest levels.The 32-year-old Californian is doing more than just winning races in Europeand the United States. (see Part1 of Andrew Hood's interview with Rodriguez.) Working with his Fast Freddy Foundation, Rodriguez is hoping to help young American cyclists to be able to develop their racing skills and still stay in school. Rodriguez wants to boost collegiate racing and development programsso riders won’t have to make the choice that he and so many of

It was a busy weekend in Europe as most nations held their respective national road championships. The main exception was in Spain, where riders refused to race after leaks concerning the doping investigation "Operación Puerto" were published Sunday in a national newspaper (see below). In Italy, Paolo Bettini won his second national jersey since 2003 on a 231km course in Gorizia. The Quick Step rider beat Mirko Celestino (Milram) in a sprint of 10 riders after animating the race with an attack over the San Floriano climb. "This is one of the most beautiful victories of my career," Bettini

All 20 cyclists on a Spanish cycling team expelled from next month's Tour de France voluntarily gave blood tests Monday, looking to clear their names in a nationwide doping scandal. "The cyclists are fed up with being mistreated," Comunidad Valenciana team director Vicente Belda said. "They are innocent and there is no reason for all cyclists to be lumped together." Comunidad Valenciana was tossed from the Tour de France, which begins July 1, after deputy director Jose Ignacio Labarta was arrested as part of the investigation. The blood tests taken Monday will be compared with those

Race officials don’t want Astaná-Würth to take Saturday’s start of the 93rd Tour de France following damning reports this weekend in a Spanish newspaper that linked as many as 15 of the team’s riders to a Spanish doctor under investigation on doping charges. Astaná-Würth team manager Pablo Anton confirmed to Spanish sports daily AS late Monday evening that officials from Tour organizer ASO faxed the team a letter saying it is no longer welcome to participate in the race despite a guaranteed start position as part of the 20-team ProTour league. Anton is preparing to challenge the decision to

June total at week’s end: 1,250 km, leaving me with 350 km to achieve the 1,600 km (1,000 mile) goal. With five days remaining in June (roughly 19 circuits), this is going to be tight. I’ll provide the final report for June next week; unless I didn’t make it, then you’ll never hear from me again. The intramural softball league is killing my distance numbers, with three game nights a week, right in the middle of prime riding time (twilight). Oddly enough, work has no impact on my miles-- the daily 12 hour inferno aligns pleasantly with my air conditioned staff job. The primary reason I

Fred Rodriguez will be lining up Saturday in Strasbourg for what will be the sixth Tour de France start of his career. Since joining Mapei in 1999, the 32-year-old Californian has established himself as one of the top American pros in the European peloton. His Davitamon-Lotto team might be Belgian in its roots, but its two team leaders – Robbie McEwen and Cadel Evans – are Aussies while Rodriguez and top lieutenant Chris Horner are both Americans. Rodriguez returns to his role of helping position McEwen in the sprints, but doesn’t discount opportunities for himself. Last year, Rodriguez

Australia’s Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance) won a wild, 40-rider pack sprint on Saturday to take the Saturn Rochester Twilight Criterium. In the women’s race, Sarah Uhl, the reigning collegiate national road champion, won a three-up dash to the line. Now in its third year, the New York crit is on USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar. With a crowd estimated at 40,000, and $20,000 on the line in the pro-am men’s race, it earned its spot in the limelight. In the fading evening sun, 102 riders started the two-hour pro-am men’s race. It was game on from lap one, with teams including Kodak

Saturday’s final stage of the Tour de Nez, the Reno Criterium, was filled with surprises and upsets. Successful Living’s Curtis Gunn outsprinted Christian Valenzuela (Monex) for the win, while Tony Cruz (Toyota-United) took the field sprint for third, earning the points needed to secure the omnium victory. Karl Menzies (Health Net-Maxxis), who crashed in the field sprint, wound up second in the omnium. Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) took third. The 90-minute finale featured a 0.8-mile course through downtown Reno. Each lap, riders negotiated 10 turns, including a downhill chicane that led

Former Tour de France champion Greg LeMond alleged Sunday that Lance Armstrong threatened him for having criticized the seven-time race winner's association with a doctor implicated in doping affairs. LeMond, the first American to win the Tour — he won in 1986, 1989 and 1990 — said that he had come under pressure from Armstrong and his circle of friends after saying in 2001 that he was disappointed at the cyclist's association with Italian sports doctor Michele Ferrari. LeMond said that the threats continued after 2001. "Lance threatened me. He threatened my wife, my business, my

It was a busy weekend in Europe as most nations held their respective national title championships ahead. The main exception was in Spain, where riders held a strike and refused to race after leaks concerning the doping investigation “Operación Puerto” were published Sunday in a national newspaper (see below). In Italy, Paolo Bettini won his second national jersey since 2003 on a 231km course in Gorizia. The Quick Step rider beat Mirko Celestino (Milram) in a sprint of 10 riders after animating the race with an attack over the San Floriano climb. “This is one of the most beautiful victories

Any doubts about George Hincapie’s Tour de France form after an injury forced him to miss nearly two months of racing this spring were erased by a solid 10th-place finish at the Dauphiné Libéré stage race in early June. Hincapie, who suffered a separated shoulder and torn tendons in a crash at Paris-Roubaix in early April, followed his Dauphiné performance by helping his Discovery Channel team power to a second-place finish at last Sunday’s ProTour team time trial race in The Netherlands. And this week the American, who has been named by Discovery Channel director Johan Bruyneel as one of

Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) racked up an impressive win with his solo victory in Friday’s grueling 108-mile Tahoe Road Race, Stage 3 of the Tour de Nez. Wherry was followed by Aaron Olsen (Saunier Duval) and Michael Carter (Team Einstein’s Cycling), who came in together, roughly three and a half minutes off the pace. Finishing fourth a few minutes later was Jelly Belly’s Alex Candelario (a man more-often known for his sprinting talents than road-racing prowess). Tom Zirbel (Priority Health) rounded out the top five, winning the bunch sprint over what was left of the main field, about 20

Fred Rodriguez and Chris Horner are both heading back to the Tour de France as Davitamon-Lotto announced its nine-man Tour roster. Both Americans have known all season that the Tour was on the radar, with Rodriguez expected to lead out Robbie McEwen in the sprints and Horner to watch out for Cadel Evans in the mountains. “If I can get him in the right place, chances are we’ll win,” Rodriguez told VeloNews about McEwen. “Robbie has such a snap. I cannot think of any other sprinter in the peloton that has Robbie’s snap and the endurance to be there. … If you get him into the 200 meters fresh,

Karl Menzies (Health Net-Maxxis) outkicked Tony Cruz (Toyota-United) and Andrew Bajadali (Jelly Belly) to win stage 2 of the Tour de Nez on Thursday. The fast, flat, six-corner 1km criterium in downtown Truckee was strung out from the start. And with the first 20 minutes of the hourlong race fraught with numerous crashes, the rear two-thirds of the field shattered in short order; officials eventually pulled 82 riders from the race. Up front, the lead group of 36 included most all the top competitors. Over the next 20 minutes, Toyota-United, Jelly Belly, and Health Net-Maxxis all tried to

While all 21 teams have yet to announce their official Tour de France rosters, it appears that eight Americans will be lining up July 1 in Strasbourg for the start of the 93rd Tour. Reflecting a growing depth and diversity among the American contingent in Europe, the eight riders are represented by five teams while three of them will be racing with legitimate chances for the final podium when the Tour ends July 23 in Paris. Ninth last year, Floyd Landis (Phonak) is getting the most hype among the European press as the American most likely to succeed Lance Armstrong in the Tour hierarchy.