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The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering relaxing its regulations to give the US Anti-Doping Agency a stronger voice in the fight against drug abuse in sports. Dick Pound, chairman of WADA, said Monday a proposed amendment to the World Anti-Doping Code's gag rule would make it easier for USADA to respond publicly when it believes athletes are making false or misleading statements about an ongoing probe. "If something is completely nonsense where someone is challenging evidence by saying there is no reliable test for X and there is, then it would be nice to be able to say the test is

Ivan Basso said Tuesday that he is "at peace" with himself ahead of his Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) hearing on doping allegations that may well decide his future as a cyclist. Basso, last year's Giro d’Italia winner and a pre-race favorite for the 2007 Tour de France, quit Discovery Channel on Monday noting that ongoing suspicions on him were damaging the team and its hunt for a new title sponsor. The decision has ruled him out of defending his Giro title in less than two weeks time, and has likely ruled him out of the Tour de France for the second year running. The 29-year-old

Old-school rims at Paris-RoubaixDear Lennard,I noticed that all the teams for Paris-Roubaix used old-school tubular rims for the race. How come they don't use the fancy composite tall rims as they do during the rest of the season? Did it have to do with their stopping power in the dry, dusty conditions or the punishment of the cobbles?Peter Dear Peter,Both. Carbon rims, especially deep-section ones, are so much stiffer that they are likely to crack rather than flex and bend like an aluminum rim would. In a crash, jagged carbon edges are worse than bent aluminum. And of course,

A quarter of a century is a milestone. It’s real history. When someone or something has been around that long it has had a chance to grow into its true being. In 1981, Yoshi Shimano, president of Shimano’s U.S. sales office, noticed a weird new segment of bikes popping up in the U.S. bicycle market and immediately informed corporate headquarters in Japan that Shimano needed to be a part of this new “mountain” bike movement. The following year, Shimano introduced the Deore XT component group to the world. Since other full component group options were virtually non-existent, both bicycle

The Freiburg justice department will investigate charges that two lead doctors from the T-Mobile cycling team gave cyclists performance-enhancing drugs, according to Thursday's edition of Suddeutsche Zeitung. Wolfgang Meier, the Bavarian prosecutor general, said his department was taking very seriously accusations made by a former masseur of the team, Jef d'Hont. D'Hont claimed the two doctors, Andreas Schmid and Lothar Heinrich, supplied the team with EPO during the 1996 Tour de France, which was won by then-team member Bjarne Riis. "The information available to us has

Italian Paolo Savoldelli (Astana) won the prologue of the Tour de Romandie on Tuesday, leaving his main rivals trailing in the hilly 3.5km time trial through the streets of Fribourg. The 34-year-old, two-time Giro winner claimed his fourth prologue win in the Swiss race, finishing with a five-second lead over Czech Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) and seven seconds ahead of third-placed American Chris Horner (Predictor-Lotto). Complete results "I didn't come here to win but to test myself and to do the best possible," Savoldelli said after tackling the long steep climb and a flat sprint to

An astounded and elated Mark Hekman stood in the floodlit streets of Athens, Georgia, on April 28 as the winner of the Heyward Allen Toyota Athens Twilight Criterium. The 29-year-old Abercrombie & Fitch rider was one of the few in the elite men's field to walk away unscathed by an evening of spectacular crashes.Two significant pileups, one of which led to the neutralization and subsequent restart of the race, changed the fortunes of many hopefuls who came geared up for the kickoff race to this year's USA Crits and USA Crits Southeast series. At one point, dozens of riders went down

The heady days of Ireland’s Nissan Classic came to mind Tuesday when Sean Kelly was the subject of a photo shoot before the first International Tour of Ireland was announced in Dublin Castle. The new five-day stage race will take place in late August, starting this year, with major sponsorship from Fáilte Ireland, the country’s national tourism development authority. The race is being organized by The Event Group of race director Alan Rushton, in association with Shade Tree Sports’ Darach McQuaid, the project director. BMW will supply a fleet of 75 vehicles for the race, and Tipperary

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now ready for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of our most recent contest. This week’s winning photograph had us wondering why we’re sitting behind a desk pining for time on the trails instead of heading to the desert. Take a look at “Joe’s Ridge” by Perry Brown. You can imagine a day’s worth of riding if you follow that line with your eye. Dang… enough with imagining. We’re going riding! Nice work, Perry. Please drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.comto work out the details and we’ll send

Romandie - here led by Liberty's Alberto Contador (now with Discovery) - is a good opportunity for Giro-bound climbers to test their legs.

Cadel Evans took the overall title in 2006

The new XT — plenty of choice for 2008

The new BL-775 brake lever incorporates Servo-Wave technology

The ST-M775 Dual Control lever does as well, both feature radial master brake cylinders.

Shimano’s new RD-772 is called the Shadow rear derailleur for its narrow profile.

Shimano’s new HB-M776 20mm XT hub hub can be purchased alone or in complete wheelset.

The new FC-M770 Hollow Tech II crank has a carbon reinforced steel middle chainring.

The new XT cassette has pins that extend rearward to catch a chain before it damages spokes in the event of an over shift.

The XT PD-M770 pedals look like XTR except for their logo and powder coat.

Savoldelli gets off to a fast start in Romandie

Horner says the legs are coming around

Kreuziger races to second on the day

The podium

Joe's Ridge

Do you have a North American race report? Wanna get the word out? Do you have something interesting from the local scene? Teams, technology, or race information/results? Send it on to Rosters@insideinc.com. Please include the appropriate credits for writers and/or photographers, and attach your contact information in case we have questions. Nature Valley GP adds crit in downtown St. PaulMinneapolis (April 30) — Organizers of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, now in its ninth consecutive year, have announced the addition of the Downtown St. Paul Criterium to the five-day stage race, which

As defending Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso awaits a hearing on his alleged involvement in Spain’s Operación Puerto doping affair, news reports on Monday suggest that another 49 cyclists may be implicated in new documents seized in the year-old investigation. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, a new 6000-page dossier from the Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes implicates a new crop of clients in a scandal that has already ensnared several top riders, including Basso and 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich. The Puerto scandal erupted in May of last year when police uncovered an alleged

Beleaguered Italian rider Ivan Basso has removed himself from his two-year contract with the Discovery Channel team at his own request just days ahead of a hearing before the Italian Olympic committee for alleged links to the Operación Puerto doping investigation. Basso requested to meet with sport director Johan Bruyneel and general manager Bill Stapleton on Sunday. In a press release issued Monday, Basso said the decision to leave the American team was his.

Tyler Hamilton will start next month’s Giro d’Italia—at least, that’s what his Tinkoff Credit System management insists in the face of growing pressure to suspend riders linked to the Operación Puerto doping scandal. The names of both Hamilton and new addition Jörg Jaksche showed up in police documents released by Spanish authorities last May, but Tinkoff officials denied reports in the Italian media that the team has sidelined the two riders ahead of the May 12 start of the Giro. “For me, Tyler and Jörg can start the Giro. Stories that they are suspended are not true,” Tinkoff general

The final and deciding stage of the 29th La Vuelta de Bisbee unfolded Sunday on the high desert terrain of Southern Arizona. In past years, a familiar script had played out — a group would leap off the front, build a sizable gap in the rolling terrain west of Bisbee and be reeled back in as the mountains approached and the climbers took over. But this year, the gap was bigger, and there were able climbers in the breakaway. At the first intermediate sprint, a group of nine driven by three RideClean riders worked to build a 4:30 lead. In the break were Daniel Ramsey (Successful Living) and

When Tom Danielson joined VeloNews for a cup of coffee in an Athens java shop on the Monday following the Tour de Georgia’s final stage, it was evident that he felt a touch of remorse over failing to repeat his 2005 victory. “I love Tour de Georgia and I love Georgia. Every time I come here I tell my wife, Kristen, ‘Man, we should get a house up here in the Brasstown area.’ It’s just so beautiful and the climbs are amazing and the pavement is nice,” said the 29-year-old Discovery Channel rider, who was in town for a fun ride out of The Hub bicycle shop. “I love to fish and I see these lakes

Basso has asked for and been granted his release from Discovery

Ramsey takes the overall

Munoz wins the final stage

Danielson: 'Hey, look, man, there goes your race'

Jeff Frost and Tom Spiegel took over race organization responsibilities for NORBA in 2003; the year after the governing body’s national series saw its major cash sponsors jump ship. Since then the continent’s largest off-road racing series — now called the National Mountain Bike Series or NMBS — has operated solely under their direction. That was supposed to have changed at this weekend’s Santa Ynez Valley Classic mountain-bike festival, which hosted the second round of the NMBS’s cross-country competition. Spiegel and Frost outsourced organization of the event out to local promoter Mike

The final round of the Ardennes Classics went off Sunday morning in Liège. VeloNews senior writer was at the start and sent in these images.

Coming into the 93rd Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the number of riders named as potential race favorites was almost overwhelming. Nearly a dozen men were believed to have a serious shot at winning the hilly classic on its demanding course that suits a variety of riders. In the end, the cadre of serious contenders proved to be a hindrance for all the favorites, except one — Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas). The Italian, who won the Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallone in 2005, completed a career triple of the Ardennes Classics by bridging across to a late attack by CSC’s Frank Schleck and then jumping away

Tony Cruz is back in the European peloton after racing last season on the domestic circuit with Toyota-United. The 35-year-old Californian says he still has unsettled business in Europe and rejoins Discovery Channel more motivated than ever. Cruz talked to VeloNews at length about his career, why he refuses to compromise his integrity and how he still hopes to race the Tour de France this year. Here are excerpts from the recent interview: VeloNews.com: How are you recovering following your classics campaign? Tony Cruz: I have a little problem with the tendon that covers my left knee. It

Riding an early breakaway Sunday, Colombian Javier Zapata held onto the GC leader’s jersey to win the 2007 Tour of Virginia. Zapata (Caico) came into the 100-mile stage 7 with just an eight-second lead over second-place Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid), but 40km into the race, Zapata latched on to a 10-man breakaway. Borrajo did not, a problem his team attributed to a technological breakdown. “We had problems with our radio and never got word that Zapata was in the break,” Rite Aid director Jonathan Wirsing said. Showing no signs of slowing down, the breakaway stretched its lead to 2:45

A patient Geoff Kabush used his experience to win the Santa Ynez Valley Classic, the second round of the 2007 National Mountain Bike Series. The Canadian, suffering from admittedly bad legs, spent the day riding in the draft of Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Barry Wicks (Kona), before out sprinting the two Americans for the win. “I took one pull today and it was in the last 50 meters of the race,” Kabush conceded after the win. “Something wasn’t right with me from the get go, and I just tried to hang on today as long as I could. Luckily I just let Wicks and JHK chase each

Floyd Landis claimed Sunday that electronically stored data from disputed dope tests conducted on his 2006 Tour de France stage 17 samples had been destroyed at a French laboratory. Simon Davis, a technical consultant for Landis, told the cyclist that "critical evidence stored as electronic data files had been erased from the hard drive and the original data destroyed at the Laboratoire National de Depistage du Dopage (LNDD)," according to a release issued by Landis spokesman Michael Henson on Sunday. "The existing data bears indication of alteration," the release said. Davis was at the

The Future of the NMBS: A Conversation with Jeff Frost

Gilberto Simoni is well suited to the roads of Liège-Bastogne-Liège .

Amstel Gold winner, Stefan Schumacher

Horner loves this race

Rabobank's three-time world champion Oscar Freire was relaxed at the start.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège - A view from the start

Liège-Bastogne-Liège - A view from the start

DiLuca has to be among the favorites

World champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) said he's recovered from the food poisoning that saw him vomiting from the bike at Fleche.

Riding in his last LBL, Rabobank's Michael Boogerd is hoping for a good result.

CSC rider Frank Schleck learned Saturday that he broke a vertebra in his fall at last Sunday's Amstel Gold Race, but he's riding anyway.

Cruz readying up for Paris-Roubaix

A healthy gap. Di Luca has time to relish his win

Kiriyenka leads the day's early break

Often called the greatest of the one-day classics, Liege is marked by a series of tough, narrow climbs like the Cote St. Roche

Vinokourov was here to test his legs for his biggest goal of the year.

Gerolsteiner gives chase on the Haute Levee

The big names began to appear at the front on the Stockeu and Redoute

Horner puts the pressure on

Schumacher gets a gap

Liquigas and Quick Step remember last week and put on a big chase.

Schumacher finally bridges to the leaders

His gamble paid off

Di Luca decides it's now or never

Anthony nails the sprint

left to right: Christopher Jones, Javier Zapata, Nathan Bowman

Kabush takes his pull.... when it counts.

SWEEEEP! Luna does it again

“It’s the best one-day race in cycling.” American Chris Horner, who placed eighth at last year’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, says this weekend’s coming edition is the highlight of the season. But the Predictor-Lotto man’s assessment could just as easily come from world champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) or defending Liège champion Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne), or any of the 192 riders expected to start the 93rd edition of Liège Sunday, the final race of the spring classics season. “It’s a race almost any type of rider can win — a climber, a Tour rider, a time-trial

Southern California’s picturesque Santa Ynez Valley is internationally renowned for its miles of grapevines and upscale wineries. But this weekend it’s the area’s singletrack earning the attention, as the National Mountain-Bike Series rumbles into town for the April 28-29 Firestone Santa Ynez Classic mountain-bike festival. In its eighth year, the Santa Ynez Classic has become the largest off-road festival in Southern California. The weekend features cross-country, short-track, downhill and Super D competition. New for 2007, all the events are part of USA Cycling’s National Mountain-Bike

A former trainer who once worked with now-retired Jan Ullrich has claimed that the 1997 Tour de France winner was injected with erythropoietin during the 1996 edition of the race. Jeff d' Hont, a Belgian soigneur employed by the Telekom team from 1992 till 1996, claimed in the German weekly newspaper Der Spiegel that Ullrich took the banned blood booster in 1996. He also claims the German team's medical supervisors, who coninue to work for the team under its current name T-Mobile, encouraged use of EPO. D'Hont accused two doctors, Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid, of having

With just one stage remaining, Michael Grabinger (Successful Living) and Meshy Holt (Expresscopy.com) lead their respective categories in the 29th La Vuelta de Bisbee. Grabinger scored a pair of runner-up finishes on Saturday’s wind-whipped, double-stage day to move into the overall lead, just five seconds ahead of Phil Zajicek (Navigators Insurance). The victory in the Stage 1 Sulphur Springs Road Race went to Mexico’s Antonio Aldape (Halcones). Adalpe, countryman and teammate David Salomon and Grabinger had been part of a 13-man break that formed at the first bonus sprint in the 79-mile

Australian sprinter Jonathan Cantwell won his second stage in as many days Saturday at stage 6 of the Tour of Virginia, as Alejandro Borrajo continued to cut into Colombian Javier Zapata’s general classification lead. “It’s getting a little surreal by now,” said Cantwell (Kahala-La Grange), who trails Borrajo (Rite Aid) by six points in the sprint classification. Borrajo finished third in Saturday’s criterium stage, earning a four-second time bonus. Zapata (Caico) finished 11th, with the same time as the pack. Borrajo now trails Zapata in the GC standings by eight seconds. The 35-mile

At just 22, Canadian cross-country rider Max Plaxton (Rocky Mountain-Haywood) already owns palmarès worthy of envy. He is twice the Pan-American U-23 champion (2006 and ‘07) and owns a bronze medal from the 2006 world championships U-23 cross-country race. Now, with countrymen Geoff Kabush and Seamus McGrath entering their 30s, Plaxton is undeniably the future of Canadian cross-country racing. “Young Max,” as his peers call him, took another step toward the big time by winning his first NMBBS race — Saturday’s short-track cross-country at the National Mountain Bike Series’s Santa Ynez

Valverde won in 2006, taking a race that favors all-around talents

Liège-Bastogne-Liège - The Classic closer of the Ardennes

Horner calls La Doyenne 'the best one-day race in cycling.'