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Riders may not thank them for it but organizers of the often-epic Paris-Roubaix spring classic have decided to add another cobbled section to next year's race. The famed classic, also known as the “Hell of the North” and characterized by its multiple crashes and mud-splattered finishers, Paris-Roubaix, held on April 15 next year, is one of the cornerstones of single-day racing. Last year's winner, Fabian Cancellara, deposed Belgian favorite Tom Boonen to lift the fabled cobblestone trophy aloft after seeing some of his rivals snared by a train's level crossing. Next year, the

At the helm: Just where will Christian Prudhomme be leading the Tour next July?

Barnholt

Obye

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEVeloSwap Denver to Feature Lennard Zinn Bike Maintenance Clinic VeloSwap attendees can get new bike parts and then learn installationtechniques from a master bike technician Boulder, CO, October 22, 2006 — VeloNews magazine TechnicalEditor and master framebuilder Lennard Zinn will present a one hour clinicon bike maintenance at the VeloSwapDenver Special Events Stage on Saturday, October 28 at 11:00 a.m.VeloSwap attendees can upgrade their bikes with new components availableat VeloSwap, the world's largest consumer bike swap, and then learn installation,repair, and

Commonwealth Games cycling silver medalist Hayden Roulston defied his doctors to win the New Zealand road title Sunday in Dunedin, two months after being told he has a life-threatening heart condition. The 25-year-old claimed he was "100 percent cured" but refused to disclose details of his treatment. Roulston was told by his cardiologist two months ago to quit riding after he was diagnosed with the heart disease arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. "I wanted to prove a point and show everyone that I was back," Roulston said after the race. "So I rode really conservatively at the

Belgian national champion Sven Nys won round two of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Sunday in Kalmthout, Belgium, riding away from breakaway partner Francis Mourey of France on the final lap of the hour-long event. Nys (Rabobank) thus solidified his hold on the overall World Cup lead, having also won the opening round October 1 in Aigle, Switzerland. On Sunday, Nys and Mourey (Française des Jeux) joined Czech rider Zdenek Mlynar in setting an early lead in the 10-lap race. With four laps remaining, however, Mlynar faded back and then rolled a tire, completely falling out of contention. Up

Angel Fire, N.M. (October 22, 2006)-Fort Lewis College completedits sweep of all four Division I men's events at the 2006 USA Cycling CollegiateMountain Bike National Championships as Chris Heath won Sunday's downhillcompetition to secure the overall Division I title for Fort Lewis College- its third championship in the last four years. Fort Lewis Collegeearned a total of 698 points to edge defending champion University of Coloradoby 25 points. After the men's squad won the short track and 4-cross eventsFriday and the cross country race Saturday, Heath clocked a winning timeof 5

The podium

The Austrian cycling federation is prepared to help former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, currently under investigation for doping, by issuing him with a professional license. Ullrich is currently without a team and fighting off doping allegations which came in the wake of a Spanish doping investigation dubbed Operación Puerto. The Swiss-based Ullrich, who has denied doping and also any link to the Spanish investigation, split with the Swiss cycling federation on Thursday. The 32-year-old winner of the 1997 Tour de France insisted the split does not mean the end of his career. Now

Final standings are in from the 2006 Women’s Prestige Cycling Series (www.womencyclists.com),and showing the parity in domestic women’s road racing, four differentteams took category titles. At September’s Hurricane Florence-shortenedCD&P Bermuda Grand Prix, Webcor-Platinum came from behind to claimthe team title, while an absent world time-trial champion Kristin Armstrong(Lipton) retained her individual lead. The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series began at the Nature Valley GrandFinal 2007 NRC RankingIndividual Women1. Tina Pic, Colavita-Cooking Light, 2106 points2. Kristin Armstrong, Lipton,

Angel Fire, N.M. (October 21, 2006)--Fort Lewis College won itsthird consecutive event at the 2006 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain BikeNational Championships Saturday as Friday's shorttrack winner, Alex Hagman, won the 18-mile Division I men's cross countryrace.  Other key performances were turned in by the University ofArizona who placed first and second in the Division I women's cross countryevent and Colorado College who claimed the top-two spots in the DivisionII men's cross country contest.After Hagman captured the short track title Friday and teammates EricRansom and

Katie Compton (Spike Professional-Primus Mootry) and Ryan Trebon (Kona) overpowered their respective fields on Saturday at the UCI C1 Cyclocross at Granogue Estate near Wilmington, Delaware. The start at Granogue is a long, slightly uphill paved driveway, and it proved decisive. Georgia Gould (Luna) got the hole shot with Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld) on her wheel — but Compton shot by on the right and that was all she wrote. "I should have jumped on her wheel right away, but I didn’t and Katie got a gap. I would have had to ride much faster than her to catch up, but she is so strong I

The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the Prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this. — Albert Einstein Like many of you, I’ve been following this summer’s Keystone Kops marathon, aided and abetted by regular, hefty doses of my drugs of choice (caffeine and alcohol in various flavors). I used to enjoy nicotine, too, but managed to shake that habit

Remembering Jon Jonathan Dechau was a friend of mine. Like many, I was shocked tohear of hispassing. I hadn’t talked to him a couple of years and it was a shockfor me to come across it on all the cycling websites. It was almost surreal.Jon and I had both started out racing in New England and had gotten toknow each other. I got to thinking about Jon again after recent developments.Years ago Jon and I were both chasing the dream. We were bothracing the better part of the NRC schedule that year and seeing each otherat all the events. In that same year the Olympic trials were held in

Not much has happened in the last week and half since I returned from the sufferfest in Gloucester. I decided not to race last weekend and spent most of my time working at the shop and training. We are converting nearly a third of our bike shop into a specialty Nordic ski shop, called Boulder Nordic Sport, which will be operated by my good friend, Nathan Schultz. You might remember Nathan from the NORBA pro mountain bike circuit. He raced for the Schwinn-Toyota Team and was the driving force behind the NEMA- Ionic Bikes Team, a team that sponsored Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski. Speaking of things

Ivan Basso might not have it so easy finding a new team for the 2007 season as the cloud of doping allegations look likely to continue to haunt the Italian rider despite being cleared by Italian officials last week of any possible sanctions. The 2006 Giro d’Italia champion “divorced” with his Team CSC this week in a mutual agreement that frees the Italian from the remaining two years on his contract with the Danish team. Despite initial reports that Basso might be tipped to join Discovery Channel or Milram, both teams have denied interest Basso. Milram officials said the Puerto links to

The eight-race Verge MAC Cyclocross Series kicks off this weekend with the UCI-C1 Cyclocross at Granogue on Saturday and the UCI-C2 Wissahickon Cyclocross on Sunday. Granogue promoter Tom McDaniel is excited about the field for this year’s races. "This is the best field we’ve had at Granogue and Wissahickon for several years. Geoff Kabush is coming, (Ryan) Trebon and (Barry) Wicks are coming, and so are Tim Johnson and both Todd and Troy Wells." The women’s field is equally strong. Two-time U.S. national champion Katie Compton will face Canadian champ Lyne Bessette, who won both races last

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Tour of Missouri is great newsEditor:Finally, there is some good news in American cycling with the announcement of the Tour of Missouri! The American cycling has had a gloomy 2006 with the drug scandals. Having a fourth major state tour is the exact type of racing that we need to develop

Tyler Hamilton has been linked to a deal to join new Italian-Russian continental team Tinkoff for the 2007 racing season and could be part of the team’s roster set to be revealed Monday. Team officials wouldn’t confirm Friday if they have signed the 35-year-old, but other sources told VeloNews that Hamilton is poised to sign a contract that could mark his return to competition after serving a two-year racing ban for blood doping. “I have contact with many riders and the Tinkoff team is very interesting to many riders. We have a long list of riders and Tyler Hamilton is among them,” Tinkoff

Angel Fire, N.M. (October 20, 2006)-Backed by a sweep of the top-three spots in the men's short track cross country race and the top-two spots in the men's 4-cross competition, Fort Lewis College dominated the Division I ranks as the 2006 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships opened Friday.Alex Hagman, Eric Ransom and Noah Singer claimed first, second and third place respectively in the morning's short track race to put the Durango,Colo.-based institution on pace to win the overall Division I championship it last captured in 2004.

Gully in Tabor in 2001

The future of home of some bike racing stars?

Finn Gullickson out motorpacing.

Son Leo having fun!

Finn: like father, like son.

Will Basso be at next year's Giro?

Thanks to a little cocaine, Freewheeling Franklin and Phineas set a world record for the 40km TT (two stoners, single bike). For the complete cartoon, click here

Mmmm ... beer

Hamilton, seen here before the 2004 Olympic road race in Athens, may have a team for '07.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission,in cooperation with the manufacturers named below, has announced a voluntaryrecall of the following consmer product. Consumers should stop using recalledproducts immediately unless otherwise instructed.Name of Product: ARC Lithium Ion Bicycle Light BatteriesUnits: About 1,700Light Manufacturer/Battery Reseller: Light & Motion, of Monterey,Calif.Battery Manufacturer: GP Batteries International Ltd., of SingaporeBattery Importer: Gold Peak Industries (North America), Inc.of San Diego, Calif.Hazard: The battery can overheat,

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich on Thursday announced his split from the Swiss cycling federation but maintained that his career is not over. The Swiss-based German star is still fighting off doping allegations which came in the wake of a Spanish doping investigation dubbed Operación Puerto. However Ullrich, who was fired by T-Mobile after the team suspended him before the start of the Tour de France, appears to have some hope of getting back to competing. Ullrich said he may seek a license in his native Germany, instead. "This split from the Swiss federation doesn't mean

Tom Boonen has signed up to take part in a 10-hour endurance race at the wheel of a Porsche 996, the former world cycling champion reported on Thursday. The 25-year-old Quick Step rider is normally known for his prowess in one-day cycling classics and can count the prestigious Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders and world road race crowns among his list of honors. Now with the season drawing to a close Boonen will team up with Belgian pair Bert Longin and Anthony Kumpen, the national touring endurance champion,for the race which will be held at the Zolder race track - which coincidentally

Press Release: Light & Motion announces battery recall

Ullrich, here winning a time trial at this year's Tour of Switzerland, won't be getting a Swiss license in 2007.

Why does my Mavic freehub squeal?

Crunch timeDear Lennard,I have Campagnolo record 10-speed shifters. In fact the componentsare all campy record, except the wheels. I have been having a terribletime with the front shifter. It gets hung up and won't shift or is veryhard to shift and then it makes a terrible crunching noise. I have theCampagnolo triple front derailleur. Two different mechanics have lookedat it, without taking the levers apart, and nether has been able to diagnoseit or fix it. Any suggestions?DebbieDear Debbie,That’s the beauty of Campagnolo Ergo Power; you can fix it if somethinggets jammed inside.

Team CSC and Italian star Ivan Basso cut ties in a mutual agreement Wednesday that releases the 2006 Giro d’Italia champion from the remaining two years of his contract with the Danish team. Basso was forced out of the Tour de France this summer after he was linked to an alleged blood doping ring in Spain. Despite the fact that Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) officials subsequently recommended that he be cleared, the relationship between Basso and Team CSC boss Bjarne Riis appear to have been irreparably soured. “After all that has happened, especially this summer, Team CSC and Ivan Basso

Peña joins Unibet.comMore ex-Phonak riders are finding contracts for next season as the Swiss team begins to shut down. The latest to escape the unemployment line is Colombian Victor Hugo Peña, who penned a two-year deal to join Unibet.com for the 2007-08 seasons. The 32-year-old raced the past two seasons with Phonak, but the team raced its last competition in Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia after the Floyd Landis doping scandal prompted new sponsor iShares to pull out of its sponsorship deal to continue the team. Peña became the first Colombian to wear the maillot jaune during the 2003 Tour

A new book which claims to further lift the lid on some of the dirtier secrets of Lance Armstrong's successful cycling career will go on sale in France on Thursday. The seven-time Tour de France champion is now retired, but a second book by Pierre Ballester and David Walsh - authors of the controversial "L.A. Confidentiel" two and a half years ago - claims to shed new light on their allegations that Armstrong's feats came through the use of doping products. Extracts of "L.A. Officiel," which like the first book has been written only in French, will appear in Thursday's edition

CLIF BAR’s Development Cyclo-Cross Team Starts Global Cooling, Starts Season Boulder, Colorado October, 2006—When the members of the TIAACREF/CLIF BAR Cyclo-Cross Team rolled to the start line in Gloucester, MA for the opening round of the 2006 Crank Brothers US Gran Prix of Cyclo-Cross Series, they not only began the third season for the national-level development program, but also set off on a pioneering environmental sustainability mission. The American Cycling Association’s Junior and Under-23 cyclo-cross development program took inspiration from CLIF BAR’s exemplary sustainability

The following is a statement issued by Lance Armstrong on Thursday, October 18, 2006, regardingthe pending publication of "L.A. Officiel," by authors Pierre Ballesterand David Walsh.Predictably, I will be the subject tomorrow of another baselessattack by another French book. The authors, David Walsh and Pierre Ballester,now issue a sequel to an earlier French book that was likewise foundedupon a demonstrably false string of sensational, untrue and fabricatedallegations.  This latest attack will be no different than the first- a sensationalized attempt to cash in on my name and sully my

Basso is likely to ride again, but it won't be for Riis.

Basque climbing ace Iban Mayo has penned a two-year deal with Saunier Duval-Prodir that he hopes will spark his return to his best when he was lighting up the roads at the Tour de France. Mayo made the difficult decision to leave his longtime home with Euskaltel-Euskadi, where he raced since turning pro in 2000, to join Saunier Duval in a move he called “a liberation.” “I changed teams with the intention of improving and the reference is the 2003 season. To be close to that level would be fantastic,” Mayo said during a press conference. “I needed to change the airs. Saunier Duval is an

Tour of Missouri Brings World-Class Professional Cycling to the StateST. LOUIS, Mo. (October 17, 2006) ---- Missouri Governor MattBlunt and Lt. Governor Peter Kinder announced today that the state willplay host to the inaugural Tour of Missouri professional cycling race,September 11 – 16, 2007. In its initial year, the Tour of Missouri will be anointed oneof the nation’s top three stage races behind the prestigious Tour of Georgiaand Tour of California races, providing an historic landmark for the sportwith three major domestic stage races on American soil. "Missouri is known as the

Mayo won this year's Dauphine stage from Briancon to La Toussuire, but was dissatisfied with most of his season.

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now up for your viewing pleasure. 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 winner. We found Jeff Fillerup’s “Six a.m. warm-up” to beautifully represent those quiet, contemplative moments before the day’s competition kicks in. Nice work, Jeff. Drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.com to work out the details and we’ll send you a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes of Cycling." And while you’re at it,

Alejandro Valverde officially received his overall 2006 ProTour trophy in a special gala Saturday evening in Italy following the Giro di Lombardia despite an ugly catfight between the UCI and race organizers. The Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears captain almost skipped the season finale following the ongoing spat between the UCI and race organizers RCS, which didn’t want to allow the UCI to present the ProTour jersey to Valverde on the post-race podium. Riders boycotted the podium, but Valverde received his moment in the spotlight later that evening in an awards ceremony sponsored by the

Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Tim Johnson (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com) doubled up in Maine on Sunday, winning day two of the Downeast Cyclocross in New Gloucester, Maine, the second round of the Verge New England Championship Cyclo-cross Series. Bessette was well warmed and ready to go for the women's race, having competed in the men's B race just beforehand. After the start and the first tour in the woods, she and Katerina Nash (Luna) reprised Saturday’s battle at the front, leaving the rest of the riders to chase. Unlike Saturday, however, Bessette could not get rid

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Lab’s techniques severely flawedEditor:After having finally reviewed the PowerPoint presentation given by Floyd Landis’s attorney, I am shocked by the audacity of the "accredited" laboratory to call his results positive. The results seem only to indicate that the laboratory cannot perform

Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso, looking to race again after the Italian Olympic Committee recommended that doping allegations against him be dropped, says he has been courted by Lance Armstrong's former team, Discovery Channel. ''They made me a concrete proposal but I am open to other solutions,'' the Italian rider said in an interview published Monday by French sports newspaper L'Equipe. Basso gave no details. Discovery has been looking for a replacement for Armstrong, who retired after winning his seventh consecutive Tour de France in 2005. Basso said there

Six a.m. warm-up

Valverde capped of a stellar season on Saturday.

Bessette and Nash duke it out

Bruno Roy and Dickey tussle

Johnson seizes the lead early

McCormack descends

Smith heads for gold in Cow Town

Timmerman bunny-hops his way to victory in Syracuse

Is Basso ready to kiss CSC goodbye?

Saul Raisin continues to defy expectations in remarkable recovery from a life-threatening crash in April that sent him into a coma and put his future as a professional bike racer in doubt. Raisin returned to Europe last week to spend a month in Monaco and to pose for photographs the 2007 team photograph, a sure sign that the Crédit Agricole rider is making solid progress toward a possible comeback perhaps as early as next season. Raisin, 23, can’t guarantee he’ll race in the European peloton again, but he’s going to try. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood recently caught up with

Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) rode to convincing wins on Saturday during day one of the Downeast Cyclocross at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine. Bessette has been dominating this season, though she is coming off a stinging loss in last week's race in Gloucester, Massachusetts. So it was no surprise that she went off from the gun at the start with Rebecca Wellons (Gearworks) and Mackenzie Dickey. After the first course through the woods, it was Bessette in front with only Melissa Thomas (Maxxis) and Katerina Nash (Luna) on her

Raisin at last month's Palmetto Project Charity Ride.

Bessette over the barriers

Johnson through the mud

Anthony over the Log of Death

Italy's reigning Olympic and world champion Paolo Bettini has given his full support to ProTour champion Alejandro Valverde at the start of Saturday's season-ending Tour of Lombardy. Valverde, one of the most consistent performers this season, is mathematically guaranteed winning the ProTour's white jersey for dominating the season-long series. However, organizers of the one-day Italian classic refused to carry out a podium award ceremony for television purposes at Lake Como where Valverde would have been handed his white jersey prize. The reasons appear to relate to a rift

In Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia, Paolo Bettini discovered the best way to ease the pain of the recent death of his older brother was to win in his name. The recently crowned world champion nearly retired after his brother, Sauro, died in a car crash just days after Bettini won the rainbow jersey Sept. 24 in Salzburg, Austria. Only insistence by Bettini’s father convinced the Quick Step-Innergetic captain to carry on. On Saturday under cool fall skies, an emotional Bettini poured all his anguish into his pedals to win the season final in the 245km Lombardia. “Today I was not pedaling alone,”

Valverde at this year's Vuelta. He won't be at Lombardy

An emotional Bettini claims his second consecutive win at Lombardy

Bettini didn't ride this one alone.

Champions' respect: Bettini was a vocal supporter of Valverde's position.

The lake district

Bettini was aggressive on the Ghisallo,.

The risky descent.

It was an easy day...

...until an all-star break ripped the field apart.

A tenacious Wegmann was one of the few able to stay close to Bettini.