Road Racing

I just got back in from Team Big Bear's 15th consecutive National Points Series race. And if you've been following Jason Sumner's online race reports, you know the weekend was full of extremely high-highs (a bevy of fresh faces on the podium) and devastating lows (namely the tragic death of Japanese downhiller Haruko Fujinaka). One event that took place over the weekend that Jason didn't get a chance to write about was the much-vaunted "Super D" downhill held late Saturday afternoon. The event was conceived three years ago by promoters Pat Follet and Tom Spiegel after they saw the need to

Saeco’s Gilberto Simoni wrestled the maglia rosa from Stefano Garzelli after a daring attack in a dramatic shoot-out Tuesday between the Giro d’Italia’s two strongest riders. Simoni jumped hard on a steep but unrated climb 40km from the finish in the difficult, four-climb 202km 10th stage from Montecatini Terme to Faenza. Simoni took an 8-second time bonus after finishing third behind winner Kurt Asle Arvensen (Team fakta) to erase a 31-second deficit to move two seconds ahead of Garzelli. With Thursday’s difficult climbing stage to Monte Zoncolan on the horizon, Simoni took the race into

Dear Lennard,I've seen recent photos of Tyler's TT bike he used in the prologueat the Tour of Romandie and I noticed he had three shifters mounted tohis bars.He had bar-end shifters on his aero bar, and a Dura-Ace STI shifteron the right side of his bullhorn bar. Is it actually possible to threadtwo shifters into the same rear derailleur, and if so, what would the advantagebe even on what was described as a technical course? Of course he did revert back to a traditional brake on the right sidefor the final TT, so maybe CSC needed a replacement lever and didn't haveone other than the STI?

Coming into the finishing stretch of Stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia, MarioCipollini drove all of his frustration and anger into his pedals as henegotiated the narrow streets of Montecatini Terme Monday afternoon. No one was going to beat him. Not Robbie McEwen, not AlessandoPetacchi and certainly not that Frenchman in Paris, who just hours earlier had once again denied the world champion a spot in the Tour de France. In an angry gesture against his Tour snub, Cipollini won his secondconsecutive stage and established a new mark with 42 career Giro d’Italiavictories. “What motivated me last

World champion Mario Cipollini did Sunday what everyone expected him to do last weekend: win a stage at the Giro d'Italia and equal the 41-win record held by the late Alfredo Binda. In Sunday's eighth stage, Cipollini shook a monkey off his back that, to some, seemed to be quickly growing into a gorilla after he failed to win a stage in six consecutive sprints that opened the 86th Giro. Domina Vacanze's zebras shot the 36-year-old toward the line and this time no one beat him to the tape. Lotto-Domo's Robbie McEwen took second while three-stage winner Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo)

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and on Sunday in Big Bear Lake, California, it finally did. After combining for 20 straight wins on the NORBA national championship series circuit, neither Roland Green or Ryder Hesjedal had the guns to stay with Jose Adrian Bonilla, as the Costa Rican grabbed the first NCS win of his career with a victory in the short track. In the women’s race it was another first-timer, Trek-Volkswagen’s Sue Haywood, who beat back the challenge of fellow American Alison Dunlap. Bonilla’s win came courtesy of a perfectly timed attack with 2 laps to go in the

Quick, in the long illustrious mountain-bike racing career of Eric Carter, how many big-time downhill races has the American won? Got your answer? Well if you said anything but zero before this weekend, you would have been wrong. But Carter changed that on the steep slopes of Snow Summit Resort on Sunday, earning the first major downhill victory of his career. In doing so the Hyundai-Mongoose rider ended a long slump for U.S. riders that dated back to Myles Rockwell's win at the 2000 world championships. The last NORBA DH win for an American male was at round No. 2 in 2000 (also

On a perfect blue-sky day in Southern California, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal and American Alison Dunlap each took wins at the NORBA NCS season opener at Snow Summit Resort. Hesjedal’s triumph brought an end to the seven-race win streak of fellow Canadian Roland Green, who hadn’t lost an NCS cross-country since he was a no show at race No. 3 in 2001. Green, still suffering the effects of a bad crash at the Tour de Georgia, did not finish Saturday’s race. But while Hesjedal’s win ended Green’s streak, it kept alive the run of consecutive NORBA victories the pair of training partners have strung

For the first eight of the 15 laps in Saturday’s Waterbury Circuit Race in Waterbury, Connecticut, it looked like racing as usual on the men’s pro circuit. That is, Saturn’s Chris Horner was dancing all over the field on a brutal course that saw an attrition rate of nearly 75 percent. But in the end, a potent combination of patience and strength finally paid off for Prime Alliance, the team that has spent the better part of the past three months watching Horner and his Saturn teammates ride away from them. David Clinger (Prime Alliance) sprung loose from the dwindling pack on lap 12 and

The first day of racing at the NORBA NCS season opener in Big Bear Lake, California wrapped up with wins from one very familiar name, and one that’s just starting to make its way round the pits. The name everyone knows was longtime pro Eric Carter, who used a great start to out duel Brian Lopes in the men’s mountain cross final. The new name was young Jill Kintner, who parlayed her No. 1 qualifying position into the first NORBA win of her short mountain biking career. Carter came in as just the No. 3 qualifier, but said he anticipated the gate drop perfectly in the final. “I started moving

With the Big Bear cross-country course offering predominantly dry, fast fireroad conditions, it was no surprise that most of pro men chose to run hardtail rigs. In fact, a straw poll of the top-20 call-ups revealed 17 hardtails and only three full-suspension rigs (two Giant NRS's and one Specialized Epic). Coincidence or not, both the Giant and Specialized pro teams mandate that their riders ride full-suspension technology–like it or not. By the end of the race, the winner and top nine finishers rolled across the line on hardtails. Full suspension was nowhere to be found. And while the

This time, it was revenge for Stefano Garzelli. A year after his days in the Giro d’Italia were numbered because of a positive doping test, Garzelli returned to the top of the mountain in Saturday’s 146km stage to Terminillo. The 2000 champion is back in the pink jersey after an emotional victory ahead of Saeco’s Gilberto Simoni in the Giro’s first mountain stage, which saw the chances for many pre-race favorites fade to black. “It was a great stage for me and a very special day,” said Garzelli after racking up his second stage win in a week. “Exactly one year ago I won the stage to Limone

Saturn's Eric Wohlberg of Canada won the fastest of two heats in the opening stage of the inaugural Tour of Connecticut Friday evening in New Haven. The 75km criterium was run in two heats due to the tight half-mile circuit around New Haven's famed Green. Wohlberg, by virtue of winning the fastest heat, was awarded the yellow jersey, while teammate Ivan Dominquez of Cuba, winner of the slower heat in a terrific sprint battle with Gord Fraser (Health Net), was given the green jersey of best sprinter. Brice Jones (7UP-Maxxis), second in the fast heat, was given the best-climber jersey. Stage

Alessandro Petacchi is pretty in pink yet again Friday after winning his third stage of the 86th Giro d’Italia in what was another disappointing finish for world champion Mario Cipollini. The world champ’s Domina Vacanze zebras burst out of the herd in the finale to sling Cipollini toward the finish line in customary fashion, but when final set-up man Giovanni Lombardi finished his pull, Cipollini stopped pedaling. Super Mario didn’t have the legs to contest the sprint and rolled across sixth. Petacchi, meanwhile, was right on Cipo’s wheel and dashed ahead of Kelme’s Isaac Galvez to clinch

Host nation Australia was rolling in medals after the first day of competition in the fourth and final round of the 2003 UCI World Cup track-racing series, May 16-18 at Dunc Gray Velodrome in Sydney. Australia has won two gold medals and one bronze in the six finals contested so far in the three-day event, which features almost 200 riders representing 42 countries. Mark Jamieson, Australia’s 19-year-old 4km individual-pursuit champion, posted the fastest qualifying time in the morning - 4:24.425, good enough for selection to the national team for July’s senior world championships in

The first of two rest days comes early in the 86th Giro d’Italia, just six days into the three-week march to Milan. There’s been plenty of action and story lines both on and off the bike in what’s been a scandal-free Giro, including Cipollini’s stalled motor, McEwen’s relegation and subsequent redemption, Pantani’s helmet hatred and Petacchi’s run in pink. Here’s a look at where some of the major players stand nearly a week into the Giro: Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) 1st overall Two stage-wins and the maglia rosa, not bad for a guy who’d never won a Giro stage before this year.

What a great week it’s been for Alessandro Petacchi and what a bad one for Mario Cipollini. Petacchi, deep in the best run of his career, beat the world champion in Wednesday’s fifth stage even before the peloton roared into Catania for the mass sprint. Super Mario’s Domina Vacanze zebras took firm control of the race with 6km to go, and typically the battle among the would-be contenders is the fight to grab Cipollini’s wheel. But Petacchi weaseled his way in front of Cipollini, and when lead set-up man Giovanni Lombardi pulled up, it was Cipollini who was forced to come around

They can’t take this one away from Robbie McEwen. Just two days after the Aussie was relegated for dangerous sprinting, McEwen drove past Alessandro Petacchi’s left shoulder for the win. He didn’t bump him or barge him nor did he stick out his tongue, so the race judges can’t say a thing. “It was a very, very difficult sprint. It was very fast in the last kilometer. I grabbed Petacchi’s wheel and I saw a good moment to make a move,” McEwen told AFP. “This victory helps me to forget the disqualification in Matera. No, this isn’t revenge for what happened there.” On Tuesday, race judges took

Dear Lennard Zinn,I bought a used Ti mountain bike frame (Litespeed Obed) a few yearsback. Quite a while ago I noticed that I couldn't remove the allen boltsholding one of the water bottle cages. They spin but they don't come out.I'm not sure if the threads are stripped or what. Now the cage is bustedand I'd like to get it off. Any suggestions? --ColbyDear Colby,One possibility is that they are stripped; could be the bolts, couldbe the frame. The other is that those are failed riveted-in, rather thanwelded-in water-bottle mounts. (Is the entire flange spinning, or justthe bolt?) If the bolts

For the second time in my life, I felt like an 18-year-old girl standing on a porch waiting for a prom date that would never show up (don't ask me about the first time). No need to read into that statement too much - what I’m talking about is the feeling I got when Sunday's round No. 3 of the Subaru Mountain States Series was "postponed" due to inclement weather. Finally getting a feel for "mountain" weather here in Colorado, I had a good idea Friday night's rainstorm would somehow turn to snow later in the evening. So when I awoke to six inches of wet, sloppy snow on the lawn on Saturday, I

Stefano Garzelli erased memories of his controversial ejection from last year’s Giro d’Italia in a dramatic gesture Monday over the oven-hot roads of southern Italy. The 2000 Giro champion peeled away from peloton in the steep final 400 meters of the 145km third stage to grab the victory and vault into second place overall. Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi fought hard to retain the maglia rosa, but Garzelli’s win is a clear message that he’s a legitimate contender for the overall prize. “It’s an important victory for me because after 11 months without competing it gives me confidence.

Jason McCartney scored a big win for team 7UP-Maxxis over the weekend, while Lynn Gaggioli (Velo Bella) continued a strong 2003 campaign at the Joe Martin Stage Race NRC event in Fayetteville, Arkansas. McCartney beat out Saturn's Eric Wohlberg, while the women's race was a two-rider battle between Gaggioli and Sue Palmer-Komar (Genesis Scuba). Wohlberg jumped to the early race lead when he won the 113-mile stage 1, four seconds ahead of McCartney and Jelly Belly-Carlsbad Clothing's Ben Brooks, with the next closest group more than four minutes behind. McCartney would come back, however,

Robbie McEwen’s feisty style cost him a victory in Sunday’s second stage of the Giro d’Italia. Alessio’s Fabio Baldato was awarded the win after race judges stripped McEwen of the victory for dangerous riding in the closing 200 meters of the stage. McEwen, known for his aggressive riding style, was relegated to 70th place. McEwen edged Baldato by a bike-length at the end of the 177km stage from Copertino to Matero in Italy’s “heel,” but replays showed the Lotto-Domo man pressing Baldato into the race fences in the frenetic charge to the line. “McEwen told me after the race he didn’t see

On another blue sky day in Northern California, the final installment of the 2003 NCCA national road championships concluded with a road race only the climbers could love. Situated an hour north of San Francisco on the east side of the bay, the 15.5km circuit near Crockett was all about ascending, the crux a 2km slog up McEwen Road that reached 15 percent at its steepest section. That brought out some little gears on Sunday, with most of the women running 27s in the rear (several triples and a few mountain bike cassettes were also spotted), while the majority of the men slipped on 25s.

It was Alessandro Petacchi - not Mario Cipollini - winning Saturday’s 201km opening stage of the 2003 Giro d’Italia in a mass gallop. On a day when everyone expected the world champion to tie the 41-win mark set by Alfredo Binda, Petacchi played the spoiler to win his first career Giro stage. “It’s as good as it can get,” Petacchi said. “It was kind of like three for one. I won my first Giro stage of my career, earned the maglia rosa, and I beat Cipollini who’s in the rainbow jersey. Not bad.” The opening stage of the 86th Giro was flat as a pancake, winding along the spectacular coast

They played down the home-course advantage, but it couldn’t have hurt the chances of the four-man team from Cal-Berkeley when it came time to contest the team time trial at day two of the NCCA national road championships in Northern California on Saturday. After all, the 13-mile lollipop-shaped circuit was designed by one of the club’s members, and the Bears also had the benefit of going last, meaning they knew where they stood during most of their near-hour trip around the scenic rolling countryside near Livermore. But the bottom line when it comes to time trialing is power, and on this

If your rooting interests were on a solely regional basis, the first day of the 2003 National Collegiate Cycling Association Road National Championships was a good day no matter what time zone you were pulling for. The breakdown of winners from the Treasure Island Criterium covered all reaches of the country, with Yale’s Marissa Kellogg, Midwestern State’s Stephanie Hannos, Colorado College’s Robbie King, and UC-Santa Cruz’s Ben Jacques-Maynes each grabbing victories on Friday in Northern California. Kellogg’s was the first of the day, as the cognitive-science major from the Ivy League

Frenchman Frederic Finot (Jean Delatour) won the 190-kilometer stage fromDunkirk to Roost Warendin as part of a two-man break that held off themain peloton in Wednesday's opening stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk. With the win and time bonuses, Finot grabs the race lead of the five-day,six-stage race across the flats of northern France after finishing aheadof Stephane Berges (Ag2r). Tom Steels (Landbouwkrediet) led the main bunchat 2:05 back. The 49th Four Days of Dunkirk continues Thursday with the 200-kilometersecond stage from Sin le Noble to Bapaume. Stage 1, Four Days of Dunkirk,

They say the Salad Days of mountain bike racing are dead and gone... whoever "they" are. If you've been following Jason Sumner's recent reports on the current state of the NORBA National Points Series, it's clear that the current model of "prime time" pro racing is currently on life support. Even World Cup events (Telluride) are not immune from decreased sponsorship involvement. Like it or not, big-time (i.e. cash, big rigs, gala events and liberal TV coverage) pro mountain bike racing ain't what it used to be. Even our very own Patrick O'Grady has chimed in on current events, claiming,

Dear Lennard,I am refitting the components on my son’s bike, and was looking for150mm crank arms. Where did you find them? Are they single, double or triples?--Ron Dear Ron,HSC makes 150mm in double or triple. www.hscycle.comTA used to make that length as well, but I have not seen any in years.--Lennard Dropping the chainDear Lennard,My chain continues to jump past my small chain ring when I go fromthe big ring 53 to the small 39 tooth. This always seems to happen at themost inopportune times. I have the front derailleur adjusted to where itis all but touching the chain in the 39X25 combo.

For decades, there has been a friendly but heated rivalry between theU.S. and Canada in bicycle racing. Nowhere has that been more evident thanin the Pacific Northwest, where riders from both sides of the border havedone battle in such storied races as the Cascade Classic, Gastown GrandPrix, Tour of White Rock, and the Tour of Willamette. Another skirmish between the North American rivals took place this pastweekend at the three-day, four-stage Columbia Plateau Stage Race, and theCanucks unquestionably came out on top, winning seven of a possible eightstages and taking all six overall podium

What a week it’s been for Tyler Hamilton. Just a week after becoming the first American to win Liège-Bastogne- Liège, Hamilton erased a 46-second deficit in Sunday’s final-day time trial to claim the overall title at the Tour of Romandie in Switzerland. “I’m incredibly happy and it’s like a dream come true to win them both,” Hamilton said of his rare Liège-Romandie double. “I didn’t know how well I did in the time trial. I didn’t have time splits, so I went as hard as I could. I knew there was a lot at stake, but I am surprised to win by that margin.” The 20.4km time trial was well-suited

In the mountains surrounding Silver City, New Mexico this Sunday, Canadian cycling phenom’ Geneviève Jeanson (Rona Esker) and Flagstaff, Arizonan, full-time father, husband, mechanical engineer, and self-proclaimed ‘old, club rider,’ Drew Miller tucked their third Tour of the Gila overall wins each under their respective belts on Sunday. Showing two different types of cycling dominance -- Jeanson purely overmatching her competition, Miller outworking and outplaying his -- the men’s and women’s races were each decided before they had reached the halfway mark earlier this weak. In a

Spaniard Francisco Perez Sanchez (Milaneza-MSS) took the lead in the Tour of Romandie on Saturday after winning the 146.5km stage between Monthey and Chatel-St-Denis on the penultimate day of the event. Perez Sanchez cruised home alone on the final kilometer after overtaking second-placed Italian Eddy Mazzoleni (Vini Caldirola-Sidermec), who eventually finished 21 seconds behind, on the final mountain climb. Swiss riders Fabian Jeker (Milaneza-MSS) and Alexandre Moos (Phonak), finished third and fourth. American Tyler Hamilton (CSC) was fifth. The start was delayed by three minutes as

A gutsy solo move in the final three laps of Saturday’s fourth stage of the Tour of the Gila propelled Tecos’s Florencio Ramos Torres to a win, robbing the field’s prominent sprinters from an opportunity to strut their stuff… and earn their paychecks. Of course the day’s biggest and most unexpected development came during the women's race when Rona’s Genevieve Jeanson did not win. We repeat: Jeanson did not win. At least that’s how the news should probably sound with Jeanson so dominant in U.S. women’s cycling these days, but that story line would take due credit from the strength and

Swiss rider Laurent Dufaux (Alessio) took the overall jersey from Italian Simone Bertoletti in the Tour of Romandie on Friday when he won the third stage of the event between Moudon and Loeche-Les-Bains, a stage that was marred when Spaniard Francisco Perez Sanchez (Milanez) was mistakenly directed off the course in the final kilometers. Dufaux and Perez Sanchez of Milaneza were credited with the same time and placing on the stage, with Swiss rider Fabian Jeker, also of Milaneza, second and Phonak's Alexandre Moos third. Italian Giosue Bonomi (Saeco) was forced to pull out early in the

Saturn and Navigators both came to the Uptown Greenwood Professional Cycling Challenge expecting to win. And so it was no surprise that between them, the two teams had five riders in a 14-man break that led the 50-mile race from midway on. But when push came to shove Thursday night on the streets of Greenwood, South Carolina, in the third race of the South Carolina Heritage Cycling Series, it was Ofoto-Lombardi pulling off an upset as the big boys concentrated on each other. Ofoto’s Erik Saunders took a flyer out of the front group with less than eight laps remaining, building a 10-second

It was just another day at the office for Geneviève Jeanson (Rona-Esker), who soloed off the front of the pack 12 miles into the 76-mile third stage of the Tour of the Gila on Friday morning, tacking an additional 5 1/2 minutes onto her overall lead. But Gord Fraser (Health Net) had to win his race in company, pouncing at the line on Steve Cate (Mathis Brothers) and Todd Wells (Hyundai-Mongoose) like a famished tabby on a pair of field mice, showcasing to whoever is paying attention that he is to be considered a racer of note in domestic cycling and is in top form early in the season. For

Ukrainian Yuriy Krivtsov won the second stage of the Tour of Romandie on Thursday but Italian rider Simone Bertoletti retains the overall lead with three days of the event remaining. Krivtsov, riding for Jean Delatour, put in a dominant performance after breaking from the pack early in the race and sprinted home to claim a comfortable victory. He finished the 178.2km test from Couvet to Lucens in four hours, 19 minutes and 36 seconds to finish 12 seconds ahead of Swiss Phonak rider Martin Elmiger. The chasing pack were one minute and 23 seconds behind Krivtsov, with Italian Angelo Furlan,

Geneviève Jeanson (Rona-Esker) did her solitary thing Thursday, extending her overall lead to nearly four minutes in just the second stage of New Mexico’s Tour of the Gila. Meanwhile, Drew Miller relied upon his Trek-VW All Stars team to keep the race under control and leave him free to do what he does best - climb. With perfect weather (clear, with temperatures in the 70s), the 92-mile men’s race offered up two sprint bonuses for riders with GC aspirations. Early on, a 13-man group that included Mike Sayers, two Health Net teammates and a couple of strong Mexican climbers from Team Tecos

Rarely do suicidal solo breakaways pay off, but it did for Lampre’s Simone Bertoletti in Wednesday’s 181km first stage of the Tour of Romandie. The Italian jumped away from the group in the opening 25km and built up a lead that went north of 15 minutes over the rolling stage in the rain-drenched hills of Switzerland. Phonak and CSC finally started to chase, but it was too late to catch Bertoletti. He had plenty of time to roll across the finish-line for a full celebration ritual: straighten the jersey, do a Holy Cross, kiss toward the heavens, pump his arms and blow kisses to the crowd. “At

Genevieve Jeanson continued her sweep through the southwest Wednesday as she dominated a tough 15.7-mile time trial that opened New Mexico’s Tour of the Gila Wednesday. Though renowned as a tough sprinter, Health Net’s Gord Fraser proved he was no slouch in a hilly time trial as he took the men’s event. Kicking off in Silver City, New Mexico Wednesday, Jeanson (Rona-Esker) left few doubters as she cruised to an apparently easy win in the first stage of the 17th running of the Tour of the Gila, a 15.7 mile out-and-back climbing time trial with a time of 40:00:68. Ex-teammate Manon Jutras

Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) led an all-Swiss sweep Tuesday in the opening prologue of the Tour of Romandie on the streets of Geneva. The former Mapei protégé was fastest over the short, 3.4km course, nipping compatriot Alexandre Moos (Phonak) by just two seconds. Laurent Dufaux (Alessio) was third at three seconds in arrears. Tyler Hamilton, fresh off his triumph at Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday, had trouble finding his racing legs on the short technical course, but finished safely in seventh-place. Team CSC sport director Sean Yates said Hamilton is motivated to take advantage of

On a whim, decided to head out West to Fruita, Colorado for a little get-away before the racing season slams into high gear. Didn't realize our little rendezvous coincided snack-dab with the 2003 Fruita Fat Tire Festival. "All the better," I figured. I mean, the more the merrier when it comes to riding bikes–or so I thought until I tried to reserve a hotel room in a sold-out town. Lucking out with a last-minute cancellation at the ol' Super 8, VeloNews's own Jason Sumner, my old riding pal, Vegan Bob, and I were off to be a part of one of the largest off-road festivals in the United States

Dear Lennard Zinn;As an on again, off again frame builder and repairer for the past 20+years I have a dilemma. A friend brought me a ‘60s era Atala with a failedbraze at the down tube, head tube lug. The friend wants it fixed withoutdestroying the original finish. Will JB Weld or something similar provideand adequate fix and will the frame be rideable?? --Dave Dear Dave;No and no. The surface area is too small and the forces too great foran epoxy glue like JB Weld to hold it. It would not last through one ride.He’s going to have to grit his teeth, get fixed right and then look forreliable

If Tyler Hamilton doesn’t achieve any thing else in his career — and he certainly will — his stunning victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday will always hold a special place in his heart. Shortly after winning the 89th edition of the world’s oldest classics (and one of the toughest) on a rainy afternoon in the green hills of the Belgian Ardennes, he made a cell-phone call to his wife Haven at their home in Gerona, Spain. “She just screamed,” Tyler reported. “She had just as hard a job as I did of believing what’s happened.”

Saturday’s stage from Dalton to Gainesville pretty much sealed the overall Dodge Tour de Georgia victory for Saturn’s Chris Horner, but there was still some unfinished business and suspense left for the grand finale in downtown Atlanta on Sunday. In the end, though, there was no catching Horner. Meanwhile, Fred Rodriguez fell short of a third consecutive stage win when Prime Alliance’s David Clinger scored his biggest victory for his new team. The race began on a near-perfect afternoon, under sunny skies at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park in downtown. On the docket was 10 laps of a fast

As it was in the beginning, so it was at the end of the 25th La Vuelta de Bisbee, as Andrew Miller and Manon Jutras won their respective final stages and collected their overall titles. Miller (Landis-Trek-VW) and Jutras (Saturn) were the victors in the Mule Pass prologue on Friday evening, the kickoff to the weekend’s racing in southern Arizona. But while Jutras held her lead throughout La Vuelta, winning three of four stages along the way, Miller lost his yellow leader’s jersey to Viktor Rapinski after the Saturn rider won Saturday afternoon’s Warren Time Trial. Come Sunday, and the

Chris Horner wanted a hard day. He got it. On Saturday’s stage 4 at the Dodge Tour de Georgia, the race blew apart as anticipated, and the major players of the first four days were all in the spotlight. Navigators and Henk Vogels were on the hotseat after defending the race lead for the past two stages; Horner and Saturn were in the driver's seat, with a course finally suited to their strengths; and Fred Rodriguez continued to exact his revenge following the time penalty he was assessed on stage 1. In the end, Rodriguez won his second stage in a row, Horner took the yellow jersey, and

Looks like organizer Albert Hopper was right: His 25th La Vuelta de Bisbee may very well boil down to the final climb in today’s Tombstone Road Race. Saturday was a double-stage day in southern Arizona, beginning in the morning with the Sulphur Springs Road Race. After a fairly mellow ride that didn’t see much action until the final miles of the elite men’s 79.3-mile stage, on a long, wide 5-percent grade back into town, Gord Fraser (Health Net) outkicked Saturn teammates Viktor Rapinski and Ivan Dominguez to claim the victory. Nothing was getting away in the 45.8-mile women’s race,

While the "other" cycling event in Georgia has garnered the headlines this week, the Athens Twilight just kept on partying this weekend as if nothing had happened. And in front of the big, festive Twilight crowd on Saturday night, Genesis Scuba’s Candice Blickem and 7UP-Maxxis’s Dan Schmatz took the biggest wins of their careers in solo fashion. The women’s favorite, former Georgia Bulldog Tina Mayolo-Pic (Diet Rite), had her problems early on, crashing hard about 10 laps into the race when her front tire punctured. Despite hitting her head hard, Mayolo-Pic got back in the race and was

After a rocky start to his Dodge Tour de Georgia, Fred Rodriguez has just been taking things day by day. Fortunately for the American, things have been getting better with each passing stage. On Friday, the Vini Caldirola rider outsprinted Prime Alliance’s David Clinger and U.S. Postal’s Tony Cruz to take the stage 3 win after 138 miles from Pine Mountain to Rome. Meanwhile, Navigators Henk Vogels retained the race leader’s jersey while a war of words between Saturn and Navigators heated up. Rodriguez was still upset after being assessed a 20-second time penalty for motorpacing after a crash

La Vuelta de Bisbee kicked off its 25th year of bicycle racing in southern Arizona on Friday afternoon with the Mule Pass Time Trial, a little leg-stretcher that climbed 837 feet in just 2.8 miles. Andrew Miller (Landis-Trek-VW) won the elite men’s prologue in 9:42, well short of Malcolm Elliott’s 1993 mark of 9:18, but still 15 seconds ahead of Mike Sayers (Health Net), Miller’s teammate Scott Price, and Saturn’s Viktor Rapinski, all of whom were given the same time as Sayers and Price. Cyclo-crosser Todd Wells (Hyundai-Mongoose) rounded out the top five a further three seconds back. Among

From looking at the Navigators team car in the closing minutes of stage 2 of the Dodge Tour de Georgia, you’d have been hard pressed to pick it out as the car of the race leader. Sure its windshield was marked with the No. 1, thanks to Henk Vogels starting the day in the yellow jersey, but pulled over by the side of the road in Columbus, Georgia, its rear right tire going flat, the team’s silver wagon looked like just another sign that things were slipping away. Team directors Ed Beamon and Ray Cipollini, and mechanic Mike Spilker, could only watch as the race disappeared up the road,

To breakaway on the first climb of a very hilly road race is usually not a smart tactic, especially when there are still 134km and nine more climbs to go. It’s usually even more stupid to attempt such a long shot in a classic as difficult as Belgium’s Flèche Wallonne. Luckily, the little Basque rider Igor Astarloa doesn’t think much of conventional wisdom. On Wednesday, he became the first Spanish cyclist to win the Flèche; indeed, no Spaniard had ever won a classic in Belgium, France or the Netherlands. And Astarloa did it by being strong, audacious, confident, and very, very smart. You

In a field of 144 women packed with Olympic, world and European champions, and with the best professional teams all out to win, the incredible Nicole Cooke did it again. The British prodigy won the sixth edition of the women’s Flèche Wallonne, held over the same 97.5km that formed the final loop of the pro men’s race, only three days after doing the same at the Amstel Gold race, and only 10 days after her 20th birthday. Cooke won the race by attacking on the closing one-kilometer climb up the formidable Mur de Huy, which averages 13 percent and has a couple of 19-perecent switchbacks. And

The U.S. pro peloton hasn’t seen much of the Navigators this spring, but the squad made a big impact in its first major road stage on home soil this year, with Henk Vogels winning stage 1 of the Tour de Georgia and taking the race leader’s jersey in the process. Vogels emerged from a lead group of about 30 riders and beat out Schroeder Iron’s Miguel Meza at the end of the 136-mile stage from Augusta to Macon, heading east to west across the center of the state. While the rest of the U.S. domestic teams were out in California in full force for the opening of the season, Navigators had only

Dear Lennard Zinn,I just upgraded from Ultegra 8-speed to Ultegra 9-speed. I replacedthe shifters, cassette, chain, and crankset/BB. I checked the derailleurmodel numbers and they didn't need replacing. My problem is that with thechain on the small chainring it rubs on the large chainring when I shiftto the 7th or 8th cog on back. I don't mind losing the 9th cog and maybethe 8th, but not having the 7th really cramps my shifting style. Any suggestions?--Bob Dear Bob,You can eliminate the rub by moving the crank outward by putting aspacer between the BB drive-side cup and the BB shell to

As he sat under a shade tree along the start-finish straight of the Tour de Georgia prologue, John Lieswyn couldn’t help but reflect on the last major professional stage race in the U.S., the Tour du Pont. "This is just as professional as the Tour du Pont, and it’s only the first year. They’re obviously using the same blueprint for this race," he said. And while the Georgia race has a long way to go before it reaches du Pont proportions, it still had Lieswyn and all of the other 139 starters excited for the upcoming six days. "I don’t get nervous before a race anymore very often," Lieswyn

Still reeling from the product overflow that was this year's Sea Otter. Sure, the racing action was great and all, but for the die-hard tech head, it's hard to beat the "Otter" for an opportunity to see the latest and greatest componentry and bikes. While the masses are content perusing the rows of exhibitors tables, really sharp tacks head deep into the pits for sneak-peeks at 2004 prototype equipment gracing racer's steeds. In fact, thinking more about it, those intent on catching a glimpse at future innovation are better served venturing out to Monterey in early April instead of trying

No one expected Telekom’s Alex Vinokourov to win Sunday’s 38th Amstel Gold Race. Least of all him. “I’ve never won a one-day race until today,” the 29-year-old Kazakh said after the finish. [nid:24206]That is, except for a criterium or two in post-Tour de France appearances. But a criterium is little league compared with the mega-status of a classic like Sunday’s. “I rode the last 80km of the course on Friday,” Vinokourov said. “I learned that you have to be at the front all the time. It’s very technical, turning, left, right, up, down, on very narrow roads.”

Former two-time world junior road champion Nicole Cooke of Great Britain won the biggest event of her young pro career on Sunday: the Amstel Gold Race, fourth round of the 2003 World Cup. The 20-year-old Welsh rider on the Ausra-Safi team – which is affiliated to the Italian Acca Due O squad – bridged up with the Spanish rider Teodora Ruano of Prato-Marathon to solo leader Oenone Wood of Australia, who went clear on the Keutenberg with 11km to go. The three joined forces on the descent of the Sibbergrubbe with 4km to go, then Cooke attacked on the finishing climb, the Cauberg. “We could

I gotta start hanging out at DIA (Denver International Airport) more often. This past Wednesday, I'm on my way to the Sea Otter with our photo editor, Galen Nathanson, when who other than "Charlie Hustle" Pete Rose rolls up to the first class counter. Picture this: an aging overweight white fella wearing a pair of the goldest pair of Dolce Y Gabana shades (complete with gold grandma "safety" chain), a honest-to-goodness man-blouse, a pair of overly tight-fitting black chinos and topping off the whole kit with a pair of the fruitiest pointed boots you've ever done seen. Galen and I were

Dear Lennard Zinn,I have a Chorus Ti seat post (less than a year old) and Flite Gel saddlewith Ti rails. I cannot get the saddle to stay in the right place; it keepsslipping back and has to be reset every couple of days. I screw the boltas tight as I dare and keep the saddle rails and clamp grease free (withgrease it slips back in about 5 minutes). Previously I had the Daytonapost on the bike and did not have this problem (same saddle), but the clamplooks the same. --Peter Dear Peter,Check to see if there is some sort of obstruction that is preventingthe top of the clamp from moving

Peter Van Petegem proved that his fortitude is harder than the cobbles of northern France in a dramatic victory in Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix. Van Petegem (Lotto-Domo) had better luck than most in a day dominated with crashes and punctures and becomes the first rider to win the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the same year since Roger de Vlaeminck in 1977. Dario Pieri (Saeco) earned a well-deserved second-place while Viatcheslav Ekimov scored the second consecutive third-place podium finish for the U.S. Postal Service team in cycling’s "Hell of the North."

In a day marked with cold, wet and windy weather, Matt Decanio of Prime Alliance and Saturn's Manon Jutras took big wins in the Sea Otter Classic's Stage 4 road race on Saturday. In the men's race, an initial break consisting of Danny Pate (Prime Alliance) and Jacob Erker (Schroeder Iron) dangled in front of the field for almost the entire day, reaching a maximum gap of 1:45 — with Saturn’s trio of GC leaders controlling the front off the field — before it was brought in at the base of the final climb. Once there, the peloton spread thin as racers, tired from nearly three weeks of continuous

I just managed to sneak away from the Tech area at Sea Otter long enough for a quick update. A pre-dawn raid on SRAM's tech headquarters proved fruitful with us coming away with another first-look at 2004 products. Wanted to make sure you read it here first. Here's the short story (look for complete coverage in VeloNews #8 due out in two weeks). SRAM has introduced two all-new trigger shifters: the X-9 and X-7. Both use 1:1 "Impulse Technology" which is said to provide riders the flexibility to activate shifts with multiple parts of their hand. This translates into shifting ability with

Day three of racing at the Sea Otter Classic pro stage race saw no major changes on the leader board, as Saturn’s Lyne Bessette and Prime Alliance’s Michael Creed took stage wins in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Originally planned to be a criterium in Santa Cruz, Friday’s course was, at the last minute, changed to the raceway circuit of years past, due both to concerns over the integrity of the Santa Cruz course and a push to intensify the stage race after the pro men protested the controversial Redwood City circuit. Instead, the circuit race course was used, a course that includes a steep

Day two of the Sea Otter pro stage race — a 12-mile time trial course finishing with a long, sustained climb — brought few surprises on the leader board, as Nathan O’Neill (Saturn) and Genevieve Jeanson (RONA-Esker), both time trial and subsequent overall winners last week at Redlands, again put their stamp on the general classification. Often called the race of truth, Thursday’s time trial lived up to the name. It was a case of déjà vu all over again, as the strongest riders from the Redlands time trial rose to the top: the women’s event contained the same top-five as the Redlands time

Andreas Klier was in no hurry to leave on Wednesday afternoon. Perched in a dirty brown chair in a smoke-filled room of reporters in Wevelgem, Belgium — the finishing town of the 65th running of the midweek classic known as Ghent-Wevelgem — the blond-haired, blue-eyed German was soaking it all in.

Sitting at the start-finish line before the Sea Otter’s opening Redwood City road race, Saturn’s Chris Horner was concerned. Relaxed, of course, as he always is, but concerned. In lieu of the Sea Otter’s traditional Fort Ord road race, which was replaced after permit issues hindered a full road closure, the Northern California stage race designed a new circuit race, in the hometown of Sea Otter chief operating officer Rick Sutton. But many of the riders that had pre-ridden the tight and twisty residential course, with its sharp, short climbs and narrow, technical streets, felt it was too

Dear Lennard,With the unfortunate event at Paris-Nice, I thought I would ask. Ihave read in various forums, that helmets should be replaced every-so-many-years (Lance Armstrong's book, for example, places this number at five years).However, most citations I see are closely connected to a helmet manufactureror a bike store. Setting aside the obvious ("because it was in a crash"), why would Ineed to replace an otherwise good helmet? Also, does this imply a "shelflife" for helmets (say, I find a deal on a new old stock Air Attack)? Isuppose what I'm after is, do helmets need to be replaced like

It was a scene you’re unlikely to see anywhere else. The sun was barely up, having made a feeble attempt to rise on a damp, chilly Sunday morning, but already the restaurant patios were filled with customers. And in the hands of those customers were mugs filled with beer.

There wasn’t a good deal of bike racing to speak of, in either the men or women’s events, during Sunday’s fifth stage at the Redlands Classic. In fact, the parallels between the two races, held over a twisty, hilly and technical 7.5-mile loop, were the most remarkable story on an otherwise unremarkable closing day of racing. In the women’s 8-lap, 62-mile event, overall leader Genevieve Jeanson (RONA-Esker) attacked up the first hill on the first lap and simply never looked back. A brief chase ensued by Saturn’s Manon Jutras and Lyne Bessette, second and third on the GC, respectively, and

The Redlands Classic continued Thursday with it's most feared stage, the Oak Glen road race, 106 miles (82 for the women) that finishes off with a nasty 10-kilometer climb that gains 2400 feet in elevation. Needless to say, it was a day for the climbers, as Canadian Genevieve Jeanson (RONA-Esker) confirmed her position as the premiere climber in North American women’s racing, riding away from her closest GC contenders in the final kilometers and winning the stage by nearly three minutes. In the men’s race, Saturn’s Nathan O’Neill showed that not only can he time trial, as evidenced by his

The second day of racing at the Redlands Classic brought stage victories to two familiar names in the domestic race scene, as Health Net’s Gord Fraser and Saturn’s Ina Teutenberg won the hilly stage 1 Highland circuit race. With short, steep climbs and a long, gradual downhill into a headwind, the circuit wasn’t exactly made for aggressive racing; any attempt to get away was vulnerable on the windy, wide-open descent. Although the day was claimed by a pair of sprinters, the course — a five-mile loop consisting of a 300-foot stair-step climb through a local housing community, raced eight