Road

Italy's Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) sprinted to victory in the first stage of the 41st Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday. Bettini, who won the 2004 edition of the race, outsped Germany's Erik Zabel (Milram) and Norway's Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) to take the opener, a 167km stage around the Tivoli region. "Last year I suffered in this race because I'd had a lot of health problems. This year my form is much better, and I've shown it," Bettini said afterward. "I have to thank my teammates because they did a great job helping me on the climb to the finish. "Winning is

In its 19th year the Taipei International Cycle Show opened on Wednesday, offering product managers from around the globe a four-day opportunity to put the finishing touches on their 2007 product lines. Held in the Taipei World Trade Center, the show’s first day offered many of us a look at some interesting new items. Here are some of the highlights. SRAMThough the SRAM PR machine has been carefully doling out bits of information regarding its new road group, it seems SRAM has been using the new group’s release to divert attention from the rest of the line. The mountain components appear

Three-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) headlines an all-star field for Tirreno-Adriatico set to begin Wednesday in Tivoli along Italy’s western coast. The race of “due mari” pushes east across the middle of the Italian peninsula and serves as an ideal proving ground for contenders for Milan-San Remo. Among the former MSR winners taking the start include Freire, Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel (Milram) and Paolo Bettini (Quick Step). Other big names include Michael Boogerd and Erik Dekker (Rabobank), 2003 world champ Igor Astarloa (Barloworld), last year's Tour green jersey

Editor’s note: A report in the Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph, also posted at VeloNews.com on March 2 (see "UCI: No sanction for Armstrong over EPO charges"), requires clarification regarding the UCI’s handling of doping control forms that were obtained by L’Equipe and published in an August 23 story under the headline "The Armstrong Lie." A UCI official pointed out that while the forms obtained by L’Equipe were copies of UCI doping control forms from the 1999 Tour de France, they were not copies of positive test results. Below is a corrected version of the report: While the UCI

No offense to Allan Davis or anyone else in Tuesday’s finish line dash, but it’s going to take more than a good try to stop Tom Boonen. The reigning world champion sprang to his second consecutive victory in Paris-Nice in Tuesday’s hilly 200km second stage and widened his lead to 17 seconds over prologue winner Bobby Julich (CSC). The Quick Step-Innergetic train did nice work to set up the mass gallop after reeling in a long breakaway by French rider Nicolas Crosbie (Agritubel). Boonen made easy work of relegating Davis to a consecutive second-place and earned his ninth win on the 2006

Christian Vande Velde (CSC) was forced to abandon the 64th Paris-Nice after crashing hard on his left shoulder in a tumble in Tuesday’s hilly second stage. X-rays later showed that there was no break in his clavicle and Vande Velde was optimistic that he could be back on the bike in time to start his next scheduled race, Criterium International, at the end of March. "There’s nothing broken, that’s the good news," Vande Velde told VeloNews via telephone. "It hurts pretty bad, though. When you get to know your body pretty well, you know when something’s not right." Vande Velde said he

Bobby Julich is one-for-one in Europe so far in the 2006 season, ripping to a narrow victory in Sunday’s opening prologue of the 64th Paris-Nice. “I simply had killer legs,” he recounted on the team’s web page. “The route suited me perfectly and I really had the feeling that I was fast. It was a special feeling to start as the last one and be able to keep everyone behind me. It's always a great feeling to win and it's quite a good statistic to kick off my European season: one start – one win!” Julich expressed surprise at his condition in a race where he didn’t expect to challenge

The rainbow jersey curse has yet to strike Tom Boonen so far this year. The reigning world champion put down a textbook-perfect sprint to win Monday’s first stage of Paris-Nice and snatch the yellow jersey away from Bobby Julich (CSC) thanks to time bonuses. It was Boonen’s eighth win in the young 2006 season, and the Belgian was already looking ahead to the spring classics moments after slamming the door shut on Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros). "It’s good to have won the stage because now I can take it easy until the end of Paris-Nice," Boonen told reporters. "For me, this race is ideal

I just returned to a very snow-covered Zürich after spending the last week at training camp in Italy. Luckily we rode loads of kilometers while in Italy, otherwise I think I’d be freaking out with this weather. It’s currently minus-4 Celsius with a 16kph wind and snowing. We were really lucky with the weather in Italy. It wasn’t exactly California, but for Europe in the end of February, it wasn’t bad at all. We only rode in the rain on the first day. Luckily, the only objective during that ride was to flush our legs from the long drive. The next day was when the kilometers started stacking

Olympic pursuit champion Sarah Ulmer produced a stunning solo ride to demolish a class international field in the second round of the women's World Cup road cycling series Sunday. Ulmer, who switched to road racing less than a year ago, proved peerless against a field containing riders with numerous Olympic and world titles. Among those left in her wake were the world's top three road riders in 2005 - Australia's Oenone Wood, Sweden's Susanne Ljungskog and Germany's Judith Arndt. Ulmer clocked three hours 16 minutes 45 seconds for the 124-kilometer race on an inner-city

Mike Jones (Health Net-Maxxis) and Laura Charameda (McGuire Cycling) won the McLane Pacific Cycling Classic Downtown Grand Prix on Saturday. The race was run on a flat, fast, 0.8-mile loop in downtown Merced, California. In the men’s race, Jones soloed to victory ahead of Jackson Stewart (Kodakgallery.com-Sierra Nevada) and Mark McCormack (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home). It was a good day for Health Net, which put four riders into the top 10, including last year’s winner, Gord Fraser. The new Toyota-United Pro squad was right behind them, with three of the top 10, including Juan Jose

Santos González (3 Molinas) sewed up his first career stage-racevictory Sunday after finishing safely in the bunch in the final stage ofthe five-day Vuelta a Murcia.German wunderkind Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner) out-kicked ArielRicheze (Panaria) to claim his second stage of the Spanish race in a masssprint despite heavy winds that forced race organizers to neutralize partof the course.New Discovery Channel rider Egoi Martínez featured in a five-manescape that pulled away at 22km to build up a 2:30 lead at 80km. The movewas neutralized at 112km, just before heavy winds

Defending champion Bobby Julich (Team CSC) roared to victory Sunday in the 4.8km opening prologue of the 64th Paris-Nice on a day he didn’t expect to win. Julich – who enjoyed his best season last year with wins at Paris-Nice, Criterium International and the Tour of Benelux – said earlier this year he wouldn’t be chasing the smaller races, but that could change very quickly. “This is a surprise win for me today because this was not among my main goals this season,” Julich told reporters. “I only came here to gear up for other objectives later in the year.” Emboldened by the sensations of

Carlos Garcia Quesada (Unibet.com) won the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Murcia on Saturday as Santos González (3 Molinos Resort) seized the overall lead from Jose Iván Gutiérrez (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) with just one stage remaining. Garcia Quesada edged Italian Damiano Cunego (Lampre) in the final meters of the 146.6km stage from Caravaca to Collado Bermejo, which featured a trio of Category 1 climbs. Gutiérrez, who assumed the leader’s yellow jersey after winning the Stage 3 individual time trial, could not counter the attacks from the climbers despite the help of teammates

Tom Boonen has been enjoying some quality training sessions around his new home in Monaco and hopes to roll into Sunday’s start of Paris-Nice ready to pop for a win or two during the eight-day “Race to the Sun.” “The weather is great and the area in and around Monaco is perfect for this important training as there are some good up hill sections,” Boonen said in a Quick Step-Innergetic release. “My teammates Kevin Hulsmans, Kevin Van Impe and Steven De Jongh have also joined me here in Monaco. It’s certainly more fun and stimulating training together.” The reigning world champion will head

Aussie Anna Meares outfought American Jennie Reed to take the gold medal in the sprint on Friday at the fourth and final round of the UCI World Cup Series, being staged at Sydney's Dunc Gray Velodrome through Sunday. The Athens Olympic time trial champion, who qualified fourth fastest, claimed the victory without conceding a single race, winning every match along the way. In the semi-finals Meares defeated Tamilla Abassova of Russia, the 2005 world championship silver medalist, to set up her gold-medal showdown with Reed. In their first match, Meares attacked from the front and Reed was

In what’s sure to be one of the most-watched comebacks in recent racing history, David Millar is expected to roll down the start ramp for the opening prologue of the 2006 Tour de France on July 1, just days after his two-year racing ban ends. Some think the former world time trial champion - who admitted to French police in June, 2004, he took the banned blood booster EPO en route to some of his biggest victories – should never race again. Others, however, believe Millar can return to the elite of the sport as a clean rider. Millar has promised as much in a pair of emotional testaments at

José Iván Gutiérrez (Illes Balears) surged into the overall lead at the Vuelta a Murcia on Friday after ripping through an impressive early season win in the 21.3km individual time trial. Gutiérrez – a four-time Spanish national time trial champion and world championship silver medalist last year in Madrid – showed off the best time-trial position of any Spanish rider going, taking more than 1 minute out of teammate Alejandro Valverde during Stage 3. Also showing good early season form was Alexandre Vinokourov, making his presence felt for the first time this season with a strong

After Ben Jacques-Mayne’s weeklong real-world test during last week’s Amgen Tour of California, SRAM’s new professional 10-speed road group comes one step closer to going public. While the group has been making waves since last fall’s EuroBike trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, SRAM did a good job of keeping its name — Force — under wraps. Now, with the name out there, the group once again steals the spotlight on its way to the retail market. The svelte shifters, newly designed carbon cranks and carbon-infused rear derailleur are the pro group’s highlights. The intentions to produce

Alejandro Valverde, the Spanish sensation who’s getting cartloads of hype back home, admits he’s starting to feel the pressure still four months away from the start of the Tour de France. Valverde, who nipped Lance Armstrong in a climbing stage up Courchevel before abandoning his Tour debut last year, said he hopes he can live up to expectations among Spanish fans and media. “I am starting to note the pressure, and to tell the truth, I am a little scared, but I am working so that everything turns out okay.” Valverde told the Spanish sports daily Marca. Valverde has been unofficially

It was early March and the questions were already beginning: When was Alejandro Valverde going to win his first race of the season? The Spanish sensation usually roars out of the gate, as he did two years ago when he won a stage just hours after getting off a plane at the Mallorca Challenge in February. This year, Valverde is taking aim at bigger fish, but the 25-year-old couldn’t help himself when he smelled the finish line in the bumpy 172.4km second stage of the Vuelta a Murcia. Following the wheel of compatriot Santos González (3 Molinas) over the Cat. 1 climb some 16km from the finish

Lance Armstrong will not face any penalty stemming from allegations that he used EPO in the 1999 Tour de France, according to the UCI. The UCI has told The Daily Telegraph that it did not dispute the test results published last year in the French newspaper L'Equipe "The UCI does not deny the validity of the six forms printed in L'Equipe," said UCI president Pat McQuaid. "The six tests which were printed in L'Equipe were among the 15 given out by (Dr. Mario) Zorzoli." Zorzoli, the UCI’s chief medical officer, stepped down this week after admitting to giving the L'Equipe

Pressure washDear Lennard,Just wondering about a brief explanation on the “dos and don’ts” associatedwith bike cleaning and pressure washers. There seems to me to be two schoolsof thoughts around this and that pressure washers are a "no-no" that canruin components -specifically bearings, yet we see a lot of pro teams mechanicscleaning their teams bikes using stands and pressure washers? What areyour recommendations using pressure washers and some simple rules?DaveCanada (land of road salt and sand!)Dear Dave,My recommendation, in general, is to stay away from power washers.Of course, there

Following SRAM’s European OEM camp in the hills above Malaga, Spain, photos of the new 2007 X.9 derailleur and shifters were leaked to European websites. In an effort to squelch rumors and hearsay, SRAM confirmed the redesign, releasing minimal information and photos of the components in question. SRAM’s official release follows: Here's some buzz that just leaked out. A well-positioned photographer snapped some sneak peeks of some of our new X.9 gear! Complete details will be released at Sea Otter. SRAM recently held a private test session in the remote hills of Malaga, Spain, where

Fresh off a podium finish at the Tour of California, defending champion Bobby Julich (CSC) heads an international field for Paris-Nice, March 5-12. Team CSC will come with a stacked squad that also includes fellow California podium-finisher David Zabriskie, compatriot Christian Vande Velde, Jens Voigt, Frank Schleck, Michael Blaudzun, Andrea Peron and Vuelta a España podium-man Carlos Sastre. Other North Americans on the preliminary start list released Wednesday by race organizers include Floyd Landis (Phonak), fresh off his overall victory in the Tour of California; Chris Horner

Spanish roads must remind Heinrich Haussler of his native Australia, because the young Gerolsteiner rider took another impressive victory in the attack-heavy opener of the Tour of Murcia on Wednesday. Haussler, whose father is German and mother is Australian, was raised Down Under until he left for Germany at 14 to chase his dream of becoming a professional racer. That dream turned into reality when Gerolsteiner signed him to a two-year deal last year and he quickly repaid the favor, winning a stage in last year’s Vuelta a España. Haussler, who turned 22 last weekend, easily outkicked Ariel

Continental teams Ceramica Panaria-Navigare and Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni each nabbed wild-card bids to ride alongside 20 ProTour teams for the upcoming Giro d’Italia, race organizers announced this week. Panaria made a splash two years ago when Italian up-and-comer Emanuele Sella, then a 23-year-old neo-pro, won a stage early in the 2004 Giro. Last year, Selle Italia was a major force, scoring stage-wins with Jose Rujano and Ivan Parra as well as a surprising third-place podium overall for Rujano. The two continental teams will battle against the established favorites, with

Final overall 1. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 22:46:46 2. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, 0:29 3. Bobby Julich (USA), CSC, 0:34 4. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling, 0:45 5. Nathan O'Neill (Aus), Health Net Maxxis, 1:08 6. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner, 1:10 7. Cadel Evans (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 1:29 8. Thomas Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling, 1:49 9. Christian Vande Velde (USA), CSC, 1:55 10. Jason McCartney (USA), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling, 1:58

Ten-time German national champion, Ina Teutenberg, 31, (T-Mobile) claimed opening honors for the 2006 UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup Series with a sprint victory on the 119km (eight lap) course in Geelong, Australia, on Sunday. Teutenberg proved too powerful over the final 200 meters holding off Japan's Miho Oki (Nobili Rubinetterie) and 2006 Australian road champion, Kate Bates (Team Nürnberger) who collected the minor placings. "Winning the first world cup it doesn't go any better," said Teutenberg after the race. " The team can relax now a little bit until we go back to

Belgian Nick Nuyens (Quick Step) soloed to victory in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday, crossing seconds ahead of Leif Hoste and Tom Boonen. The 25-year-old Nuyens made a key move 3km from the finish of the 194km race, attacking a nine-man break as the others marked his teammate, world champion Boonen, who seemed very much in form, often creating the selection in key sections of the course. "The team did formidable work all day. Having numerical superiority in the lead group, we controlled the finale very well," said Nuyens. "Everyone was watching Tom. I benefited from this and got

It's been a remarkable week in California, as the premiere edition of the Amgen Tour of California was blessed with fine spring weather, more than a million fans and strong support throughout the Golden State. Casey Gibson has followed the race throughout and was there to document activities before, during and after Sunday's final stage.

The inaugural Amgen Tour of California is one for the books, and for two riders, it couldn’t have ended better. Saturday’s field-sprint winner, T-Mobile’s Olaf Pollack, narrowly edged out another tour double-stage winner, J.J. Haedo of Toyota-United, to win the final stage Sunday, a 76.5-mile circuit race in Redondo Beach. Pollack's teammate Andre Greipel rounded out the podium.

Belgian Philippe Gilbert won the 61st edition of the Omloop Het Volk on Saturday over 202km between Gent and Lokeren in Belgium. The Française des Jeux rider beat compatriot Bert De Waele of Landbouwkrediet in the opening classic of the season in Belgium, with the Netherlands' Leon Van Bon of Davitamon taking third place. "This is the best victory of my young career," said an overjoyed Gilbert. "It's incredible. This morning I didn't feel 100 percent. I was a little bit ill these last few days but I was very motivated."

The Amgen Tour of California visited the home campus of its name sponsor Saturday as Phonak's Floyd Landis edged yet another day closer to locking up the overall title. While the peloton made it to Amgen world headquarters for a visit, it was another sponsor of cycling that was able to celebrate a win, as T-Mobile's Olaf Pollack sped across the line ahead of Italian Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and American Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) astride his Giant road bike... just a few kilometers from that company's corporate HQ. Sponsorship hopes aside, our man Casey Gibson

In a blur of pink, T-Mobile’s Olaf Pollack streaked across the finish line at the Amgen corporate campus in Thousand Oaks, upsetting a hard-charging field to win stage 6 of the Amgen Tour of California on Saturday. It was the first victory of the season for Pollack’s German T-Mobile squad, and a nice present for T-Mobile's bike sponsor, Giant, whose USA headquarters lies just two miles from the finish line.

Belgian Tom Boonen (Quick Step) is widely considered the man to beat in Saturday’s 61st running of Het Volk. The world champion, who says he is not yet at 100 percent, picks compatriot Peter van Petegem (Davitamon-Lotto) as his main rival for the 201km Belgian season-opener. Should the race come down to a sprint, Boonen will have to be wary of Van Petegem’s Aussie teammate, speedster Robbie McEwen. And Boonen’s teammate Nick Nuyen, who won Het Volk last year, could benefit from all the attention certain to be paid to his team leader. This year's race will feature 14 ProTour teams and

Stage 5 of the Amgen Tour of California was a busy one. Gerolsteiner's Levi Leipheimer and Discovery's George Hincapie both took their best shots at Floyd Landis, but the race leader and his Phonak team just rolled with the punches. And while their efforts paid off in lesser coin, with Leipheimer wearing the climber's jersey and Hincapie winning his second stage, it was Landis who pulled on the golden leader's jersey once again at day's end. Ace shooter Casey Gibson was there to capture the action; here's what he saw.

It hasn’t been easy for Floyd Landis and his Phonak team to defend his lead in the Amgen Tour of California for the past two days, but with the week’s major climbs now completed he’s almost ready to be crowned the historic first winner of America’s richest-ever race. Like Landis, Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie has used the new event to open his season in confident form, adding the stage victory in Santa Barbara Friday three days after he scored a similar success in San José.

Perfect weather, postcard scenery and a long day in the saddle marked the Amgen Tour of California’s fourth stage, from Monterey to San Luis Obispo, on Thursday. After 131 miles — 140 miles, to be exact, after a 9-mile neutralized parade section through Monterey — Toyota-United’s Argentinean sprinter Juan Jose Haedo, winner of stage 1 in Santa Rosa, proved he’s the man to beat in fast finishes at this tour, crossing the line ahead of Davitamon-Lotto’s Fred Rodriguez.

The world’s No. 1-ranked rider, Oenone Wood, (Team Nürnberger) has won Australia’s Geelong Tour for the third straight year finishing the four stage three day race five seconds clear of second placed Melissa Holt of New Zealand with Russian Svetlana Bubnenkova taking third. Wood went into Thursday's final stage, a 114km ride out and back from Lara, with a ten second margin over Holt and her defense of the lead was made slightly easier by the withdrawal of Austrian Christiane Soeder who had been ranked second at nine seconds but did not line up for the final stage. "I don't think it

"Everywhere you look is another great scenic," says photographer Casey Gibson, who is covering the Amgen Tour of California. And today was no exception, as the peloton rolled from Monterey down the California coast and inland to San Luis Obispo. Enjoy.

Five minutes after he crossed the line in a blur, warmed down, pulled up to his Phonak team soigneur for a jacket, and signed some autographs for a couple of fans, Floyd Landis was ready to talk. He was anxious to find out how he had done in the crucial 27km time trial stage of the Amgen Tour of California. "Did I get it?" he asked his team helper. "We’ll find out in a minute," he was told, knowing he had already beaten stage favorite Dave Zabriskie of CSC by half a minute and that Discovery Channel’s race leader George Hincapie was about to finish.

The world's No. 1 ranked rider, Oenone Wood, (Team Nurnberger) has taken over the lead in Australia's Geelong Tour after Wednesday's incident-packed third stage at Barwon Heads on Victoria's Surfcoast. Wood, the defending Tour champion, went into the 76km stage - five laps of a scenic coastal circuit - trailing overnight leader, Austrian Christiane Soeder (Univega) by three seconds but with sprint bonuses on offer through four intermediate sprints and for the stage finish, Wood used her speed to snatch the leader's purple jersey from her overseas rival. Wood won the

George Hincapie of the Discovery Channel team lit up the Amgen Tour of California stage race on Tuesday with an electrifying sprint win in downtown San Jose. Hincapie’s win came with a 10-second time bonus, which leapfrogged him past race leader Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and into the golden race leader’s jersey.

Austrian Christiane Soeder (Univega) claimed opening honors in stage one of the Geelong Tour Tuesday, an 8km time trial at bayside Portarlington. Soeder, who in a former sporting career claimed the German title in 800m and 1500m running and has medaled twice at the World Duathlon Championships, posted a time of 11:07.510c to defeat Russian Svetlana Bubnenkova by five seconds with New Zealand's Melissa Holt third in 11:12.820. Soeder, a qualified doctor, has been in Australia during the summer to take advantage of the good weather and training conditions in her bid to be in top form this

The overall lead changed hands at the Tour of California on Tuesday as George Hincapie and his Discovery Channel teammates took command of the95-mile stage to San Jose, at precisely the point most would have predicted. Designated as the make-or-break mark in the stage, the steep climb up Sierra Road rose 1800 feet in just 3.8 miles for an average pitch of 10 percent, with a couple of points along the way hitting 16 percent. As always, photographer Casey Gibson was there to record the action from start to finish. Yesterday's Gallery

Sunshine and blue skies marked Sunday's finale to the 14th annual John Earley Memorial Valley of the Sun Stage Race, the Landis Cyclery Downtown Capital Criterium in Phoenix. Attacks and breaks were the order of the day in both men’s and women’s races, run on a 1.6km, figure-eight course at Wesley Bolen Plaza, but nothing stuck. In the 70-minute men’s crit, Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe’s) proved best of the bunch, taking the win ahead of Emile Abraham (AEG-Toshiba-JetNet) and Wes Hartman (Targetraining). The 40-minute women’s crit went to Laura Downey (America’s Dairyland), who outkicked

It didn’t take long for the upstart Toyota-United team to make an impact on the American road-racing scene. Just a couple of weeks after announcing its team name and roster, Toyota-United’s four-time Argentinean champion, Juan Jose Haedo, scored the biggest win of his career in Monday’s opening road stage at the Amgen Tour of California, an 81.5-mile jaunt north from Sausalito to Santa Rosa.

The Tour of California hit the roads north of San Francisco on Monday, heading out of Sausalito to cover a scemic route up the coast and into Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County. Toyota-United's four-time Argentinean champion, Juan Jose Haedo savored his new team's first-ever victory. By winning Sunday's prologue time trial, local star Levi Leipheimer made certain that he would be dressed perfectly as he rode into his home town. Photographer Casey Gibson was there from start to finish.

Mendefera, Eritrea (AFP) - Nearly 100 brightly dressed riders set out this weekend on the first stage of the sixth annual Tour of Eritrea, the cycling mad east African nation's premier sporting event. In a competition known as much for athletic prowess as oppressive heat and obstacles like rock-throwing baboons and malingering camels along a blistering course, the riders left the capital on Saturday on the nine-day race. Professionals and amateurs, Eritreans and foreigners are competing in this year's tour as they have in the five previous ones, all legacies of the Italian colonial

Stage two of the 14th annual John Earley Memorial Valley of the Sun Stage Race was a day for the sprinters to shine. The Trek Road Race near Casa Grande, run on a rolling 16-mile loop with 470 feet of climbing per lap, saw Geri Mewett (Hincapie Sports) take the victory in the men’s 89-mile race. Curtis Gunn (Team Successful Living) and Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe's) were second and third in the same time. Time-trial winner Tom Zirbel (Priority Health) finished in the bunch and held onto his overall lead. In the 57-mile women’s race, Erin Mirabella (Bicycle Johns) outkicked Miranda Duff

The big names of American road racing made their message loud and clear at Sunday’s opening day of the Amgen Tour of California. Led by Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer — one of a handful of homegrown stage racers being touted as hopefuls to take the torch from the recently retired Lance Armstrong — American riders swept the top-five of the 1.9-mile prologue in scenic San Francisco.

The idea is not new. In fact, there was a Tour of California held as long ago as 1971. And in the three decades since then, various proposals have come and gone. One of them, which had the State of California’s backing, even got as far as an organizer being hired and a course being approved. But the race announced by the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) last March 25 finally had all the elements required to put this second Tour of California on the road. Clearly, if an event is going to succeed there has to be a need for it. That need is just as pressing today as it was in 1971, when

The 14th annual John Earley Memorial Valley of the Sun Stage Race got under way outside Phoenix on Friday, though the sun failed to make an appearance. Despite windy, chilly and dry conditions, 930 riders turned out for the opening Buckeye Time Trial, a 12-mile race at Sun Valley Parkway, west of Phoenix. Tom Zirbel (Priority Health Cycling) took the opener in 29:25. Curtis Gunn (Team Successful Living) was second at 33 seconds slower with defending champion Ryan Blickem (Targetraining) third at 39 seconds. In the women's race, Andrea Ratkovic (B1 Rocks) took top honors with a fast

Belgian Gert Steegmans (Davitamon) won his second stage of the Tour de l'Algarve on Saturday and donned the leader’s yellow jersey. Steegmans outsprinted Germans Robert Förster (Gerolsteiner) and Thomas Ziegler (T-Mobile) to claim the fourth stage, a 174.5km leg between Lagoa and Portimao. The fifth and final stage will be a 183.4km run between Vila Real Santo Antonio and Alto de Malhao à Loulé. Stage1. Gert Steegmans (B), Davitamon, 174.5km in 4:39:26 (37,469 km/h)2. Robert Förster (G), Gerolsteiner, same time3. Thomas Ziegler (G), T-Mobile, s.t.4. Markus Zberg (Swi), Gerolsteiner,

The 16 teams that will be racing the inaugural Amgen Tour of California were presented Friday during a fund-raising gala in Sausalito. The evening featured dinner, dancing, a fashion show and a silent auction, with the proceeds to benefit Trips for Kids, the Marin County Bicycle Coalition and Bikes for Kids. Photographer Casey Gibson was on hand to capture the moment.

A colorful, rolling postcard for the State of California begins Sundayin San Francisco, ending a week later, on February 26, in Redondo Beach.Along the route — which will also highlight Marin County, Big Sur, SanLuis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Thousand Oaks — a who’s-who list of topAmerican cyclists will begin their racing seasons fighting to win the inauguralAmgen Tour of California, an event that has quickly emerged as the topUCI stage race in North America. Sixteen teams comprising 128 riders from more than 25 countries willtackle the 600-mile tour. Among the athletes scheduled to compete

Uruguayan Alvaro Tardaguila has accepted a two-year suspension after a positive doping test, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday. Tardaguila tested positive for EPO and an anabolic agent, USADA said. The suspension is retroactive to Oct. 17, 2005. USADA handled the case because he tested positive at an event in the United States, the Downer Avenue leg of Superweek in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he rode for UPMC. Tardaguila was disqualified from that event, where he finished third, and from all subsequent races. He retains his victory in the Tour of Uruguay, which he won in March 2005

Liberty Seguros unveiled its lineup for the season Friday — without disgraced three-time Vuelta a España champion Roberto Heras, but with new team leader Alexandre Vinokourov. The Kazakh moved to the Spanish outfit from Germany's T-Mobile for the 2006 season after having spent several years overshadowed by perennial Tour de France contender Jan Ullrich. "Vinokourov arrives at Liberty with the ambition to lead the dream of the whole team, to climb the top step of the podium in Paris, and we are working towards that goal from day one," said Liberty manager Manolo Saiz. "Last season is

The UCI ProTour Council (UPTC) has refused to authorize the Trophy of the Grand Tours proposed by the organizers of the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. In a press release issued Thursday, the council said the proposal by tour organizers ASO, RCS and Unipublic "does not respect the principles of road-cycling reform as introduced by the UCI," takes a counter-productive financial approach and demonstrates "a lack of responsibility towards cycling as a whole." The UCI insists that the three grand-tour organizers operate within the framework of the ProTour as they did in 2005:

Spain’s Carlos Garcia Quesada (Unibet.com), won the Ruta del Sol on Thursday. The fifth and final stage, a 172.6km leg between Olvera and Seville, went to Tom Boonen (Quick Step), who finally took his revenge on Alessandro Petacchi (Milram), who had beaten the world champion in their last two matchups. Roger Hammond (Discovery Channel) was third. In the final overall, Garcia Quesada took the win over countryman Rodrigo Garcia (Kaiku) with his brother, Adolfo Garcia Quesada (Andalucia-Paul Versan) placing third and collecting the King of the Mountains prize. Petacchi took the points jersey

Editor’s note: When America’s biggest bike race, the eight-day Amgen Tour of California, starts this weekend in San Francisco, some of the world’s leading riders will be starting their 2006 seasons at the head of major ProTour teams. In the current issue of VeloNews, you can read detailed profiles of two of these men: Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie and Team CSC’s Dave Zabriskie. Here on velonews.com, we are featuring three of the other major contenders. We began Tuesday with an in-depth interview with Phonak team leader Floyd Landis; Wednesday's's installment featured

Dear Monique,I had heard recently that sports drinks are bad for our teeth and cancause dental erosion. Obviously we need to use sports drinks when we trainand race. Is this a valid concern and what can we do about it?JBDear JB,Thanks very much for your question. Obviously it is best for your dentalhealth to limit sugar in your daily diet. However, when it comes to trainingand racing, easily digested and readily absorbed sports drinks with severalcarbohydrate sources are essential to replace fluid and fuel during longerworkouts.The link between consumption of sports drinks and dental health

Editor’s note: When America’s biggest bike race, the eight-day Amgen Tour of California, starts this weekend in San Francisco, some of the world’s leading riders will be starting their 2006 seasons at the head of major ProTour teams. In the current issue of VeloNews, you can read detailed profiles of two of these men: Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie and Team CSC’s Dave Zabriskie. Here on velonews.com, we are featuring three of the other major contenders. We began yesterday with an in-depth interview with Phonak team leader Floyd Landis; today's installment features Gerolsteiner leader

Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) once again showed world champion Tom Boonen his heels en route to winning the fourth stage of the Ruta del Sol on Wednesday. Boonen (Quick Step) held on for second ahead of Aussie Graeme Brown (Rabobank) in the 162.1km stage between Ecija and Ronda. Spain’s Carlos Garcia Quesada (Unibet), remains the overall leader ahead of Rodrigo Garcia (Kaiku), who was briefly slowed by a crash involving several riders, and García Quesada's brother, Adolfo (Andalucia-Paul Versan). Thursday's finale, a 172.6km run between Olvera and Seville, seems likely to

Belgian cyclist Frank Vandebroucke on Wednesday won an appeal to the Belgian supreme court in Brussels, overturning a judgment that he pay a 250.000-euro fine for possession of doping products, according to his lawyers. Last June, an appeals court in Ghent had ordered the fine, saying that Vandenbroucke "was to be judged as a drug addict, not as a doped sportsman." It was a first for a high-level athlete facing doping charges in Belgium. On Wednesday, the higher court overturned the judgment, finding the lower court’s reasoning "insufficient," said Me Luc Deleu, one of Vandebroucke’s

The organizers of the Amgen Tour of California on Wednesday announced the initial roster for the race, which begins Sunday in San Francisco. Sixteen teams comprising 128 riders from more than 25 countries will tackle the inaugural tour, which concludes February 26 in Redondo Beach. Among the athletes scheduled to compete are two winners of the Giro d’Italia — Gilberto Simoni (Prodir-Saunier Duval), 2001 and 2003, and Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel), 2002. Also taking the start will be three of the top-10 finishers in last year’s Tour de France — Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), sixth;

Editor’s note: When America’s biggest bike race, the eight-day Amgen Tour of California, starts this weekend in San Francisco, some of the world’s leading riders will be starting their 2006 seasons at the head of major ProTour teams. In the current issue of VeloNews, you can read detailed profiles of two of these men: Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie and Team CSC’s Dave Zabriskie. Here on velonews.com, we will feature three of the other major contenders, starting with this in-depth interview with Phonak team leader Floyd Landis. Floyd Landis, the American leader of Swiss team Phonak, is

After straying from the usual question-and-answer format a couple of times recently, I have been encouraged to continue to mix things up a bit, so I’ll do it again today. This column does involve a technical question, one I have pondered considerably of late, so I thought I would share it with you, since I may not be the only one considering it. One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is to go on long road rides in the mountains. However, we all eventually get the message — sometimes subtly, sometimes not — that perhaps we are not as young as we think we are, especially when it

The much-anticipated battle of the sprinters finally materialized in stage 3 of the Ruta del Sol on Tuesday as Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) pipped world champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step) in the final dash to the line. Petacchi took the 174.1km stage from Cabra to Cordoue in just under four hours, with Boonen second and Graeme Brown third in the same time. Spaniard Carlos Garcia Quesada (Unibet) retained the overall lead. Stage1. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Milram), 174.1km in 3:52:582. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step, s.t.3. Graeme Brown (Aus), Rabobank, s.t.4. Baden Cooke (Aus), Unibet, s.t.5.

Spanish rider Manuel Lloret (Comunitat Valenciana) grabbed the first win of his career in the second stage of Spain's Ruta del Sol on Monday. Lloret won in a long breakaway, slipping away from Santos González Capilla (3 Molinos Resort) to win the 157km stage from La Guardia to Jaénin 3:48:19, while the main bunch came through more than six minutes slower. Despite the margin, the breakaway was no threat to the contenders for the overall. Carlos García Quesada (Unibet.com) collected the leader's jersey from brother Adolfo García Quesada (Andalucía-Paul Versan), who slipped to third

French veteran Cyril Dessel (Ag2r) collected the overall victory in the 33rd Tour Méditerranéen after finishing safely in the main bunch in Sunday's 111km finale, which started and finished in San Remo, Italy. Italian Elia Rigotti (Milram) snagged the final win in a stage that hit much of the route of the Milan-San Remo classic, crossing ahead of Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Caffita) and teammate Erik Zabel. A breakaway was reeled in on the Poggio, one of the classic climbs of Milan-San Remo, bringing together a big group for the final sprint. Dessel was the first Frenchman to win the Tour Med

High speeds, paving bricks and torrential rain were not the right combination for Sunday’s final stage of the 11th Tour de Langkawi. The final-stage criterium was called early after multiple crashes and rider caution split the 102-strong peloton on the ninth of 18 laps of a 3.1km circuit in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The stage winner’s first prize went to Spaniard Angel Vallejo of Relax-Gam, who was on a solo break when “rain stopped play,” while South African David George took overall victory in the 10-day race by 1:52 over Italian Francesco Bellotti of Credit Agricole.

Olympic champion Paolo Bettini says the upcoming Tour de France will be more interesting without the dominating presence of seven-time champion Lance Armstrong. With Armstrong retired, Bettini said the race will have suspense it didn’t during Armstrong’s unprecedented seven-year run. "That Lance won't be there is good for the spectacle," Bettini told the Spanish daily Marca. "Before you could only aspire for second place, but now there will be at least 10 riders that go for it, riders who can win. The race will have less control, there will be unthinkable battles that weren’t imaginable a

As expected, South African David George easily maintained his leadership of the 11th Tour de Langkawi on Saturday, with just one day remaining in the 10-day race. He cruised to 19th place on the completely flat 16.2km course, 77 seconds slower than the stage winner, Ukrainian Sergiy Matveyev of Panaria-Navigare.

With the overall leaders already focused on Saturday’s crucial time-trial stage that will decided the podium in this year’s Tour de Langkawi, the sprinters were expected to fight out the shortest road stage on Friday. Instead, the rain came tumbling down on a hot, muggy afternoon and French opportunist Sébastien Hinault gave Crédit Agricole its second stage win of the 10-day race.

Roberto Heras says he will appeal the two-year racing ban Spanish racing officials handed down Wednesday, saying he will fight to defend his name and honor against charges he used the banned blood booster EPO. Heras's legal team are considering challenging the ruling both in the Court of Arbitration in Sport as well as Spanish civil court, claiming there were inconsistencies in the testing procedure that could have triggered a false positive. "It's not difficult to imagine my discomfort with this federation resolution and the truly indefensible position that I am in," Heras said in a

Once again, the sprinters’ teams didn’t make it at Malaysia’s Tour de Langkawi. After being 11 seconds short of catching an eight-man break on Wednesday, they fell short by seven seconds on Thursday’s 188.2km stage 7 from Muar to Kota Tinggi won by Italian journeyman Elio Aggiano of team LPR. South Africa’s David George retained the yellow jersey with three days remaining in the 10-day race.

Wide-open Paris-Nice routeHoping to live up to its name as the "Race to the Sun," Paris-Nice organizers revealed a 2006 route that skirts the snowy Massif Central and avoids summit finishes in an attempt to avoid course closures that have plagued recent editions. Instead - with seven stages and an opening prologue - the 2006 edition will drive down the Rhone Valley in search of good weather. Organizers from the Societe du Tour de France have also removed a long time trial to ensure what they hope will be a fight right to the finish. Following recent tradition, the course will open with a

No one had an easy day on Wednesday’s stage 6 at Le Tour de Langkawi, which resulted in a tight win for one of eight breakaway riders, Laurent Mangel of AG2R. The 24-year-old Frenchman from Burgundy attacked the break in the final kilometer and just hung on to beat the fast-closing Aussie neo-pro Gene Bates of Team LPR, with a second Frenchman, Yohann Le Boulanger of Bouygues TÈlÈcom, in third.