Road Racing

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

Two weeks ahead of the Tour de France, Jan Ullrich of the T-Mobile team is the winner of the 2006 Tour of Switzerland. The German endured bad weather to conquer the final stage of the nine-day race, a 30.7-kilometer time trial into the Swiss capital of Bern. “It’s so close before the Tour de France, and it proves to me that I have the performance and I’m ready for the Tour,” he said. “It’s the last little bit. It’s really the last polishing…Now I already feel that I’m at 90 percent and I can work on the last 10 before the Tour de France.” Hearing the sound of the thunder, the German star

Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) scored what he terms "the biggest win of my career" in the final stage of the Tour de Beauce on Sunday when he outsprinted breakaway companion Will Frischkorn (TIAA-CREF) after 132 kilometers of racing. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators) easily hung onto the Yellow Jersey after finishing with the main peloton 58 seconds behind Pinfold. In the final stage riders faced 12 laps of an 11 kilometer circuit through the host town of St Georges. In addition to a steep 2.8 kilometer climb each lap, riders had to contend with 30 degree (Celsius) temperatures and humidity

Alberto Contador of the embattled Astana-Würth team won the mountainous penultimate stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Saturday, while the top three spots in the overall standings remained the same going into the final episode on Sunday. “I’m a professional cyclist, and my objective is to keep my cool and stay concentrated,” said Contador, asked how he can achieve good results while his team is embroiled in the sport’s biggest doping scandal. “Everything that happens on the television, or around me, all the hype and disappointment, all the good and bad things I’m hearing, you have to hear

After a day like Friday, when everything was almost perfect for Navigators at the Tour de Beauce, today's race saw two members of the team involved in a potentially serious accident with a car that wandered onto the course. Mark Walters and Glen Chadwick were at the front of the peloton setting tempo on the third lap to keep a six rider breakaway in check, when a car ignored traffic cones and swerved out beside them. Chadwick managed to avoid going down, but Walters was sandwiched between Chadwick and the car and had nowhere to go. The Blue Jersey holder (Top Canadian) went down,

Relying on stamina and a touch of trickery, three-time world road champion Oscar Freire of the Dutch team Rabobank won the seventh stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Friday. The 30-year-old Spaniard was the sole survivor of an eight-man breakaway after he jumped sideways over the corner of a traffic island in order to cut a corner 3.5 kilometers from the finish. Koldo Gil of Saunier-Duval retained the leader’s jersey, but T-Mobile’s star Jan Ullrich looks ready to pounce with just two days left in the nine-day stage race, considered the final tune-up for the Tour de France. Ullrich is

As expected, the Navigators Insurance squad recovered from the momentary lapse of attention which saw them lose the yellow jersey on Wednesday at the Tour de Beauce to regain the top position in the 15 kilometer time trial stage Friday morning. Danny Pate (TIAA-CREF) continues to impress with a strong win in the stage, but Valeriy Kobzarenko's second place, 16 seconds behind Pate, was enough to move him back into the lead, after Stefan Parinussa (Sparkasse), the former leader, could manage no better than 23rd. Pate's excellent ride moved him up to second overall, 16 seconds behind

The fifth stage at the Tour de Beauce – formally “Stage 4-b,” since it followed a morning TT - was pretty much a non-factor in terms of the overall standings, however, bragging rights and UCI points were still on the line, so serious racing did take place. The 60 kilometer criterium is a tradition in the host town of St Georges, and takes place on a four corner, 1.5 kilometer circuit, with a sharp climb at the end of the start straight and a steep descent with a 110 degree left hander at the base. Richard Faltus (Sparkasse) took a last lap gamble and attacked the small lead group he was

Saunier Duval's Koldo Gil won the sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, riding solo into La Punt on Thursday. The Spaniard rider made the break on the Albula pass, the third and final climb of this mountainous stage, some 14km from the finish, to cross the line 40 seconds ahead of German duo Jorg Jaksche (Astana-Würth) and Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile). Gil now holds the overall lead in the race by 34 seconds over Jaksche and 54 seconds over Ullrich. Two years ago, Ullrich won this tour, and this week he has looked in control, perhaps fully recovered from an April injury that derailed his

Gord Fraser and Mike Sayers each got something special for this year’s Tour of Georgia (April 19-23), new bikes from their sponsor Cannondale. Now approaching mid-June, it’s hard to miss the growing number of big neon green sixes adorning the head tubes of many of Health Net-Maxxis riders’ bikes. In April, both racers were on pre-production prototypes, but now in less than a month, Cannondale is set to have the new rig ready for retail. The new bike, which mates aluminum and carbon utilizing the same process as Cannondale’s Six13, combines a complete carbon front end with a new CAAD 9

Stefan Parinussa (Team Sparkasse) managed to hold onto the yellow jersey after the crucial third stage of the Tour de Beauce, however, his lead over former leader Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators) was reduced by three-quarters, and Kobzarenko's team mate Sergey Lagutin won the stage and also moved into contention. Danny Pate (TIAA-CREF) continues to impress; finishing fourth on the stage, and moving up one place in GC to fourth. The third stage of Beauce is considered to be the Queen stage - finishing atop Mont Megantic after a five kilometer climb that averages close to 12%, with at least

Leukerbad, Switzerland, - Swiss rider Steve Morabito (Phonak) celebrated the first professional victory of his career, taking the fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Wednesday. That win was that much sweeter for taking place in the mountains where he grew up. His hometown of Les Troistorrents is just 58 miles away from Leukerbad, which is famous for its skiing and natural baths at the end of a steep and winding 16-kilometer road. “It’s astonishing that I had never ridden this road up here even though I lived so close,” said Morabito after nipping Discovery Channel’s Jurgen Van Goolen

Fixing the unfixableDear Lennard,All Shimano chains now come with connection pin. Can a chain be safelyjoined with a regular pin? I have done that in the past by not pushingthe pin all the way through then pressing it back in when I had to replacea bent link or two. Is that safe with a 10-speed Shimano chain?Lloyd Dear Loyd,No, it is not safe with any 10-speed chain. The Shimano or Campagnoloconnector pin is double-length, with a front tip section designed to keepthe pin lined up straight while slowly opening up the two holes in anticipationof the part of the pin that will remain lodged in

The 21st edition of Canada's premier stage race, the Tour de Beauce, began on Tuesday with a 164 kilometer stage through the rolling hills south of Quebec City. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators Insurance) won the stage and yellow jersey of race leader after dropping three breakaway companions in the final five kilometers of the stage. Kobzarenko finished 21 seconds ahead of second place Fausto Esparza Munoz (Tecos Trek VH), who out sprinted Kobzarenko's teammate Sergey Lagutin and Stefan Parinussa of the German Team Sparkasse. The first of the small groups which made up the remnants

No more Mr. Nice Guy from Levi Leipheimer in the Dauphiné Libéré. After watching Denis Menchov (Rabobank) ride his wheel all the way up the final 6km of Thursday’s grueling climb to Mont Ventoux without taking one pull — only to pip him and Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) for the victory — Leipheimer wanted to see what the Russian was made of in Friday’s 155km roller-coaster over the Izoard high in the French Alps. The Gerolsteiner captain finished eighth at 48 seconds behind stage winner Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r) to retain his 28-second lead to Menchov, but this time he forced the stoic Russian to

Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) surged into the overall lead Thursday at the 58th Dauphiné Libéré after a superb performance up Mont Ventoux on a day that saw many of the top favorites succumb to the giant of Provence. 2005 Vuelta a España winner Denis Menchov (Rabobank) grabbed the victory ahead of Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) in the 186km fourth stage after the pair rode Leipheimer’s wheel up the final 5km of one of cycling’s most feared climbs. “The most important thing today was taking the jersey,” said Leipheimer, who finished third at 15 seconds back. “I want to win the Dauphiné this year

Team CSC’s Dave Zabriskie did what he did best to lead an American sweep of the top four places in Wednesday’s 43km individual time trial at the 58th Dauphine Libere. Zabriskie was fastest to win for the second time in four days, but it was an American showcase in cycling’s Tour de France dress rehearsal, with Floyd Landis (Phonak), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) finishing two-three-four. “For some reason, the Americans are talented in time trialing,” said Zabriskie, who’s now among the best in the world now in the race of truth. “I have a theory.

Just back from the Giro d’Italia, I thought I’d give you a few photos from the Pontedera-Pontedera time trial and that you might not have seen elsewhere, including from the Piaggio (Vespa) museum in Pontedera, where the time trial (won by Jan Ullrich with Ivan Basso a close second) started and finished. David Millar came to the time trial to hang with his Saunier Duval teammates. He is very lean to the point that his pants also hang, ready to fall down at any time. My guess is he will be fit for the Tour prologue. It seemed to take me forever to ride from the 5K to go sign to the Monte

Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) joined an early breakaway effort in the 203km second stage of the Dauphiné Libéré Tuesday and not only managed to stay away but now holds a solid five-minute lead in the traditional warm-up race for the Tour de France. Gilbert finished more than five minutes ahead of the peloton on a generally flat stage from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Saint-Galmier in eastern France. Gilbert, winner of this year's Het Volk in Belgium, joined a three-man break with teammate Sebastien Joly and Quick Step's Cedric Vasseur at the 44km mark, but was the only survivor,

Monday’s longest stage of this very mountainous Dauphiné Libéré looked to be one for the sprinters. The 207km course from Annecy to Bourgoin-Jallieu was only interrupted by three rather innocuous Cat. 4 ripples late in the course profile. Early on, a lone avenger, in the form of Frenchman Nicolas Inaudi (Cofidis), stole away at 15km and at one point boasted a lead of nearly 18 minutes.CompleteResults That prompted Team CSC and Credit Agricole to cooperate, with Bjarne´s Army anxious to either keep prologue winner Dave Zabriskie in the race leader’s jersey or bounce Stuart O´Grady, who

Sunday marked the official opening of the Basso Era as Ivan Basso (CSC) won the 2006 Giro d'Italia in a dominant fashion that many expect to continue into July’s Tour de France. Basso, 28, insists he’s not out to ascend to Lance Armstrong’s vacant throne and that his overpowering victory in the 89th Giro d’Italia came in a style all his own. "I’m not looking to replace anyone and I have the utmost respect for Lance, but I have my results and I have earned my place in the group," Basso said Sunday morning ahead of the final stage. "I have my name and I only have to show that I am Ivan

Team CSC’s Ivan Basso barnstormed to victory Saturday in the final hard stage of the 89th Giro d’Italia in the style of the man everyone expects Basso to succeed – Lance Armstrong. Basso wasn’t in a giving mood when he dropped an exasperated Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval) with about 4km to go in Saturday’s grueling, 211km 20th stage to win for the third time and widen his grip on the maglia rosa to more than nine minutes with just one day left. An angry Simoni called Basso an "extraterrestrial" for his crushing performance and accused him riding unfairly by asking him to ride easy on the

The fourth round of the cross-country mountain-bike World Cup took riders to the Scottish Highlands on Saturday. Despite cold rain, which was torrential at times, the event featured some of the best racing of the World Cup so far. Julien Absalon (Bianchi Agos) took his third consecutive victory in the men's race, but perennial women's favorite Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida) ceded the top spot on the podium to her young teammate Nina Göhl after suffering a flat on the first lap. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher), meanwhile, had a breakthrough ride to finish on the podium

There’s no stopping Team CSC in this Giro d’Italia, unless they decide to stop themselves. Team CSC was everywhere in Friday’s epic seven-hour haul in the 221km 19th stage that hit such legendary climbs as the Fedaia, Pordoi and San Pellegrino. Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt were in the day’s winning 19-man break, five other Team CSC jerseys were pinned at the front of the main bunch and race leader Ivan Basso widened his hold on the maglia rosa to more than six minutes with just two days left. So what was Voigt doing when he reached over and patted Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) on the back

Lately, it seems, when there’s been a doping scandal involving cycling, Italy and the Giro d’Italia figured at the center of the storm. Think of Marco Pantani’s expulsion in 1999, the San Remo raids in 2001 and the ejection of Stefano Garzelli while in the leader’s jersey in 2002. This time around, a brewing tempest in Spain involving Liberty Seguros team manager Manolo Saiz, Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and three others reached all the way to the Giro's 18th stage, which began in the mountains of Austria Thursday morning. Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) won his second stage of

The Queen of stages at the Giro d’Italia proved to be something of a letdown Wednesday as rain, cold and even a bit of late-spring snow forced organizers to eliminate the goat path they had planned to herd the peloton up the 2273m summit at Plan de Corones. Winter-like whiteout conditions high in the Italian Dolomites prompted race organizers to remove the difficult Passo dello Erbe at 97km and then lower the summit finish by about five kilometers, shorting the 133km stage by 18km. Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) won his second stage in five days while Team CSC’s Ivan Basso took more time

Thus far in the Giro d’Italia, the key mountain stages have all featured a singleclimb at the end of an otherwise flat of rolling course. It has been apattern that’s proved perfect for race leader Ivan Basso. Every time —on the Passo di Larciano of stage 8, the Colle San Carlo on stage 13 andMonte Bondone on stage 16 — the CSC team leader has ridden away from allof his chief opponents. Indeed, Wednesday's Stage 17 would have featured a huge climb in the middle, but weather forced the eliminationof the Passo del Erbe from what was to have been the "Queen stage" of theGiro.Perhaps it will

If there was a shred of doubt about who was going to win the 89th Giro d'Italia going into Tuesday's climbing stage up Monte Bondone, Ivan Basso emphatically erased it with a dramatic statement high in the Italian Dolomites. If Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval) was racing on pride on his "home mountain," Basso was looking to carve a defining moment in what's been a flawless and dominant performance for the 28-year-old Varenese. With just under seven kilometers to go on the steep Bondone climb, Simoni could only watch Basso and the race leader's pink jersey slip away as Basso

Reigning Olympic champion Paolo Bettini Quick Step) put an end to a streak of frustrating finishes this season with a decisive win at the end of Monday’s 190km 15th stage of the Giro d’Italia. Overall race leader, CSC's Ivan Basso, enjoyed what could be described as this Giro's easiest, a completely flat ride from Mergozza to Brescia in the Lombardy region in Northern Italy. Bettini, 32, ended a string of frustrating near-wins, by grabbing the victory from this Giro's other bridesmaid, Pollack, who has also come frustratingly close to victory in most of this Giro's sprint

Sundays in Italy are usually reserved for quality time with the family, a nice meal out and an afternoon passeggiato. Not that nearly six hours on the bike and two tough mountains is ever easy, but Sunday’s 224-kilometer 14th stage from Aosta to Domodossola might seem like a Sunday stroll when the hit the likes of Pla de Corones and the Mortirolo on tap later this week. With the 11-man breakaway taking center-stage in the two-climb affair, an impromptu cease-fire between the favorites gave everyone a chance to reflect on what awaits them in the final week of the 89th Giro. Luis Felipe

Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) has won just about every major mountain climb in Spain, including a stage victory in the 2004 Vuelta a España, but the veteran Italian climbing specialist had never won in the Giro d’Italia. Piepoli, 34, has spent much of his 12-year career racing in Spain and all of his wins since 1999 have come on Spanish roads. The featherweight Italian changed that with an emphatic victory in Saturday’s rainy and cold 13th stage over the Colle San Carlo high in the Italian Alps. Piepoli was the only rider strong enough to follow Ivan Basso (CSC) when he turned on the

Joan Horrach (Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears) brought a Spanish accent to the 89th Giro d’Italia in a rough and tumble race that saw Emanuele Sella (Panaria) and Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval) crash twice while they were streaking toward victory. Horrach was the last man standing of a 15-man group that tore away from main bunch in the 171km 12th stage along Italy’s spectacular Cinque Terre coast. A frenetic final half of the stage saw the group whittled down by Sella’s and Mori’s aggression, but the pair crashed while nursing about a 20-second gap and Horrach was able to sneak through for the

It’s hard to believe that on a day when Ivan Basso nearly doubled his hold on the overall standings at the 2006 Giro d’Italia, the big story was another rider. But that’s just what happened when German Jan Ullrich stole the show — and the stage 11 win — in the 50km time trial from Pontedera to Pisa and back. Starting long before the Giro’s top GC hopefuls on a sunny, warm Thursday afternoon near Italy’s Ligurian Sea, Ullrich blistered the flat, oval shaped course that passed by Pisa’s famed leaning tower, posting a day’s best 58:48. From there, the waiting game began. It was more than three

After the Giro d’Italia’s second long transfer, this one taking therace from Pescara on Italy’s east coast to Pisa on the west, riders wereusing the rest day in Tuscany to scout out Thursday’s time trial courseand take stock of the race before heading into the upcoming week of climbsand more climbs. Stage 11 is a Tour de France-style time trial on a completelyflat 50km circuit around the Arno Valley between Pontedera and Pisa. JanUllrich scouted the course during an April training camp and likes it alot: “Flat and straight — perfect!” Race leader Ivan Basso predicts thatUllrich will ride a

It wasn’t quite as painful as the Nordic ski jumper that went spiraling down the hill all those years during the intro to ABC’s Wide World of Sports, but watching poor Axel Merckx throw several backward glances as a fast-moving chase group caught the Phonak rider just 150 meters from the line clearly rated as one of cycling’s agony-of-defeat moments. Instead of a heroic solo stage 10 win for the Belgian with the famous name, it was Liquigas lieutenant Franco Pellizotti who got to pop the champagne at the end of the 190km run south from Termoli to Peschici on Tuesday at the Giro

Steep, steep, steepDear Lennard,I recently read that Discovery director Johann Bruyneel is planningon putting a 34X29 on some of his riders' bikes for Stage 17 of the Giro.I don’t think Shimano makes either a compact Dura-Ace crank or a 29 cog.Any idea what they plan on using?James Dear James,I am in Italy now putting on a bikecamp with Connie Carpenter and Davis Phinney. We will be hookingup with the Giro starting at the Pontedera time trial on Thursday. I ameager to see the Stage 17 finish climb and the gearing teams use for it,too. According to Shimano USA and confirmed by Shimano

Tomas Vaitkus pulled off two great feats at the close of Monday's 132km run from Francavilla al Mare to Termoli. In winning the bunch sprint down the main drag of this sleepy beach town on the Adriatic, Vaitkus became the first Lithuanian to win a Giro d'Italia stage. But maybe more impressive was the fact that Vaitkus did so ahead of Robbie McEwen, heretofore unbeatable in mass gallops at this year's Giro. McEwen actually finished fourth on stage 9, with Vaitkus (Ag2r), Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) and Olaf Pollack (T-Mobile) all besting the Davitamon-Lotto rider.

If there is such a thing as a psychological advantage in bike racing, Ivan Basso now has it. The Team CSC leader also now owns the maglia rosa of race leader and no less than a 1:34 edge on his chief rivals in the 2006 Giro d’Italia. All this came courtesy of a stunning display of climbing force at the close of the 171km stage 8 run from Civitanova Marche to the 1289-meter summit finish at Maielletta-Passo Lanciano. Following a sharp attack from fellow Giro favorite Damiano Cunego 4km from the finish, Basso latched onto the Lampre-Fondital rider’s wheel, and then mercilessly dropped the 2004

Saturday’s 236km stage from Cesana to Saltara certainly won’t decide the overall winner of the 2006 Giro d’Italia, but it may have revealed some cracks in at least one of the pre-race favorites. While Belgian Rik Verbrugghe was off the front gunning his way to a hard-fought solo stage win, Italian Danilo Di Luca was noticeably absent from a fast-closing group that included the rest of the Giro’s big GC guns — Paolo Savoldelli, Gilberto Simoni and Damiano Cunego. At the finish Di Luca (Liquigas) managed to limit his losses to second-place finisher Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) to 20

Aussie speedster Robbie McEwen continued his dominating run at the 2006 Giro d'Italia, grabbing a convincing stage-6 win at the finish of the dead flat, 227km run along the Po Valley from Busseto to Forli. The triumph gave the "Pocket Rocket" three victories at this year’s Giro, bring his career total to 11. One spot back of McEwen was T-Mobile’s Olaf Pollack, who was no match for the Davitamon-Lotto speedster. Still, he could take solace in the new pink jersey he would be taking back to the team hotel. Coming into the day, Pollack had trailed teammate and GC leader Sergei Honchar by 10

Call Thursday statement day at the 2006 Giro d’Italia, with a pair of very loud and clear messages being broadcast to the cycling world. No. 1: Don’t read too much into the lackluster prologue-time-trial effort of Ivan Basso last Saturday, when he surrendered 23 seconds to 2005 Giro champ Paolo Savoldelli. Basso and his Team CSC squad looked just fine during stage 5’s team time trial, scorching the flat, 35km course from Piacenza to Cremona in a day’s-best 36:56. And while everyone is paying attention, it’s probably too early to count out Jan Ullrich and his T-Mobile squad for this summer’s

After a bouncy ride through the spring classics, there is no hotter team in the ProTour than Davitamon-Lotto. Since the end of April the Belgian squad has grabbed three stage wins, plus the overall at Switzerland’s Tour de Romandie, and taken a pair of stage wins here at the 2006 Giro d’Italia. VeloNews caught up with directeur sportif Allan Peiper during Wednesday’s rest day at the Giro to find out what is driving the team’s turnaround. VeloNews: Fair to say Davitamon-Lotto has it going in the right direction? Allan Peiper: Yeah, we had a rough trot through the classics and couldn’t get

Following his second stage win at the 2006 Giro d'Italia, Robbie McEwenbrushed off the idea that he had ascended the crown of world's fastestbike racer. But there was no denying that the Australian Davitamon-Lotto man hasalready made an indelible mark on this year's tour of Italy. In the waning moments of the hilly 193km run from Wanzee to Hotton,McEwen calmly bided his time, then launched across the line to take secondstage win in three days, and his 10th career victory at the Giro. "I've won two sprints here this year, sure, but there are still a lotof tough rivals," said

Metaphorically, the 2km, 400-foot cobblestone ascent up Namur’s Citadelle hill represented the end of a very long climb for Stefan Schumacher. In a literal sense, it marked the passage from up-and-coming rider to the new holder of the 2006 Giro d’Italia’s maglia rosa. Indeed, the 24-year-old Gerolsteiner’s win of the rain soaked, stage 3 slog from Perwez to Namur was as big and bold as they come. Following a day marred by crashes — including one that left Italian sprint star Alessandro Petacchi nearly 15 minutes off the back and eventually out of the race — Schumacher jumped away from

Sprint ace Alessandro Petacchi is out of the Giro d’Italia after fracturing his left kneecap during a fall in Monday’s stage to Namur in Belgium. The Milram speedsters, who has 19 career stage wins in the Giro, may be out of the Tour de France as well, a team spokesman said. "The doctors did not say how long he would be out for," said the spokesperson. "We will have to wait for the next examination in Italy. However, it looks almost certain he will not be fit for the Tour de France." Earlier, the 32-year-old sprinter had tried to sound optimistic about his chances of making it through

Count Robbie McEwen among a very select group. He is one of the few people with the power to make Alessandro Petacchi nervous. That ability paid big dividends on Sunday, as the Aussie sprint star easily beat Petacchi to the line during the bunch sprint that concluded stage 2 of the 2006 Giro d’Italia. “I think I may be the only rider that can force Alessandro to make small mistakes or try to change his tactic,” said McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) after taking victory in the 197km run from Mons to Charleroi-Marcinelle. “When [Petacchi] looked around and saw me on his wheel, I think it made him a

Credit Fontana with a first in the history of the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series: Defending cross-country champions Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna) coasted across the finish line side by side to win the first round of the 2006 series. Kabush, who was leading the four-lap men’s race, caught Vanlandingham just as she was wrapping up the victory in the three-lap women’s event. “I saw her coming through the last couple of whoops and heard people cheering for her,” Kabush said. “It’s pretty rare that two winners get to roll across together so I gave it some gas.”

If defending champion Paolo Savoldelli is feeling the pressure, you sure couldn’t tell on the opening day of the 2006 Giro d’Italia Saturday. First Il Falco sailed to a commanding 11-second win in the 6.2-kilometer stage 1 prologue in Seraing, Belgium. Then, with an encouraging crowd cheering him on, the Discovery Channel captain doused two helpless podium girls with champagne before taking a big pull from the oversized bottle of bubbly. Who was this guy heretofore better known for stoicism than stage antics? Well, it’s far too early to call him the ‘new’ man to beat here at the Italian

Giro d’Italia race director Angelo Zomegnan would love to see a repeat of last year’s race — his first at the helm of the world’s No. 2 grand tour — when Paolo Savoldelli, Gilberto Simoni, José Rujano and Danilo Di Luca were all battling for the pink jersey only 24 hours before the finish in Milan. This year, Zomegnan has again placed one of the toughest mountain stages on the final weekend (as well as packing the final week with similarly challenging stages) in the hopes that the above four riders, along with Ivan Basso and Damiano Cunego, will again leave the outcome in doubt until the

With the 2006 Giro d’Italia kicking off with a 6.2-kilometer individual time trial in Seraing, Belgium, on Saturday, teams are at their hotels and now all that’s left is the waiting… and a bit of prognosticating. Our editors take a detailed look at this year’s Giro in the current issue of VeloNews. Here’s an updated look at the teams and their chances for success in the first of this year’s grand tours. DISCOVERY CHANNEL (USA)Race numbers: 1-9GC contender: Paolo Savoldelli (I): Il Falco is looking for his third Giro win. Last year he showed his ability to come into form as the race went

While XTR shifting systems made waves at last month?s Sea Otter Classic, Shimano left us in the dark concerning the details of the rest of the group. Still we don?t have the whole story, but Shimano has now offered a look at the new braking options the group will offer. The two most interesting features of the new system are the perpendicular or radial master cylinder on the brake lever and new mono-body design on the calipers. The new lever design frees up space on the bar and provides for a smoother modulating brake, while the single forged mono-body caliper lightens the system and

Mating Mavic, Campy and ShimanoDear Lennard, I've got some 2004 Mavic Cosmic Carbones with a Campy cassette and have recently bought a bike with Dura-Ace 10 transmission. What would I have to do to use the Cosmics on this bike?Andy Dear Andy,Those wheels would not shift worth beans using a Campy 10 cogset with a Shimano 10 transmission. You could buy and install a Shimano 10-speed cogset and a Mavic freehub body for Shimano (called "M10"), interchanging it with that "ED10" freehub body and Campy cogset. Alternatively, you may be able to locate some aftermarket cogs for a Campy freehub

With the exception of the rain that plagued last year’s race, Saturday's 27th running of the Athens Twilight Criterium proved to be nearly a re-run of2005 edition.Under cool gray skies, the field of 20 teams kept up the traditionally fast pace associated with the .55 mile course throughout the evening.The initially prime-hungry pack saw a multiple rider pile-up by the third lap, and control of the race shifted hands often during the initialthird of the 80-lap event.

The folks at Bontrager took an opportunity at last week’s Tour de Georgia to introduce additions to the brand’s high-end road racing product lineup. Major additions include an expansion of the Aeolus deep-dish aerodynamic wheel line as well as a new time trial disc wheel – all produced under a partnership with HED Cycling Products. Why aero?For the last few years riders have put a premium on weight and all but ignoring aerodynamics. Recently, even at the sports top level, aerodynamic advantage has only been considered when it comes to time trialing. But whether you look at a grand tour

Water SolutionDear Readers,It seems that whenever it is raining somewhere in the USA, I get questionsabout drain holes in the bottom bracket and rims. In the past, I have advisedpeople to drill their own if they are not present, but of course that isat great risk of voiding their warranties. However, here is a solutionthat might appeal to those whose bikes are filling up with water as wellas for those who do not want to void their warranties.LennardDear Lennard,I recently discovered it's not difficult to drill a hole down the centerof the set screw that holds the cable guide in place

Final Overall 1. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 24:00:54 2. Thomas Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling, 00:04 3. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling, 01:55 4. Gutierrez Cataluna José Enrique (Sp), Phonak, 02:11 5. Janez Brajkovic (SLO), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling, 02:15 6. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, 02:31 7. Nathan O'Neill (Aus), Health Net Maxxis, 03:45 8. Marco Pinotti (I), Saunier Duval, 03:54 9. Christopher Baldwin (USA), Toyota-United, 04:01 10. Augusto Cesar Augusto (Col), Navigators Insurance, 04:20

Chalk one up for the little guys. Following a five-day shutout in which domestic teams failed to win a single stage and only managed two top-three finishes against their ProTour foes, Toyota-United speedster Juan Jose Haedo earned a measure of redemption for the U.S.-based squads at the Ford Tour de Georgia, taking a bunch-sprint win on the final day of racing. The Argentine finished half a bike length ahead of Canadian Gord Fraser (Health Net-Maxxis), with Phonak’s Aurelien Clerc third at the finish of Sunday’s 118.2-mile stage from Cumming to Alpharetta.

Alejandro Valverde, whose fans sometimes call him Balaverde, the Green Bullet, added a second notch to his list of classics victories on Sunday in a riveting 92nd edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, raced on a splendidly sunny spring day. The verdict was always in doubt after repeated attacks in the finale failed to break up a 12-strong group that eventually contested a ragged sprint, which Valverde of Caisse d’Épargne-Illes Balears clearly won from the Italians Paolo Bettini of Quick Step-Innergetic and Damiano Cunego of Lampre-Fondital.

The amazing spring run of Floyd Landis continued on Saturday, as the American stared down a stiff challenge from Tom Danielson and the Discovery Channel team during the brutal Stage 5 climb up Brasstown Bald at the 2006 Ford Tour de Georgia.

Fred Rodriguez must like it in Dahlonega. For the second time in thefour-year history of the Tour de Georgia, the American speedstersprinted to a stage win in this small college town at the base of theBlue Ridge Mountains. Rodriguez burst across the line ahead of Italian Matteo Tosatto (QuickStep-Innergetic) and Discovery’s Yaroslav Popovych to grab victory inthe 118.9-mile stage that begin in Dalton.