Don’t tell Alessandro Ballan he’s heir to Italian classics heroes such as Andrea Tafi and Franco Ballerini after his dramatic sprint victory ahead of Leif Hoste in Sunday’s Tour of Flanders. The panache shown by the 27-year-old in winning the crash-laden 91st edition is just the stuff Italian journalists love to turn into legend, but Ballan sees himself as more than a one-trick pony after the biggest victory of his career.
Second-year pro Tyler Farrar is getting his long-awaited view of Europe’s bumpiest roads from inside the peloton during the northern classics. On Sunday, the 22-year-old Cofidis rider competed in the first Tour of Flanders of his promising career, helping push team captain Nick Nuyens to seventh in one of the most important races of the season. Farrar is an integral part of the Cofidis’ northern classics program and will be spending the next week racing across the cobblestones. Up next is Wednesday’s Ghent-Wevelgem —and next weekend, he’s scheduled to start in the Hell of the North,
Ballan wins
Ballan and Hoste working their slim advantage
A little fog, but otherwise a lovely day for a bike race
Panache and power
It was that close
The podium
Acosta was part of an early break . . .
. . . as was Franzoi
World champ Bettini shows his rainbow colors
Knaven chases
Riders pouring into Bruges
Tyler's dream of riding the spring classics has come true
The absence of one the Tour of Flanders' crucial climbs in Sunday's second one-day classic of the season is unlikely to reduce the threat of a possible hat-trick for Tom Boonen. Boonen has won the Belgian epic for the past two years, but even he might be applauding the organizer’s decision to bypass the mythical, and strategically significant Koppenberg. At only 600 meters long, it can hardly be labeled a climb - at least to those more used to watching the big stage racer. But climbing at an average gradient of 11.6 percent on the cobbles makes the Koppenberg a challenge you cannot
Peter Van Petegem lines up Sunday in what could be his last Tour of Flanders. The 37-year-old is synonymous with the Belgian classic and boasts two victories (1999 and 2003) to his list of successes during his 16-year career. Van Petegem made a big switch last year, trading his team captain’s role at Predictor-Lotto for one that’s certainly a notch or two lower in the pecking order at Quick Step-Innergetic. What’s surprising is that Van Petegem couldn’t be happier than to be in his new role of “joker” behind two-time defending Flanders champ Tom Boonen and reigning world champion Paolo
The U.S Open Cycling Championship got under way on Saturday after snow and cold forced a 90-minute delay to the start in Williamsburg, Virginia. Wet snow and steady winds kept the television helicopter grounded, prompting the delay. Same-day television coverage is to be broadcast from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on NBC. More pictures “I agreed with the rider boycotts at Sea Otter [in 2003] and San Dimas [in 2004],” said Health Net-Maxxis team director Jeff Corbett. “But no one wants to look like a wimp on national television.” Happily, the race got rolling, albeit a bit late, and the race caravan
The organization representing UCI ProTour teams has asked cycling authorities to carry out DNA tests on all riders implicated in the Spanish Operación Puerto scandal. The demand comes in the wake of DNA evidence that linked former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich with blood bags found on the properties of tainted doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, as part of the Puerto investigation. In a joint statement, the ProTour teams and the International Association of Professional Cycling Groups (AIGCP) have asked all cycling authorities to use the DNA of cyclists implicated in the affair to discover
The calendar says it's spring — but you wouldn't have known it by the conditions at the start of the inaugural U.S. Open Cycling Championship on Saturday in Williamsburg, Virginia. Senior writer Neal Rogers snapped a few pics of the peloton preparing for heavy weather; they're arrayed below.
Heading into the inaugural U.S. Open Cycling Championships in Richmond, Virginia, a few names of race favorites were on everyone’s lips: Toyota-United strongmen Henk Vogels and Ivan Dominguez topped the list. Other riders, such as Health Net-Maxxis riders Karl Menzies and Kirk O’Bee and current NRC leader Ben Jacques-Maynes of Priority Health-Bissell were also tossed around. But in the end, two riders not considered favorites — Svein Tuft of Symmetrics and Patrick McCarty of Slipstream-Chipotle — turned the race upside down after forming a winning two-man breakaway more than 15 miles from
Van Petegem is eyeing retirement, but he's not quite ready to hang up his cleats.
Van Petegem last won Flanders in 2003. Now he's riding for the competition
Van Petegem says the first Flanders victory in 1999 remains one of his fondest memories.
The Koppenberg was a classic hurdle, but it was never the only hurdle in the Tour of Flanders
Van Petegem is comfortable in his current role at Quick Step
U.S. Open hits the road after snow delay
The weather has left directors and officials wondering what to do
A delay may allow snow to melt, but wet cobbles await the peloton in Richmond
Grate weather: Riders from Equipe Vallee de l'Aluminum de Vinci stand over a heating grate to stay warm
Slipstream-Chipotle rider Lucas Euser puts some plastic trash bags to good use
Justin England (Toyota-United) and Jonny Sundt (Kelly Benefit Strategies-Medifast) wore latex gloves over their cycling gloves
Ace photog' Casey Gibson: 'It's not the temperature that's the problem, it's the humidity.'
Bernardo Colex (Tecos), from Puebla, Mexico, said he'd never ridden in the snow before
Alex Candelario (Jelly Belly) and Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) stayed warm on a chartered bus during the delay
Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada's Ryan Trebon wore every article of clothing he'd brought, and borrowed a few extra layers
Aussie Henk Vogels (Toyota-United) looked as though there were other things he would prefer to do than race in the snow
Tuft takes the hard-fought win
Some of the fans lining the race route seemed a little frosty
Tuft leads McCarty
With one to go, he's gone
Welcome to sunny — er, snowy — Williamsburg
Last year's race was held in epic conditions
The peloton tackles the cobbled climb
Johnson leads Tuft on an early trip up the big hill
The podium after a cold, hard day in the saddle
Whoops — wrong way
Even the bikes got blankies to keep them warm
Navigators tackling the climb
Chasing, chasing
McCarty workin' it
Tuft powers through the powder
In what is being billed as the “true North American Championship,” the inauguralU.S. Open CyclingChampionships are set for Saturday, April 7, in Richmond, Virginia.The 112-mile men’s race, a stop on the international UCI Americas Tourand the national USA Cycling Pro Tour, will begin in colonial Williamsburg,Virginia and follow the route along the historic Jamestown Plantationsand Civil War battlefields, ending with eight 5.5-mile circuits in downtownRichmond including a brutal cobblestone climb up Libby Hill. The men’s race begins at 8:10 a.m., and the men are expected to enterthe Richmond
Tom Boonen dares to dream of making it three in a row as he lines up as a five-star favorite for Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen. The Quick Step-Innergetic captain talked to the Belgian media Thursday about his chances. “Over these last few days I’ve realized that I really could do something unique – winning the Flanders for the third time in a row, but I’ll also need a bit of luck on my side to do this. It won’t be an easy feat,” Boonen said. “I’m approaching the Ronde in good condition. I’ve done everything possible to be at the Ronde in excellent form.” Boonen has snagged his fair share
The Opener: For the men, the U.S. Open kicks off with a route through Virginia's historic countryside.
The Closer: The men's race ends with eight laps through Richmond
Toyota-United's Dominguez (center) and Vogels (left) are favorites who just might frustrate Americans' hopes of scoring a win at the U.S. Open.
Boonen won last week's E3-Prijs Vlaanderen for the fourth time. Now he's aiming for his third Tour of Flanders.
Mikhail Ignatiev is barely old enough to buy a drink (at least in the U.S.), but his palmares are already overflowing with impressive results. The 21-year-old delivered Russia’s only medal at the recent world track cycling championships with a bronze medal in the men’s points race. Although he’s the defending Olympic gold medalist in the points race, Ignatiev says his future remains firmly planted on the road. In the meantime, the lure of another Olympic gold medal is too great to ignore. “I want to defend my title in Beijing, so I will race more track events early next year to qualify and
College sports fans and cycling enthusiasts will soon get the chance to meet the country’s top women’s cyclists from colleges and universities all across the United States when the Ryan Collegiate All-Star Team takes to the roads at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. This will be the first All-Star team in the history of US collegiate cycling. The Ryan Collegiate Women’s All Star Team, sponsored by development/construction giant Ryan Companies US, Inc, is the result of a partnership between USA Cycling and the Nature Valley Grand Prix, a stage race ranked at the top of USA Cycling’s National
Ignatiev - here at the Mediterranean Tour - sees his future on the road.
Collegiate women at the 2006 Beanpot Criterium in Somerville, Massachusett
Perhaps not surprisingly, German media have slammed Jan Ullrich after reports that DNA samples have definitively linked the 1997 Tour de France champion to several packets of blood seized during police raids of properties owned by Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. Ullrich, 33, retired last month, after his career evaporated due to his link to the Spanish investigation dubbed Operación Puerto. Ullrich has maintained his innocence throughout and continued to do so after a Bonn prosecutor announced results of DNA tests on Tuesday. A glance at headlines from Germany’s major news outlets,
Michaelsen’s last ride loomingLars Michaelsen – the 38-year-old Team CSC rider – will retire after competing in Paris-Roubaix later this month. A winner of the 1995 Ghent-Wevelgem and a two-time top-five finisher at Roubaix, Michaelsen said he couldn’t think of a better scenario to end his career. “The spring classics have always been where my heart beats, so it’s a good way to say goodbye to this fantastic sport,” he said. “Paris-Roubaix will be my last race. I’m hoping to have the legs and be up there in the Arenberg forest and to be in the selection, then we’ll take it from there. The
After a seven-year partnership, Nike and Trek will part ways at the end of 2007. The decision, a result of the $15 billion sports giant’s new exclusive focus on high-end cycling shoes and apparel, sparked rumors that Nike is abandoning the sport altogether. Since 1999, Trek has been a Nike licensee and the primary distributor for Nike Cycling, the marketing of which had centered on seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. Nike recently downsized its in-house cycling division. However, the Nike-Trek split doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the Nike’s cycling division, said Maggie
Lawyers acting on behalf of former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich claimed Wednesday that blood seized in a Spanish doping scandal and linked to the former German cycling star were not in themselves proof of doping. On Tuesday, prosecutors in Bonn announced that DNA tests on blood seized in the offices of Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes last year confirmed that nine bags of the 200 confiscated were Ullrich’s. "If all that is evoked is confirmed then all that has been found is theblood of our client in Spain, but that does not in itself mean that doping took place. We are a long way off
ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that AT&T will contribute $500,000 to become a major sponsor of the Tour de Georgia, which will be held the week of April 16-22. "I am very pleased that our newest corporate citizen is continuing the long legacy of civic participation established by BellSouth and Cingular Wireless," Governor Perdue said. "I have met with representatives from the new AT&T and remain convinced the company will continue to have a tremendous impact on our state’s economy for decades to come." This year’s Tour de Georgia marks the fifth year for the race, and the
Crankworx ColoradoWhistler Resort, home of the Crankworx Freeride Festival, has partneredwith Colorado’s Winter Park Resort to produce Crankworx Colorado. The eventwill be held at Winter Park, Colorado July 5-7, 2007. Like the Canadian event, the Colorado Crankworx will feature a cross-countryrace, a downhill event modeled after Whistler’s notorious Air Downhill,a Super D and a Big Air competition. The Colorado event will also featurea Slopestyle competition, which combines dirt jumping and on-bike aerobatics.The Winter Park Slopestyle course will be designed by famous course designerJohn
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The end of a legend? A workman packs up a poster of the 1997 Tour winner following his February retirement announcement.
Michaelsen will ride Paris-Roubaix and then retire.
The first big mountain-bike race of the season isn't just a chance to see which racers have been following their off-season training programs — it's an opportunity for gearheads to gauge which manufacturers have been doing their homework. For most companies, design, prototyping and testing generally take place one, two, even three years ahead of production. So the racecourse is one of the best places to get a look at what may be coming down the production pike. At this week’s NOVA National at McDowell Mountain Regional Park in Fountain Hills, Arizona, there were plenty of
The sourceDear readers,I received a boatload of great responses on creaking noises from the March7 column, and it is something so commonly plaguing all of us as cyclists that I’m running a whole list of the fixes for them that I did not mention.LennardIt's the headsetI also have a Basso Diamante that I occasionally have creaking issueswith. Like many creaking issues, it's hard to track down where the noiseis coming from. I suggest it isn't coming from the seat area with the riderwho sent you the question. I would check the front of the bike. First,make sure the quick release
Some of the bags of plasma and blood confiscated during police raids on the offices of Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes belong to 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich, German authorities said Tuesday. Bonn prosecutor Friedrich Apostel says there is “no doubt” that the blood in those bags came from Ullrich, the German wire service SID reported Tuesday. Ullrich denied any links to Fuentes, alleged to be the mastermind of a blood-doping ring uncovered last May by Spanish authorities and later dubbed Operación Puerto. Fuentes allegedly used the code names “Hijo de Rudicio,” “Jan,” and
LiteSpeed is toying with a new suspension design
Tech Report with Matt Pacocha - A look ahead
Tech Report with Matt Pacocha - A look ahead
Tech Report with Matt Pacocha - A look ahead
Tech Report with Matt Pacocha - A look ahead
Tech Report with Matt Pacocha - A look ahead
Tech Report with Matt Pacocha - A look ahead