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After four years in the post, USA Cycling chief executive officer, GerardBisceglia, was fired last week by board president Jim Ochowicz. Bisceglia was replaced by the organization’s chief operating officer, Steve Johnson, who is also the executive director of the USA Cycling Development Foundation. Bisceglia agreed to sit down with former VeloNews news editor,Charles Pelkey, and discuss his time at the head of the national governingbody, the reasons behind his sudden departure and what he sees as the challenges and opportunities facing the sport of cycling in the United States. In this, the

Saul Raisin’s condition remains unchanged two days after surgery to relieve pressure from a ruptured cerebral edema, according to the Crédit Agricole team physician. Dr. Joel Menard told AFP that the pressure on Raisin's brain was "stable, just above normal," and that doctors at the hospital in Angers hoped to be able to decrease the amount of drugs being given him. Meanwhile, Raisin’s uncle, Phil, told The Dalton Daily Citizen in Georgia that his parents, Jim and Yvonne, arrived in Paris on Friday. “They have seen Saul,” Phil Raisin said. “They’re doing as good as possible under the

It’s the question American George Hincapie has had to answer over and over again in the days leading up to Sunday’s 104th Paris-Roubaix: How do you beat Tom Boonen? "We just have to have as many guys as we can, for as long as we can, and make Quick Step work and not give them a free ride," Hincapie said of his Discovery Channel team’s simple strategy. Hincapie knows what it feels like to come close to winning the Queen of the Classics — his second-place finish to Boonen at last year’s Paris-Roubaix was his top result in a string of five top-10 finishes in five attempts — but he still

It may be almost Easter, but day two at the Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca Raceway felt something like Christmas — a stroll around the grounds on Friday was all about the boys and their toys. Subaru-Gary Fisher racer Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski was feeling a little bit under the weather, but nevertheless took time to explain the development process behind his new Race Day Pro Caliber full-suspension bike. Giant may have had the least-attainable bike in the pits (it was more prototype than production), but Adam Craig seemed happy with it. He was also able to shed a little light on the new XTR

After 31 laps on the challenging Laguna Seca raceway, after innumerable attacks by riders from all over the world on dozens of teams, three friends from the same town in Tasmania ended up taking the first three places in the SRAM Sea Otter men’s professional road race. Already having wrapped up the king-of-the-mountains competition several laps earlier, Jelly Belly’s Matty Rice timed his last-lap move perfectly, replacing Caleb Manion, his teammate and longtime friend from Launceston, Australia, at the front and rolling across the line alone with a few seconds to spare over another friend

World Champion Brian Lopes (GT Bicycles-Oakley) and France’s Sabrina Jonnier (Monster Energy-Ironhorse-Madcatz) won Saturday afternoon’s Sea Otter dual slalom race under sunny skies and light winds. The afternoon’s light winds played a key roll in changing course conditions, drying and hardening the once-muddy route and adding speed to riders’ times. The men were running in the mid-30-second range, while the women put in times just slightly slower. Despite the finale of the men’s pro NRC road race and the SRAM invitational dirt jump contest running at the same time, the dual slalom was well

After years in the private sector, Bisceglia describes his time at USA Cycling as the most enjoyable of his career.

It will take brains and brawn to beat Boonen

Proud papa Travis Brown and his brown 69er

Fisher's Race Days

They come in pink, too

The Anthem Composite

Lookin' good

The hydro-formed seatstays on Brown's 69er

Kabush is running narrow 1.9 Larsen TTs

Groovin', on a Friday afternoon

Before (front) and after

Jelly Belly’s Matty Rice takes the first of three podium spots for Launceston, Australia.

Leipheimer raced aggressively in the 06 Sea Otter circuit

A steady breeze dried the course.

Lopes kept his cool

Jonier makes it look easy

The DS guys climb a little differently than do the XC racers.

Bless you, boys.

Attack, caught, attack, caught... and she still wins!

Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) retained the overall race lead of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco after French rider Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) won Friday's 178km fifth stage fromVitoria to Zalla. Voeckler, 26, who wore the yellow leader's jersey for a week in the 2004 Tour de France, just edged out Germany's Jens Voigt (CSC) in a furious sprint for the line after the pair went off as part of a 10-man breakaway at the 6km mark. Three riders broke clear of the leaders in the last 15km and Voeckler proved strongest as he wrapped up his 16th career stage victory, his first this

Perhaps more than any other world champion, current rainbow jersey holder Tom Boonen most resembles his legendary countryman Rik Van Looy. Van Looy, who was known as the Emperor of Herentals after his hometown, won all of the major one-day classics, including three editions of Paris-Roubaix, which Boonen is attempting to win for a second time this Sunday. Remarkably, Van Looy and Boonen grew up in villages only 30km apart in the flatlands directly east of Antwerp jammed up against the Dutch border. This is not Flanders, the epicenter of Belgian cycling, but a region, once called Brabant,

Saul Raisin remains in a coma Friday in a French hospital and doctors say the next two to four days are very important to see improvement. The condition of the 23-year-old American has stabilized following surgery Thursday and physicians say the immediate threat to his life has passed. Raisin crashed late in Tuesday’s first stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe and landed hard on his face and shoulder. He broke a clavicle and a rib and suffered several cuts and abrasions, but doctors say emphatically that his hard-shell helmet saved his life. He was alert Wednesday and spoke with Crédit

The Sea Otter Classic’s season-opener status always leaves it vulnerable to inclement weather, and going into this year’s edition the Monterey Bay area has been awash in monsoon-style spring rains. But come opening day on Thursday, the ponderous clouds above the Laguna Seca race track gave way to clear skies and set a perfect stage for the 2006 season kickoff, for racers, spectators and exhibitors alike. Some of the loudest buzz in the pits concerns two of the industry’s component manufacturers, SRAM and Shimano. On Saturday, two SRAM-sponsored road teams will take the company’s new gear

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.Saul Raisin’s dedication is inspirationalEditor:I was distressed to read about Saul Raisin's crash and his drug-induced coma. I remember racing in Union City, Georgia, several years ago. It was a split day: a morning time trial and an evening criterium. After the criterium (which was

American Olympian Mary McConneloug (Seven-Kenda) and Swiss star Ralph Naef (Multivan-Merida) won Friday’s second stage of the Sea Otter Classic pro mountain-bike race, a two-mile time trial. While warm temperatures and sunshine brought a bit of relief to the waterlogged Laguna Seca staging area, they did little to dry out the hilly, two-mile time-trial circuit around the mountain-cross and dual-slalom courses. Standing water concealed many large, muddy holes that sent even seasoned veterans tumbling into the goo. The surprise of the day came in the women’s time trial, where two-time world

Van Looy was at his peak from 1960 to '62

Boonen is following in his footsteps with 12 wins already this year

Raisin remains in a coma, though doctors say the threat to his life has passed

The CNC-machined prototype of the low-normal XTR rear derailleur

Naef stirs the soup in the time trial

The men's podium

Sauser's stylish shoe covers

A refined trigger release

A backside view of Dual Control

Another backside view

A look from the front

Looking up from below

Our tour guide, Shimano's Matt Robinson

Ride with Tom Danielson on Saturday in Littleton, ColoradoDiscovery Channel star Tom Danielson will take time out of his busyschedule ahead of defending his title at the Tour de Georgia to meet andride with lucky members of the public Saturday in Littleton, Colorado.Danielson will join a group ride of about 20-25 miles and then hostan autograph and open forum for the general public followed by a pressconference for the media.The events take place Saturday, April 8, at the Bicycle Village storeat 8100 W. Crestline Ave. near Wadsworth and Bowles.The schedule:12:00 pm - Group ride with Tom

Saul Raisin’s condition was reported as stabilized but still "very serious" on Thursday afternoon following surgery to reduce pressure on his brain from a hemorrhage early Thursday morning. The 23-year-old Crédit Agricole rider had been placed in a drug-induced coma early Thursday morning after his condition worsened overnight following a crash Tuesday in the opening stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe. The crash left him with a broken clavicle and rib, plus serious cuts and scrapes to his face. Doctors said Raisin's condition had improved after successful surgery to alleviate the

Dear Bob;Your well written article Victimof Circumstance explaining the sixelements required to prove negligence brings about an interesting a question;as cyclists we all sign a plethora of Waivers / Releases throughout theyear for just about every event we participate in whether it is a raceor ride, or joining a team. My question is if signing a release or waivercan be upheld in a situation where true negligence on behalf of the promoteror organizers can be proven? Is it really possible to "Sign Your Life Away"?Best regards,R. S.NevadaDear R.S.;To fully address your question, it is necessary

Tyler Farrar (Cofidis) won’t need surgery on his broken left collarbone and hopes to be back racing as early as May. Farrar, 21, crashed hard in a finish-line spill in Tuesday’s first stage at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France, suffering a broken collarbone and other cuts and abrasions. X-rays showed the break won’t require anything more than some quiet recuperation. "It’s not a displaced fracture, so it wasn’t that bad. At first they were thinking I needed surgery," Farrar told VeloNews on Thursday. "Other than that, I have some scrapes and bruises, but considering how it could have been,

European riders dominated the first day of racing at the 2006 Sea Otter Classic as Frenchman Jean-Christoph Peraud (Orbea) and Norway’s Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesja easily won Thursday’s super cross-country event. Held on the Laguna Seca speedway’s tarmac and on soggy double-track on the surrounding hillsides, the super-XC proved to be a sloppy kickoff to the four-stage cross-country competition. Heavy rain helped transform the course’s off-road sections into impassable quagmires midway through the women’s event. Large holes and hub-deep mud stopped racers dead in their tracks, forcing men and

Raisin at the 2005 Tour de Langkawi

Raisin made an impression at the 2005 world's

Loddo takes stage 3

Dahle soars solo to victory

Peraud wins – and keeps on going

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.Fly on the wall?Editor,I'd sure like to get DaveProuty and GerardBisceglia in a room together for a little shop talk. Jerry Laceand Ms. Lisa are not invited.Andy BohlmannColorado Springs, ColoradoWhy whine? Just turn to OLNDear Editor,Not that I am some crazy fishing fan, or disagree

Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) made a late break for the line to win Wednesday's third stage of the Vuelta a Pais Vasco and maintain his overall lead. It was his second win in a row and maintained his slender lead over compatriot Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) by less than a second. The 170km stage, from Segura to Lerin, featured six climbs, with the peloton climbing over a Cat. 2 and a Cat. 1 climb in the opening 40km. Three punchy Cat. 3s marked the final half of the course before the short but steep climbing finish into Lerin. The final 700 meters featured ramps as steep as

It was a day for the sprinters at Wednesday’s Ghent-Wevelgem, and Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) proved that Italian speedster Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) can indeed be beat in a dead-flat drag race. Of course, if you’re Hushovd, it helps if that drag race comes at the end of a gritty, 210km Belgian slugfest. Hushovd, the green jersey points winner at the 2005 Tour de France, edged out the fast-improving German David Kopp (Gerolsteiner), who took second, and Petacchi, who was third, to become the first Norwegian to win Ghent-Wevelgem in the race’s 72-year history.

Tyler Farrar (Cofidis) and Saul Raisin (Crédit Agricole) both saw all their off-season hard work go to waste in a pair of costly crashes during Tuesday’s opening stage at the Circuit de la Sarthe, leaving both of the young pros with broken clavicles that will sideline them for at least a month. Farrar was caught up in an ugly pile-up with 200 meters to go as the peloton was in full sprint, while Raisin crashed with about 2km to go; he also collected a broken rib, bruises and road rash to go along with the snapped clavicle. It means Raisin won’t be starting next month’s Giro d’Italia, while

The Massachusetts House and Senate have formed a conference committee to write a final version of the fiscal 2006 supplemental budget bill. The Major Taylor Association is advocating an item that is in the House version but not the Senate version — $205,000 for the Major Taylor memorial in Worcester, which would be the city’s first public monument honoring an African-American, highlighting Massachusetts' exemplary role in allowing the talent of the 1899 world cycling champion to flourish in spite of racism. Introduced by Rep. John Binienda and Rep. James Leary, the item is part of House

A gang of fat gray clouds loitered above Laguna Seca Raceway on Wednesday as vendors, team managers and riders prepared for Thursday’s opening of the 2006 Sea Otter Classic. Like clockwork, the skies burst at 4 p.m., pelting the saturated Central Coast hill country with yet another driving rain. Nobody was surprised. Why? Because Northern California has endured its second-wettest March since 1850. Nary a day has passed without rain for more than three weeks. The hills around Laguna Seca display a deep greenish hue overlaying a soggy, muddy base. The dirt infield sports a thick layer of mud.

Hushovd takes it at the line

Basso rockets to victory in the time trial

Medicos work on Farrar after he took a tumble at 60 kph in the finale

A perfect day for a bunch finish

Gusev and Eisel have a go

DeJongh and Vansevenant get something organized

The Vansevenant escape

It wasn't going to be Boonen's day

Milram had the firepower . . .

. . . Roesems had the guts . . .

. . . but here's how the podium shaped up

The clouds above Laguna Seca on Wednesday

Well, the good news is, if you stack it, you'll spend more at the laundry than at the ER

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 ourlast contest. Take the time to wander through that gallery and see if you agree or disagree with our choice of winner. To us, Michael W. Miller’s “Cyclocross Nationals Dec.9 2005” just proves how wonderfully goofy our sport is, especially the ‘crossers, who are at their best when the weather is at its worst. We love ‘cross and we really appreciate that photo. Congratulations Michael! Drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.com to work out the

Attention Sea Otter Classic Fans: Introducing the VeloNews-Sea Otter Photo Gallery Submit your photos taken at the 2006 Sea Otter Classic before April16th and enter to win prizes and have your photos published on VeloNews.com. Based around the Laguna Seca Recreation Area just inland of Monterey,California, the Sea Otter Classic is a cycling festival like noother. Every year for four days, tens of thousands of bike enthusiastsconverge on the green rolling hills like a massing two-wheeled army. Tattooedmen on burly downhill bikes wait patiently behind little girls on pinkbikes with training

Bobby Julich (CSC) didn’t take Monday’s start at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco in northern Spain after battling the flu. The veteran American won a stage here in 2004 to herald his comeback to the elite ranks of cycling. Julich fell ill after crashing out of Paris-Nice and wasn’t quite up to the task of combating the hilly Basque Country tour or its infamously bad weather. "He wasn’t quite all the way back from the flu and we felt he wasn’t ready for a race this demanding," said Team CSC sports director Kim Andersen. "This race usually also has bad weather, but it’s sunny right now! It’s

German Robert Forster (Gerolsteiner) sprinted to victory in Tuesday's first stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe, a 193km leg between Mouilleron-le-Captif and Saint-Mars-la-Jaille. Forster outkicked Italian Alberto Loddo (Selle Italia) and France's Anthony Ravard (Bouygues Telecom) to take the stage and the lead on general classification. The finale was marred by a dramatic crash on the finishing straight that took down several riders, including Americans Tyler Farrar (Cofidis) and Saul Raisin (Crédit Agricole), along with Ceramica Panaria-Navigare teammates Brett Lancaster of

Euskaltel-Euskadi is more than a professional team for the cycling-crazed Basques. The team’s distinctive orange jerseys are part of the cultural landscape of the hilly region of northern Spain and the Tour of the Basque Country is their home race. Samuel Sanchez gave local fans something to cheer about in the Vuelta al País Vasco, ending the team’s early season winless streak with a daring attack with 7km to go in Tuesday’s 155km second stage to give the team its first win of the 2006 season and snatch the leader’s jersey. "The only thing we haven’t done this year was win," Sanchez said.

Gerard Bisceglia's four-year tenure as chief executive officer of USA Cycling came to an abrupt end on Tuesday. Bisceglia said USA Cycling board president Jim Ochowicz dismissed him, but did not give him a reason. "I have no idea [why]," Bisceglia said. "No cause given." Ochowicz could not be reached by telephone. But later Tuesday, USA Cycling posted an announcement on its website that said Bisceglia had resigned and quoted Ochowicz as saying that he was responsible "for moving USA Cycling in a positive direction over the past four years." The announcement said the USA Cycling board of

Renowned sprinter Robbie McEwen (Aus) of Davitamon-Lotto, Floyd Landis (USA) of Phonak Hearing Systems, and defending champion Tom Danielson (USA) of Discovery Channel headline the field of professional cyclists competing at the 2006 Ford Tour de Georgia. Event organizers Medalist Sports announced today the eight-man rosters for each of the 15 teams, including six ProTour teams, two U.S.-based Professional Continental teams and seven Continental teams from the America Tour . "The Ford Tour de Georgia continues to attract the best professional cyclists in the world. This year race fans will