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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.

The Cable GuyDear Lennard,To my untrained eye, Vision Tech brake cables look strikingly similarto Shimano STI derailleur cables. I notice that Team CSC uses Nokoncables with the Vision Aero Brake Levers. What are my options fordifferent brands of cables (and housings) to use with the Vision levers,other than the Vision cables. (I already have extra STI cables, soinstead of buying new Vision cables, if it is safe and compatible, I wouldthink I could use these.)ChrisDear Chris,The Vision DragOn Brake Cable is just a brake cable with a shift cableend to fit into one of those little tiny Vision

As directeur sportif for the top team in North America, JeffCorbett has carved out a nice position for himself at Health Net-Maxxis.A former pro racer, Corbett, 36, founded the 7Up team in 1998, managingand racing on its various incarnations, as the team became 7Up-ColoradoCyclist in 2000 and 7Up-Nutra Fig in 2001. Corbett’s last year as a rider-managerwas 2002, the year Canadian Charles Dionne put the 7Up-Nutra Fig team onthe map with a win at the San Francisco Grand Prix ahead of Henk Vogelsand Lance Armstrong. In 2003 Corbett focused solely on directing the 7Up-Maxxisteam, which merged

Cycling woke from its winter-long hibernation Tuesday with just enough drama on and off the bike to christen the 2007 season in appropriate fashion. A behind-the-scenes row involving Unibet.com’s jerseys at the GP d’Ouverture La Marseillaise couldn’t spoil an exciting victory by Jeremy Hunt and the return to racing by Tyler Hamilton. Hunt out-kicked Hamilton’s new Tinkoff Credit Systems teammate Mikhail Ignatiev to give Unibet.com the win on the 126km course from Gardanne to Luminy near Marseille to officially open the 2007 European racing season. The French calendar opened with

Corbett (L) with Jeff Louder

Tim Johnson and new recruit Ryder Hesjedal adjust the SRM.

Johnson (L) will be serving as road captain for the 2007 season

A younger roster for 2007.

Hesjedal, Ollerenshaw, Menzies, Louder. At 29, Menzies (c) is a HealthNet veteran

Rory Sutherland all dressed up and ready to ride.

Russell Downing and a stern-looking Menzies

Who's that? Hunt scores a win, but you have to guess what team he's on.

UniBet can't show it's colors in France.

Our latest reader-submitted PhotoGallery is now ready for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of our most recent contest. Take the time to wander through that gallery and see if you agree or disagree with our choice of winners this week. This time around, we found ourselves coming back to Bob Clark’s “Colorado Aspen,” a shot of riding on trails in Colorado’s High Country in the fall. Congratulations, Bob. Nice work. It looks like the trail is covered with gold coins. It’s a stellar shot (and stands in contrast with goofy photo you sent in

Italian Alberto Loddo claimed his second stage victory at the Tour de Langkawi Monday in an intense bunch sprint that resulted in at least 10 riders crashing just 50-meters from the finish line.

The directive for the day was simple. If a promising move peeled off the front of the peloton during the early portions of the Tour de Langkawi’s stage three run from Kuala Kangsar to Cameron Highlands, Slipstream team director Johnny Weltz’s wanted one of his six riders to be there. Beyond that he asked only that they make sure to “help each other out.” Weltz knew that the first climbing test of this 10-day event in Malaysia would challenge his young team in ways it hadn’t yet faced in 2007. He was cautiously optimistic that they would be up to the task. “I feel like we can be

The 2007 road racing season kicks off this week in Europe after a long winter full of doping innuendo and infighting between cycling’s major powers. First up is the French traditional opener Tuesday at the Grand Prix d’Ouverture La Marseillaise followed by the five-day Etoile de Bessège. Seven ProTour teams are among the 18-team field for the 140km La Marseillaise opener, including Ag2r, Bouygues Telecom, Crédit Agricole, Cofidis, FDJeux, T-Mobile and Unibet.com. Etoile start Wednesday in Pézenas and wraps up Sunday in Bessèges with a mix of stages across southern France. The expansive

Hot on the heels of his headline-grabbing second-place performance at the UCI World Cyclo-cross Championships, American Jonathan Page (Morgan Blue) was back in the spotlight Saturday, February 3 at the GVA Series race in Lille, Belgium. In a well-publicized bit of defiance Page refused to take the start of the race after his team mechanic and close friend Frankie Van Haesebroucke was assaulted and hospitalized by the race organization’s security guards. According to Page, Van Haesebroucke was collared from behind by two security guards after a misunderstanding with a course marshal in the

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cycling Photographer Graham Watson to Visit Boulder for Exhibit Opening Watson's Travelling Photography Exhibit "Eyes on the Tour de France"Opens February 15 Boulder, CO, February 5, 2007 - Cycling photographer Graham Watsonwill make a rare visit to the cycling-crazed town of Boulder, Coloradoto open an exhibit of his fine art photography at Amante Coffee in northBoulder on February 15th at 7:30 p.m. From 6:00-7:30 p.m., Watson will autograph posters and books of hisphotography at the Boulder Cycle Sport bike shop, located adjacent to AmanteCoffee. Graham Watson

Tyler Hamilton will likely race on European roads Tuesday for the first time since serving a two-year racing ban in what’s sure to be an emotional comeback after one of the most contentious doping cases in cycling history. Hamilton (Tinkoff Credit Systems) is expected to start Tuesday’s Grand Prix de La Marseillaise and then line up for his first European stage race since 2004 in the five-day Etoile de Bessèges on Wednesday. Hamilton, 35, is named on start lists for both French races that will mark his first European-level competition since the 2004 Vuelta a España when he pulled out after

Colorado Aspen

Loddo wins another

At the helm: Weltz is guiding a young and talented crew in Malaysia

Huff struggles

Patour stays with Huff

Post-race assessment

Creed refuels for tomorrow

Getting instructions

A quick fix

Chasing back

Water is critical on a day like this

A Langkawi Journal: A day with Slipstream

Rolando Ravello as Marco Pantani

Press Release: Graham Watson to Visit Boulder for Exhibit Opening

Hamilton made his last appearance as a pro in the 2004 Vuelta.

Welcome to a new and regular feature on VeloNews.com. Each Sunday throughout the race season we expect to be interviewing major players within the cycling community, from racers to team directors to race organizers and retired stars. This first installation we catch up with Tyler Farrar, the up-and-coming sprinter/would-be classics specialist entering his second elite pro season with trademark enthusiasm and energy. Of the new generation of Americans breaking in the European scene, Farrar’s enjoyed the highest profile. Even when racing among the espoirs ranks, he already had a pro contract

Ask Pat McQuaid if he’s happy he took the job of UCI president and his first reaction is laughter. During a tenure that began in the fall of 2005, the Irishman has seen his sport saddled by doping controversies and internal squabbling. The latest row is the UCI’s ongoing battle with ASO, the organization that owns the Tour de France and several smaller races, including Paris-Nice. ASO recently balked at allotting a Paris-Nice start position to Unibet.com, the newest ProTour team. McQuaid has countered that ASO is being deceptive about their true intentions, and are intent on breaking the

Anthony Charteau Sunday became the first Frenchman to claim the yellow jersey after conquering stage three of the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, which saw racers ride up the popular Cameron Highlands. It was an unexpected finish for Charteau, who is not considered to be among the more renowned climbers in the race and was to have set the pace for teammate and main rider, Francesco Bellotti.