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Alexandre Vinokourov is playing kingmaker at the Dauphiné Libéré. A day after stepping aside on Mont Ventoux to let Astana understudy Andrey Kashechkin move into the leader’s jersey, the 33-year-old gifted Friday’s 195km fifth stage to Astana teammate Toni Colom. The Astana captain powered away from Friday’s winning 22-rider breakaway on the day’s final hurdle on the Cat. 2 Col du Corobin with about 20km to go to latch on to the attacking Colom and the pair drove home the victory 3:27 ahead of the chasing favorites. Vinokourov then insisted the Spanish journeyman take the scalp because he

There won’t be a Tour de France debut for Tom Danielson this year. Recurring stomach ailments – which forced him to pull out of the first stage of the Dauphiné Libéré -- have scuttled Tour hopes for the 29-year-old Discovery Channel rider. “Tom is off the Tour team,” Discovery Channel boss Johan Bruyneel told VeloNews. “He’s sick. We’re trying to find out exactly what the problem is. He’s had stomach problems throughout the year at several key moments. It’s definitely a disappointment.” Danielson was hoping to earn a spot on the nine-man Discovery Channel team in what would be his

The Italian cycling federation (FCI) on Friday gave Ivan Basso a two-year ban for his involvement in Operación Puerto, but deducted the time he has spent on the sidelines after first being identified as a suspect in the blood-doping scandal. "I can't do anything other than accept the sentence," the 2006 Giro d'Italia champion was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA after the hearing. "I'm calm. I knew that it wasn't going to be easy and that's why I accept the sanctions. Now I will continue to train and I will be thinking ahead to the races in 2009." Asked if

American cross-country racer Willow Koerber is enjoying her finest World Cup campaign ever. The 29-year-old collected a ninth-place finish at the May 26 event in Offenburg, Germany, and followed that up with an impressive podium performance at the June 9 World Cup in Champéry, Switzerland. Finishing on the box at a European World Cup is a career accomplishment, and Koerber hopes it’s the first of many. And with the 2008 Olympics looming, Koerber knows that continuing her consistent World Cup performances will earn her a ticket to the Games. VeloNews caught up with Koerber as she was

Conflicts with the USA Cycling Elite National Championships in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, have forced organizers of the Cascade Cycling Classic to cancel this year’s women’s stage race. A decision was made this week to postpone the women’s Pro 1-2 race until 2008. Race organizer Chad Sperry called it “one of the toughest decisions in recent history.” “We are just heartbroken about this situation,” said Sperry, who also directs the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. “Last fall I sat down with the owners of the event, Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation (MBSEF), and we had decided to take the

For the third consecutive year, the National Mountain Bike Series heads into central Utah’s rugged Wasatch Mountains as the Deer Valley resort in Park City hosts the fourth NMBS round of 2007. An 11-year mainstay on the NMBS — formerly called the NORBA and NCS series — Deer Valley is arguably the series’s marquee event, thanks in no small part to community support. On Thursday, pro riders Todd Wells, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Heather Irmiger, Chris Van Dine and Kathy Sherwin held an autograph signing to benefit the local Young Riders recreational cycling club for kids. “The place was packed,”

For the second consecutive day, the Tour de Beauce saw a change in the lead, with Australian Ben Day (Navigators) taking over the yellow jersey from Gregorio Ladino Vega (Tecos) after scorching the competition in the individual time trial. Danny Pate (Slipstream-Chipotle), the defending time-trial champion at Beauce, finished second with Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) third. Tuft moves into second overall at 33 seconds behind Day, with Pate taking over third at 1:04. The 20km out-and-back time trial was held under near-perfect conditions, with temperatures in the mid-20's (Celsius) and almost

Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly) won the first of two criteriums in thisyear’s Tour de Nez on a beautiful Friday evening in Truckee, California. The local favorite took advantage of a mid-race break and capped offhis effort with a ferocious sprint. Finishing just half of a wheel length behind Candelario was Juan PabloForero of the Colombian National Team, and just behind Forero was TonyCruz (Discovery), the overall winner of last year's Tour de Nez. During the first 30 minutes of the race, the field was at the mercyof the Colombian National Team, which maintained a blistering pace,

Colom and Vino' celebrate another 1-2 Astana punch

Basso arrives at his hearing in Rome on Friday

Koerber is having fun and riding strongly

Day smokes the TT

The winner last year, Pate took second today

Tuft, who took third, says the race isn't over yet

Lauren Fithian on the beautiful “Highway of the Legends,” west of Trinidad, Colorado. She’s currently in third, however the entire women’s field is in danger of not making the time cut-off.

The climb over Wolf Creek Pass is tough, but the views are worth it.

What do you do when parts of your saddle cause pressure point? Remove those parts, of course! Women’s solo leader Kerry White show’s how it’s done.

Candelario nails it

Traces of drugs were found in the urine samples taken from three stage winners at this year’s Giro d'Italia, the Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Thursday. The paper said sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) and climber Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) tested positive for Salbutamol, a substance primarily used to treat asthma, and Piepoli’s teammate Iban Mayo showed signs of an elevated testosterone level. Salbutamol is a banned substance, but riders with asthma may use it to certain levels if they possess a medical certificate. Basque television channel EITB confirmed

Mont Ventoux served up a dandy in Thursday’s 197km fourth stage as the Dauphiné Libéré remains anything but decided with six riders within 53 seconds of each other in the overall standings. Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) attacked to his second win in three days as Andrey Kashechkin inherited the race leader’s jersey from Alexandre Vinokourov just as Astana promised, but it didn’t come without pain.

Traces of drugs were found in the urine samples taken from three stage winners at this year’s Giro d'Italia, the Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Thursday. The paper said sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) and climber Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) tested positive for Salbutamol, a substance primarily used to treat asthma, and Piepoli’s teammate Iban Mayo showed signs of an elevated testosterone level. Salbutamol is a banned substance, but riders with asthma may use it to certain levels if they possess a medical certificate. Basque television channel EITB confirmed

Bosses from cycling’s biggest teams met behind closed doors Wednesday night in an effort to fend off potential surprises ahead of next month’s Tour de France. Following rumors that more riders could be linked to the Operación Puerto doping scandal, representatives from 19 ProTour teams decided in a heated three-hour meeting that any team not enforcing the Code of Ethics will not be allowed to race. “Any team not respecting the ethics code will be excluded from the AIGCP,” said Patrick Lefevere, president of the professional teams association. Presenting a united front is about all the

Spanish climber Iban Mayo, one of three riders whose urine samples were reported to have shown traces of drugs during the recent Giro d'Italia, was cleared of doping by the UCI on Thursday. But cycling's world governing body confirmed that Italian pair Alessandro Petacchi and Leonardo Piepoli were still under investigation. Italy's sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport reported Thursday that the three cyclists returned "non-negative" results at the first grand tour of the season, which ran from May 12-June 3. The paper said sprinter Petacchi and climber Piepoli tested positive for

There were two races going on today in stage three of the Tour de Beauce - the one to claim victory at the top of Mont Megantic, and one for the yellow jersey of overall race leader. Glen Chadwick (Navigators) took his second consecutive win for the former, and Gregorio Ladino Vega (Tecos) won the fight for yellow, deposing Mark Walters (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada). The Mont Megantic stage is the 'big one' at Beauce. It is not the longest, but it does have 4 KoM climbs, ending with a five kilometer ascent to over 1100 meters atop Mont Megantic. The average gradient for the final 3

Moreau wins atop Ventoux.

It was not among Vinokourov's best days... but there's always July.

Leipheimer and Zabriskie are still in the mix

The break's lead that once hit 11:30 completely evaporated on the slopes of the Ventoux

With the top two on GC, the day's chasing duties fell exclusively on Astana

Evans was aggressive near the top of the Ventoux

Vino knew early on that he was in trouble

In retrospect, maybe attacking at the 2km mark wasn't a sure bet

Calzatti lasted until about 4km from the summit.

Anton took a chance with 3km to go, but...

... Morreau had it in the bag by then.

In the time-trial stage at last year’s Dauphiné Libéré, Americans swept the top four en route to Levi Leipheimer’s overall victory in a stunning display of national prowess against the clock. In Wednesday’s 40.7km undulating course with two Cat. 4 climbs, it was the Kazakhs’ turn to show who’s boss. Alexandre Vinokourov won his first race since last year’s Vuelta a España, claiming the overall leader’s jersey, while faithful sidekick Andrey Kashechkin was second to stake his claim as the leading candidate for overall victory. Dave Zabriskie (CSC) was third at 38 seconds off the pace to

Christian Vande Velde rode through Wednesday’s time trial at the Dauphiné Libéré licking his wounds. Vande Velde crashed on a steep descent in Tuesday’s hilly stage when his drive train slipped and he lost all resistance in his pedals, sending him “high-siding” over the handlebars. “I just catapulted over the handlebars,” said Vande Velde, who added he couldn’t touch his chin to his chest because of stiffness in his neck. “Remember the crash Tyler (Hamilton) had at the Tour a few years ago? My back looks just like that.” Vande Velde rode Wednesday’s time trial as a high-speed recovery

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Let's see. Over the past twenty weeks, my bike hasn't fit, my camera traveled underwater, and I finally kicked the demon's butt and conquered Squaw Pass on the third try. Come June 17th, playtime is over and I've got to Ride the Rockies for real. I can't believe that I've been playing with all this stuff since February, when Dr. Andy Pruitt of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine told me, in a way that only Dr. Andy Pruitt of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine can, that my bike -- my brand new, I saved a year for this darned thing, bike -- did not fit. That

Mark Walters (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) successfully defended his race leader’s jersey in the second stage of Canada’s Tour de Beauce on Wednesday. A group of nine riders - nine minutes down on the leaders - was able to break away 40 kilometers into the race, with Glen Chadwick (Navigators) then soloing in the final 27 kilometers to win the stage. The 171 kilometer stage represented a new circuit for the Tour, north of the race hub town of St-Georges. The stage opened with a KoM climb, which was guaranteed to cause some action among riders hoping to make up for missing the split in the

Vino's in yellow here, but really wants it in July

Vande Velde says he's a big fan of Bell helmets after a couple of nasty crashes

Kash' is in line to win for Astana

Like Vino', defending champ Leipheimer is tuning up for the Tour

Moreau had a poor ride and dropped out of yellow

The Ancient One

Christophe Moreau started the Dauphiné Libéré hoping to test his form before next month’s Tour de France. If Tuesday’s bumpy ride into Saint-Etienne was any indication, he’s done that and more with a stage victory that also put him into the race leader’s yellow jersey. At 36, Moreau is no spring chicken, but he rode hard enough to bridge out with about 40km to go, joining a two-man breakaway that pulled away early in the 157km hilly route from Saint-Paul-en-Jarez to Saint-Etienne. Riding Moreau’s vapors were Juan Antonio Redondo (Astana) and Kevin Seeldrayers (Quick Step-Innergetic). The

An open dialogue about the problem of doping has been, up to this point, the third rail of cycling. Touch it and you die. The culture insists that anyone wishing to continue working in the sport remain silent on the issue, which perpetuates the problem. But the tide appears to be turning. Team managers and riders are not being immediately fired for admitting a prior history of doping in the era before EPO testing. Breaking the silence is a huge step towards solving the problem. As the biggest names in the sport are falling, the anti-doping movement seems to be throwing a haymaker at the

Mark Walters (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) took his first victory in more than two seasons on the opening day of the Tour de Beauce with an extremely bold solo breakaway from the lead group after 158 kilometers of racing. Walters' team mate Dominique Rollin, the Canadian national champion, took the 10 rider sprint for second, while the original break initiator Jacob Erker (Symmetrics) took third, giving Canada a sweep of the podium. The 171-kilometer Lac Etchmin stage is a classic Beauce race: long, steady and constant climbs, rough roads and steady wind. Temperatures in the high 80s

Two years ago, Magura moved its suspension production out of Holland toBad Urach, Germany, where the company’s brake factory is based. This stepwas taken to ensure greater control over the new suspension fork’s production. The 2008 line will represent the second production model-year to comefrom the new German facility. Once again, it brings Magura a step closerto becoming a major player in the front suspension market. For 2008, Maguraputs its top-level cross-country fork on a radical diet, pairing closeto three quarters of a pound off of its 2007 equivalent. The Durin Race, a completely

Christophe Moreau dedicates his stage win and leaders jersey to his new daughter.

Vande Velde quickly recovered

Pineau Kuschynski initiated an early break...

... but faded soon after they got some company.

Moreau really drove this one

Cofidis eventually wore out its resources driving the chase

It took an alliance of sorts to narrow the gap

but Moreau still takes the day and the jersey.

Stefan Pahl, Magura’s suspension product manager, discusses the new 130mm travel Laurin ML130AM fork.

The back of the left fork leg on all of Magura’s forks sports an air pressure chart and a place to write in your personal setting.

Magura’s new 100mm travel fork, the Durin MD100R.

The Durin has Magura’s Dynamic Lock Out (DLO). The feature locks the fork, but allows a blow off for big hits.

The, once again, redesigned Louise brake. This is the BAT model.

The new caliper is a clamshell and cast from aluminum. The Heat Eater line attachment is free to pivot 90-degrees.

If the Dauphiné Libéré is just as much about a preview of the upcoming Tour de France as it is about actually winning the race, then Monday’s 219km first stage changed the plotline just slightly. The 219km hilly trek from Grenoble to Roanne followed the script throughout most of the day. A two-man no-hope breakaway slipped away in the early going, built up a seemingly large lead of nearly 10 minutes, only to be reeled in by the collaborative efforts of Cofidis – looking to defend the leader’s jersey for Bradley Wiggins – and Quick Step-Innergetic – looking to slip Tom Boonen in for the

Discovery1. Levi Leipheimer (USA)2. Alberto Contador (Sp)3. Tom Danielson (USA)4. George Hincapie (USA)5. Egoi Martinez (Sp)6. Benjamin Noval (Sp)7. Sergio Paulinho (P)8. Tomas Vaitkus (Lit)AG2R11. Christophe Moreau (F)12. Arrieta José-Luis (Sp)13. Sylvain Calzati (F)14. Cyril Dessel (F)15. Goubert Stéphane (F)16. Julien Loubet (F)17. Blaise Sonnery (F)18. Ludovic Turpin (F)Gerolsteiner21. Bernhard Kohl (A)22. Markus Fothen (G)23. Heinrich Haussler (G)24. Torsten Hiekmann (G)25. Ronny Scholz (G)26. Tom Stamsnijder (Nl)27. Fabian Wegmann (G)28. Peter Wrolich (A)Rabobank31. Denis

French veteran Didier Rous already knew that the 2007 season would be his last, but a double herniated cervical disc pushed his retirement date up a few months earlier than he had hoped. Rous, 36, told French journalists he’s putting an end to his suffering and bringing an earlier than expected close to his 14-year career in the face of the debilitating injuries. “This was my last season, I knew that, but I would have liked to have had another ending,” Rous told L’Equipe. “All this is against my will. I have pain in the neck and shoulders. I cannot hold the handlebars correctly with my

American cross-country mountain-bike racer Adam Craig has his sights set on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. That means for the next two seasons, he will be battling it out on the World Cup and National Mountain Bike Series with his fellow Americans for a slot on the U.S. team. And VeloNews.com is along for the ride.—Editor As globetrotting bike racers, we face various challenges — staying in shape, food, travel, sleep, navigation, luck, etc. Over the years you develop a respectable skill set to deal with these challenges. One skill set I’m still struggling with, however, is controlling

Haussler frustrates the biggies.

Another day in yellow.

Late-spring rain showers punctuated the early part of the day.

Wiggins wants to enjoy the jersey at least until Mt. Ventoux.

Rémi Pauriol and Nicolas Portal make an early break in a long stage... with the predictable result.

Leipheimer is staying relaxed.

Just your average day on the bike in Switzerland

World pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins (Cofidis) tore through the 4.2-kilometer prologue time trial of the 2007 Dauphiné Libéré, narrowly edging out defending Dauphiné champion Levi Leipheimer (Discovery) on Sunday. Wiggins covered the course in 4:50, one second better than Leipheimer and two seconds better than Andrey Kashechkin (Astana). Leipheimer's teammate George Hincapie rounded out the top four, three seconds off of Wiggins' time. The 27-year-old Wiggins is looking to prove his credientials ahead of the Tour de France, with a prologue time trial that begins in London, just a

When a 156-mile race ends in a massive field sprint it’s easy to think that nothing much happened. But that wasn’t the case in the 23rd edition of the Commerce Bank Philadelphia Championship on Sunday. Indeed, there were many subplots behind the final result: a clear victory for Team CSC’s rapid Argentinean J.J. Haedo from his rookie Australian teammate Matt Goss, with T-Mobile’s Bernhard Eisel placing third to easily clinch the Commerce Bank Triple Crown after winning the first two events of Philly Week. It seemed like a logical result, but several factors affected the outcome, including a

Hot racing, steep hills and water-squirting fans — must be the Philly International Championship, the only hors-catégorie pro men's one-day race on this side of the big ditch. Our man Casey Gibson was on hand for that spectacle and the women's Liberty Classic on Sunday, and sent a few snaps home. Here they are.