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Ghent-Wevelgem, the sprinter’s classic?
Ghent-Wevelgem is one of Belgium's classic April races, held every year on the Wednesday between the bookending weekends of The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The first race, held in 1934, was brutal, taking riders over rough cobblestone roads. It hasn't gotten any easier. Long called "the sprinter's classic," because of its relatively flat run-in, today riders must twice climb the very steep, narrow and cobbled Kemmelberg climb. It is here the race is often decided.
Graham Watson: A Flanders history
The Tour of Flanders dates to 1913. Photographer Graham Watson has not been capturing its action for that long, but you might find some surprises among our favorite Watson photos from the last three decades of the race. This Sunday's race is sure to create some more memorable scenes, and Watson, and VeloNews, will be there to capture them. Check back Sunday for more of his photos, along with live coverage and a race report from VeloNews' John Wilcockson.
Canada recommends bans for Jeanson, coach and doctor
The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) ordered that the former coach and doctor of now-retired cyclist Geneviève Jeanson be banned from sport for life, after concluding that they had “aided, abetted and assisted” in providing EPO to Jeanson throughout her career. Relying on direct testimony from Jeanson, the panel found that André Aubut and physician Maurice Duquette had directly administered synthetic erythropoietin to Jeanson, including times during the early part of her career while she was a minor.
Petacchi wins at Lombarda
Alessandro Petacchi (LPR) won the second stage of the Settimana Lombarda in northern Italy to retain control of the leader’s jersey. The Italian sprinter held off compatriot Danilo Napolitano (Katusha) and former track world champion Theo Bos (Rabobank) in the stage Wednesday into Calcinate. The 35-year-old Petacchi was already the leader after his LPR team won the team time trial to open the race on Tuesday. The race continues Thursday with the third stage.
Cavendish beats McEwen at De Panne
Mark Cavendish (Columbia-Highroad) bolted to a sprint victory Wednesday in the second stage of the Three Days of De Panne in Belgium. The recently crowned Milan-San Remo champ beat back Robbie McEwen (Katusha) and Italian Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas) in the 219km start into Coxyde. "It was a long day for the team, who worked very hard. I'd have liked to help one of my teammates win it — but with McEwen in my slipstream that wasn't possible. I had to sprint myself to win it," Cavendish said.
Bouet wins Alentejo opener
Glen Chadwick of Rock Racing narrowly missed out on victory and a chance at taking the leader’s jersey in the first stage of the Volta ao Alentejo in Portugal on Wednesday. The Kiwi was beaten to the line by Maxime Bouet (Agritubel), who won the 159km opening stage and took the leader’s jersey in the five-day race. Vitaliy Kondrut (ISD) came through third. With time bonuses, Bouet leads Chadwick by five seconds, with Kondrut slotting into third at eight seconds adrift.
CONI seeks Valverde ban
Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri on Wednesday called for Alejandro Valverde, embroiled in a Spanish blood doping probe, to be suspended for two years. Last month, Valverde told an Italian anti-doping hearing he had not done anything wrong and was in no way mixed up in Spain's Operación Puerto scandal.
The Explainer – Of rules and regulations
Dear Explainer,
A few years ago, the UCI banned a time trial position which was dubbed the "Praying Landis," named after its originator. It seems to me that Levi Leipheimer's current position on his time trial bike is very similar to that used by Floyd Landis. What am I missing?
Joseph Welsh
Banner Elk, North Carolina
Bos nostalgic for track, but sticking with road
Theo Bos is racing this week at the Settimana Lombarda in northern Italy with the Rabobank continental team in what’s his third stage race since switching from the track. The former world sprint champion admitted he was a bit nostalgic watching the world track championships last week in Poland, but the Dutch sprinter remains firm in his commitment to give the road a shot.
Freire back for Basque Country
Óscar Freire is expected to return to competition in time for the Vuelta al País Vasco next week in Spain. The three-time world champion is still recovering from a crash at the Tour of California that left him with two broken ribs and difficulty with breathing. The injuries forced Freire to skip his first major goal of 2009 at Milan-San Remo. Rabobank officials are hopeful the Spanish sprinter’s condition continues to improve.
Rebecca Rusch’s partner in South Africa, Matthew Weatherley-White, says some riders find the event a little too epic
Editor's Note: Rebecca Rusch competed in South Africa's Absa Cape Epic stage race on on a Mixed team with fellow American Matthew Weatherley-White. Rusch, a two-time 24-hour mountain biking world champion, is sharing her daily diaries with VeloNews readers. Her stage 5 and 6 diaries were not published until today because VeloNews used up its March quota on the word "epic".
Forze GPS by PacificHealth Laboratories
Price: $2 per bar Weight: 40 grams Flavors: Cranberry Nut and Chocolate Peanut Butter Web site: www.forzegps.com Forze GPS is a new health bar from PacificHealth Laboratories, makers of Accelerade and Endurox products. Not so much a mid-race snack, Forze GPS is intended to help curb hunger to help keep endurance athletes lean.
Rebecca Rusch shares her feelings about a fast stage at the Absa Cape Epic mountain bike stage race.
Editor's Note: Rebecca Rusch competed in South Africa's Absa Cape Epic stage race on on a Mixed team with fellow American Matthew Weatherley-White. Rusch, a two-time 24-hour mountain biking world champion, is sharing her daily diaries with VeloNews readers. Her stage 4 and 5 diaries were not published until today because VeloNews used up its March quota on the word "epic".
Lennard Zinn tech Q&A: Would @lancearmstrong use shifters like this?
Dear Readers, I’ve discovered the ultimate in compatibility of shifting components: Sturmey-Archer 3-speed shifters and hubs work perfectly with Campagnolo, Shimano or SRAM 9-, 10-, or 11-speed drivetrains. What a sweet deal! Now you can avoid all of those flashy colorful bikes and get top performance with a nice, practical black bike with steel upright handlebars. Or you can simplify your flashy lightweight modern bike with a practical, three-position lever.
Lance Armstrong: top sprinter?
Lance Armstrong’s coach says the seven-time Tour de France winner is paying extra attention to his sprint as he prepares for his return to top-level racing following his broken collarbone. Armstrong is working on his top-end speed with weights in the gym and on the stationary trainer, coach Chris Carmichael told LanceNews.com, a new Competitor Group Web site launched Wednesday, April 1. Short, intense sprint workouts on the trainer should pay dividends later in the season, he said.
Weekday Madness
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Pevenage: ‘There wasn’t just one Fuentes’
Rudy Pevenage – the former Telekom sport director who’s now behind the wheel at Rock Racing – suggested there was more than one large-scale doping ring operating in Europe when the Operación Puerto scandal erupted in May 2006. Peverage -- who tutored 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich throughout much of his career – said in an interview with the Basque daily GARA that alleged ringleader Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes wasn’t the only doctor working illicitly with elite athletes.
Hamilton out of Alentejo
The U.S.-based Rock Racing team has released a revised roster for the upcoming Volta ao Alentejo, one that does not include U.S. road champion Tyler Hamilton. Hamilton, who recently missed Spain's Vuelta a Castilla y León due to bronchitis, was originally listed as team leader for the Rock squad slated to compete at the Volta ao Alentejo, which begins Wednesday in Portugal. Hamilton was listed as team leader in a roster submitted on March 10. He has since been replaced by Spaniard David Martin.
David Clinger photo gallery by Dan Campbell
The May issue of VeloNews features an interview with David Clinger, once one of America's greatest hopes for success in Europe, where he raced with Festina and with Lance Armstrong on U.S. Postal. In recent years, Clinger's career has stalled as he has battled addiction. He is best known for his facial tattoos, which he is now in the process of having removed.
LPR wins opening TTT at the Settimana Lombarda
The Italian team of defending champion Danilo Di Luca, LPR, won the opening team time trial in Tuesday’s first stage of the Settimana Lombarda. The team covered the 18.7km course in 20 minutes, 54 seconds, nipping Katusha by six seconds with the Rabobank continental team, featuring Tejay Van Garderen, stopping the clock for third at 23 seconds back. LPR sprinter Alessandro Petacchi was first across the line to snag the leader’s jersey.
Bernhard Kohl admits to blood doping and taking CERA, faces possible prison sentence in Austria
Austrian cyclist Bernhard Kohl, stripped of third in last year's Tour de France for drugs, faces a maximum five-year prison sentence after admitting Tuesday to blood-doping and other offences. Kohl told a press conference that he had gone to the Viennese laboratory Humanplasma for transfusions with blood supplied by his former manager Stefan Matschiner. "He (Matschiner) supplied me doping products. I did blood-doping three or four times," Kohl said.
A recovering Fabian Cancellara will start the Tour of Flanders, but will likely ride in a team support role
Reigning Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara is expected to start Sunday’s Tour of Flanders despite coming off an injury-plagued spring that forced him to forfeit a defense of his title at Milan-San Remo. Cancellara has suffered a string of illnesses, including an early exit from the Tour of California, and then a shoulder injury that forced him to miss nearly two weeks of training in early March. Earlier this year, Cancellara said winning the Tour of Flanders was one of his top goals of the season.
Katusha’s Filippo Pozzato wins De Panne opener
Filippo Pozzato continues on his strong pre-Flanders form, notching victory in the opening stage of the Three Days of De Panne in Belgium. Pozzato, who won the Prijs Harelbeke on Saturday, out-kicked fellow escapee Frédérick Willems (Liquigas) to win the stage and take the first leader’s jersey in the four-stage, three-day race. Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) won the bunch sprint, some 57 seconds back to take third place.
Hincapie: ‘I’m feeling better than ever’
It’s crunch time for George Hincapie and his quest to win a northern classic. The 35-year-old enters the most important week of his racing calendar more confident than ever that an elusive trophy from Flanders or Roubaix will soon be his. The Columbia-Highroad rider says he’s feeling “stronger than ever” and has enjoyed one of the best winter preparations of his career, racing in the Tour Down Under for the first time and spending most of January training in California.
Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn – Hangin’ out
Dear Lennard,
I always wondered about hanging my mountain bikes vertically too but not really worried about the shocks but about the hydraulic brakes and what that might do to the lines. Is it fine?
Paul
Dear Paul,
That’s a good question. If the bike is hanging vertically with the front wheel up, there would be no problem, because any air bubbles would gravitate toward the lever, which would be where you’d want them. But how about with the rear wheel up?
Hindsight Is 20/20
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Park Tool factory visit: Eric Hawkins’ custom motorcycle.
Eric Hawkins’ custom motorcycle has a Schwinn Stingray gear shifter and dual Schwinn stems holding its ape hanger bars. The banana seat and the fender are both hollow gas tanks so that the top tube above the engine is free to hold the shifter and look like a Stingray.
Tech writer Lennard Zinn learns how the Hazel Park Cycle Center became the world’s leading bike tool maker.
Park Tool started in 1956 as Hazel Park Cycle Center, a bike shop on the northern edge of of the Twin Cities, adjacent a park of the same name. Owners Art Engstrom and Howard Hawkins fed themselves through the cold Minnesota winters by sharpening ice skates, and they built their own bike tools. They made the original Park Repair Stand out of old parts, and they patented the clamp’s design. The base that held it steady was a huge artillery shell casing filled with concrete attached to metal clawed chair feet. The “Hazel Park Bicycle Repair Stand Company” was born.