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Race Across America 2004 & 2005 champion Jure Robic succumbed to the 2006 RAAM with a viral infection which could have been fatal had he kept racing. After signing up for the new Solo Enduro division, where racers must take at least 40 hours of off-the-bike time - a division meant to emphasize bike racing prowess over sheer endurance - Robic led for much of the race until he was forced to withdraw with a viral infection in the mountains of Colorado, 886 miles into the 3,043-mile race. Reports say that Robic was not 100 percent prior to the race and his Slovenian doctor believes that Robic

Health Net/Maxxis director Jeff Corbet was in good spirits Thursday evening. His rider, New Zealander GregHenderson had just won his fourth road race in as many tries, grabbed another podium spot with a strong third-place finish by KarlMenzies and the team’s talented time trialist Nathan O’Neill held onto the leader’s jersey after the second stage of Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix. Oh, yeah, and it was Corbet’s birthday, as Menzies proudly announced afterdelivering Henderson to the line and holding for the podium spot in the 58.5-mile Cannon Falls Road Race. “That was gold,”

The second stage of Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix ended as expected, with some of the most talented and most experienced female riders in the world in a mad sprint for the finish. In the end, though, it was a rookie and a local amateur who stood atop two of the three podium places. Palo Alto Bicycle Works/TIBCO’s Brooke Miller seized the moment to capture the 58.6-mile Cannon Falls Road Race, ahead of Jazz Apple Cycling’s Sarah Ulmer and local women’s legend and Flanders/MBRC racer Teresa Moriarty. An overjoyed Miller was at a loss after the race. She screamed after

Stefan Parinussa (Team Sparkasse) managed to hold onto the yellow jersey after the crucial third stage of the Tour de Beauce, however, his lead over former leader Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators) was reduced by three-quarters, and Kobzarenko's team mate Sergey Lagutin won the stage and also moved into contention. Danny Pate (TIAA-CREF) continues to impress; finishing fourth on the stage, and moving up one place in GC to fourth. The third stage of Beauce is considered to be the Queen stage - finishing atop Mont Megantic after a five kilometer climb that averages close to 12%, with at least

Lelangue is happy with Landis's form

Gil has the lead. Can he keep it?

Vicioso spent just one day in the leader's jersey

A day highlighted by tough climbs, like Furka Pass.

Ullrich may in prime position for Swiss Tour win

Wurth leads the chase

Cannondale’s System Six, complete.

Cannondale’s fork tapers from 1.5 inches to 1.125 inches. Cannondale has done it’s design homework to seamlessly integrate the system’s fork, stem and headset.

The System Six has a massive 1.5 inch head tube, previously only seen on freeride and downhill bikes.

The windows in the rear triangle provide the aluminum a way to mechanically lock onto the carbon front triangle.

RAAM Update: Robic recovering in Colorado hospital

Henderson's favorite pose

Nathan O’Neill still in yellow

Health Net in control

Are we sensing a theme here?

Miller nails it

Miller celebrates her win.

Chris Horner rode out of the Dauphiné Libéré ready for next month’s Tour de France. The Davitamon-Lotto didn’t score a stage victory, but he was active on the hardest climbs in the week-long race to show his form is on the rise ahead of July. Horner’s second Tour will be in marked contrast to his debut last year with Saunier Duval. He’s been assured of a Tour spot all season long, eliminating the stress and doubt of last year of not knowing whether he had spot until he won a stage in the Tour de Suisse to sew up his place. “It’s completely different for me compared to last year,” Horner

Leukerbad, Switzerland, - Swiss rider Steve Morabito (Phonak) celebrated the first professional victory of his career, taking the fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Wednesday. That win was that much sweeter for taking place in the mountains where he grew up. His hometown of Les Troistorrents is just 58 miles away from Leukerbad, which is famous for its skiing and natural baths at the end of a steep and winding 16-kilometer road. “It’s astonishing that I had never ridden this road up here even though I lived so close,” said Morabito after nipping Discovery Channel’s Jurgen Van Goolen

Cycling produced the most positive tests for banned substances of any Olympic sport in the latest global statistics compiled by the World Anti-Doping Agency. WADA-accredited laboratories reported 482 positive samples for cyclists in 2005. Olympic-level international baseball was second with 390 positives, while soccer was third with 343. Track and field — the most tested sport — was fourth with 342. Cycling also had the highest percentage of positive tests, with 3.78 per cent out of 12,751 samples, followed by baseball (3.69 per cent out of 10,580) and boxing (3.41 per cent of 2,433) and

The Race Across America is all about numbers. The number 3048 for instance—the number of miles separating Oceanside from Atlantic City, a big number indeed. But there’s far more to winning this 25th edition of RAAM than mounting a bicycle in California and pointing it east with a hope of being the first to New Jersey. With this year’s addition of the “Enduro” category with a mandated 40 hours of off-the-bike time that must be logged during the course of the race, a new set of strategies and numbers have come into play as racers calculate speed averages and distances in their efforts to

Dear Monique, I am thinking of eliminating sugar from my diet, but can’t find anything to replace my energy drink or gel with, have you come across any products that fit the bill?Soured on Sweets Dear Soured,There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the best types of carbohydrates that should be consumed during exercise with some sports nutrition products promoted as containing “complex carbohydrates” versus the “simple carbohydrates,” often also referred to as sugars. But classifying a carbohydrate as simple or complex really doesn’t provide the complete picture regarding a

Stage two at the Tour de Beauce saw a change in the lead, with Stefan Parinussa of the German Sparkasse team able to get into the break for a second straight day while yellow-jersey holder Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators) missed it and lost two minutes. The 180km circuit, which started and finished in the town of St. Joseph, is the longest stage of the race, with three categorized climbs and nowhere to rest. Navigators went into the stage expecting the race to break up, but planning to get Kobzarenko into any important moves. Unfortunately for them, miscommunication and slow race updates

As this is being written, late on Wednesday night, the standings in the 25th Annual Race Across America have been shuffled just slightly since our last report. While a wide margin had separated the Enduro and overall leader Markoh Baloh from the Traditional category leader, that gap has narrowed, with Baloh holding a mere thirty-seven minute advantage over Switzerland’s Daniel Wyss, a RAAM rookie. Meanwhile Jonathon Boyer, winner of the 1985 edition, is firmly in second in the Enduro category, with mountain bike endurance racer Tinker Juarez holding onto third. Kenny Souza, formerly in

Morabito wins in Loeche-Les-Bains

Van Goolen (L) wasn't particularly pleased with Wednesday's finish

The T-Mobiles give chase

Ullrich, Jaksche and Totschnig

With the departure of Slovenian Army major Jure Robic, his countryman Marko Bahlo has assumed the overall lead.

Overend pays a visit to his old MTB rival, Juarez

While Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie continues on his evolution from sprinter to spring classics strongman to Tour de France super-domestique to Tour contender, world champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) says he has no intention of following in his footsteps. Responding to a question from VeloNews, Boonen said he won’t try to become a GC contender someday in cycling’s biggest race. The reigning world champion said he’s more than happy where he is right now. “I have no plans at all to become the next George Hincapie. Let me just do what I do best: riding the classics and

Fixing the unfixableDear Lennard,All Shimano chains now come with connection pin. Can a chain be safelyjoined with a regular pin? I have done that in the past by not pushingthe pin all the way through then pressing it back in when I had to replacea bent link or two. Is that safe with a 10-speed Shimano chain?Lloyd Dear Loyd,No, it is not safe with any 10-speed chain. The Shimano or Campagnoloconnector pin is double-length, with a front tip section designed to keepthe pin lined up straight while slowly opening up the two holes in anticipationof the part of the pin that will remain lodged in

Ryder Hesjedal (Phonak) has just finished the Dauphiné Libéré stage race in France, his second ProTour stage race in three weeks. He followed up his fourth overall at the Volta a Catalunya in Spain with a strong 17th overall at Dauphiné - the third North American and top rider on his team. After Dauphine, Hesjedal is ranked 45th in the ProTour - not since the glory days of Steve Bauer has a Canadian been so high in the international rankings. VeloNews contributor Rob Jones spoke with Hesjedal at his home base in Girona, Spain, where he is recovering from Dauphiné and preparing for next

Spain's Angel Vicioso gave a welcome boost to the beleaguered Astana-Würth team Tuesday as he held off a furious late charge from the peloton to claim the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Belgium's Nick Nuyens, Monday's stage three winner, retained the overall leader's jersey after finishing in the pack, one second behind Vicioso. Vicioso and fellow escapee David Herrero (Euskaltel-Euskadi) took off from the peloton with just 6km left to ride in the 161.3km stage and held firm until the finish line, with Vicioso just edging out his

Tour de France officials revoked its wild-card bid to Spanish team Comunidad Valenciana on Tuesday, citing alleged links to the "Operación Puerto" doping scandal broiling in Spain. The announcement comes after two weeks of speculation that the continental Spanish team would lose its Tour invitation when the team’s assistant sport director, José Ignacio Labarta, was among five people arrested last month. Others detained were Manolo Saiz, doctors Eufemiano Fuentes and José Luis Merino Batres, and former mountain biker Alberto Leon. "The implication of Comunidad Valenciana's deputy

The 21st edition of Canada's premier stage race, the Tour de Beauce, began on Tuesday with a 164 kilometer stage through the rolling hills south of Quebec City. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators Insurance) won the stage and yellow jersey of race leader after dropping three breakaway companions in the final five kilometers of the stage. Kobzarenko finished 21 seconds ahead of second place Fausto Esparza Munoz (Tecos Trek VH), who out sprinted Kobzarenko's teammate Sergey Lagutin and Stefan Parinussa of the German Team Sparkasse. The first of the small groups which made up the remnants

Boonen has mixed feelings about the Tour de France

The handy little Wipperman tool...

... holds a special gem inside.

Checking elongation with one of these is critical

Vicioso's win is a bright spot in dark days for the Würth squad

Rabobank chases with an assist from Der Kaiser

Sunday - There’s a new crater from an incoming rocket just off myroute on this morning’s ride.This afternoon, outside a company headquarters, there’s a makeshiftmemorial for a fallen Soldier, victim of a roadside bomb many miles away.The memorial - dog tags, rifle, boots, and helmet - were property of the Soldier only a day before. His teammates take turns standing guard, bravelymourning their loss.Sobering reminders of a reality we’d all rather forget.But life goes on. Cheers from a softball game echoed in front of the vigil at the company headquarters, the game a pleasant distraction from

Belgium's Nick Nuyens (Quick Step) won the third stage of the Tour of Switzerland at Arlesheim on Monday, also claiming the leader's jersey. Nuyens beat fellow escapees Koldo Gil (Saunier Duval) and Germans Linus (T-Mobile)Gerdemann and Jörg Jaksche (Würth) in a sprint finish. The peloton, led home by Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank), crossed the line 11 seconds behind the lead breakaway. Thanks to bonus seconds for winning the stage, Nuyens did just enough to overhaul Italy's Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital)to claim the leader's jersey. The breakaway group made their move

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