Road

Never in the 40-year history of the kilometer time trial or 25-year history of the keirin had a Dutchman won a world title. Remarkably, within the space of a few minutes on Friday night at the ADT Center velodrome in Carson, California, the men in orange raced to gold medals in both of those disciplines. First Theo Bos, 21, won a superb kilo competition in 1:01.165, a record performance in North America, and then Teun Mulder, 23, took a dominant win in the keirin. “We can train together now in the same jersey,” quipped Bos, whose latest rainbow jersey complements the world title he won in

Boonen takes E3 Prijs VlaanderenBelgian sprinter Tom Boonen coasted to victory in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen Saturday as he warms up for next weekend's Tour of Flanders, the fourth race in the 27-leg Pro Tour series. Boonen, who rides for Quick Step, crossed the finish line of the 200km race ahead of Germany's Andreas Klier (T-Mobile), who had been the 24-year-old Belgian's breakaway companion for nearly a third of the race. Belgian Peter Van Petegem (Davitamon-Lotto) crossed 10 seconds later for third. Boonen's second consecutive victory here, his fifth win this year, followed

Spaniard Isaac Galvez (Illes Balears) drew first blood on Saturday as the three-stage Critérium International opened in Charleville-Mezieres. In claiming his first victory on French soil, the former track racer handed another disappointment to one-time sprint king Erik Zabel (T-Mobile), who crossed in second place. Robert Forster (Gerolsteiner) took third. Illes Balears was looking to add another Mallorcan to the roster when it recruited 29-year-old Galvez, a 1999 world track champion in the Madison. And after pulling out of the UCI world track championships being held in Los Angeles

Australia is assured of the gold medal in the women's 3km individual pursuit at the UCI world track cycling championships after Katie Mactier and Katherine Bates qualified for the final. Theo Bos of the Netherlands, meanwhile, rocketed to a 10.192 in 200-meter sprint qualifying and will look to add a second gold medal to the one he collected on Friday in the kilometer time trial. Mactier posted the best time of the Saturday-morning session at the ADT Center velodrome in Carson, California, finishing well ahead of her compatriot in 3 minutes, 38.325 seconds. Bates was second in

Liquigas’s Magnus Bäckstedt charged into the public eye last year when he won the most revered of all the spring classics, Paris-Roubaix, the Hell of the North. In preparing an in-depth feature for thecurrent issue of VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hoodsat down with Bäckstedt earlier this year at Liquigas's team camp.In this, the second part of a two-part interview (clickhere to see Part 1), Bäckstedt recalls the experience of winningwhat has become the most prestigious single-day bicycle race in the world.VeloNews: Were you tapped to be the guy for the cobbles? Magnus

Contador wins Setmana CatalanaSpaniard Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) won the Setmana Catalana on Friday. Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) edged American Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) by just seven seconds to won the fifth and final stage, a 17km time trial around Palau-Solita i Plegamans, near Barcelona. Contador crossed in fourth, good enough for the overall title. Danielson, meanwhile, wound up fourth overall. Setmana CatalanaStage 5, Palau-Solita i Plegamans1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), Fassa Bortolo, 17km in 19:292. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:073.

The fans that almost filled Carson, California’s ADT Event Center velodrome on Thursday night had come hoping to cheer homeboy Colby Pearce to a world championship medal in the points race. But when the Colorado rider failed to break into the top 10, the crowd turned its attention to the last race of the night: the men’s team sprint. With no American team entered, locals chose Great Britain’s Jamie Staff (also a world BMX champion) who lives just down the road, near San Diego, as a local favorite. Staff has been something of a fixture at the new Carson velodrome, training two or three times

Lance Armstrong will return to European cycling next week in a bid to relaunch his Tour de France preparations following an early setback at Paris-Nice earlier this month. Armstrong dropped out of the French stage race, the first of the 27-race Pro Tour circuit, due to illness. However the 33-year-old will get his preparations back on track by racing Sunday's Fleche Brabanconne in Belgium, his Discovery Channel team announced Thursday. Two days later the six-times Tour de France winner, who will bid for a seventh yellow jersey in July, will ride the popular one-day Paris-Camembert race,

Editor's Note: Nineteen-year-old Larssyn Staley - the 2003 world champion in the junior women's points race - is the only American riding for theSwiss-based Andeer team. Throughout her first season on the continent,the Beaverton, Oregon, native will be sending us updates about life inthe women's peloton and providing a newcomer's perspective on racing in Europe.It’s spring here in Switzerland and the air is filledwith… with… well, it’s filled with fertilizer.It seems like every field I ride past is getting covered in fertilizerby the same means by which we water our fields.

Magnus Bäckstedt turned a childhood dream into reality at Paris-Roubaix last April. To just about everyone watching the Hell of the North that day, the big man from Sweden was a surprise winner, but when you listen to Bäckstedt and appreciate the hard work and focus he brings to his job, that win over the cobbles to Roubaix may not have been such a long-shot after all. In preparing an in-depth feature for the current issue of VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood sat down with Bäckstedt earlier this year. In a two-part interview on the eve of the spring classics, Bäckstedt recounts how

Colby Pearce has a great chance to set the standard for the home country when the 2005 UCI World Track Championships get underway Thursday in the ADT Event Center, Carson, California. Pearce, 32, has had a successful World Cup season, with second and third places in the points race at two rounds of the competition. His chance to claim a world’s medal comes Thursday evening. The final of the men 40km points race is the likely highlight of this opening session of the March 24-27 track world’s, and Pearce is going to need all the vocal support the home crowd can muster. Earning a medal will be

Lance Armstrong will race the Tour of Flanders on April 3, but he’ll go as a “domestique” to help longtime teammate George Hincapie, said Discovery Channel sport director Johan Bruyneel. Armstrong hasn’t raced since March 9 when he pulled out of Paris-Nice with a slight fever, but has been building his fitness in training near his European base in Girona, Spain. Armstrong is expected to return to action at Paris-Camembert on March 29, though he still might race at Brabantse Pijl two days earlier. “He’ll go to Flanders as a ‘domestique,’ but not to win,” Bruyneel was quoted on the Spanish

The ABCs of tire sizeDear Lennard,What does the c stand for on a 700c rim and or tire? What unit of measurement is this and how is it determined?BWDear BW,The “c” is not a unit of measurement. It merely designates a certain international rim/tire standard. A 700C rim has a 622mm bead-seat diameter (diameter of the tire bead circle), and you will often find this number imprinted on 700C tires and rim strips. Obviously, there is nothing you could measure on the wheel or tire and come up with 700 units of anything (the outer diameter of a 700C X 23mm road tire is about 668mm).To illustrate the

Davide Rebellin admits it will be all but impossible to repeat last year’s winning streak, when he took a rare treble with a sweep of the Ardennes classics. Coming into the 2005 season, the Gerolsteiner rider is instead hoping to spread the wealth, targeting wins from March to October as he eyes cycling’s new ProTour. Rebellin came up short in last weekend’s Milan-San Remo, but he was one of the main protagonists on the ill-fated attack over the Poggio. That new aggressiveness will be the hallmark of the Italian’s 2005 campaign. Earlier this year, VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood

Chris Horner (Saunier Duval) let his presence be known in dramatic fashion in Tuesday’s second stage of the Setmana Catalana, starting an early sprint and nearly sneaking away with the stage victory. Horner was part of a larger group that chased back on to a front group of 25 riders with 2km to go in the mountainous 168.8km stage from Lloret de Mar to Empuriabrava. Horner started an early sprint, but was swarmed by Italian Claudio Corioni (Fassa Bortolo) at the line to take eighth in his best result so far in his European return. Corioni held off Aitor Perez (Spiuk) to score his first

The finally finally shone on Southern California's San Dimas Stage Race on Sunday as Ivan Dominguez (Health Net-Maxxis) and Tina Mayolo Pic (Quark) won the closing criterium in Old Town San Dimas. Our man Casey Gibson was on the scene, and below is a sampling of what he saw through his lens.

Talk of major changes in the Milan-San Remo route look closer to becoming reality after race officials publicly acknowledged that the Cipressa and Poggio climbs just don’t pack the punch they used to. Race director Angelo Zomegnan told reporters “we’re thinking about” adding another major climb in the final run of the 294km Milan-San Remo which ended Saturday in a bunch sprint for the sixth time in seven years. “A race as long as this and it’s decided in the final meters, does that seem normal?” Zomegnan said. “If you think about it, in 10 years nothing much has happened or not much, except

Imagine that you are a fireman stationed in the small town of Amer in Spain. Now if you really didn't know anything about cycling, I can guarantee thatyou'd think the sport is pretty weird. You’d probably be right, too.You see, the Amer fire station sits at the bottom of one of the veryfew quality climbs within a short distance of Girona. So on any given day,in addition to the usual hard-working firemen washing the trucks and coilinghose, you’re bound to see a steady parade of bike riders, even a grandtour winner or two: Roberto, Lance, George, Tyler, Levi, Floyd, Fred, Michael…need I

Gord Fraser (Health Net-Maxxis) and Erinne Willock (Webcor Builders) took the rain-soaked second stage of the San Dimas Stage Race on Saturday. Fraser won a 24-man dash to the line at the end of the 98-mile Incycle-Cannondale Road Race, run on a 7-mile loop with a flat 1km straight to the finish line. Willock had a wider margin of victory in the 56-mile women’s race, crossing 19 seconds ahead of the raging pack. Tina Pic (Quark) took the bunch sprint with Magen Long (The Bicycle Store) third. General-classification standings were not available. Racing concludes Sunday with the San Dimas

Alessandro Petacchi is now the undisputed king of the sprints following his emotional victory down the Via Roma in Saturday’s Milan-San Remo. Mario Cipollini, who finished with the lead bunch in what he promises will be his last Milan-San Remo, was quick to tip his hat to Petacchi in a clear passing of the baton in the power rankings of the Italian sprinter hierarchy. “I can imagine what he feels at this moment,” Cipollini said Saturday on the Via Roma just three years after he won. “It’s his consecration as a rider of high quality.” It’s also chaos at the finish when an Italian wins the

[nid:30483]There is no longer an asterisk next to Alessandro Petacchi’s palmares. For the sprinter who’s dominated the speed game since his breakthrough 2000 season, Petacchi was being pegged as a man who couldn’t win a mass gallop in long-distance races. The naysayers only pointed to the 2004 Milan-San Remo and the 2003 Paris-Tours, two occasions when the “gentleman sprinter” died – or some say choked – at the line.

Germany’s Trixi Worrack (Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung) won the seventh edition of the 118km Primavera Rosa, the women’s Milan-San Remo, on Saturday. The 23-year-old Worrack jumped in the last kilometer to win the third round of the women’s World Cup by a second over Britain’s Nicole Cooke (Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan) and Australian Oenone Wood (Nurnberger) on the Via Roma de San Remo. In the World Cup competition, Wood leads with 85 points, followed by Worrack with 80 and Netherlander Suzanne De Goede (Van Bemmelen) third with 78.

Start List - Milan-San Remo (as of March 18, 2005)1. Oscar Freire Gomez (Sp), Rabobank2. Erik Dekker (Nl), Rabobank3. Jan Boven (Nl), Rabobank4. Maarten Den Bakker (Nl), Rabobank5. Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Sp), Rabobank6. Karsten Kroon (Nl), Rabobank7. Gerben LÖwik (Nl), Rabobank8. Marc Wauters (B), Rabobank9. Ruggero Marzoli (I), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil10. Gabriele Balducci (I), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil11. Jure Golcer (SLO), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil12. Simone Masciarelli (I), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil13. Bo Hamburger (Dk), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil14. Giuseppe Palumbo (I),

World champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) will saddle up for Milan-San Remo on Saturday as perhaps the smartest bet for victory after the 29-year-old won three stages at Tirreno-Adriatico last week on his way to taking the overall honors. In a race where those who took part were guaranteed long, uninterrupted days of racing, unlike at Paris-Nice, Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) also showed his form, beating the likes of Freire, Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis), Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) and Norway's Thor Hushovd on his way to matching Freire's stage tally of

Tom Boonen says Quick Step teammate Paolo Bettini enters Saturday’s Milan-San Remo as the leader, but didn’t discount his chances if it comes down to a sprint on the Via Roma. “The past two times I’ve raced here I lost a lot on the Poggio, losing my position. The key will be at the front,” Boonen said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport on the eve of the classic kickoff. “I’m sure I will be able to hang on going over the Cipressa and the Poggio.” Boonen downplayed the hint of rivalry between himself and Olympic champion Bettini, who enters La Primavera after struggling with an

Health Net-Maxxis swept the opener at California’s San Dimas Stage Race on Friday, putting Scott Moninger atop the podium followed by three of his teammates. Moninger won the Glendora Chevrolet Time Trial, shortened by rainy weather to just 3.8 miles up Glendora Canyon Road, in 13:33, followed by Chris Wherry at 24 seconds back, John Lieswyn at 0:24 and Mike Jones at 0:35. In women’s racing, it was a pair of T-Mobiles bracketing a Rona as Kristin Armstrong took the honors in 15:46 ahead of Canadian Genèvieve Jeanson at 0:19 and Kimberly Baldwin at 0:31. Stage 2, Saturday’s

Lance Armstrong received yet another award this week after receivingthe Grand Prix de l’Academie des Sports in Paris on Tuesday, where he toldreporters he’s behind in his preparation for the Tour de France. Armstrong said wintry weather at the recent Paris-Nice wasn’t the idealsetting for his return to Europe. Cold weather and a fever prompted theTexan to not start the fourth stage. “Maybe I shouldn’t have started Paris-Nice. It was a hard race, veryfast, intense and with bad weather,” he said. “I must admit I’m a littlebit behind, more than I normally would be.” Armstrong insisted he’ll

Paolo Bettini would rather win the Tour of Flanders instead of another Milan-San Remo. That’s not to say the Cricket isn’t interested in Saturday’s classicissima, a race he won in 2003. “Milan-San Remo is an objective, but this year I really like the Tour of Flanders, a race I’ve never won,” he said in an interview with the Spanish daily AS. “It’s not easy to say, ‘I wan to win a race,’ and later go do it. One of my characteristics is tenacity. When I set an objective, I prepare for it 100 percent to achieve it.” The Quick Step star didn’t have his trademark bounce in Tirreno-Adriatico,

Following his overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico, Spain's Oscar Freirehas assumed the leader's jersey of the UCI's new ProTour race series.Freire moved past the series's first overall leader, American BobbyJulich (CSC). Like Freire, Julich won 50 ProTour points for his overallvictory at Paris-Nice, but the Rabobank sprinter also earned three additionalpoints for his three stage victories in the week-long Italian stage race.The next event in the ProTour is Saturday's edition of Milan-San Remo, a former World Cup event with a points distribution identical to those earned

Dear Monique,Many thanks for all of the nutrition advice recently posted in yourweb column. I had a couple of follow-up questions that I hoped you couldhelp me with. What should my basic caloric intake be on the days that Ido not train or ride, and what should comprise the majority of these calories?I am currently at 145 lb. and want to maintain this weight.Jed H.Dear Jed,Your questions bring up the important consideration of nutritionalrecovery on rest or very light training days. On rest days most enduranceathletes are concerned about not overeating, and adjusting to a drop incalorie

Team CSC boss Bjarne Riis took personal satisfaction in Bobby Julich’s dramatic victory in Paris-Nice. After all, it was the 1996 Tour de France winner who helped resurrect Julich’s fortunes by bringing him into the iconoclastic Danish team for the 2004 season. Julich was quick to praise Riis for his revival. When asked before the start of Sunday’s stage how he could explain his winning ways, Julich gave a precise answer. “One thing and that’s Bjarne Riis,” said Julich, who became the first American to the Race to the Sun. “Bjarne has a gift. He takes chances on people. We all believe in

It's not every day that the President shows up for your bike show. Butas a measure of how important the bicycle industry has become to the economicengine of Taiwan, PresidentChen Shui-bian took a break from his saber-rattling with mainland Chinaover the issue of Taiwan's independence to deliver the keynote speech atthe opening of the 18th annual Taipei International Cycle Show, March 4- 7. With an impressive contingent of gat-packing bodyguards discreetly protecting his flanks for the ribbon-cutting, President Chen proclaimed himself a card-carrying member of the bicycle fan club.

Rabobanks's Oscar Freire won the overall title at Tirreno-Adriatico as the week-long event ended in Civitanova, Italy, on Tuesday. Freire was well-placed in the middle of the field at the end of a race won by Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi who, like Freire, has won three stages in this, the second event in the new UCI Pro Tour. "I did not take part in the sprint, but I am particularly pleased because, apart from winning the race, I won three stages," Freire said. "I didn't expect I would do as well as that." Earning 50 points for the overall title and one point for each of

For triathletes, Profile offers the TriStryke saddle, which in additionto a huge center vent and titanium rails boasts notches underneath at thefront and rear to make racking your bike easier in the transition area.At 275 grams, the TriStryke is available now.PZ ComponentsPZ Components is the new name for Pazzazz, a moniker that never caughton for reasons we'll let others decide. But the attractions of PZ's partsare undebatable: nice design, great features, and attractive pricing. PZ's focus in recent years has been on composite technology, and this year thecompany is offering

Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi took his second stage victory of this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico on Monday, winning the sixth stage of the race, a 164km circuit near Civitanova. Rabobank’s Oscar Freire held on to the leader’s jersey finishing second to Petacchi, just ahead of Australian Robbie McEwen. Freire started from a long way out with veteran sprinter Mario Cipollini in his slipstream, but he was not able to match the speed of Petacchi. Petacchi, who has amassed stage victories in each of the three-week “grand tours” – the Giro d’ Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España –

Bobby Julich held off a flurry of vicious attacks from Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears) and Constantino Zaballa’s entire Saunier Duval team in Sunday’s final stage of Paris-Nice, taking the overall title to the very first event in the UCI’s new ProTour calendar. But it almost didn’t happen that way. Indeed, Julich believed that the worst was behind him as he rolled to the crest of the day’s final climb, the Col d’Eze, just 16km from the day’s finish in Nice. Just a descent and a flat ride to the finish stood between him and certain victory in Paris-Nice when he suffered an unexpected

QuickStep’s Servais Knaven claimed the fifth stage of the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico stage race in style in Saltara, Italy, on Sunday. Spain's reigning world road race champion Oscar Freire of the Rabobank team retained the overall lead ahead of Tuesday's final stage, having won the three previous stages. The 34-year-old Knaven, the 2001 winner of Paris-Roubaix, claimed his first victory of the season after seeing his brave attack 25km into the 170km race, which started and ended in Saltara, come to fruition. The Dutchman was soon joined by four riders and together they went on

The introduction of major reforms in cycling by the International CyclingUnion (UCI) has led to the creation of a new Pro Tour series, the firstrace of which, the Paris-Nice, ended on Sunday.Now coupled with major stage races, the series will also replace boththe 10-race World Cup - which included many one-day classics such as theMilan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix - and the UCI world rankings. Instead,the Pro Tour's 27 races, which will include the Tours of Italy, Franceand Spain, will reward the riders with the most points with a Pro Tourleader's jersey.The Tour de France, being the

Bobby Julich (Team CSC) advanced one day closer to the most important victory of his career after safely negotiating Saturday’s potentially dangerous 184km, six-climb stage into Cannes. Big Dutchman Joost Posthuma (Rabobank) took an impressive solo victory after dropping the remnants of the winning break on the day’s final climb at the Col du Tanneron with 20km to go. Julich, meanwhile, rode inside the protective cocoon of Bjarne Riis’s big red machine and enjoyed a relatively easy sunny ride through France’s stunning Var region. Jens Voigt muscled up the Cat. 2 Tanneron to reel in some

Bobby Julich was beaming in the yellow jersey at Saturday morning’s sign-in protocol before the start of the penultimate stage at Paris-Nice. The sun was shining, and with Julich holding a 19-second lead over Constantino Zaballa (Saunier Duval) and 20 seconds on Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears), things were looking very bright indeed. “My legs are feeling good. I think if the weather stays good, I will be able to keep the jersey to Nice,” Julich said. “Today’s stage is more challenging than what happens on Sunday. I know the roads perfectly there, so I am confident.” There was some talk

World road champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) claimed his third victory in as many days on Saturday, winning the fourth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in Servigliano, Italy. Germany's Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) finished second in the 160km stage, with Italian Fabrizio Guidi (Phonak) in third. "I didn't go out to win this stage especially," said Freire. "I wasn't even that well positioned for the final sprint. I had to make a special effort to get back to the front." Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo), winner of stage 1, found the going tough once more on Saturday.

Bobby Julich went to bed last night joking to Team CSC roommate Jens Voigt about their prospects of snagging the maillot jaune in Friday’s 172.5km climbing stage up Mont Faron at Paris-Nice. “I said, ‘If one of us doesn’t come home today with the yellow jersey, we’re both sleeping on the floor,’” said the 33-year-old Julich. They’ll both get a very good sleep thanks to Julich, who surged into the leader’s jersey after holding off late attacks by Spanish rivals Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears) and Constantine Zaballa (Saunier Duval) on the upper reaches of Mont Faron. Julich started the

With the hint of spring in the air and the Buyer’s Guide long gone, I figured last week was the ideal time to follow up on an invitation to visit custom shoe builder D2 in Eagle, Colorado, about 20 miles east of Vail. Don Lamson and Dan Kurtanich (D2, get it?) have been working together the past three years to provide cyclists what they call “the finest cycling footwear money can buy.” You may recognize Lamson’s name. He has more than 20 years in the custom-shoe business, including time spent with Lampson Design and Doni. His business partner and old skiing buddy Kurtanich returned to

After a couple of days of technical bobbles, VeloNews.com's LIVE COVERAGE of Paris-Nice is back in time for the decisive fifth stage of the Race to the Sun, a tough 172.5km ride from Rognes to the top of Mt. Faron. To follow the action as it happens, simply CLICK HERE and stay with us to the finish to see just how this tough Category 1 climb shakes up the overall standings at this opening event of the UCI ProTour.

Bobby Julich is a few hours away from realizing a career-long dream of taking the yellow jersey at Paris-Nice. Friday’s 172.5km fifth stage ends atop the twisting, 5.5km climb at Mont Faron, and Julich could grab the maillot jaune with a strong ride. “I would be lying if I wasn’t thinking of that. I know I have good legs,” said Julich who started the day 20 seconds back. “The steeper, punchier climbs aren’t really my forte, but it’s nice to have that 28 seconds to the other guys and that’s going to help out a lot.” The 33-year-old American moved into third overall after working himself

World road champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) claimed his second victory in as many days after winning the third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico Friday. The 29-year-old Spanish sprinter had to dig deep after he struck a protruding railing in the final kilometer and had to fight his way out of the bunch before winning the sprint at the finish line. Frenchman Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom) had launched a brave sprint for the finish with 500 meters to go in the 228km race from Tivoli to Torricella Sicura, but the unstoppable Freire caught the 1997 world road race champion, who eventually

The winds of change blew through Paris-Nice in Thursday’s weather-shortened fourth stage as the peloton traded winter for the mistral. Lance Armstrong packed it in as cold and snow forced organizers to shorten the third stage in a row, but the peloton was back in shorts after the race moved into warmer climes of the Rhone valley. Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) put down a Herculean sprint to beat veteran Jaan Kirsipuu (Credit Agricole) against a strong headwind into Montélimar while Bobby Julich (CSC) surged into contention after sneaking into the winning break late in the 101km

Oscar Freire (Rabobank) won the second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico race in Tivoli, Italy, on Thursday. The three-time world road race champion also takes the overall lead in the race which ends on Sunday. "I didn't have many ambitions at the start of the stage but I changed my mind during the race," Freire said. Freire, 29, held off compatriot Angel Vicioso and Laurent Brochard of France in a sprint finish over a largely flat course ending in Tivoli, 30 kilometers north of Rome. Friday will see the riders tackling a 228-kilometer stage from Tivoli to Torricella Sicura.

In what was great weather to go skiing in central France on Wednesday, the Paris-Nice bicycle stage doggedly pushed on despite frigid temperatures and snowy roads that forced organizers to shorten a stage for the second straight day. With snow piled four-feet deep alongside the road, race organizers had no choice but to cut the stage from 174km to 118km and eliminate the highest, snow-covered reaches of the course. Despite an early breakaway that included Floyd Landis (Phonak) and defending champion Jörg Jaksche (Liberty Seguros), the sprinters once again drove it home. Vicente Reynes (Illes

Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) won Wednesday’s opener of Tirreno-Adriatico to take the bragging rights in the race stacked with sprinter talent. The win gives Petacchi a big boost following his upset loss to a resurgent Mario Cipollini (Liquigas-Bianchi) in the pair’s first duel of the season in the Giro di Lucca on Monday. Fassa Bortolo was back to its dominating self, executing the perfect train to deliver Petacchi to the line unchallenged in the 160km stage in Civitavecchia. Bernhard Eisel (FDJeux.com) finished second while Australian champion Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) took

Lance Armstrong has dropped out of Paris-Nice, reportedly suffering from a sore throat and fever. "Lance woke up this morning with a sore throat and with the cold weather, he began to feel worse throughout the day," Discovery Channel director Johan Bruyneel said. "By the time we got back to the hotel, he was running a fever and we thought it best that he should withdraw and go home," he added. Armstrong had ridden an undistinguished race, finishing 99th on Wednesday’s stage, the second consecutive stage of the so-called "Race to the Sun" to be shortened in response to wintry temperatures

Belgium's Tom Boonen, of the Quick Step team, on Tuesday won the second stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race, reduced to 45km between Aigueperse and Thiers in central France because of snow. The 24-year-old, who had also won the first stage, earned the leader's jersey because of the bonus points he picked up. The Belgian rider finished several lengths ahead of Norway's Kurt-Asle Arvesen and Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych. While Boonen said it had been a good try out for the Milan-San Remo classic later this month he added that taking the overall lead did not put him in pole

Marketing ploy?Dear Lennard,Shimano's website lists the Dura Ace 7800 hubset as being only 10-speedcompatible, but the Ultegra 6600 hubs are listed as both 9- and 10-speedcompatible. Is there actually a difference or is this "10-speed only" designation a marketing ploy?RobertDear Robert,The Dura-Ace hub has an aluminum 10-speed freehub body, while the Ultegrahub has a steel 9-speed freehub body. The 10-speed freehub body has a largerouter diameter and deeper splines. The deeper splines are more resistantto damage to the freehub body’s spline ribs due to torque on the cogs forcingthe

Oh Mexico… I finally finished my base up and got a few days of rest before I had to leave for the Vuelta Sonora Arizona road race. This road race was unlike any I had ever done before and probably will ever do again. Like any trip with a bunch of people you barely know going to a race you’ve never done before you have to take it with a grain of salt. This was no exception. I cut my Monday golf game short to make it home in time to catch a ride to Phoenix in a big van full of my new teammates for the week. The only people I knew on the team were Tulous, Jake and Pate and Tulous wasn’t even

Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won stage 1 of Paris-Nice on Monday, sprinting to victory ahead of a peloton that had been cracked into thirds by a pair of crashes in the final kilometers. Chilly weather, with temperatures barely above freezing, greeted the Race to the Sun as the peloton set off on the 186.5km stage, a relatively flat affair from the Parisian suburb of Etampes south to Chabris, with only the very small Category 3 Cote de Graviers at 10km to stretch the legs. American Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon) took the first intermediate sprint at 42km, edging Rabobank's Erik Dekker and

Liberty Seguros stamped its authority on the final stage of the Vueltaa Murcia in southern Spain. Aussie sprinter Allan Davis won his second stage in three days whileKoldo Gil wrapped up the overall title after finishing strong in Saturday’sclimbing stage at Collado Bermejo. Despite some early attempts at breakaways, the sprinter teams controlledthe pace to set up the bunch. Davis held off Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner),a winner of the first two stages, to snag his second victory on the season. Gil, 27, confirmed his status as one of Spain’s rising stars. He heldoff Damiano Cunego

Beautiful sunny weather and a near absence of wind opened the door for the sprinters as T-Mobile’s Ina Teutenberg and Juan Jose Haedo of Colavita scored wins in the McLane Pacific Foothills Road Race in California’s Central Valley on Sunday. The course, a 24-mile loop with a long flat stretch on the back side, was full of power hills that kept racers’ legs humming as the fields threw attacks and kept the pace high for the NRC’s season-opener. In the women’s race, active was the key word for the day as T-Mobile, Quark, and Webcor threw off a steady stream of attacks. Usually a windy race,

Jens Voigt (CSC) ripped the short, 4km prologue Sunday to win the Paris-Nice opener and earned the distinction of being the first winner on cycling’s new ProTour while six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong played it safe 27 seconds slower. Voigt was the hottest thing going on a sunny, but cold day in the Parisian suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux to kick off the season-long ProTour series with the 63rd Paris-Nice. The concise course featured a short punchy climb to start and some tight corners, but it was the on-form Voigt who delivered the winning ride of 5 minutes, 15 seconds. Tour

Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong opens his 2005 campaign in Paris-Nice on Sunday when professional cycling enters a new era – that of the 20-team, 27-race ProTour. This will be Armstrong's first start in Paris-Nice since 1999, when he used the race as a training run on the way to returning to Paris in July as winner of his first Tour. He finished second to Laurent Jalabert in 1996 when riding for Motorola and won a stage in 1995. Armstrong’s Discovery Channel line-up includes Viatcheslav Ekimov, Yaroslav Popovych and Paolo Savoldelli, the 2002 Giro d'Italia winner, who

Spaniard Pedro Arreitunandia (Barloworld) won the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Murcia on Saturday, outsprinting compatriot Koldo Gil (Liberty Seguros). Damiango Cunego (Lampre-Caffita) crossed third at 40 seconds back. In finishing second, Gil took the overall lead from Germany’s Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner), who slipped to ninth overall at more than two minutes back. “I attacked to win the stage, but I could not drop Arreitunandia in the finale,” said Gil. “He benefited from my effort, but I take the lead on general classification, and barring incident I should win this tour, which will be

Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (T-Mobile) and Gord Fraser (Health Net-Maxxis) sprinted to victory on Saturday in the McLane Pacific Cycling Classic Downtown Grand Prix in Merced, California. The course, a flat, fast, 0.8-mile loop, had just enough turns to keep it interesting, and a slight southerly headwind on the one longer straightaway turned the end of most races into a field sprint. In the women’s pro/1-2 race, T-Mobile kept the pace high, launching attacks from the first lap and finishing with a clean set-up for their sprinter, Teutenberg. “It’s early in the season and it still hurts! It’s

Allan Davis ended Danilo Hondo’s winning streak at the Vuelta a Murcia on Friday, scoring his first win of the 2005 season in the 155km third stage from Mula to Fortuna. The Aussie sprinter shot past Hondo with 250 meters to go to win easily. Hondo finished second to retain his 21-second overall lead after winning Wednesday’s opening sprint and Thursday’s time trial. “I’m very happy to win,” Davis said on Spanish TV. “The team did great work today, so I really wanted to win for them. It was hard today, with a lot of wind and rain, but the team did a great job setting up the sprint, so I

It may be March, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s springtime. Just ask anyone who toed the start line for stage 1 of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen (3 Days of West Flanders) on Friday. The race was canceled about 50km from the start in Kortrijk after the snow started falling, rapidly coating the roads just outside of Roselare. This was the second event to be canceled this week (the first was (Memorial Samyn Fayt-le-Franc), after the riders endured a miserably cold two days of racing last weekend as the northern classics season kicked off with Het Volk and

Last month I mentioned I had the opportunity to drop in on SRAM’s 2006 OE product camp in Oracle, Arizona, for a sneak peek at what’s comin’ down the pipe from the Chicago folks for 2006. While I was able to post some details about SRAM’s new products, only now are we allowed to show you some of the tantalizing photos. Here’s a collection of what’s what from SRAM for next year.

The opening stage of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen was called off Friday some 50km into the race due to heavy snow. Heavy snow started piling down and created dangerous race conditions, leaving organizers with the undesirable choice of canceling the 159km opening stage after it already started. It was a second bit of ill fortune for the Belgian race, which coincides with the ProTour debut of Paris-Nice on Sunday and Tirreno-Adriatico later next week. As a consequence, just five ProTour teams - among them Navigators and Discovery Channel - were among the squads taking today's

Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Caffita) says he wants to win Saturday’s stage of the Vuelta a Murcia that finishes atop the Collado Bermejo and has been dedicated as the “Cima Pantani” in honor of fallen star Marco Pantani. The defending Giro d’Italia champion is making is season debut in Spain and said he wants to make an early season test of his form. He can’t think of a better way than atop the twisting climb in the mountains of southern Spain. “I know it won’t be easy, but I would dedicate this win to Marco, who was my idol as well as my friend,” Cunego told Spanish journalists before the start

It was no surprise Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) won Wednesday’s opener in a bunch sprint at the Vuelta a Murcia in Spain, but no one expected him to beat the specialists in Thursday’s 22km individual time trial. But that’s just what happened as Hondo laid down the fastest time on the flat course of 25 minutes, 35 seconds. No one even came close, with Spanish national time trial champion Rubén Plaza stopping the clock in second some 19 seconds slower. “It’s a surprise for me,” Hondo admitted. “I knew all the split times and had information from my teammates who were among the favorites. I am

Well, I am back home from Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun. I can’t believe that it has already been a week since we raced. Most of you have seen the results and it was an exciting start to the season for our team. We had first and second overall, and won every stage. I lost third on GC at the finish of the criterium. We had made Genevieve Jeanson work hard and she rode great. It was impressive and she moved into third overall. As I mentioned in my first journal, I had hoped that the training in Phoenix would help me on the Acacia Park group rides. It was a joke, but every joke has some

I’m back from camp and I have never been so happy to be home. Camp number three is in the bag. It was a long one and to make matters worse we rode the trainers inside for the last three days. You might well ask why on earth we would ride trainers in “sunny Tuscany.” Well, it wasn’t for our fitness or for our health and certainly not for our sanity. I’ll get back to that. We had a great start to the camp with the boys returning from the Tour of Med’ high on another win. We had a Champaign toast with the whole team and watched a few clips of the other half of our team putting it "into the

As you continue your basic training and prepare for the coming raceseason, you appreciate the importance of matching training with the properamounts of energy, carbohydrate, protein and fats (See "TheFeed Zone: February 16th"). During this training cycle, you canalso focus on types of food choices you consume to provide quality nutritionand variety to your daily and training diet.Daily DietThis is one of the best times of the year to experiment with new foodsand recipes. While you can still keep convenience and time in mind (what’sgood, quick, and easy?), don’t keep falling into the same old

American Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), three-time Tour de France podium man Joseba Beloki (Liberty Seguros) and defending Giro d’Italia champion Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Caffita) headline Tuesday’s start of the five-day Vuelta a Murcia in Spain. Leipheimer is just getting his season started and will be looking to reach peak fitness in time for a top 5 at the 2005 Tour de France. Cunego, meanwhile, officially kicked off his season in Sunday’s Clasica de Almeria and will race Murcia to continue to build form to his title defense at the Giro in May. “I feel I have done a good job in the build

German sprint ace Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) drew first blood at theVuelta a Murcia in Spain on Wednesday, scoring his first win of the 2005season.Cloudy skies gave way to afternoon sun, but cool temperatures and strongwinds reminded everyone of the cold front that swept through Spain overthe weekend leaving high mountain roads clogged with snow.Several riders tried in vain to slip away from the peloton, includingaging classics warrior Andrea Tafi (Saunier Duval) and Peter Wuyts (Mr.Bookmaker), who were away in a breakaway but reeled in with 15km to go.The pace was torrid for so early in the

In the firstpart of our conversation with Bobby Julich, the American looked backat what has turned out to be a wise decision to sign with Bjarne Riis's CSC team in Denmark at the end of 2003. For Julich, 2004 can only be seen as remarkable, a comeback season in which he won a stage in the Tour of the Basque Country, finished third overall at Paris-Nice and took home the bronze medal at the Olympic time trial.“The confidence is back, not the cockiness that maybe I had after 1998, but now I am confident that I am back to the highest level,” Julich noted.In today’s installment, Julich talks

Tyler Hamilton could know his cycling future as soon as the end of next week after a three-day hearing before the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency began Monday in Denver. Hamilton is facing a possible two-year racing ban, but has vowed to clear his name with a vigorous defense. A team of lawyers has been working to prepare material to present to the three-person USADA panel to demonstrate inconsistencies in the blood doping test. Hamilton’s lawyer, Howard Jacobs, told The Denver Post’s John Henderson the defense is “fairly optimistic” it can disprove the validity of the test. “It helps that if you

As I mentioned last week, it wouldn’t be until today – March 1 – that I could speak freely about a few of Manitou’s new-for-2006 products. If you couldn’t guess from my somewhat cryptic comment last week, Manitou is back to taking a serious look at the cross-country segment for 2006. Welcome to the lightweight, high-performance world of the Manitou R-Seven. While the race-oriented Skareb served its purpose quite nicely for the past three years, Manitou’s Joel Smith recently explained that it’s the company’s goal to “redefine suspension for the XC market.” Considering what Manitou has

Bobby Julich enjoyed a very successful comeback season in 2004, winning a stage in the Tour of the Basque Country, finishing third overall at Paris-Nice and taking home the bronze medal at the Olympic time trial. For Julich, a return to the elite levels of racing was especially sweet. Since his 1998 Tour de France podium ride, the popular Colorado rider struggled to find the winning legs. In joining Team CSC and Bjarne Riis, Julich discovered the team he was always looking for. With his feet firmly planted on the ground, the 33-year-old enters the 2005 campaign with high hopes of building

Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie won the 58th edition of the Belgian semi-classic Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne on Sunday, as the American outsprinted his breakaway partner Kevin Van Impe (Chocolade Jacques). The two men slipped off the front of an elite group of riders nearing the end of the 190-kilometer race through the Belgian countryside. The two leaders finished 14 seconds of a hard-chasing Bert Roesems (Davitamon-Lotto). The race, held in cold and cloudy conditions, threw riders into tough conditions including a brutally icy headwind at points. The day was a battle of attrition with

Rochelle Gilmore claimed opening World Cup honors with victory in the first round of the series in Geelong, Australia, on Sunday The 23 year old, riding for the New South Wales Institute of Sport team, outsprinted defending World Cup Series champion and 2004 Geelong winner, Oenone Wood, 24, (Team Nürnberger) with Katherine Bates (Ton van Bemmelen) coming home third to give Australia a clean sweep of the podium. Ninety-three riders from 16 countries started the race including the reigning World Champion, Judith Arndt of Germany (Team Nürnberger) and Olympic Champion Sara Carrigan (Ton van

"Go get him." "No, you get him...." And so it went.... The last 15km of the 60th edition of the Omloop Het Volk presented the peloton with a classic dilemma: Chase the one man off the front and risk setting up a win for the competition, or hope someone else chases and risk losing if no one does. They opted for the latter, and that gave 25-year-old Nick Nuyens all he needed to stay away to claim victory, just seconds ahead of a field of pre-race favorites, including his Quick Step teammate and compatriot Tom Boonen.

Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo), stamped his final mark of authority on the sixth edition of the Volta Communidad Valencia on Saturday, winning the fifth and final stage and claiming the overall victory to boot. It was the Italian speedster’s third stage win of the Volta. "For me, with my characteristics, it is very difficult to win a small tour like this one, but I have been very fit since the beginning of the season and I knew that I could race a good tour,” Petacchi said. Spain’s Francisco Ventoso (Saunier Duval) was second on the stage, a 149.5km circuit around Valencia,