Road Racing

There’s a saying that’s come en vogue these days that’s applicable across many horizons in life: When it’s on, it’s on. And for the domestic Health Net-Maxxis team, the Wachovia Cycling Series has been on. The team followed up its win by Greg Henderson in Lancaster Tuesday with another sprint win Thursday evening in Trenton, New Jersey, this time coming from cagey veteran Gord Fraser. Add in Ivan Dominguez’s win at the CSC Invitational in Arlington, Virginia, on May 29, and the powerhouse team has taken three sprint wins in three consecutive races with three different riders. Looking at the

Lancaster, Pennsylvania- Heading into June, the big wins just keep coming for the Health Net Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis. Coming off Ivan Dominguez’s win at the CSC Invitational in Arlington, Virginia, on May 29, Health Net came in to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on May 31 for the 91-mile opening round of the three-race Wachovia Cycling Series as the undisputed top team in the U.S. And the team lived up to its reputation, putting four men into the race-winning 14-rider breakaway and setting up New Zealander Greg Henderson for a bunch sprint victory, beating American national champion

For once, there wasn’t a surprise in the Giro d’Italia. Sunday’s 119km final stage unfolded just like everyone expected, with Alessandro Petacchi riding the fumes of his Fassa Bortolo train to his fourth stage victory of this year’s corsa rosa. Beyond that, there was hardly a day where something unexpected didn’t happen. From Ivan Basso’s stomach problems to Damiano Cunego’s collapse to José Rujano’s near revolt, the 88th Giro has packed plenty of surprises per kilometer. “This victory has been very satisfying because it was a very challenging and interesting Giro,” said Paolo Savoldelli,

Rain gear is usually more critical at Houffalize than sunscreen, but on Sunday riders were wilting in 30-plus degree (Celsius) heat and choking on dust during the third round of the mountain bike World Cup. But the Belgian bakery didn't cook Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida), who took her second consecutive victory over the women's field, to extend her lead over Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects). In the men's race, there was a new face on the top step of the podium - Marco Bui (Full Dynamix). Bui stormed away from the field, as he has done in both previous

ARLINGTON, VA – Ivan Dominguez (HealthNet Maxxis) and Laura Van Gilder (Team Quark) out sprinted their respective break-away companions to win the CSC Invitational on Sunday. Dominguez was the last sprinter standing in a four-man break formed only thirty minutes from the finish. Break mates Kirk O'Bee (Navigators), Ivan Stevic (Aerospace Engineering-VMG) and Bobby Julich (CSC), after trying several times to attack the HealthNet sprinter, could do nothing more than watch Dominguez power out of the last turn and throw his bike across the line for the win. Van Gilder nipped Ina Teutenberg

Saturday’s larger-than-life battle over the gravel roads of the Colle delle Finestra was a fitting ending to what’s been an epic Giro d’Italia. Discovery Channel’s Paolo Savoldelli saw his maglia rosa come under fire in the grueling 190km 19th stage after Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) and Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) attacked hard up the fearsome Finestra, but he clawed back to save his second Giro victory in four years with just one day left in the 88th corsa rosa. “I don’t feel like a great Giro champion because I don’t attack and make a dramatic showing like the other Giro

Paolo Savoldelli and other Giro d’Italia contenders must be quietly thankful that Ivan Basso had his stomach problems. If the Team CSC captain hadn’t come down with a crook stomach and lost 40 minutes over the Stelvio, this Giro very well could have been all but decided a week ago instead of being one of the most exciting in a generation. For the second day in a row, Basso blazed to an impressive stage victory, this time roaring to the first major time trial victory in his career in Friday’s 34km race against the clock in the hills around Torino. “These stage victories make up for the

Ivan Basso won’t win this year’s Giro d’Italia, but a stage victory high in the Italian Alps sent a warning shot to anyone thinks the 27-year-old Team CSC leader gives up easy. Basso doggedly refused to quit despite ceding 40 minutes to what were his fellow overall contenders up the mighty Stelvio last weekend and then roared back to the winner’s circle Thursday with an emphatic solo win in the 194km 17th stage. “I never considered quitting the Giro. I came here to win and when my physical problems wouldn’t allow that to happen, I had to change my focus to winning a stage,” said Basso, who

Third brake lever on CSC’s TT bikesDear Lennard,From the UK - watching the TT at the Giro on Eurosport the other day I noticed CSC were running what seemed to be a third brake lever on the aero’ extension. Can you give any insight to this, as there is nothing on the team website - i.e., would it be wired up like a 'cross lever? Why hasn't anyone done it before and so on?Stuart Dear Stuart,A number of people wrote me about this. A lot of people with sharp eyes out there! Yes, David Zabriskie and Ivan Basso placed 1-2 using Cervelo P3s (one aluminum, one carbon) with a second

It’s amazing to think a Frenchman hasn’t won a stage in the Giro d’Italia since Laurent Jalabert did so in in Lumezzane in 1999. That’s a sign that,France isn’t the cycling powerhouse it used to be.That the Giro had truly become a national tour that attracted little attention beyond the Alps.Some combination of the twoIt may be the third choice, since both factors are probably a little true, but the Giro is growing in stature and French cycling seems to be slowly on the rebound. A whole new crop of young French riders are making their presence felt in the peloton. Wednesday’s 210km

Can this Giro d’Italia get any more exciting? Just hold on to your Gucci sunglasses, because it will. With five days remaining and five riders bunched within two minutes of leader Paolo Savoldelli, the 88th Giro promises to be nail-biting right to the end. “With the stages we have left, it truly is still an open race,” said two-time champion Gilberto Simoni after a morning spin on the Giro’s final rest day Tuesday. “The mountain stages are very difficult and I’m sure the time trial will be important, but I think the final mountain stage will be the kicker. It’s going to be a great show for

Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi took his third win in the weather-shortened 15th stage as the Giro d’Italia trudged into its final week. Poor weather prompted officials to move the start to the bottom of day’s big climb, making it a relatively easy, if soggy day in the saddle for the 159 remaining riders. After a long breakaway by Roy Sentjens (Rabobank), Fassa’s silver train was back on track and catapulted Petacchi to an easy win ahead of the sprinter-depleted field. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) came through second while Olympic champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) took third. “Today the

The mighty 2758m Passo dello Stelvio in Sunday’s three-climb 14th epic stage lived up to its billing and took its toll on the160 ragged riders remaining in the 88th Giro d’Italia. The monstrous climb eliminated Paolo Savoldelli’s most dangerous rival – Team CSC’s Ivan Basso -- but the Discovery Channel falcon quickly found himself having to fend off new ones. Savoldelli kept his hold on the maglia rosa in the grueling 210km march across the Dolomites, but the margin was trimmed to less than a half-minute after the ever-resilient Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) followed an electrifying

Well, well, well, this Giro d’Italia just keeps getting more interesting by the day. In Saturday’s 218km grind-fest high in the spectacular Dolomites, Discovery Channel’s Paolo Savoldelli snatched the leader’s jersey away from CSC’s Ivan Basso with a powerful attack on the day’s final climb and proved yet again he’s a top candidate for the overall victory. Savoldelli followed a move by two-time Giro champion Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) midway up the day’s fifth and final climb on the Cat. 1 Pontives. A struggling Basso, weakened by a stomach bug, couldn’t answer as “Il Falco” surged

Alessandro Petacchi catapulted to his second stage win of the 88th Giro d’Italia in what turned out to be a slow 178km roll between giants. Following the sparks in Thursday’s stage to Zoldo Alto and the epic climbs lying in wait in the Dolomites this weekend, the peloton seemed content to enjoy Friday’s sunny passeggiata from Alleghe to Rovereto. “These sprints after the mountains are always difficult, but the team was motivated to win. I could still feel yesterday’s stage in my legs,” said Petacchi, who won easily ahead of Paride Grillo (Panaria). “This year it’s been harder to win stages,

And then there were two. After months of hype and 10 exciting stages of pyrotechnics, 150 kilometers of pavement up the grinding Passo Duran and to the summit finish to Zoldo Alto turned the 88th Giro into a two-man race. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, but Ivan Basso’s piston-shot legs spun a tale of destruction in his wake. Only the inspired Paolo Savoldelli, the 2002 Giro winner wracked by two seasons of injury and frustration, could hang on. Team CSC’s Basso surged into the maglia rosa after a string of vicious accelerations left his rivals withered on the steep roads in the

Robbie McEwen is a puckish little scrapper who’s made a career of knocking the crown off the big dogs. But pulling a hat-trick against the formidable Fassa Bortolo train in the opening 10 days of the 88th Giro d’Italia is something else. McEwen might as well be called the giant killer of the corsa rosa and the Davitamon-Lotto rider played his David card yet again in Wednesday’s 212km snoozer that started slow, got wet and ended hot across the flats of the Po Valley. With the ominous Dolomites brooding to the north, the peloton was in no hurry to go anywhere until it charged onto three laps

If at first you don't succeed... Try, try again. That's the motto being adopted by Fassa Bortolo, who, after several failed attempts, finally got their Silver Train in motion, sending Alessandro Petacchi to the line for his first stage victory of the 2005 Giro. It would have been a travesty if he didn't win. With wide-open streets and generous corners, the stage was tailor-made for his team to deliver their man in fine form to the line. And that's exactly what the team managed to do on Monday, at the close of a 139km race from Firenze to Ravenna. With his lead-out men

Andy Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage) and Ann Trombley (Excel Sports) stood atop the final podium at the Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Sunday, a double-stage day that began with a brutal hill climb and ended in a furiously contested criterium. Racing began with the morning’s Sunshine Canyon Hill Climb, a 9-mile stage that climbed 3300 feet. In the men’s race, Chris Baldwin (Navigators Insurance) initiated the winning move early on the first steep pitch. “There were six guys left, and I’m like, ‘God, this is the race,’” said. Andy Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage), who took second in front of Mitch

Forty five kilometers is more than enough to sort out the men from the boys and on Sunday the man of the moment turned out to be an American by the name of David Zabriskie, who blazed into Firenze under the Tuscan sun at a fantastic average speed of 46.140kph. It was the second grand tour stage win for this Utah native, who now spends his European summers in Spain and winters in California. His first came not so long ago, on Stage 11 of the 2004 Vuelta a España, where the 26-year-old staged an audacious, 162 kilometer solo adventure of suffering - and then did the incredible by actually

Today, the rolling hills of Tuscany left their mark on the 2005 Giro d'Italia, as the first successful breakaway saw 27-year-old Liberty Seguros rider Koldo Gil triumphant in Pistoia. It was a beautiful victory on an ugly day; not just due to the overcast, rainy weather, but for the Sammommé climb that split the peloton into pieces, and most likely dashed the hopes of more than a few overall contenders. Just 12 riders finished 20 seconds in arrears of the victorious Gil – Damiano Cunego (Lampre), Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi), Mirko Celestino (Domina Vacanze), Patrice Halgand

When the sprint is rough, tough, tight and twisty, there's only one person you should bank on. Despite missing the entire spring due to a virus, speed demon Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) is just about back to his best form, winning today's crash-filled finale in Marina di Grosseto with apparent ease. In fact, in a rare show of generosity, the 32-year-old Queenslander tried to give the stage to his fellow Aussie and loyal lead-out man, Henk Vogels, soft-pedaling in second wheel with a kilometer to go, and allowing Vogels to surreptitiously sail off the front. It was a great move,

With a few of the tifosi a little disheartened by what they saw on Wednesday, some may have been hoping to see another of their guys in pink. Well today, Danilo Di Luca gave them their wish. After his performance in L'Aquila, the 29-year-old darling of Italian cycling has surely won all the hearts of his countrymen. As they did at Pais Vasco, Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne and two days ago in Giffoni Valle Piana, his Liquigas-Bianchi team rode their hearts out, setting Di Luca up perfectly for the final kilometer and in a finale like Thursday’s, the speedster from Spoltore proved

Another unpredictable day in Italia. It's the only way to describe this first week of the 2005 Giro d'Italia, where, yet again, on a stage seemingly set for the pure sprinter, things went horribly wrong. Just as he did three days ago in Tropea, Paolo Bettini (QuickStep) foiled the fast guys' plans, attacking with vengeance on a not-so-straightforward finale, then burying the hatchet with a punchy sprint finish. Or so he thought... Only Baden Cooke (La Française des Jeux) had the legs and the audacity to challenge Bettini, but suspect sprinting tactics from the Olympic road champ

What a difference a year makes. Ivan Basso joined Team CSC for the 2004 season, and under Bjarne Riis’s watchful eye, the reserved, almost shy Italian took a major leap forward in his professional career. Last year he was the only rider strong enough to stay with Lance Armstrong in the Pyrénées and earned a stage victory and third-place Tour de France podium for his efforts. Basso has grown out of his shell with Riis, building the necessary skills to forge that “killer instinct” so necessary to win cycling’s grueling three-week grand tours. Basso is now racing in the first week of the Giro

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Well, the maglia rosa only took a day's leave off Paolo Bettini's shoulders before the 31-year-old Italian decided he wanted it again. When stage winner Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) lit it up on the decisive climb of Santa Tecla, Il Grillo simply hopped, skipped and jumped into the lead group, and held his top-10 position all the way to the end. By virtue of his eighth place in Giffoni Valle Piana, Bettini resumed his place at the top of the leader board, nine seconds ahead of Di Luca and 17 in front of defending Giro champion

Will a 31.7mm bar fit a 31.8mm stem?Dear Lennard,What do you think of using a 31.7 diameter road bar with a 31.8 stem? I'm under the impression that it is widely accepted to be okay. to use 25.8 diameter bars with 26.0 stems, and I do this on three of my bikes as I really like Deda bars, but prefer other stems. I would like to change one bike to a Thomson X4 stem and Deda oversize bars.Shane Dear Shane,The oversized handlebar diameter is done on an inch standard, namely 1-1/4”. Well, 1.25 inches is equal to 31.75mm, putting it squarely between the 31.7mm and 31.8mm dimensions. My opinion

The 88th Giro d’Italia is already in full flight and there’s no more beautiful spectacle in cycling than the corsa rosa. With its passionate tifosi, its dramatic backdrops and action-packed racing, the Giro is the race of the season for many fans worldwide. While the Tour de France has eclipsed its Italian neighbor in statue and prestige in the past quarter century, the Giro looks to be creeping closer to parity with the French colossus. Thanks to a variety of reasons, this year’s Giro is sure to be more thrilling than the Tour and a much more entertaining race to watch. Look at the

It was a battle of the bumping elbows on the mean streets of Santa Maria del Cedro in southern Italy, but fearless Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) slipped through unscathed to claim both the win and the maglia rosa. The first 181 kilometers of the 182km second stage along the absolutely stunning Calabrian coast unfolded pretty much as can be expected, but then things got downright ornery as the peloton bore down on the final 1000 meters. There was an outright rebellion as Crédit Agricole and Davitamon-Lotto refused to step aside for Fassa Bortolo and undisputed sprint king Alessandro

Finishing on the podium Saturday night and just two seconds behind Australian maglia rosa Brett Lancaster, the smart money was on Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) to earn a stage win and take over the leader's jersey at the end of Sunday's 208 kilometer stage from from Reggio Calabria to Tropea. But a short, but steep, final rise to the finish seemed to nearly derail the Silver Train of Fassa Bortolo, opening the door for a well-timed final kilometer attack from QuickStep's Paolo Bettini. Timing his jump to perfection, and reminiscent of the attack that led to his Olympic

Aussie Brett Lancaster (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) put his gold-medal track skills to good use Saturday evening, winning the short prologue to kick-start the 88th Giro d'Italia and grab the first maglia rosa. The 25-year-old from Victoria posted a time of 1 minute, 20 seconds for the 1.15km prologue, run under brilliant spring skies in Reggio Calabria, with Sicily and the brooding Mt. Etna in the backdrop. The course was peculiar for a grand-tour prologue; long and straight, with nary a curve, it was a drag strip for the start of what should be an exciting corsa rosa. But it suited

Cunego 'ready' for Giro defenseDamiano Cunego said he’s arriving in peak form just in time to defend his Giro d’Italia title. Like arch-rival Ivan Basso, Cunego is also planning on racing in the Tour de France, so both riders are arriving to the Giro a little off peak fitness with the idea of being able to hit their stride for the decisive second half of the Giro. “The victory at Romandie lifted the pressure from me for not having a win so far this season,” Cunego told Datasport. “I had some good feelings in the time trial in Lausanne, but obviously my condition wasn’t at the top. I

The importance of gluing in earnestDear Lennard,I read with interest your detailed plan for gluing tubulars in yournewCycling Primer. One thing I left out in my process of gluing on a newtire is to scrape the latex on the base tape on my Vittoria Open Corsa– it did not look like it had anything to scrape. Anyway, since I havealready put a couple layers of glue onto the base tape and mounted thetire, how can I go back and re-scrape and re-glue this tire? Or is it toolate?AndrewDear Andrew,Interesting timing on this, as I just wrote an article on tubular gluingfor the VeloNews issue No.8,

David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde will be spending much of May plying the roads of Italy after being selected as part of the nine-man Team CSC squad for the upcoming Giro d’Italia. The two Americans will be riding in support of Team CSC captain Ivan Basso in the hunt for the maglia rosa in the season’s first three-week tour which kicks off with a short prologue May 7 in Reggio Calabria. It will be the first Giro for both riders. “I think we have a strong team and I know for sure that all our riders are extremely motivated to go all out for Ivan,” said Team CSC boss Bjarne Riis. “No

Phonak’s Santiago Botero signaled his return to winning ways by claiming overall victory in the Tour of Romandie, the 11th race of the 27-leg Pro Tour series. Botero claimed victory after winning the final stage time trial held over a 20.4-kilometer route in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Sunday. The Colombian, a former world champion in the discipline, came over the finish line to beat Australian specialist Brad McGee, with overnight race leader Damiano Cunego of Italy finishing third on the stage. Botero's victory comes in the wake of a relatively barren spell, most of which he endured

Until recently I had forgotten how much fun it is to just get out and ride for the sake of riding. Over the past 10 winters (give or take a few) I have been logging mile-upon-mile, all in the name of establishing a good base to support my body throughout the next six to eight months of torture it would be put through racing. You see for the last 15 years, right up until about 8 months ago, I was working hard to be a professional cyclist. In some ways I made it, and lived a small part of the dream I had been chasing. I have raced in the pro-class at NORBA Nationals, and I have stood atop

Alessandro Petacchi continued on his winning ways, charging to his 15th win of the 2005 season in Wednesday’s first stage of the Tour de Romandie. And it’s not even May yet. The Milan-San Remo champion out-kicked Tom Steels (Davitamon-Lotto) on the 167km circuit course to snag a soggy victory in central Switzerland. "Winning is never easy when you're the favorite, but my team did a great job yet again," Petacchi said. “It was a tough stage because we raced hard and the weather was pretty bad all day. Fortunately we went through the finish area three times during the stage and so I knew

Just a year ago, Phonak rider Tyler Hamilton roared through the final time trial at the six-day Tour de Romandie to defend his title. The emotional victory gave the Swiss team a huge boost in the run up to what would be its first Tour de France. A year later, Hamilton wasn’t in Geneva for Tuesday’s short opening prologue for the 2005 edition. Instead, he’s fighting to save his cycling career after receiving a two-year racing ban for homologous blood doping. That left it up to unsung and under-rated Oscar Pereiro to save the day for the Phonak team in the second most-important stage race in

Final overall standings
1. Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel 26:53:44
2. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner at 4sec
3. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 9sec
4. Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 1min 10sec
5. Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 1min 41sec
6. David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 3min 4sec
7. Marco Pinotti (ITA) Prodir-Saunier Duval 3min 11sec
8. Nathan O'Neill (AUS) Navigators Insurance 3min 14sec
9. Michael Blaudzun (DEN) Team CSC 3min 51sec
10. Jose Azevedo (POR) Discovery Channel 3min 58sec

Tom Danielson isn't all that interested in hearing the talk, but it is the inevitability that every great up and coming athlete must face. Following his overall victory at the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia, the young American cyclist who can climb and time trial with the best of them, must endure the reality that will come with riding for a Discovery Channel team that is about to lose its No. 1 rider. Whether Danielson likes it or not, the comparisons to Lance Armstrong begin now.

Alex Vinokourov’s exciting victory over Jens Voigt in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège not only ended the T-Mobile’s season-long losing streak, but also laid to rest the assumption that a long-range breakaway couldn’t succeed in this super-hilly classic. Vinokourov was not among the top favorites to win this 10th race of the UCI ProTour, but his rising form and savvy racing brain allowed him to take advantage of a race that was in flux after the trilogy of climbs that were restored to the 260km course.

[nid:30845]On a day of high drama, riveting plot twists and an outcome that was literally undecided until the last second, the most telling moment may well have come during the ascent of the category 1 Hogpen Gap climb, 96 miles into stage 5 of the Dodge Tour de Georgia. It was there that the world’s most famous bike racer went to the front of a four-rider break and started hammering away for one of his teammates, American Tom Danielson.

The results sheet for stage 4 of the Dodge Tour de Georgia showed CSC’s Brian Vandborg as the day’s winner. And indeed the Dane did win the wicked 133.4-mile test from Dalton to Dahlonega, finishing in 5:33:02. But the bigger victor on a Friday afternoon where racers were brutalized by wind, rain and hail, was American Floyd Landis.

There were two definite declarations to be made following the third stage of the Dodge Tour de Georgia in Rome on Thursday. First, if it wasn’t already, American Floyd Landis made it clear that with or without the services of the now-suspended Tyler Hamilton, the future of the Phonak team is in solid hands as it heads into the important months of the 2005 season.

After he won the Amstel Gold Race last Sunday, a rejuvenated and revitalized Danilo Di Luca said that his next goal was this coming weekend’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. “That’s a race I’ve always dreamed about winning,” he said. So how come he won the Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday? “Good question,” Di Luca replied. “This morning, we decided that we would see what happens in the race. Well, [Jens] Voigt was riding very, very strong in the break. It was the decision of my director [Roberto] Amadio, and me too, to make my teammates ride.”

Cold-setting (that means bending to you and me)Dear Lennard,I ride a 1980's vintage Klein Quantum with an 8-speed rear. ShouldI be able to get the frame adjusted to fit a wider 9- or 10-speed wheel?BrianDear Brian,Were this question about a steel frame, it would be not be a problem,but no, you cannot adjust an aluminum frame permanently without damagingthe frame. But you can flex the stays to put in the wheel each time youdo it without hurting the frame. You just can't make fast wheel changes.However, cold-setting an aluminum rear end so that it holds 130mm rearspacing rather than the

You can’t help but feel the anguish of Michael Boogerd. Although he did win the Amstel Gold Race in 1999, by narrowly outsprinting Lance Armstrong, Rabobank’s lanky Dutchman has since been the runner-up no less than four times. The cruelest of those second places came on Sunday, when the latest man to beat him to the line was Danilo Di Luca, the revitalized Liquigas-Bianchi team leader who last week won the Tour of the Basque Country.

Crank optionsDear Lennard,I am going to Corsica in September. My bike has a standard Dura-Ace10-speed drivetrain with a double chainring. I would like to put on a compactcrankset for the trip, then reinstall the original after I return. My preferencewould be to not install a new bottom bracket. I could go to a triple. Doesany compact crank fit the Dura-Ace outside bearing bottom bracket? CanI run a triple Dura-Ace or Ultegra as a double without changing out theread end? I would rather not have to get a new crank and bottom bracket(like an FSA) just for one trip.Many thanks.BobDear Bob,The

With baby daughter Julia Paris cradled in his arms, a physically and emotionally drained George Hincapie finally stood on the Paris-Roubaix podium he’s doggedly pursued for so many years. Standing one step higher was Tom Boonen, the Belgian bomber who swept to an emotional victory in a three-up sprint that also included Spanish charger Juan Antonio Flecha.

Depending on your perspective, Nico Mattan’s win at the 67th edition Ghent-Wevelgem on Wednesday was either one of the most heroic come-from-behind efforts of the season, or it was something that bordered on cheating.

Road size versus 'cross sizeDear Lennard,I'm in the process of purchasing a new cyclo-cross bike and a little confused about the sizing. I currently ride a Trek Madone (M) 56 with a top tube length of 56.2 and this fits me fine. I originally thought I would get a 56 XO1, but according to Trek's website, this is an XL but the top tube length is 55.5, a little less than my road bike, and the stand over height is 1.6 larger than the road bike. Should I be on a 54 (L) with a 54.0 top tube length?Any advice would be greatly appreciated.InsungDear Insung,There is no reason to go shorter

Sandwiched in between last Sunday’s Tour of Flanders and this Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix is Wednesday’s Ghent-Wevelgem, a slightly shorter “semi-classic” which rejoins the sport’s highest classification on the UCI’s new ProTour. When the World Cup was created in 1989, Ghent-Wevelgem had to make due with hors categorie status, as only two events were allowed per country, and Belgium’s Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège occupied those precious spots. Unlike the hilly Flanders course and the heavily cobbled Roubaix, crosswinds often play a major factor at Ghent-Wevelgem, a 208km

Liquigas’s Danilo Di Luca won the first stage of the Tour of the Basque Country (la Vuelta ciclista al País Vasco) on Monday, a 133km route that started and finished in Zarautz in northern Spain. Di Luca, who also earned the leader's jersey with the win, finished ahead of Spaniards Miguel Angel Perdiguero (Illes Balears) and Alejandro Valverde (Phonak) in a mass sprint finish. Americans Bobby Julich (CSC) and Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) finished in the main field, while the Discovery Channel's Tom Danielson and Jason McCartney finished at 1:32 and 2:50 respectively. T-Mobile’s

Belgian Tom Boonen has worn many race numbers over his young career, but he may just pin the number 172 he wore at Sunday’s Tour of Flanders on his wall. Boonen, along with the overwhelming majority of the region of Flanders, got what both had collectively wished for when the QuickStep sprinter rode himself into the history books with the biggest win of his young career with a win at the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, or Tour of Flanders.

Clamping powerDear Lennard,I am hearing that disc brakes can cause the axel to shift within thedropouts when paired with standard quick release skewers causing alignmentproblems in the rotor/caliper interface. Is this true? If so, is movingto a beefier mechanism (such as a new Marzocchi QR20 fork) the only fix?Is there a difference between steel and titanium skewers in this respect?I am thinking of making the change to discs and need to know how much hiddencost there is, new fork, hub, etc.BlairDear Blair,Yes, that’s true. Indeed, the clamping force is definitely less withsome skewer designs

Emotions ran high at the ADT Center velodrome Saturday night in Carson, California, when all four finals produced first-time world champions: Great Britain scored gold in the team pursuit and women’s sprint, Australia won the women’s pursuit, and Denmark took the men’s scratch race. The British pursuiters won in grand style, crushing a young Dutch squad in the final by a four-second margin, Defending champion Australia took bronze ahead of New Zealand. “We’ve been getting silver medals year in, year out,” said British veteran Chris Newton. “We were nearly there last year, so this makes up

Dutchman Thomas Dekker, of the Rabobank team, stunned a host of established professionals by winning the 98.5km second stage of the Criterium international race between Vieilles Forges to here on Sunday. The 20-year-old Dutchman's victory gave him the race lead and he is now well primed to take the overall honours after the third and concluding stage, an 8.3km time trial held on Sunday afternoon. (Results are now posted.) Dekker, the winner of last year’s Tour of Normandy and the prestigious GP Eddy Merckx two-man time trial (with Koen de Kort), beat out Liberty's Jörg Jaksche and

CSC's Bobby Julich continued his great early season form by winning the Criterium International three-stage race as it wrapped up in Charleville-Mezieres, France, Sunday, after dominating the concluding time trial. Julich, the winner of Paris-Nice less than a month ago - the first leg of the 27-race Pro Tour series - won the 8.3km time trial to overhaul Dutchman Thomas Dekker, the winner of the 98.5km second stage which was held in the morning. Julich had come third in Sunday's second stage behind Liberty rider Jörg Jaksche and Dekker. It left the American with a three-second

The final day of racing at the world track championships in Carson, California, featured two themes which had been gaining momentum throughout this four-day event. One was good for Great Britain, the other not-so-hot for the host country. On the upside was the continued rise of the British squad. After placing a solid second behind the Australians on the track at last summer’s Olympic in Athens, the Brits climbed the final hurdle in Southern California, snagging four gold — double that of any other nation racing at the ADT Event Center velodrome. The final win came courtesy of Rob Hayles

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

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

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

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

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

[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.

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

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 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

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

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

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