Road Racing

Lance Armstrong is back in his favorite color of summer. The three-time defending champion won Thursday’s 158km stage 11, eraseda 26-second deficit and moved into the overall race lead, just as everyonehad expected. To hear Armstrong tell the tale, however, it wasn’t quite as easy asin years past. Yes, he made his trademark move in the first mountain stage.Yes, he took time out of his opponents. But Armstrong said he couldn’thave done it without superb work from his U.S. Postal Service teammates. Hundreds of American fans showed up to watch the fireworks. And plentythere were. It was

1. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal, at, 158 km in 4hr 21 min 57sec(36.190 kph)2. Joseba Beloki (Spa), ONCE, at 00:07.3. Roberto Heras (Spa), U.S. Postal, at 00:13.4. Francisco Mancebo (Spa), iBanesto.com, at 01:16.5. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit), Lampre, at 01:16.6. Oscar Sevilla (Spa), Kelme, at 01:23.7. Ivan Basso (Ita), Fassa Bortolo, at 01:23.8. Andrei Kivilev (Kaz), Cofidis, at 01:34.9. Laurent Jalabert (Fra), CSC-Tiscali, at 01:49.10. Jose Azevedo (Por), ONCE, at 01:52.11. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa), ONCE, at 01:54.12. Christophe Moreau (Fra), Credit Agricole, at 01:57.13. Massimiliano

Outside of Nashville, Tennesee, the USCF National Time Trial Championships were held Thursday, with US Postal's Dylan Casey and Saturn's Kimberly Bruckner taking home the stars-and-stripes jerseys. Heat, intermittent rains, and unpredictable wind soured the course for the women's race. Bruckner, the overwhelming favorite who has been wearing the national champion's jersey since winning both the national time trial and road race championships last year, was last to leave the staging area. Prior to her arrival, the top time of 53:17 was posted by T-Mobile's Amber Neben, a former mountain

The French finally earned their stage win in this year’s Tour de France.After being skunked on Bastille Day by the Dutch, Jean Delatour’s PatriceHalgand scored one for the home country at Pau on Wednesday. This short, 147km stage 10 was an appetizer before one of the 89th Tour’smain courses: the first climbing stage in the Pyrénées. Thoseamong the 181 riders remaining in the peloton who are hoping to fight forthe final podium know they will have to be at their best to tackle theCat. 1 climb that leads to the finish at La Mongie. On Wednesday, Spanish hero Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano

1. Patrice Halgand (F), Jean Delatour, 147 km in3:00 min 15sec (48.932 kph)2. Jerome Pineau (F), Bonjour, at 00:27.3. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, at 00:33.4. Ludo Dierckxsens (B), Lampre, at 00:33.5. Pedro Horillo (Sp), Mapei, at 01:00.6. Andy Flickinger (F), Ag2R Prevoyance, at 01:00.7. Nicolas Vogondy (F), fdjeux.com, at 01:00.8. Nico Mattan (B), Cofidis, at 01:00.9. Constantino Zaballa (Sp), Kelme, at 01:00.10. Enrico Cassani (I), Domo-Farm Frites, at 01:02.11. Unai Etxebarria (Ven), Euskaltel, at 03:29.12. Baden Cooke (Aus), fdjeux.com, at 03:57.13. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Lotto,

After Sunday's final stage at Cascade-- a short criterium course won by Saturn's Chris Fisher and Hutch's Sandy Espeseth-- there was no change in the overall standings, sealing victory for Chris Wherry (Mercury) and Kimberly Bruckner (Saturn). Entering the criterium, Bruckner had the overall sealed up, leading by over six minutes as a result of her dominant performance in the opening stage's road race. Still, she came out swinging Sunday, attacking the field with eight laps to go, with only Espeseth joining her. At the line, Espeseth benefitted from Bruckner's final efforts for the stage

Just when everyone was ready to ordain Lance Armstrong as winner of Monday’s52km individual time trial, the Tour de France delivered another surprise. In blustery conditions, Armstrong was out-motored by Colombian SantiagoBotero, the same racer who beat the Texan at the Dauphiné Libérétime trial in June. The result stunned many, who expected Armstrong to blaze to yet anotherdominant victory. Instead, the U.S. Postal team leader finished second,11 seconds slower than Botero, and didn’t eat up enough time to grab themaillot jaune from Spanish rider Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano. It was a double

1. Santiago Botero (Col), Kelme, at, 52 km in 1hr 02min 18sec(average: 50.080 kph, at2. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal, at 00:11.3. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr), Fassa Bortolo, at 00:18.4. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa), ONCE, at 00:19.5. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun), Mapei, at 00:25.6. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit), Lampre, at 00:25.7. David Millar (Gbr), Cofidis, at 00:50.8. Dario Frigo (Ita), Tacconi Sport, at 01:34.9. Andrea Peron (Ita), CSC-Tiscali, at 01:34.10. Joseba Beloki (Spa), ONCE, at 01:38.11. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus), U.S. Postal, at 01:41.12. Tyler Hamilton (USA), CSC-Tiscali, at 01:56.13. Marc

Russian Svetlana Boubnenkova of the Aliverti Kookai team won the 13th Giro d’Italia Femminile, a race that ended Sunday in Gorla Minore and was dominated by women from eastern Europe. Boubnenkova took over the race lead of the 10-day race on stage 3, when she won the 110.5km stage from Lari to Cascina, 18 seconds ahead of 2000 world champion Zinaida Stahurskaia (Chirio Forno d’Asolo) of Belarus. Boubnenkova cemented her overall win three days later, with a win in the 19.7km stage 6 time trial in Suno, near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, where she beat Lithuanian Rasa Polikeviciute (Acca due

Sunday’s eighth stage of the Tour de France was a long, hot day in thesaddle across France’s Brittany region and the peloton wanted to get itover with quickly. It was a stage that spelled the end for Mapei’s OscarFreire and Lotto’s Aart Vierhouten, both victims of Saturday’slate-race crashes did not start on Sunday. The group roared past huge crowds of fans celebrating France’s BastilleDay and covered nearly 100 kilometers in the first two hours. A seven–manbreakaway slipped away midway through the stage and became the second successfulbreak of the 89th Tour. Rabobank’s Karsten Kroon ruined

1. Karsten Kroon (Nl), Rabobank, at , 217.5 km in 4hr 36 min 52sec (47.135kph)2. Servais Knaven (Nl), Domo-Farm Frites, at at 00:00.3. Erik Dekker (Nl), Rabobank, at 00:00.4. Franck Renier (F), Bonjour, at 00:00.5. Sebastien Hinault (F), Credit Agricole, at 00:00.6. Stephane Auge (F), Jean Delatour, at 00:00.7. Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat), Lampre, at 00:00.8. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Lotto, at 01:55.9. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, at 01:55.10. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, at 01:55.11. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, at 01:55.12. Jan Svorada ((Cz), Lampre, at 01:55.13. Fred Rodriguez (USA),

Successfully staying away from the field, 7UP-Nutra Fig's John Lieswyn and Hutch's Nicole Demars tasted victory Saturday at stage 5 of the Cascade Classic in Bend, Oregon. In the women's 56-mile race over rolling hills and a tough climb after the start/finish, several attacks were reabsorbed before a breakaway finally stuck with Demars and Saturn's Jessica Phillips. The two rode nearly half the 56-mile race together off the front, creating a comfortable gap of 2:30 by the last seven-mile lap. Demars had the better punch at the finish, with Phillips taking second place. The consistent

Britain's Steve Peat and Frenchwoman Anne-Caroline Chausson turned in a pair of heroic performances Sunday, each taking wins at World Cup downhill No. 4 in Telluride, Colorado. Chausson's victory was one of the most memorable of her illustrious career, as she beat out Sabrina Jonnier on the short, dry and dusty Telluride track. When day broke in southwest Colorado the Volvo-Cannondale rider could barely walk, still feeling the effects of a bad crash suffered in Saturday's four-cross. Following the mishap she was taken off the course on an inflatable backboard, then had to make the two-hour

Just when people were complaining that the 2002 Tour de France was gettingboring, Saturday’s seventh stage gave everyone a quick kick in the derrière. Three-time defending champion Lance Armstrong was caught up ina late-stage crash and lost 27 seconds to race leader Igor Gonzalezde Galdeano (ONCE-Eroski). Armstrong didn’t fall, but U.S. Postal Service riders George Hincapie and Roberto Heras did. Two late-race crashes sent scores of riders to the pavement and sentFrenchman Didier Rous to the hospital and out of the race. Worldchampion Oscar Freire of Mapei-Quick Step and Crédit Agricoleteam

1. Bradley McGee (Aus), FDJeux.com, at , 176 km in 4:10:56 (42.083kph)2. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Ag2R, at 00:00.3. Pedro Horillo (Sp), Mapei, at 00:00.4. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Lotto, at 00:00.5. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, at 00:00.6. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, at 00:00.7. Jan Svorada (Cz), Lampre, at 00:00.8. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, at 00:00.9. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Domo-Farm Frites, at 00:00.10. Thor Hushovd (N), Credit Agricole, at 00:00.11. Andrej Hauptman (Slo), Taconi Sport, at 00:00.12. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), iBanesto, at 00:00.13. Francois Simon (F), Bonjour, at 00:00.14.

Stage Four of the Cascade Cycling Classic was raced Friday night in downtown Bend, with no changes in the overall standings. Racing on a flat, six-turn course in front of thousands of spectators, Mercury controlled the field, defending race leader Chris Wherry and bringing sprinters Henk Vogels and Gord Fraser across the line in first and second, respectively. While originally leading out Fraser, Vogelshad so much left he was able to stay on the front all the way to the line. Third was believed to be, unofficially, Russell Stevenson of Prime Alliance in the photo finish while Saturn's

Alexandre Cloutier and Clara Hughes were among the winners at the Canadian national track championships in Bromont, with Cloutier taking the men’s 4000-meter individual pursuit and Hughes winning the women’s pursuit. Other senior winners included Lori-Ann Muenzer and Steen Madsen in the match sprints and Marc Ernsting in the points race.

One did it from the front, the other from one place back. But in the end both strategies paid off, as Alison Dunlap and Kashi Leuchs took wins in the Telluride 360 Adventure Festival cross-country omnium. Leuchs earned victory by putting together a pair of second-place finishes during the two-day event, and that gave the Volvo-Cannondale rider 4 points, two less than Subaru-Gary Fisher's Ryder Hesjedal and Leuchs' teammate, Christoph Sauser. Meanwhile, Dunlap was untouchable both days, adding a dominating win in the short track on Saturday to go with her equally impressive effort in

Eric Carter and Sabrina Jonnier were the last riders standings when the dust — literally — cleared after a carnage-filled evening of four-cross racing at World Cup No. 4 in Telluride, Colorado on Saturday. Among those who didn’t ride off the course were reigning dual world champions Brian Lopes and Anne-Caroline Chausson, who both suffered highlight-reel crashes on the lightning-fast, John Tomac designed course. Lopes, who went down right at the finish of one semifinal round, but did manage to clean himself off and returned for the small final to take fifth, which allowed the GT-Fox rider to

Luna's Alison Dunlap and Volvo-Cannondale's Christoph Sauser won the opening stages of the two-day International Cross-Country Omnium, as the pro mountain-bike racing portion of the Telluride 360 Adventure Festival got underway Friday in southwestern Colorado. In the women's race, Dunlap turned her three laps around the 5.1-mile loop in 1:45:21, 48 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Shonny Vanlandingham (SoBe-Cannondale). RLX-Polo Sport's Jimena Florit was another 2:53 behind in third. Mary Grigson (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Katerina Hanusova (Luna) completed the podium. "I felt terrible

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a formerU.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bikemaintenance. This is Zinn's weekly VeloNews.com column devoted to addressingreaders' technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and howwe as riders can use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readerscan send brief technical questions directlyto Zinn. We'll try to print a representative sample of questions ineach column.Follow-up from previous discussions:There was plenty of input from readers on the subject of mixing

Stage 3 of the Cascade Cycling Clasic - a 1.08 mile uphill time trial - was won Friday by Prime Alliance's Chris Horner and Saturn's Kimberly Bruckner. There was no major change in the GC, as Chris Wherry managed to finish six seconds back of Horner to hold his overall lead. Bruckner, the winner of Thursday's road race, continues to wear the leader's jersey in the women's field, leading by nearly seven minutes. Located just minutes from downtown Bend, the closed course was completely inside of Pilot Butte State Park. The first 300 meters of the race is on a winding bike lane, before a

Stage Results - Friday, July 12: Forges-les-Eaux - Alençon(Overall, mountain, points, team and other standings below)1. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, 199.5 km in 4:23:07 (45.493 kph)2. Oscar Freire (Sp), Mapei3. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Lotto4. Jan Svorada (Cz), Lampre5. Serguei Ivanov (Rus), Fassa Bartolo6. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com7. Thor Hushovd (Nor), C.A8. Laurent Brochard (F), Jean Delatour9. Arvis Piziks (Lat), CSC-Tiscali10. Andrej Hauptman (Slo), Tacconi11. Paolo Bossoni (I), Tacconi12. Mauro Radaelli (I), Tacconi13. Francois Simon (F), Bonjour14. Stefano Casagranda (I), Alessio15.

With the second half of the 2002 Tour de France packed with mountainstages and time trials, the sprinters are hungry to get what they can whilethe stages are flat. Thursday’s l breakaway  into Rouen was the first to arrive at the finish since Rubens Bertogliati made a successful late dash to the line in Luxembourg last Sunday. Scores of riders had similar designs in Friday’s long, 199.5km (123.6-mile) stage from Forges-les-Eaux to Alençon, but the sprinting teams such as Lotto, Telekom and Mapei shut them all down. The peloton roared into Alençon with Germany’s Erik Zabelanxious to get the

So why did ONCE go so fast on Wednesday? Was it because the team pedaled harder and stayed in better formation and had good equipment? Well, that is one explanation. Another is that all of the other teams only had nine riders, while they had ONCE (Spanish for “eleven”)! Sorry... I had to throw that in. Beyond the numbers, it is worth noting that the teams that go fastest have 100 percent of the riders wearing aero helmets, rather than a mixture of headgear and even of clothing and equipment. You also tend to see other riders on fast teams using their aero’ bars further back in the line,

A long flat stage in the Tour de France can seem incredibly boring, but then something happens. It always does in the Tour.For the overall race favorites, Thursday’s 195km (121-mile) fifth stageacross the lush farm country of northern France was a relatively easy day in the saddle. But for the rest of the peloton, there was the usual mix of drama, glory and disappointment. Lance Armstrong said his U.S. Postal Service team worked wellto keep him out of heavy crosswinds, while the Spanish ONCE-Eroski teamsuccessfully defended the race leader’s yellow jersey for Igor Gonzalezde Galdeano. Up in

At the start of Thursday's 76-mile McKenzie Pass Road Race-- stage 2 of the Cascade Cycling Classic in Oregon -- Saturn's Trent Klasna made the first big move of the day and was joined on the attack by a handful of other riders, including Mercury's Gord Fraser and Mike Sayers, and representatives from Prime Alliance, Navigators and Sierra Nevada. Their gap grew to 1:30, forcing Prime Alliance into chase mode for Chris Horner back in the pack. When they were caught on McKenzie Pass, the hard tempo left only 40 riders left. About a dozen riders soon went clear from that group, including

5:20 p.m. The ONCE team won the fourth stage of the Tour de France as it finished in Château-Thierry Wednesday after a 67.5km team time trial from Epernay. ONCE's Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano of Spain took the leader's yellow jersey. ONCE finished 16 seconds ahead of the US Postal team of reigning champion Lance Armstrong, while the CSC team of Tyler Hamilton and Laurent Jalabert finished third. Here are the final standings from today's team time trial:1. ONCE - EROSKI 01:19:492. US POSTAL SERVICE 01:20:05, at 00:163. TEAM CSC TISCALI 01:20:35, at 00:464. FASSA BORTOLO 01:21:19, at 01:305.

The yellow jersey is an elusive piece of clothing. During Wednesday’s67.5km team time trial it slipped through the hands of several riders before falling onto the shoulders of Spanish rider Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano. Thanks to an impressive victory by his ONCE-Eroski team in the 2002Tour’s stage 4, Galdeano becomes the first Spanish rider to earn the maillotjaune since five-time Tour champion Miguel Indurain last wore it onwinning his final Tour in 1995. CSC-Tiscali’s Laurent Jalabert seemed destined to snag the jersey thathe’s been chasing since finishing just two seconds behind Lance

I could tell you that I can't believe our team was treated like a pretty boy fresh into a maximum security prison today. But, I won’t, since I do believe it and I suppose we did about as well as we could have. No there weren't any outstanding mistakes, or headwinds that the rest of the teams missed. No excuses, we just weren't right as rain today -- as we haven't been for the first bit of this Tour. At this point I think we'll be licking our wounds for a bit, and hoping for one of Jens's attacks to work out and restore the morale of the troops. Enough of the past, how about tomorrow?

Oscar Freire sprinted past Robbie McEwen and Erik Zabel to win stage two aboard the mount that has brought so many victories to Mapei and Rabobank. He was riding a Shimano Dura-Ace equipped Colnago C40, the 2.5-pound frame that won Paris-Roubaix five times between 1995 and 2000. But it is not just another bonded carbon frame, since Colnago’s construction methods C40 are unique and analogous to its method of constructing steel frames. Integral to the C40 are one-piece molded, hand-finished carbon lugs that eliminate the bonding problems and weight of aluminum lugs and are stronger,

Henk Vogels got Mercury rising at the Columbia River Bank Cascade Cycling Classic stage race, getting the better of Svein Tuft (Prime Alliance) to win the stage-1 Pacific Power Road Race July 10 in Bend, Oregon. The two were given the same time in the 110-mile stage, just five seconds ahead of Chris Baldwin (Navigators), Gord Fraser (Mercury and the rest of the top 20. The six-stage race continues on Thursday with the 72-mile Deschutes Brewery Road Race, a hilly leg-breaker with 7,000 feet of climbing. The elite women’s five-stage race starts on Thursday as well.

5:15 p.m. Either way, Zabel -- who finished second in the stage -- is the new overall leader of the Tour de France. 5:13 p.m. It's a huge scramble for the front. McEwen gets it.... but he's moved out of his line, and cut across Zabel's line. 5:10 p.m. All of the big players are up front. Nico Mantan is attacking. He's caught. Zabel is up front on his own... the Telekoms are not in a position to lead out their man. 5:08 p.m. With 4km to go, Lotto is at the front. Telekom is beginning to set up Zabel. 5:05 p.m. The swarm is beginning. With 5km to go, the sprinters are moving up,

You can always count on Jacky Durand. The 35-year-old bulldogof a racer just keeps on trying. And try he did, with one of his epic trademark attacks early in Tuesday’s174.5-km stage from Metz to Reims. It didn’t work. It rarely does, butit was a good show for the French fans as the 2002 Tour de France camehome after three hot and humid days in Luxembourg and Germany. Durand attacked just 6km into the stage and got reeled in with 6km togo. He didn’t win the stage – his last Tour stage-win came in 1998 – buthe did earn the day’s Coeur de Lion prize for most combative rider. Australian Robbie

Monday’s 181km stage 2 of the 2002 Tour de France was supposed tobe an Erik Zabel homecoming party. The script was already written:Zabel, already resplendent in the green jersey, would win the stage afterhard work by his Telekom team to bring the race to a bunch sprint and takethe yellow jersey, all in front of a rowdy German crowd lining the roadsestimated to top one million. As it happens so often in the Tour, though, it didn’t quite turn outthat way. Not only did the Telekom man not win the field sprint, he finishedonly third and he left the yellow jersey in the hands of Lampre's

Brent Dawson (Jelly Belly-Carlsbad Clothing) and Tina Mayolo-Pic (Diet Rite) took home the top prizes at the Wendy’s International Cycling Classic, the six-race series of criteriums in Ohio that ended Sunday. Dawson beat out 7UP-Nutra Fig’s Dan Schmatz in the final points standings while national criterium champion Nicole Freedman (Rona) was runner-up to Mayolo-Pic. Mayolo-Pic didn’t win a single stage, but finished the week with three second-place finishes and two third places to top Freedman, who won the series opener in Powell, Ohio. Rona scored a total of three wins, with Melissa Holt

On Sunday, Saturn’s Viktor Repinski won the 4 Bridges of Elgin road race in Elgin, Illinois. The only UCI under-23 race on the U.S. calendar, 4 Bridges of Elgin has slowly grown into one of the biggest races on the calendar for up-and-coming young riders, with past winners including Charles Dionne and Danny Pate. Repinski, Saturn’s 21-year-old from Belarus, broke clear with about a mile to go in the 66-mile race. The Saturn rider soloed in, while Jonathan Erdelyi (C-bike.com) led in a nine-rider chase group just five seconds behind. Erdelyi took second, with Shawn Milne (Wheelworks-Mengoni)

Belgian Filip Meirhaeghe took a commanding lead in the chase for World Cup overall cross-country title Sunday, winning the fourth round of the series at Grouse Mountain in British Columbia. Meirhaeghe, who also won a week ago at Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec, now holds an 120-point lead over Giant's Bart Brentjens with just one race to go. If Brentjens manages to win the final race, Meirhaeghe would need to finish no worse than fifth to capture his first World Cup overall title. The win Sunday was the sixth of his career, moving him out of a tie with Ned Overend and John Tomac and into sixth place

Cycling journalists love to play with numbers. All day long, the hackswere figuring the time splits among the favorites in the chase for theyellow jersey in the 192.5-km opening stage of the 2002 Tour de France. Prologue winner Lance Armstrong revealed he wasn’t interestedin defending the maillot jaune when he conceded the time bonusesat the first intermediate sprint after 50km, so the jersey was prime forthe picking. All eyes were on the established riders, especially those immediatelybehind Armstrong in the overnight standings, Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali)and Raimondas Rumsas

Lance Armstrong went like a rocket Saturday to win the opening prologueof the 2002 Tour de France and pick up exactly where he left off in Parislast summer. The three-time defending champion roared over the twisting, technicallydifficult 7.3-km course in downtown Luxembourg, edging Frenchman LaurentJalabert (CSC-Tiscali) by two seconds to win his 12th career Tour stage(prologues, time trials and road stages) and take the first yellow jerseyof the 89th Tour. “I was lucky. When I got out there, the course was dry. It is a surprise(to win) and a good surprise. I am happier than you think,”

Armstrong won on a special superlight prototype aero’ bar that Dedahad whipped out for him for the Tour. It is completely flat; there is nodrop to it like the Vision Tech bars the team has used in the pastand still has on some of its time trial bikes. It is made out of aluminum, but according to Deda’s Fulvio Acquati, “We are still working out the exact design with Armstrong, and when we get it exactly the way he wants it, we will make it out of carbon.” Dedaalso has a carbon aero’ bar that Acquati was showing to the teams the daybefore the prologue. The carbon base bar is just a prototype,

It's been a long time since the German national anthem has been played at the end of a women's World Cup cross-country race. But after winning round 4 of the Tissot UCI World Cup series at Grouse Mountain, British Columbia Saturday, Merida's Sabine Spitz changed that Saturday — sort of. Spitz took the lead for good with three laps to go in the 28.82km race, then held off a late charge from American Alison Dunlap to capture her first career World Cup win. But afterward organizers had problems with their national anthem CD, and twice played the wrong song. Finally Spitz was offered a

Roll call of past Tour de France winners:    1903  Maurice Garin (Fra)   1904  Henri Cornet (Fra)   1905  Louis Trousselier (Fra)   1906  Rene Pottier (Fra)   1907  Lucien Petit-Breton (Fra)   1908  Lucien Petit-Breton (Fra)   1909  Francois Faber (Lux)   1910  Octave Lapize (Fra)   1911  Gustave Garrigou (Fra)   1912  Odile Defraye (Bel)   1913  Philippe Thys (Bel)   1914  Philippe Thys (Bel)Stopped due  war     1919  Firmin Lambot (Bel)   1920  Philippe Thys (Bel)   1921  Leon Scieur (Bel)   1922  Firmin Lambot (Bel)   1923  Henri Pelissier (Fra)   1924  Ottavio Bottechia (Ita)   1925 

The image of Tyler Hamilton crashing at the bottom of a key descentas the Giro d’Italia’s other main contenders is firmly emblazoned inthe minds of anyone watching OLN’s coverage and saw that loop of tape played over and over. Coming through a turn, Hamilton stood up onhis pedals and suddenly lurches forward and hits the ground. Hamilton stated in his diaryon velonews.com that the freehub had not engaged when he stood on thepedals, causing the crash. The pain he had to deal with with over the remainderof the Giro is well documented, as is the amount of time he lost on mountaintopfinishes

Russel Bollig’s path to Lance Armstrong’s feet began with Tyler Hamilton,for whom he first built some custom orthotics in 1992. About four yearsago, Christian Vande Velde got some as well. They passed the word on toArmstrong, who was looking for an improved fit in his cycling shoes, andafter the 2001 season Bollig went to Austin, Texas, to fit the three-timeTour champion. While at Armstrong’s home, Bollig used resin-filled casting socks tomake casts of Armstrong’s feet and ankles. Then, back at his Podium Footwearshop in Boulder, Colorado, he made plaster duplicates of Armstrong’s feetfrom

This year will not be the first time anyone has ridden a titanium Litespeed at the Tour. That’s happened many times since the small Tennessee-based industrial metals firm began turning out titanium bicycles in 1986.

The first rider start rider leaves the starting ramp of the prologue at 4 p.m. on Saturday July 6, 2002.

Annabella Stropparo has won the third round of the cross-country WorldCup at Mont Ste Anne ahead of Barbara Blatter and Alison Dunlap. Dunlap's third is enough to propel her into the overall leader's jersey. Stropparo was overcome with emotion as she granted interviews. She wascrying and laughing and just plain full of joy. "I've waited such a longtime for this. I kept worrying that something would go wrong in the lastlap. That made it very hard. When I got through the last major climb itwas very enjoyable. I was so happy on the last half of the final lap. Itried to be very smooth and not

The sun came out and the war of attrition started. Racers dropped indroves as the heat and dust claimed many. It even became a strategy forsome racers to simply outlast the others. The racers only gained some reliefin the finish area where the wind could cool them a bit. Only the toughmade it through.The toughest today was Filip Meirhaeghe (Specialized). He rode a magnificentrace finishing with a 2 minute and 13 second gap over Christophe Dupouey(Giant Global) in second. Merihaeghe was jubilant. "Already in the firstlap I felt that I was strong, but so were Dupouey and Sauser. Sauser

The 43rd Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic came to an end on Sunday with Chris Horner (Prime Alliance) and Lyne Bessette (Quebec Selection Team) wrapping up the overall race titles while team Saturn swept the final day with Kim Davidge winning the women's race and Ivan Dominguez taking the men's. Bessette headed into the criterium with an overall lead of 5:21, having already taken care of her weekend's work with wins in the time trial, circuit race and criterium. That left it for teammate Clara Hughes to make the decisive move of the day on Sunday afternoon, with temperatures in Fitchburg topping 90

Flying Start: 1:00 p.m. on N.3 Rozérieulles exit.

First rider: 10:45 a.m., then 2-minute intervals for the first until the final 20 riders, who start at 3-minute intervals.

Start: First team starts at 2:15 p.m., then the remaining 20 teams start at 5-minute intervals.

Flying Start: 1:30 p.m. on D.35

Flying Start: 12:38 p.m., N.31, Soissons exit.

Steve Peat (Troy Lee-Orange) and Anne Caroline Chausson (Volvo-Cannondale) won the third round of the downhill World Cup at Mont Ste Anne, Quebec in decisive fashion on Saturday. In the overall standings, Chausson has taken the leader’s jersey from Sabrina Jonnier, while Chris Kovarik’s lead over Peat has shrunk to 23 points. After some truly exciting racing, third seeded Steve Peat was the victor in the men’s race with an outstanding time of 5:09.67, almost 4 seconds faster than Cedric Gracia (Volvo-Cannondale). He was extremely happy with his win. As Gracia approached the finish and it

Flying Start: 12:29 p.m., D.921, intersection D.921 and La Ruche.

On Saturday, Chris Horner and his Prime Alliance team took the race over at the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic, while in the women’s race, Lyne Bessette (Quebec Selection Team) put in a dominant solo performance to all but lock up her fourth straight Fitchburg title. Bessette entered the 69-mile road race with a 12-second lead over Saturn’s Kim Bruckner. By the end, her advantage would be counted in minutes, not seconds. Bessette got to work on the second of six laps on the 11-mile main circuit, on wooded, up-and-down roads around Princeton, Massachusetts and the Wachusett Mountain ski area. On

Flying Start 1:02 p.m. on D335, Bagnoles-de-l'Orne exit

Flying Start: 12:20 p.m. on D.30, intersection of D.30 - La Motte

Anne-Caroline Chausson took her second World Cup victory of the day,and Eric Carter was the surprise men's winner at the Mont Sainte-Anne WorldCup four-Cross, held Saturday evening.  Chausson and Brian Lopes bothextended their leads in the overall standings.From the start, the course drops from the ramp into a large left handberm. The strategy for the majority of the winners was to be the firstinto this turn. It also meant several crashes as riders jockeyed to bethat first person. From here there was the first of several double jumps,more berms and then a huge double jump where the better

First Starter at: 10:30 a.m. then 2-minute intervals.

Flying Start: 2:05 p.m. on D.932

Flying Start: 12:18 p.m. - Mazerès-Lezons, D. 37, av. du Général-de-Gaulle

Flying Start: 10:56 a.m. on D.939, Lannemezan exit

Flying Start: 11:21 a.m. on N.9, entry to Soumont.

Flying Start: 1:15 p.m., Les Chaubets exit.

Flying Start: 10:25 a.m. on D.938 (Gabriellini)

Flying Start: 11:45 a.m. on N.91

Ceremonial Start: 12:20 p.m. Boulevard de la Foire.Flying Start: 12:45 p.m. N. 12 Luxembourg Exit

Flying Start: 1:02 p.m. on N.90

Flying Start: 12:42 p.m. on No. 4

Flying Start 12:27 p.m. on D.19 exit to Cluses

On day two of the Fitchburg-Longsjo classic, three-time defending champion Lyne Bessette (Quebec Selection Team) moved a little closer to her fourth consecutive win, beating out Kimberly Bruckner (Saturn) in a head-to-head battle in the 40-mile women’s circuit race. In the men’s race, Prime Alliance’s Chris Horner edged out former teammate Mike Sayers (Mercury) for the stage win while Navigators Chris Baldwin grabbed the orange race leader’s jersey. After Thursday’s time trial, Bessette led Bruckner by one second in the general classification, so she was content to keep an eye on Bruckner

Swiss veteran Alex Zülle (Coast), won the Tour of Switzerland which ended with a time trial in Bienne on Thursday. Zülle finished third in the stage – behind Tobias Steinhauser (Gerolsteiner) and American Bobby Julich (Telekom) – which was good enough to give him a lock on the overall title. The 1995 Tour of Switzerland runner-up had shrugged off a six month ban imposed in 1998 as a result of the Festina doping scandal when taking second to Lance Armstrong in the 1999 Tour de France. But Zülle had a less than satisfactory season last, with just one win all season, a stage in Paris-Nice.

Mercury’s Phil Zajicek and Quebec’s Lyne Bessette took the wins in the opening time trial on Thursday night at the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, to take the leaders’ jerseys heading into Friday’s Aubuchon-Glidden Circuit Race. Defending champion Bessette (Quebec Selection Team) narrowly edged out her former Saturn teammate Kimberly Bruckner, covering the 7-mile time trial in 17:49.53, just over a second faster than Bruckner. Rona’s Genevieve Jeanson was third, 44 seconds behind Bessette. In the men’s race, Zajicek beat out defending champion Eric Wohlberg (Saturn)

Telkom’s Erik Zabel won the eighth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, a 235km stretch from Vevey to Lyss on Wednesday, continuing a pattern of wins that the German sprinter vowed to carry into next week’s Tour de France. Alex Zülle (Coast) retained the leader's yellow jersey, holding only a three-second advantage over Laurent Dufaux (Alessio) and 19 over Domo's Piotr Wadecki. Considered a strong strong time trialist, Zülle holds the advantage going into Thursday’s final stage a 34.5 km between Lyss and Bienne. Zabel said win on Wednesday gives him confidence going into the Tour de France,

Spaniard Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) took the seventh stage of the Tour of Switzerland Tafter Italian Gianluca Bortolami (Tacconi) was stripped of victory. Bortolami was ruled to have swayed from his line as he sprinted towards the finish and pushed back to 18th spot, handing victory to Garate, of team Lampre. Swiss star Alex Zülle of Coast maintains his lead at the top of the standings but the real talking point on Tuesday was Bortolami's demotion to back of the finishing group. The panel, chaired by Belgian Marc Vandevyvere, decided to punish Bortolami for coming out of the final bend

More solutions to mystery noises.

The U.S. track team continued to add to its string of strong performances this year, taking the team title at the latest round of the World Cup in Cali, Colombia, June 21-23. It’s been a remarkable season for the Americans, starting with a team title at the opening World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico in April. The success continued in Sydney and Moscow, and, most recently, Cali, where the U.S. squad claimed their second World Cup title at the series’ fourth stop. With one World Cup competition remaining in Kunming, China (August 9-11)—the United States squad sits unofficially atop the World Cup