Gilberto Simoni makes a watery arrival at the team presentation. Can the aging general still muster the forces to win the Giro? Gibo says it's so.
Saunier Duval-Prodir's team presentation at the Crowne Plaza hotel was a posh affaire. The team training camp continues through the weekend before the racing season begins in earnest.
Cooke wins it under rainy skies.
A big group formed up, but no one posed a threat to Menzies's lead.
The Chocolade Jacques squad lent a hand monitoring the break
The pace started out high as escapees tried to sort out a potentially successful combination.
Vansevenant (Predictor-Lotto) tried his hand, but was caught.
Asthmatic child, or future Tour winner and notorious dope fiend?
Young Belgian Steven Caethoven swept past two-time race winner Stuart O'Grady less than 300 meters from the finish line to claim victory in stage two of the Tour Down Under Thursday. A textbook team tactic by Caethoven's Chocolade Jacques riders stunned the Australian after he had led a brave attack to close out the day's racing. CSC team leader O'Grady had worked hard throughout the day in pursuit of a stage win, a consolation of sorts after he finished Wednesday’s stage more than 26 minutes in arrears. However, O’Grady’s hopes were scuppered when Pieter Ghyllebert, one
Australian Baden Cooke is hoping that an off-the-bike battle will not prevent him unleashing the kind of form that won him the Tour de France green jersey on the European cycling scene. The 28-year-old's chances of challenging in major one-day classics, and the Tour de France, have been put in doubt because of a long-running dispute between cycling’s biggest players, and they’re not men on bikes. Cooke joined Swedish-registered Unibet last season, after leaving Francaise des Jeux. Cooke brought with him an impressive resume, including the 2003 Tour de France points jersey. Unibet
Dear Bob,I am getting ready for the new season of racing and am planning out my training schedule in preparation for the spring races. My teammateand I want to work on our leg speed and plan to motor-pace behind my car.Can I get a ticket for pacing him like this?Peter S.Eugene, OregonDear Peter,I do not recommend that you motor-pace your friend. But if youinsist, I offer the possible legal ramifications as well as some basicpacing advice. This is the classic "do as I say, not as I do" lecture.In fact, when I was racing and training, I wasn't even smart enough tolimit my motor-pacing to
Spaniard Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d’Epargne), who finished second to Floyd Landis in the 2006 Tour de France, twice tested positive for the banned substance salbutamol during the race, French newspaper Le Monde alleged Thursday on its website. Salbutamol, a substance often prescribed for asthmatics, was discovered in Pereiro's urine samples after the 14th and 16th stages, the newspaper alleged. Landis also tested positive, for a skewed testosterone-epitestosterone level, following Stage 17. Pereiro defended himself in an interview with Radio Cadena Ser in Spain, saying he used Ventolin— an
Top Australian cyclist Baden Cooke is hoping an off-the-bike row will not prevent him unleashing the kind of form that won him the Tour de France green jersey in 2003. The 28-year-old's chances of challenging in major one-day classics and the Tour may be scuppered by a dispute between cycling bosses. Cooke joined Swedish-registered Unibet last season from Française des Jeux, with whom he won the Tour points competition four years ago. Unibet became the latest addition to the UCI ProTour at the end of 2006, thus paving the way for automatic inclusion in 27 of the series' biggest
Teamwork! Caethoven grabs the win, with a little help from his friends.
O'Grady earned the title of most aggressive rider on Thursday's stage
Summertime racing in Oz.
The winning break... with four men from Chocolade Jacques in the mix.
Another day in ochre for Menzies
Clarke and Gonzalo worked hard to join up with O'Grady
For a short time, this appeared to be a winning combination.
Pereiro in the 2006 Tour, after taking the yellow jersey from Landis on Stage 13
Hushovd ended his 2006 Tour the way he began it - with a win
Cooke dons the green at the finale of the 2003 Tour
A successful early breakaway effort blew a hole in the hopes of many race favorites at Australia’s Tour Down Under on Wednesday as powerful Tasmanian rider Karl Menzies claimed one of the biggest wins of his career. The UniSA rider held off Swiss ace Martin Elmiger (Ag2r) in a sprint for the line and then exploded with joy after picking up the race leader's ochre jersey. "This is as big as it gets for me, this is the best result for a long way," beamed the big 29-year-old, who finished more than 26 minutes ahead of 93 of the race's 111 riders. “That was everything I had on Sunday at
American Cycling Association PresentsA NIGHT OF CYCLING GREATS - PAST TO PRESENTA fundraiser for American Cycling Association - Tom DanielsonJunior Cup SeriesDATE: January 17, 2007 6:30PM Join Tom for an event to raise money and awareness for the new "TomDanielson ACA Junior Cup Series" in Boulder, Colorado. This is a new programwhich includes a series of races throughout the state. There are over tenraces in the series and each junior participant can accumulate points tocompete for the title of Junior Cup Champion at the end of the season.There are five age groups of both girls
A fund-raiser for the Tom Danielson Junior Cup Series is scheduled tonight at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado. Among the cycling luminaries scheduled to appear during "A Night of Cycling Greats, Past to Present" are Tom Danielson, Ned Overend, Andy Hampsten, Ron Kiefel, Alexi Grewal, Connie Carpenter, Michael Aisner and Dave Towle. The event, which starts at 6:30 p.m., will include a silent auction featuring race memorabilia, clothing and equipment. Aisner will provide rare footage from the Coors Classic and talk with the retired pros about their experiences racing in America and
The 2008 Tour de France cycling race, sans prologue, will start in Brittany on Saturday, July 5, going from Brest on the Atlantic coast to Plumelec, organizers announced Wednesday. The second stage will run from Auray to St. Brieuc on Sunday, July 6, while the third stage starts at St. Malo. Further details about the early stages of the 2008 Tour will be unveiled January 25 in Rennes. Discovery announces 28-man rosterDiscovery Channel has fleshed out its roster for 2007, signing Spanish climber Alberto Contador, British trackie Steve Cummings and U.S. mountain biker-turned roadie John
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,
Saul Raisin - the 25-year-old American climber who nearly died from a brain hemorrhage after a high-speed crash last April – continues to defy expectations. This week, Raisin joined his Crédit Agricole teammates for the team’s preseason camp along France’s Cote d’Azur and is laying plans for a comeback to racing this season. “I’ve just been surprising everyone, including myself on how well I am doing,” Raisin told VeloNews. “The doctors can’t believe it. Statistically, I should be dead or in a wheelchair. At first I just wanted to be able to live a normal life again. Now I think I can race
With the big squads represented in the break, the main field settled in for an easy ride.
... but it was this combination that worked.
McCauley and crew made an early dig...
O'Grady was hoping for another TDU win, but at 26 minutes back, this year's race is now just for training.
Menzies relishes his win.
The attacks shattered the lead group with less than 10km to go.
Former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis has pleaded for cycling to get its house in order, or face losing further credibility in the eyes of an increasingly suspect public. The CSC team manager led his Danish-based team to the top of the ProTour rankings last year, despite losing his star rider, Ivan Basso, following the release of allegations from a doping investigation in Spain. Basso, last year's Giro d’Italia winner, was released by CSC. After Italian sporting authorities cleared the Italian ace, who was tipped as Lance Armstrong's successor, he has since moved to Discovery
Australian sprinter Mark Renshaw announced his aims for the five-day Tour Down Under stage race by winning a 50km inner-city criterium in Adelaide, Australia on Tuesday. The on-form Credit Agricole rider got the better of sprint heavyweight Robbie McEwen in a tight bunch finish to continue his sizzling early season form. The criterium is classified as the TDU’s “prelude,” and does not count toward the Tour’s overall classification. Hilton Clarke, of Navigators, finished second just ahead of SouthAustralia.com rider Simon Clarke, a promising 20-year-old who is no relation. Early in the race
Questions about cutting carbon, shifting problems, chain length and more
World champion Paolo Bettini skipped training in Spain on Tuesday as a precaution after smashing his left knee into his handlebars during a ride Monday, but team officials were quick to say it won’t keep the Grillo off his bike for too long. The Quick Step-Innergetic captain donned his rainbow jersey and rode for about 10 minutes during the team rollout Tuesday morning to pose for pictures for the assembled media, but quickly returned to the team hotel to rest the knee. “It’s nothing serious, but we don’t want to take any unnecessary risks,” said team spokesman Alessandro Tegner. “It’s
While professional road teams are blowing the dust off their bikes and drowsily congregating for early-season training camps, the international cyclo-cross circuit is reaching its boiling point. With less than two weeks until the UCI world championships in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, the pecking order in European ‘cross is in its final days of firming up, and North America’s top riders have taken different approaches to preparing for the final push. Over the past several years the "Christmas ‘Cross" series from late December through early January has become something of a "must" race for all
LOS ANGELES, January 16, 2007 – Joining previously announced DiscoveryChannel Pro Cycling Team, Team CSC, Predictor-Lotto and Health Net ProCycling Team, 14 additional teams, including U.S. teams Toyota-United ProCycling Team, Jelly Belly Cycling Team and Colavita/Sutter Home Presentedby Cooking Light Team, have been confirmed for the 2007 Amgen Tour of Californiaby AEG, promoter and operator of the professional cycling race. The650-mile, eight-day stage race, modeled after the Tour de France, willfeature 18 of the world’s top professional teams racing from San Franciscoto Long Beach
Renshaw surprised even himself with the win.
A fast summer day in Adelaide.
Robbie's new kit.
Bettini will take Tuesday off and make a decision on Wednesday
Trebon is back Stateside training after suffering a nagging illness
Veterans Robbie McEwen and Stuart O'Grady are among the favorites whenthey saddle up for Australia's Tour Down Under on Wednesday. Sprint king McEwen is well known for his exploits at the Giro d'Italiaand his three points jersey wins at the Tour de France. But McEwen, whowill debut his Predictor-Lotto team's new pink and black jersey this week,has big obstacles to overcome if he hopes to extend his record tally of11 stage wins at this five-day home race. The Belgium-based Australianfailed to win any stages last year, when the speed of Allan Davis, ridinghere for the UniSA
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,
Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery has been posted, along with a special year-end gallery, featuring contest winners from throughout 2006. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of ourmost 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 Jeff Sakacsi’s “Hillsboro USGP,” nicely captures the frantic environment of a muddy day mired in the middle of the field at a ‘cross race. Congratulations Jeff. Nice work. Please drop us a note at
USA Cycling has released the dates for the inaugural Mountain-Bike Racing Calendar (MBRC), which features competition in three individual categories: cross country, gravity and ultra-endurance. Cross country events include cross-country, short-track, time-trial and stage races; gravity includes downhill, four cross, dual slalom and Super D; and ultra endurance includes 100-mile, 12-hour, 24-hour and marathon cross-country races.The calendar, modeled after USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar (NRC) on the road side, features 53 races at 37 individual events. The total prize purse for the 53
McEwen won last year's prelude criterium, but didn't add to his string of 11 TDU stage wins.
Hillsboro USGP
Twenty-three-year-old Darren Lapthorne claimed the biggest success of his career to win the 163km men's elite road race at the 2007 Australian Open Road Championships in Bunninyong, near Ballarat, Victoria, on Sunday. "It's the happiest day of my life," said Lapthorne who is studying a Bachelor of Business at RMIT in tandem with pursuing his cycling career. "It is an unbelievable moment for me and I'll never forget it." Lapthorne crossed the line well clear at the end of 16 laps in a time of 4hr16min18sec with his Drapac Porsche teammate and Barcelona Olympian, Robert McLachlan,
German prosecutors are slated to compare blood samples from former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich who has been accused of doping and sporting fraud, the weekly magazine Focus reported. Investigators in Spain have agreed to send samples from bags of blood seized in apartments owned Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, allegedly the head of the blood-doping and drug ring revealed by Spanish police in the so called Operacion Puerto investigation last May. German investigators plan to compare the results against a sample submitted by Ullrich in September. The tests could finally settle whether bags in
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme doesn’t go to many team presentations, but he found time in his schedule to travel to Mallorca this weekend to be there for the unveiling of a re-vamped T-Mobile squad. The Tour leader lauded the team’s dramatic house-cleaning following alleged links between Jan Ullrich and Operación Puerto. Prudhomme said T-Mobile’s latest efforts to reshape the team, with increased internal doping controls and a strong emphasis on clean racing, is just the tonic to help regain cycling’s credibility. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood joined a
World No. 1 Sven Nys (Rabobank) won the 10th and penultimate round of the UCI’s World Cup of cyclo-cross in Nommay, France, on Sunday. Nys solidified his grip on the overall standings of the World Cup and the world points classifications with the win. Nys finished ahead of recently crowned Belgian champion Bart Wellens and Dutchman Gerben De Knegt. The race was dominated from the start by Rabobank teammates Nys, De Knegt and Dutchman Richard Groenendaal. The trio got an early gap, forcing Wellens to form a quick alliance with Frenchman John Gadret and Czech rider Petr Dlask. The chasers
The Tour director is making a point of showing support for T-Mobile's new direction
Prudhomme speaks with reporters
Embattled Tour de France champion Floyd Landis says he his riding withoutpain for the first time in four years, following his hip operation lastSeptember. Physician Brent Kay said that Landis, who suffered a fracture at theneck of his femur in acrash four years ago, has reclaimed top form for the first time sincethen. "He has regained full strength, power and range of motion and is completelypain free," Kay said. "His one-leg power tests now show that the new hipis actually stronger than the other side. "With normal length restored to his femur and the elimination of hischronic pain, Floyd
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,
Olympic and Commonwealth Games track star, Katie Mactier and Wesley Sulzberger claimed top honors in the women’s and U23 men’s races at the Australian Open Road Championships in Bunninyong, near Ballarat, Victoria on Saturday. The 31-year-old Mactier, the 2001 road champion, out gunned eleven rivals, including the reigning Olympic and reigning Commonwealth Games road Champions, to win the title in a time of 3hr10min35sec ahead of 2003 U23 Olympic Distance Triathlon World Champion, Nikki Egyed, 24, with Mactier's Victorian teammate Emma Rickards third. "When you come out and take a win
The ghost of Jan Ullrich has been fully exorcized and a reborn T-Mobile team is boldly riding into the 2007 season without the franchise rider that carried the team to greatness for a decade. The downfall of the 1997 Tour de France champion and the ensuing housecleaning that followed Ullrich’s expulsion ahead of the start of last year’s Tour was officially closed in Saturday’s team presentation of T-Mobile. Out is talk of the winning the Tour and in are choice words about teamwork and clean competition. With 13 new riders and five new staff members, T-Mobile manager Bob Stapleton introduced
Even bigger things are expected for T-Mobile this season as eight new riders and an all-female management staff carry the team’s ambitions into 2007. Following on the heels of last year’s success in its inaugural season at international competition, the women’s team expects for even more victories this year. Back are Kim Anderson, Judith Arndt and Ina-Yoko Teutenberg. Five up-and-coming racers join established stars Oenone Wood, Kate Bates and Chantal Beltman for the season. “If we can achieve what we did last year, we’ll be satisfied,” said Teutenberg. “We’ll always be at the front at all
Landis has ridden with hip pain since his 2003 fracture
Cipollini may be facing a big bill from the tax man.
American Bob Stapleton heads a new post-Ullrich T-Mobile squad that emphasizes teamwork
The new T-Mobile's mantra for '07
T-Mobile for '07 includes a well-established women's program and a re-vamped men's team.
Arndt, Teutenberg, Wood, Bates, Beltman... who wouldn't want to ride for this team?
Over the course of the week several staff and riders from the Spanish ProTourSaunier Duval-Prodir team have been in Mali, West Africa, to help inauguratethe ambitious “100years for a million trees” re-forestation project as a way of markingthe 100th anniversary of the program's title sponsor.We've received several written reports from VeloNews editorialdirector John Wilcockson. Paris-based photographer Glenn Myrent was alsothere to document the events of the week and has been kind enough to sharesome of his images with VeloNews.com. The week was highlighted by a racebetween seven of
In an unusual step, Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has been summoned to appear before the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) on February 8, the organization's president Pierre Bordry told AFP on Friday.The 32-year-old American won the Tour de France last July, due in no small part to a remarkable effort on the 17th stage of the race.
The Malian riders used steel frames, 12-speed bikes and European race clothing for the Fatoma-Mopti road race.
Most of the local riders put on their souvenir Saunier Duval T-shirts over their cycling jerseys before lining up for the 60km race.
Mali’s Adama Toula and Saunier Duval’s second-year Spanish pro Arkaitx Duran crossed the line together as joint winners of the race.
Post-race interview for Toula, who competed in only two single-day and two stage races in 2006.
One of the locals was later treated for road rash by Saunier Duval team doctor Maria Sagasti.
From the air, a good view of the deforested terrain that will receive the million trees to be planted by Planète Urgence to mark Saunier Duval’s company centennial.