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Anthony Charteau is well on his way to winning the Le Tour de Langkawi overall title, following a largely tactical ride from Putrajaya to Seremban on Saturday. Although the ninth – and penultimate – stage of the Tour put the Crédit Agricole rider up against the winding roads of Kuala Klawang, he kept up with the leaders over the course of day’s many climbs to maintain his 1:02 over Jose Serpa (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovannio), who won Thursday’s decisive stage to the Genting Higlands.

While soon-to-be overall winner Anthony Charteau and four-time stage winner Alberto Loddo will be the names most remembered from the 2007 Tour de Langkawi, arguably the most newsworthy accomplishment belongs to the Giant Asia Racing Team. By placing three riders in the top 30 on Saturday, the Taiwan-based squad all but locked up the 10-day race’s team title. And we are not talking about the Asian team title. They are going to beat everyone. Giant Asia entered stage 9 one second back of Charteau’s Crédit Agricole team, but more than made up that deficit during Saturday’s 173km run from

Some of cycling’s biggest names are scheduled to line up Sunday for the opening stage of the five-day Mallorca Challenge, but a breakout of the flu is keeping some top stars away from the annual Spanish season opener. A nasty bout of flu is taking its toll on the European peloton, with such riders as Oscar Pereiro and two-time champ Alejandro Valverde (both Illes Balears) and Gilbert Simoni (Saunier Duval-Prodir) all doubtful for Sunday’s 100km opener along Palma de Mallorca´s historic bay. "Several of our riders have been very sick with the flu and they’ve been sent home," Illes Balears

Elite USA Cycling Coach Presents Base Building Clinics in Santa CruzThomas Chapple will discuss early-season training techniques fromhis new bookBoulder, CO, February, 2007 - This February, elite USA Cyclingand Ultrafit coach Thomas Chapple will discuss the concepts of base trainingin Santa Cruz, CA. Cyclists often think that preparing for next seasonmeans piling on the miles, but long rides at high or even medium intensitiestoo early in the season can actually do more harm than good. In his comprehensiveguide BaseBuilding for Cyclists: A New Foundation for Endurance and Performance,Chapple

Tinkoff gets its first win

Saturday's ride appears to have given the boys from Giant Asia a lock on the team title

No one was conceding anything to Charteau on Saturday.

The Mosque at Putrajaya

Serpa and Rujano keeping cool

Lange took a flyer in the last kilometer.

Anthony Charteau maintened his hold on the jersey Saturday.

Charteau closing in on Langkawi title as Tinkoff gets its first-ever win

Charteau closing in on Langkawi title as Tinkoff gets its first-ever win

The Tinkoff boys were active all day

Dean leads the chase

Press Release - Base Building Clinics in Santa Cruz

For the second time in as many years Jose Serpa was first man across the line at the top of the hors categorie Genting Highlands stage, but the Colombian Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni rider couldn’t make up enough time to unseat the overall race leader Anthony Charteau.

French media have reported that American Floyd Landis has declined a U.S.Anti-Doping Agency request to release remaining urine samples from lastsummer’s Tour de France for additional testing. Landis, who is scheduled to appear before a USADA panel in May, hadbeen asked to permit the release of remaining B-samples for tests to detectthe presence of exogenous testosterone. Landis tested positive for an elevated testosterone/epitestosteroneratio following his spectacular come-from-behind stage17 victory at the Tour. The win ensured his overall title at the Tour,but that win was called into

Due to a quality issue with the titanium alloy used in the mountingbolt of a limited number of the new Force road group’s front brakes, SRAMhas issued a voluntary recall to consumers in possession of the brakes.Roughly 10 have failed. SRAM asks consumers discontinue riding until the front Force brake caliperhas been replaced.According to SRAM' media manager, Michael Zellmann, the problem was identifiedthrough SRAM’s internal quality process. A small number of the titaniummounting bolts failed during the installation process. There have beenno injuries associated with the defect. Affected

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you havea comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen incycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write toWebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name andhome town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writersare encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submittingauthors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positionsof VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, InsideCommunications,

USA Today reported Friday that the Discovery Channel is expected to drop its title sponsorship of the cycling team that bears its name at the end of the 2007 season. The decision not to renew the team’s contract at the end of a three-year contract comes only days after the firing of company CEO Billy Campbell, a strong advocate of the team sponsorship, on Monday of this week. Campbell, who helped push the television network’s initial co-sponsorship in 2004, also pushed the company to assume full title sponsorship in 2005, when the U.S. Postal Service ended its support for the team. The

Floyd Landis blasted the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on Friday regarding the agency’s efforts to subject cleared doping samples from last Tour de France to additional testing. Landis tested positive for an elevated testosterone/epitestosterone ratio after winning stage 17 of the Tour last July but has challenged the handling of the sample and testing conditions at the French national anti-doping laboratory (LNDD) at Châtenay-Malabry, which processed the dope test. In a statement issued Friday, Landis said he was responding to a report in the French sports newspaper l'Equipe

Serpa likes the climb at Genting, although he might have appreciated it more had it been longer.

Gianni Savio congratulates the day's winner and vows to keep fighting

Walter Pedraza stayed with Serpa as long as he could

Serpa recovers and watches the clock

A short stage, with a killer finish

Up, up and away....

Serpa and new Asian GC leader Ghader Mizbani

'I try to go as long as I can until I blow,' explained Duggan

Charteau keeps the jersey

Serpa wins at Genting, but Charteau battles to hold Langkawi lead

Landis, on his way to doping control after his stage 17 win

SRAM issues road brake recall

Hincapie may wear stars-and-stripes again in '08, but the globe won't be there.

Wearing thick gloves, long tights and hats beneath their helmets, New Mexican cyclists of all ages crowded the parking lot of the Anderson-Abruzzo Balloon Museum in Albuquerque on a brisk Saturday morning on February 3. They awaited the arrival of the Navigators Insurance and Lipton professional cycling teams, both of which had come to Albuquerque for a winter training camp. When both squads rolled up, accompanied by riders from the neo-pro Cycling Center team, the entire group of 200 hit the streets for a group ride. It isn’t often that professional cycling teams spin alongside locals

Japan’s Shinichi Fukusima proved that persistence and hard work are the key to success as he became the first Asian to win a stage in this year’s Tour de Langkawi following a strong 174km ride from Kuantan to Karak. The stage win for the rider from the Nippo-Meitan Hompo team was only the third stage victory for an Asian rider in the 12-year history of the tour, following wins by Wong Kam Po in 2000 and Koji – the younger brother of Shinichi – Fukushima in 2005.

Damiano Cunego has marked two very clear goals for his 2007 racing. Cunego, who said he enjoyed “excellent” winter training, is motivated to have a strong run at the Giro d’Italia podium and shine in the spring classics. “Compared to 2006, it’s true there are less difficult stages but I don’t agree with those who said it’s less difficult,” Cunego told the Italian web page cicloweb.it. “It’s a balanced course with a few decisive days.” Cunego won the 2004 Giro in spectacular fashion, but suffered through media pressure and health issues in 2005 only to bounce back with a solid campaign last

Making the leap from top-flight amateur to ProTour neo pro is never easy. But throw in a continent’s worth of distance from cycling’s European epicenter and the task becomes exponentially harder. That’s the challenge that faces South African Daryl Impey, one of the top national team riders at this year’s Tour de Langkawi. Through seven stages, the 22-year-old from Johannesburg has scored three top 10 finishes in the five bunch sprint finishes, and he is one of only two riders to sprint ahead of the race’s dominant force, four-time stage winner Alberto Loddo (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni). On

Floyd Landis says he will not defend his Tour de France title following an agreement he has made with the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD). In return the agency agreed to postpone its hearing into the failed doping test that Landis returned after winning the race last July. The French proceedings could result in him being banned from racing again in France. Landis, who tested positive for an elevated testosterone/epitestosterone ratio after his triumph in Paris, had already made it clear that he would not attend Thursday's AFLD hearing in Paris. He is due to appear before the U.S.

After a spending a day in their normal team kits, riders from the Belgian-Swedish Unibet.com team were forced back into their distinctive question-marked jerseys Thursday at the Etoile de Bessèges. Oddly enough, the team resumed its winning ways with the switch, as Unibet’s Baden Cooke easily won the sprint at the end of the 155km second stage from Nîmes to Saint-Ambroix. The team was once again required to wear jerseys sans the name of its title sponsor because French authorities said the team – sponsored by an online betting site - was promoting gambling and “lotteries,” which are banned

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (February 8, 2007) - State and local officialsplus race organizers announced the cities that will play host to startsand finishes for the inaugural world-class professional cycling race, theTour of Missouri, September 11-16, 2007. Patterned after the famous Tour de France, the race will featurepoint to point racing in six stages, as more than 120 world-class cyclistswill traverse west to south to east through more than 600 miles of theShow Me State. The cities of Kansas City, Clinton, Springfield, Branson, Lebanon, Columbia,Jefferson City, St. Charles, and St. Louis have

Chilly as it was this year, Albuquerque serves as an ideal training camp, says Beamon

A big crowd of locales welcomed the pros for a group ride.

VeloPort: The concept is there - voters will decide if the money will be.

Wide-open roads - One big advantage the Rocky Mountain West has over California

This year, the team has skipped Langkawi to focus on a single training camp for the entire squad.

They must like cycling in Albuquerque: No one at the hotel even complained about this.

Lipton will focus on defending its national team title...

...but will spend time in Europe as well.

With his stage win, Fukusima moves into second on GC

Loddo's presence in the break ensured its success

Charteau and crew were content to monitor the gap... and worry about Thursday.

The jerey holders: Loddo, Fukusima and Charteau

Cunego won the white jersey at the '06 Tour, but may focus on regaining his pink jersey from 2004

Impy is developing into a solid all-rounder

Fukushima hopes to be smiling on Thursday, too.

The press corps at Langkawi

Do you think Unibet.com is still getting publicity from all of this?

Press Release - Tour of Missouri organizers release race details

Press Release - Tour of Missouri organizers release race details

The man is on a streak. Alberto Loddo scored his fourth win at the Tour de Langkawi Wednesday, again frustrating Ceramiche Panaria’s Maximiliano Richeze in a charge to the line at the end of a 137-kilometer ride from Kuala Terengganu to Cukai. Loddo (Selle Italia-Serramenti) charged across the line ahead of the main field, which included Crédit Agricole’s Anthony Charteau, the overall race leader who was more than content to finish in 59th place, secure in the knowledge that he holds a four-minute buffer with Friday’s short, but decisive, ride to the Genting Highlands ahead.

Dear Monique:I have read your column in VeloNews for a while and have bothenjoyed and appreciated the knowledge. I have a questions about weightloss and it’s effect on the immune system.For the past few years I have been competing in the sport of triathlon.This year I decided to race bikes for the first six months. I knew thatbecause of the importance of the power to weight ratio, I would need tolose both “after season” weight from last year and some additional bodyfat to be competitive in the climbs.I set out to lose most of the weight (was 180 lb.) during the first12 weeks. I wrote down

You could never tell by talking to him, but Julian Dean is a man under the gun. New Zealand’s reigning national road race champion is in the final year of his contract with Crédit Agricole and knows he needs to perform if he wants keep his place with the French ProTour team. But instead of worrying too much about the future, Dean remains the same laid-back rider that made him a fan favorite on the U.S. Pro circuit during his days with Mercury and U.S. Postal. “It’s the first race of the season so some guys have done a bit more prep than others,” said the soft-spoken Dean on the morning of

Tyler Hamilton is savoring his first days back in the peloton after more than two years in exile in what was one of the most controversial doping cases in cycling history. Riding in Tuesday’s GP Marseillaise and today’s opening stage of the five-day Etoile de Besseges in southern France, Hamilton told French journalists he wants to put his troubles behind him and focus on earning a slot in the Giro d’Italia (May 12-June 3). “I have to be realistic and it will take a little time. I especially hope to ride the Giro d’Italia, that will be a big challenge,” he told AFP. “I hope to be there, but

American Floyd Landis is pinning hopes of retaining his Tour de France title on what he and his supporters claim are sloppy practices at the French national doping laboratory at Châtenay-Malabry when he makes an appearance in front of a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency panel on May 14. Landis’s attorneys will also be hoping to that sloppy testing by a French lab and not doping was the reason behind his failed test on his way to victory in last year's Tour de France, when they make an appearance before France’s anti-doping agency (AFLD) on Thursday. In a conference call here Wednesday, Brian

Riders endured all the elements in Wednesday’s opener at the l’Etoile de Bessèges with Italian Angelo Furlan delivering the victory through rain, sleet, wind and eventually sun. The Crédit Agricole sprinter out-kicked Mark Cavendish (T-Mobile) and compatriot Ruggero Marzoli (Tinkoff Credit Systems) to win the 148.2km stage from Pezenas to Palavas-les-Flots in a bunch sprint. Several riders tried in vain to escape the clutches of the peloton in France’s first stage-race of the season. The bunch rejoined for three finishing circuits with Unibet.com working hard to try to control any escapes

Four-out-of-five: Loddo's won four of the five sprints he's contested in this Tour

The need for speed: Early attacks kept the whole field strung out.

The chase picked up...

... and the weather turned a little rough.

Dean sports the black-and-white of New Zealand's road champ

Dean works for Charteau here at Langkawi

Charteau: Can the man in yellow stay in yellow?

Huff describes the joys of sprinting in Malaysia

Furlan relishes his win

With Charteau leading at Langkawi, the Crédit Ag' boys get a second yellow jersey.

Peiper positive on Olson, BarryT-Mobile sport director Allan Peiper is raving about the possibilities for new team members Michael Barry and Aaron Olson. Both are part of the team’s new international profile that includes riders from a dozen nations. Speaking on the team’s web page, Peiper said both riders can expect plenty of room to stretch their wings in the refitted T-Mobile organization. Barry is hoping to earn his first berth for the Tour de France this July. “It is a new challenge from Michael. He is a seasoned pro, having raced for so many years at U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel,”

The 2007 Tyler Hamilton Foundation AUCTION opens for bidding onFebruary 6, 2007 at 8:00 AM Mountain Time.Our goal this year is to raise money to help support THF'smission to empower individuals through cycling. We need your support! Thisis an exciting and fun way to help us, and at the same time have a chanceto win cool items!We'll be adding new items to our catalog for you to preview as the auctiondate approaches. Check back often to see what's new. Feel free to placea Watch on your favorites, so that you'll know as soon as bidding begins!Contact us at THFGala@cmarket.org or

Italian Alberto Loddo pulled off a hattrick of stage victories at the Tour de Langkawi Tuesday, winning the Tour’s fifth stage in a field sprint at the end of a 167-kilometer race from Kota Bharu to Kuala Terengganu. With the most of the field finishing together, Crédit Agricole’s Anthony Charteau easily held on to the comfortable four-minute lead in the overall standings, a buffer he earned on Sunday in the stage to Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands.