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Relaxing in the shade alongside a mud splattered Kristin Danielson (Velo Bella) after the pro-women’s cross country event at the NORBA National in Banner Elk, North Carolina, was hubby Tom back from Europe and looking far better than he had on the days leading up to his withdrawal from this year’s Giro d’Italia. “I feel totally recovered now from being really sick,” said the Discovery man. “I’ve been on my bike for about a week now, and the first half was really bad. I was really struggling. When you get really sick it’s like you’re a different person and coming back to health is hard for

You couldn’t blame fans lining the route in Saturday’s sixth stage at the Dauphiné Libéré if they did a double-take when a slender Italian rider in a CSC jersey slipped by on the Col du Galibier. Was that Ivan Basso? The reigning Giro d’Italia champion and key Team CSC teammates rode the entire 169-kilometer route of Saturday’s stage – the same route they will face in next month’s Tour de France – as part of a three-day training camp high in the French Alps. “It’s nothing special, just some small interval work, nothing particular hard,” Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis told VeloNews. “We have

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 were quite impressed with Robert Harvey’s stunning shot titled “Raleigh Twilight Criterium, 2006.” It’s a great photo, that underscores what people are willing to do for the “enjoyment” of racing bicycles, but while the situation is extreme, it was Harvey’s composition that made the photo work. One of our judges

On the second day of racing, the competition at the front of the pack showsno sign of slowing down. Jure Robic regained his #1 spot and had6 minutes on Marko Baloh at Time Station,#11 in Kayenta, Arizona, . A littleover two hours behind them, but riding within minutes of each other areJonathan Boyer, Tinker Juarez and Kenny Souza. (Souza fell back aspot when he missed a turn and lost approximately 40 minutes.)Valentin Zeller, of Austria, dropped out in Flagstaff, Arizona, after a valianteffort to overcome the serious dehydration he suffered on Sunday. In the women’s race, Shanna “Banana”

Nuyens wins

Raleigh Twilight Criterium, 2006

Levi Leipheimer realized a childhood dream Sunday, winning the Dauphiné Libéré after finishing safely in the lead bunch of 55 riders in the wild and woolly 131km finale over four short but steep climbs into Grenoble. The Gerolsteiner rider received a congratulatory handshake from Russian nemesis Denis Menchov (Rabobank) after the pair rolled across the line behind stage winner Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole). Leipheimer becomes the fourth American to win the Dauphiné Libéré, joining Greg LeMond, Tyler Hamilton and Lance Armstrong in the winner’s circle. "I am very proud to win this race,"

Italian Daniele Contrini (LPR) won the second stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Sunday in Einsiedeln. Contrini, 31, made a stunning lone breakaway to finish more than five minutes ahead of the peloton led home by Lampre's Daniele Bennati, who thus claimed the leader's yellow jersey. Contrini went ahead after 40km of the 165km stage and finished five minutes three seconds in front of Bennati to secure the best win of his career and a notable success for LPR - the only team in the race not part of the ProTour circuit. "I suffered. I had cramps everywhere for several kilometres,"

Racers at Philadelphia’s Liberty Classic would be wise to beware of the Germans. Following the retirement of Petra Rossner, who won seven editions of this race, Ina Teutenberg (T-Mobile) stepped in to defend her country’s honor, winning out of a break in the 2005 edition. This year, it was reigning world champion Regina Schleicher (Nürnberger) who would deliver the win for Germany in the 57.6 mile contest. Teutenberg looked primed for the win until the closing 50 meters, having received a picture-perfect lead-out from three of her T-Mobile teammates. But the world champion was lined up on

A month ago, New Zealander GregHenderson didn’t know whether or not he would race at the CommerceBank Triple Crown series, which culminated in Sunday’s 156-mile PhiladelphiaInternational Championship. A broken hip, suffered in a crash in March,had sidelined the Health Net-Maxxis rider for most of April and May, missingout on important races like the Ford Tour de Georgia, where he won thepoints jersey last year. On Sunday, Henderson won one of the biggest races of his career in aphoto-finish field sprint, just beating out former teammate IvanDominguez of Toyota-United. Navigators Insurance

After a day where he started off feeling like "he could have been in a body bag," Geoff Kabush rallied in the final lap of Sunday’s short-track competition to score his 10th win in that category during the second round of the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series in Banner Elk, North Carolina. During their approximately 20-minute/10-lap jaunt, the quartet of Kabush (Maxxis), Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher), Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen), and Ryan Trebon (Kona-Les Gets) passed around the lead while maintaining a 20-to-30-second gap on their nearest competition. Considering how

This is a report filed by Paul Skilbeck, Danny Chew and Allen Larsen from the front of the Race Across America at approximately 7:30 p.m. PST/10:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 11: There have been a wide range of tactics employed by the Solo Enduro riders as they try to figure out the optimal way to conquer the newest division in the Race Across America. A group of four riders -- Jure Robic, Marko Baloh, Jonathan Boyer, and Valentin Zeller -- got away on the first good climb of the race, though from here these solo riders took different tacks. Two-time defending champ Jure Robic threw down the

The final podium

Leipheimer says winning the Dauphiné was the realization of a dream

O'Grady and Coutouly have a go

The Aussie goes it alone

Crédit Agricole chases

And Hushovd pays the team off with a win

Landis took it easy in the finale

It was a beautiful day for taking in the scenery

Henderson (far right) nips Dominguez (far left).

Henderson doubles up in Philly

Schleicher beats the often-unbeatable

Two world champs, Mactier and Arndt

Perfect weather for the women's peloton

Schleicher takes on the climb

Dominguez

The break hits the Maniyunk

Cruz in the lead

The peloton on Lemon Hill

Toyota masses at the front

Series winner Lagutin gets the keys to his new car

When Christian Vande Velde lines up for the opening stage of the Tour of Switzerland this weekend, the 30-year-old American will be thinking beyond the nine-day ProTour race. He wants to show his CSC team boss Bjarne Riis that he has the fitness, climbing form and all-around strength that will make him a valued support rider for Ivan Basso at next month’s Tour de France. He certainly has the form, having won the Tour of Luxembourg last Sunday. Not only was that victory Vande Velde’s first win since he took California’s Redlands Classic in 1999 but it was also the first time he has won a pro

Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer rode a tactically perfect race Saturday to inch closer to overall victory in the Dauphiné Libéré during a dynamic 169km climbing stage that saw Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) return to the winner’s circle. With Russian challenger Denis Menchov (Rabobank) crashing on the tricky descent off the Cat. 2 Col du Mollard with about 30km to go, Leipheimer rode with calm confidence to finish fourth at 1:37 behind winner Mayo to widen his lead to 1:48 over Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) with just one stage to go. "Today was a big day and it turned out perfect," said

Belgian world champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) won a bunch sprint to claim the leader's jersey at the end of the first stage of the Tour of Switzerland, held over 154.8km around Baden on Saturday. Italian Daniel Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) was second with Spanish sprinter Oscar Freire (Rabobank) third. Boonen, 25, paid tribute to his Quick Step-Innergetic team for cranking up the tempo to dominate potential rivals such as Australian Robbie McEwen and Austria's Bernhard Eisel on the final slope. Lead-out man Matteo Tosatto took him to within 250 meters of the line. The

Since 1985, the image of an international peloton charging up Philadelphia’s Manayunk Wall, with a healthy prize list and a USPRO national title on the line, has become woven into the fabric of the national road-racing community. But in 2005 the event ran up against multiple walls of another sort, including the loss of its national-title status, the departure of its title sponsor and financial troubles with its organizer, Threshold Sports. Originally sponsored by regional bank CoreStates, the title sponsor behind the Philadelphia event evolved over the years, from CoreStates to First Union

Despite the murmurs about rain heard up and down the course at the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina, the second leg of this year’s NORBA national mountain bike series got under way Saturday under optimal conditions. Beginning just after high noon, the pro men took off across the gravelly start for the first of four loops around the 6.6-mile course. But the shape of the race remained essentially static once the riders got to the top of the first lap and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) launched an attack into the single-track. JHK kept the small gap he had on

Mayo celebrates atop La Toussuire

Boonen resumes his winning ways

Menchov following his crash

Moreau, Piepoli and Leipheimer

The Spanish armada: Sevilla, Valverde, Arroyo and Mayo

Valverde and Mayo

The Galibier

Moreau laying it down

No time to enjoy the scenery

Azevedo took a skidder, too, but finished strongly

Levi in yellow

The Philly race has always been a crowd-pleaser

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.Just look at the numbers?Dear Editor,The general public won’t appreciate it yet. In the eyes of the averageAmerican there are no pro cyclists other than Lance. Maybe thatwill change now. Just look at the impressive results with American riders taking thetop four spots in the TT at

Madrid (AP) – Manolo Saiz, the team director at the center of a major doping scandal in Spain, has resigned his position effective immediately. Astana-Würth, which took over sponsorship of the team formerly known as Liberty Seguros, announced Saiz's resignation in a brief statement. He will be replaced by Herminio Diaz Zabala, Marino Lejarreta and Neil Stephens. Saiz said he decided to quit in order not to damage the team and Spanish cycling going into the Tour of France. "I've taken the decision to guarantee the continuation of the team and welfare of cycling in

If you want to know how Discovery Channel is going to race in next month’s Tour de France, watch how the team performs during this week’s Dauphiné Libéré. While all nine Discovery Channel riders who will race the Tour aren’t here or not quite in top condition, this week’s French race provides a nice preview of what fans can expect in the Tour. With the retirement of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, the American team is no longer the dominator or the reference point in the peloton, but that hardly means the proud squad is ready to rest on its laurels. Just look how the

No more Mr. Nice Guy from Levi Leipheimer in the Dauphiné Libéré. After watching Denis Menchov (Rabobank) ride his wheel all the way up the final 6km of Thursday’s grueling climb to Mont Ventoux without taking one pull — only to pip him and Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) for the victory — Leipheimer wanted to see what the Russian was made of in Friday’s 155km roller-coaster over the Izoard high in the French Alps. The Gerolsteiner captain finished eighth at 48 seconds behind stage winner Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r) to retain his 28-second lead to Menchov, but this time he forced the stoic Russian to

Summer may be coming up, but the 2006 NORBA National Championship Series is headed back to the ski slopes this weekend at Sugar Mountain Ski Resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina. The resort, which has run its Showdown at Sugar event for more than a decade, steps into the national arena for the first time as it plays host to the second NCS event of the year June 8-11. Some 1200 riders are expected throughout the various classifications. The downhill riders will cast off from Sugar's 5300-foot peak, while cross-country racers will tackle a 6.6-mile loop. "Hopefully it'll be fairly

Bruyneel, earlier this week at the Dauphiné Libéré

Ludovic Turpin celebrates one of the biggest wins of his career

Moreau's move forced Menchov's hand

Leipheimer followed the wheels and preserved his lead

Gerolsteiner at the front

Landis didn't have the legs today

Leipheimer had plenty of American company

Hincapie rips the descent

It wasn't Vino's day

Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) surged into the overall lead Thursday at the 58th Dauphiné Libéré after a superb performance up Mont Ventoux on a day that saw many of the top favorites succumb to the giant of Provence. 2005 Vuelta a España winner Denis Menchov (Rabobank) grabbed the victory ahead of Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) in the 186km fourth stage after the pair rode Leipheimer’s wheel up the final 5km of one of cycling’s most feared climbs. “The most important thing today was taking the jersey,” said Leipheimer, who finished third at 15 seconds back. “I want to win the Dauphiné this year

Two victories in four days are helping David Zabriskie secure a return ticket to the 2006 Tour de France. Last year, Zabriskie won the opening stage in his Tour debut to become just the third American to wear the yellow jersey, but the 27-year-old finds himself on the Tour bubble because of the depth of talent on Team CSC. CSC manager Bjarne Riis is mulling which eight riders will support Ivan Basso in pursuit of July’s crown as the Italian aims to become the first rider since 1998 to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour in the same season. Zabriskie’s impressive victory in Wednesday’s 43km

Experience the 2006 Tour de France by riding it… from home!Carmichael Training Systems Launches New Interactive Training LineWithDo the Tour…Stay at Home.™ Audio Workouts, Presented by AMD COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – This July instead of sitting onthe couch watching the Tour de France on OLN, set your bike up on an indoortrainer and “ride” the Grand Tour itself. No plane ticket or world-classfitness level required. All you need are Carmichael Training Systems’ (CTS)Do the Tour…Stay at Home.™ audio workouts, presented by AMD, which canbe downloaded onto a digital music player directly

Coming off of a fractured hip suffered in March, Health Net-Maxxis sprinter Greg Henderson showed the domestic peloton that he’s back with a vengeance in Reading, Pennsylvania, Thursday, easily winning the Reading Classic, the second leg of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown, out of a 10-man group ahead of Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) and Danny Pate (TIAA-CREF). Henderson, the 2004 world scratch-race champion from Dunedin, New Zealand, chose to race at the Mt. Hood Classic stage race last week, helping teammate Nathan O’Neill take the overall win, rather than return to defend his title

Menchov Takes It: The 2005 Vuelta winner narrowly edged the hard-charging Moreau

Leipheimer has the lead

Zabriskie, with race leader Gilbert and KOM leader Joly, finished 50th

Mayo moved past Landis, who took the final stretch at a moderate pace

Menchov narrowly beat a hard-charging Moreau, but he did.

Moreau set an early tempo on the climb

Teamed up with Moreau, Mancebo could make trouble in coming days.

The early break seemed doomed from the start

Sevilla wants to make an impression as Tour selection nears.

Azevedo

With Leipheimer setting the pace, Azevedo would soon fade back

Finishing nearly 10 minutes back, Landis's attention is now on July