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It’s a clear spring day in the green hills of Marin County, California, and a gaggle of Spandexed, helmeted Luna Bar Ambassadors — women’s sports advocates from throughout the nation — listen to Alison Dunlap lecture on climbing techniques. One by one, the women mount their knobby-tired rigs, aim themselves at the "climb," which is a sharp, stair-step incline, and attempt to clear the obstacle. At the other end of the parking lot, a second group of women gathers around the other members of the Luna pro women’s mountain-bike team: Shonny Vanlandingham, Katerina Hanusova and newcomers Georgia

Mark Cavendish

Mactier makes Australia proud

The court says Hondo can race. Will teams agree?

The Luna Chix 2006

Awright, listen up!

Turn, turn, turn

Coach Dunlap watches an Ambassador clear an obstacle

Marla Streb's belly gets a pat

Gould

Streb

Vanlandingham

Hanusova

Florit

Dunlap

Alessandro Petacchi and Tom Boonen lined up as the five-star favorites for Saturday’s 97th running of Milan-San Remo, but it was Boonen’s Quick Step-Innergetic teammate Filippo Pozzato sneaking away as the surprise winner. Pozzato marked an attack by Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital) near the top of the decisive Poggio climb with about 7km to go and then rode the coattails of a six-man lead group to hold off the fast-charging peloton.

After photos of Tyler Hamilton in a local criterium showed up on the Internet, USA Cycling got a call from the UCI, wondering why a suspended rider was racing. Two weekends ago, Hamilton joined a handful of other pros and a few hundred amateur racers in a non-sanctioned series race in his hometown of Boulder, Colorado. Hamilton is currently serving a two-year suspension from a 2004 blood doping charge. "They contacted us and asked, ‘What is Tyler Hamilton doing riding in a bike race with other UCI pros?’" said USA Cycling CEO Gerard Bisceglia. "We said it wasn’t sanctioned. They said,

The escape

He said it was the best day of his life

Auger and Contrini in the early break

Extebarria and Scheirlinkcx

Pozzato surprises the peloton

Boonen on the Cipressa

Garzelli on the Cipressa

Milram chases

The peloton

Moorenhout and Schleck attack

Pozzato escapes

The podium

Rabobank on the Poggio

If the cobbles belong to the Belgians, then the Via Roma finishing straight at Milan-San Remo belongs to the Italians. The current king of “La Classicissima” is Alessandro Petacchi, who returns as the heavy favorite and all the pressure that comes with it. His win in the final stage at Tirreno-Adriatico revealed “Ale-Jet” is right on target. “If everything goes right, I know I can win Milan-San Remo for a second time,” Petacchi told reporters. “The final Poggio climb will be the key to the race. If I can get over it with the leaders and with a couple of teammates, I’ll have a great chance

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.More video, pleaseEditor:Hey, great job on the Paris-Nice video summary. The editing and quality pics were great. How about doing it live for the Giro? I'd even pay real money to see it. Phil StruveAvon, Colorado More video for Macs, pleaseEditor:Kudos for posting the Paris-Nice

Belgium's former world champion cyclist Johan Museeuw and 10 others implicated in a doping scandal are to face trial, prosecutors said Friday. Museeuw, the 1996 world road race champion, stands accused of possessing the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoeitin) and two other illegal performance-enhancers. He was suspected of being part of a ring of drug traffickers including a veterinary surgeon, three-time world cyclo-cross champion Mario De Clerqc and eight other riders and go-betweens. They are suspected of supplying human growth hormones, stimulants, steroids and testosterone to

Petacchi hopes to be in the mix after the Poggio

Boonen comes into M-SR in fine, fine, form

Milan-San Remo - Start List1. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Team Milram2. Erik Zabel (G), Team Milram3. Mirko Celestino (I), Team Milram4. Alessandro Cortinovis (I), Team Milram5. Maarten Den Bakker (Nl), Team Milram6. Fabio Sacchi (I), Team Milram7. Christian Knees (G), Team Milram8. Marco Velo (I), Team Milram11. Alexandr Arekeev (Rus), Acqua & Sapone12. Alessandro Donati (I), Acqua & Sapone13. Rinaldo Nocentini (I), Acqua & Sapone14. Giuseppe Palumbo (I), Acqua & Sapone15. Andrea Rossi (I), Acqua & Sapone16. Ondrej Sosenka (Cz), Acqua & Sapone17. Mauricio Soler (Col), Acqua & Sapone18. Andrea

After a solid effort at Tirreno-Adriatico with eighth-place overall, GeorgeHincapie has decided to bypass this weekend’s Milan-San Remo. “I just had a little cold during Tirreno, so I was not feeling 100 percent,”Hincapie told VeloNews. “I prefer to just rest and recover.”Hincapie is scheduled to race next at Three Days of De Panne, whichhe won in 2004, before ramping up for his run at the spring classics. Secondoverall last year at Paris-Rouabix, he’s hoping to step up on higher onthe podium.Discovery Channel will line up with a solid team looking to throw somecurveballs at the marquee

The season’s first UCI ProTour classic, Milan-San Remo, which takes place this Saturday for the 97th time, is nowadays regarded as a sprinters’ race. That’s because in the past nine years a mass sprint finish has been avoided only twice. In 1999, an inspired Andreï Tchmil made a solo, final-kilometer attack to hold off a 68-strong pack by less than a second. And in 2003, Paolo Bettini held tough with breakaway partners Mirko Celestino and Luca Paolini to win, 11 seconds ahead of a chasing 68-man peloton. The past two years, Oscar Freire and Alessandro Petacchi scored their sprint victories

Dear Bob,I love your column, even if it does point out I am often wrong in my mistaken beliefs. What is the legality of when a cyclist swerves to avoid a car door opening and is hit from behind by a car? It has not happened yet, but oh so many close calls!D. D. Dear D.D.Wow, talk about being between a rock and a hard place! Okay, so theoretically speaking, you swerve to avoid getting doored, and you get nailed instead from behind. Who’s at fault here? Well, there are about 50 answers to that question, depending on the state you live in, but we can narrow that down to four different auto

Monterey, CA - Crowds at this year's Sea Otter Classic, the world's largest cycling festival, will have twice as many reasons to cheer (or gasp in amazement) since SRAM's Invitational Dirt Jump Contest has been extended to all four days of the event. And, after weeks of online ogling, consumers will get their first chance to get their hands on SRAM's much-buzzed about Force road group. This year the multi-sport, four-day "Celebration of Cycling' begins on April 6 at Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey, California. The invite list for the Dirt Jump Contest reads like a

Floyd Landis won more than Paris-Nice on Sunday. He secured the trust and confidence of his Phonak teammates as they look confidently toward this summer's Tour de France. His teammates rallied around Landis to preserve his slender nine-second margin in Sunday's nervous, four-climb finale to win his second major stage race inside a month. And in the process, the team and Landis promoted themselves as one of the favorites for July. CLICK HERE to play the 2006 Paris-Nice Video highlight.

Hincapie needs some down time

Well-timed: Andreï Tchmil made his big move in the final kilometer in 1999

The very presence of defending champion Alessandro Petacchi may have defined this year's route.

Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske: Doored v. Nailed

2006 Paris-Nice Video Highlight

What a difference a year makes for Chris Horner. Twelve months ago, he was making an uncertain return to Europe. Flash forward to 2006 and Horner is a very happy camper at Davitamon-Lotto, secure in a two-year contract and a place in this year’s Tour de France. “I’m on the list. Unless I take myself out of it with an injury or illness, I’m going,” Horner told VeloNews. “It’s better that than the position I was in last year, when I didn’t know if I was going or not.” Last year, riding with Saunier Duval-Prodir, Horner didn’t secure his Tour ticket until he proved himself with a dramatic

Horner's had a fine early season and aims for the big one in July.

Bettini has doubts about repeating his 2003 win in San Remo, but he'll be there, he says.

Don’t expect to see Floyd Landis ripping through any races in the coming months. Fresh off impressive back-to-back wins at Tour of California and Paris-Nice, the Phonak captain said races such as the Giro d’Italia will strictly be for preparation for July’s Tour de France. “My plan is to do the Giro, but primarily as training and nothing else. So don’t expect to see much of me at the Giro,” Landis said at a post-race press conference. Landis also has Criterium International penciled into his schedule at the end of this month. If the past few years are any indication, anyone coming out

Steve Hed was one of the first to build carbon fiber wheels – solid carbon discs – way back in the era of Francesco Moser’s hour records. At the time Hed was a partner in Grand Performance, a Minneapolis bike shop, but his interest in wheels and aerodynamics prompted him to sell his share and pursue work in carbon on a full time basis. For many years, Steve and his wife, Anne, ran Hed Wheels out of their house in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Eventually, though, the business literally drove them out of house and home. Indeed, as the business grew, the Heds gave up and bought a new house,

Dutchman Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) won the 41st Tirreno-Adriatico on Tuesday, as Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) sprinted to victory in the seventh and final stage. Petacchi won the 166km finale in San Benedetto del Tronto ahead of Australian Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), Italian Paride Grillo (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) and Norwegian Thor Hushvod (Crédit Agricole). "I didn't want to finish without a stage win," said Petacchi. "My teammates worked well in the final kilometers and carried me until the final 180 meters. I preferred to leave the sprint until as late as possible as

Landis at the start of the final stage of Paris-Nice. He expects a lighter schedule in coming weeks.

Bettini was in great form before the crash.

Steve Hed, last year at the InterBike trade show in Las Vegas

Drilling spoke holes with a CNC router

The Mother Lode

The new Bastogne

The Jet

Some people take Hed's aero' advice quite seriously

The final podium

Petacchi wins as Zabel exults

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 especially liked by Robert Inserni’s “Pure Austin Road Race - Out of Gas.” Come on, how many of us haven’t felt like the fella in the back at one time or another? Congratulations Robert! 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

Tour de France hopeful Jan Ullrich hopes to begin his season next month after deciding to take a pass on the upcoming one-day spring classics. The T-Mobile team leader's first competitive race will be the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe, which starts on April 4. "It is a good Tour to start with as it is not too demanding," said Ullrich. Winning this year's Tour de France, running from July 1-23, is the main target for Ullrich who has finished second on six occasions. Ullrich finished third last year but with seven-time champion Lance Armstrong not taking part this time around the

Italian Leonardo Bertagnolli (Cofidis) on Monday won Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico. The Cofidis rider attacked 800 meters from the line to win the 179km run between San Benedetto del Tronto and Torricella. Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) took second with Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval) third. Dutch rider Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) retained the overall lead as Rabobank controlled the peloton during a day marked by a succession of attacks, crashes and abandonments. Tirreno-Adriatico concludes Tuesday with a 166km stage from Campli to San Benedetto del Tronto.

Pure Austin Road Race - Out of Gas

Bertagnolli celebrates

Floyd Landis won more than Paris-Nice on Sunday. He secured the trust and confidence of his Phonak teammates as they look confidently toward this summer’s Tour de France. His teammates rallied around Landis to preserve his slender nine-second margin in Sunday’s nervous, four-climb finale to win his second major stage race inside a month. And in the process, the team and Landis promoted themselves as one of the favorites for July. "The most important thing was the confidence of the team and their ability to stay focused on the race," Landis said. "As far as confidence for the Tour, this is

Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC) won the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday. Cancellara turned a time of 27 minutes and 37 seconds to win the 20km individual time trial at Servigliano ahead of Belgian Leif Hoste (Discovery Channel) and Dutch rider Thomas Dekker (Rabobank), whose third-place finish was good enough to displace Spain’s Oscar Freire (Rabobank) as overall leader. Meanwhile, the weather has forced organizers to modify Monday's sixth stage, which will now end in Torricella Sicura instead of the hilltop village of San Giacomo. The race concludes Tuesday. Top

Landis takes Paris-Nice and the ProTour lead

Zberg wins the final stage

Overall rivals Vila, Sanchez and Landis

Arrieta and Ventoso have a dig

Contador and Rodriguez

The Col de Porte

Landis took extra care not to fall after slipping at one point

Moncoutie solo

Petrov solo

Moncoutie and Osa chase