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Egoi Martínez is a rider that not many beyond Spain’s Basque Country have ever heard of. That’s about to change as the 27-year-old is set to join Discovery Channel in 2006. Many expected Martínez to be Spain’s next big thing after winning the 2003 Tour de l’Avenir, but even by his own admission, he’s not a rider that wins come easy. In fact, that victory is the lone win on his palmares. Martínez enjoyed a fine 2004, with strong performances in the Dauphiné Libéré, the Tour de France and the now-defunct Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon. In fact, it’s his strong ride alongside Lance Armstrong’s

Unsung German rookie Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner) delivered a surprise Friday to snatch the 142.9km 19th stage while Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) enjoyed a relatively easy day in the saddle with only two days left in the 60th Vuelta a España. Haussler was all smiles as he streaked through ahead of Swiss national champion Martin Elmiger (Phonak) and David Latasa (Comunidad Valenciana) to win his first professional race. The rolling race through the hills north of Madrid proved a frenetic day of racing for riders desperate to win a stage as the Vuelta rolls into its final weekend of

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.Forget about LA, there’s a race going onEditor:Why are we talking about Lance? Isn't there another grand tour going on right now, with some spectacular racing taking place? What about Heras and his gutsy racing, truly taking risks to take the lead? Not to be outdone, Menchov has

Michael Barry is zeroing in on finishing his third Vuelta a España, but the Discovery Channel rider says the Giro d’Italia is a harder race. Barry rode the Giro earlier this year in support of winner Paolo Savoldelli and the Canadian says he notes a big difference between the three-week tours. “The Giro stages are longer, but this year’s Vuelta is longer than the ones I’ve done before,” Barry said. “In the past the Vuelta has been flat-out racing from the start every day.” Barry enjoyed racing at the Giro, where huge crowds turned out to cheer the peloton every day. A more spirited

Germany's Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) won the fifth stage of the Tour of Poland on Friday. Wegmann outsprinted Filippo Pozzato (Quick Step) and Uros Murn (Phonak) to win the 212km race from Wroclaw to Szklarska Poreba. Italy's Luca Paolini (Quick Step) retains the overall lead by eight seconds over Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) and 12 over Pozzato. American Bobby Julich, meanwhile, finished 10th on the stage and sits 16th overall. Results1. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner, 212km in 5:28:012. Filippo Pozzato (I), Quick Step, same time3. Uros Murn (Slo), Phonak, s.t.4. Danilo Di

After nearly three weeks of racing we are now just two days away from the final stage into Madrid. Today most of the peloton was happy to be rolling off the start line knowing that the race was nearing its end. The night before the start of all races we do during the year, we are given a book filled with maps, altimetry profiles, rules, race history and most everything you can think of that has anything to do with the race we will be competing in the following day. At the start of a one-day classic the "book" is about the size of a two page flyer you might get in the mail. At the start of

Mammoth Mountain, California - For the second-consecutive year, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) stormed to the men’s professional cross-country national championship. After riding two laps at the front of the field alongside Adam Craig (Giant) and Walker Ferguson (Scott USA), on Friday, the 27-year old Horgan-Kobelski launched his decisive attack near the summit of the day’s long climb. “My plan coming into this race was to put in a huge effort on the second or third lap,” Horgan-Kobelski said. “I wanted to get a gap and hoped to demoralize some people. I think I stuck to the

Martinez, with Paolo Bettini at the 2004 Tour (Stage 8 between Lamballe and Quimper, 11 July)

Think Haussler's happy?

Just another day at the office for Heras and Liberty

Gerdemann and Garcia Quesada work the escape

Haussler leads the break

Garcia Quesada tried a solo

But it was Haussler and Elminger fighting it out at the end

Vuelta Notebook: Barry thinks Giro's tougher; Saiz touts Vuelta; González irked with Phonak; what's next

Race favorites JHK and Adam Craig at the starting line.

A real master: We hope you realize that Overend is now eligible for AARP membership.

Vanlandingham gave chase after an unfortunate flat

I know, I know. Whatever race I am in, whether it is Redlands or the Tour, it is always hardest race on earth. Yes, of course it is always relative, too: Relative to your condition, weather and even to your state of mind. If it is an easier race then you push yourself to kill the others and if it is hard like Wednesday then you hang on and do what you can when and where possible. Some of the teams here are so strong that they are playing battleship with the race. Sending guys up the road to wait for their leaders to bridge from the field and then upon connecting with one another dropping

Only Two Days Left to Win Lance signed TdF Jersey and More!There are only two days left in Scott Coady’s online raffle to benefitthe Lance Armstrong Foundation.  For a $50 donation directly to theLAF, you will have a chance to win an amazing Tour de France memorabiliapackage including a Lance and Discovery Channel team signed jersey, Lancesigned LIVEStrong bracelet, a water bottle used by Lance at the Tour deFrance and a limited addition Lance lunchbox produced by Trek.To date, 70 tickets have been sold so your odds of winning are fantastic. The raffle ends THIS FRIDAY, SEPT 16TH AT

Sometimes it’s cruel that only one rider can win a stage as spectacular and attack-laden as Thursday’s 18th stage in the 60th Vuelta a España. Nicki Sörensen (CSC), Javier Pascual Rodríguez (Comunidad Valenciana) and Chente García Acosta (Illes Balears) went mano a mano in the 197.5km, five-climb march over the final hard mountains of this year’s Vuelta and the Dane came out the winner. The three were the survivors of a 16-man breakaway on a day that saw no major shifts in the overall standings. Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) retained his 4:30 lead with just three stages to go in the 2005

The former president of the German Cycling Federation (BDR), Sylvia Schenk, has hit out at the UCI for what she claims is the organization’s willingness to “brush aside” the Lance Armstrong affair. Schenk, who has been at loggerheads with UCI president Hein Verbruggen for the past few months, said cycling's world ruling body is only interested in finding out who leaked information about the alleged positive doping tests of the seven-time Tour de France winner, and not in the case itself. The German official told reporters that Verbruggen is more intent up finding the source of leaks

Italy's Daniele Bennati (Lampre) won the fourth stage of the Tour of Poland Thursday, held over 213.4km between Inowroclaw and the western town of Leszno. It was Bennati's second stage win in the tour after he crossed the line first in Tczew to claim the second stage on Tuesday. Bennati's compatriot Luca Paolini (Quick Step) earned his fourth consecutive runner-up spot in Thursday's stage to further consolidate his overall race lead. Results1. Daniele Bennati (I) Lampre, 206km in 5:22:512. Luca Paolini (I),Quick Step, same time3. Angelo Furlan (I), Domina Vacanze, s.t.4.

The Phonak team has attracted more unwanted publicity after it refused to allow one of its Spanish riders, Santos Gonzalez, to start the 18th stage of the Vuelta a España following an internal doping control. A Phonak team source told AFP that Gonzalez, who was sitting eighth in the general classification, was refused a start "because during a control he was over the permitted limits set by the team." No further details were divulged to the press, although the team's brief statement suggests that Gonzalez's haematocrit (red blood cell) level may have been near or above the permitted

World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound said Thursday that UCI president Hein Verbruggen was the source of documents linking anonymous urine samples to Lance Armstrong, revealed three weeks ago by the French newspaper L’Equipe. A UCI statement issued late Thursday confirmed that the agency had released a single document to L’Equipe reporter Damien Ressiot, adding that it had done so with the permission of Armstrong himself. Where does the finger point?In conference call with reporters on Thursday, Pound referred to an as-of-yet-unreleased letter from Verbruggen that acknowledges

Christian Vande Velde stuck his nose in the wind in Thursday’s stage, leading the peloton over the final hard climb of the 2005 Vuelta a España up the Cat. 2 Puerto de Navalmoral. The 29-year-old CSC rider was looking to get a head start on the peloton in case there were any dangerous attacks from Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears), the Spanish rider who’s trying to take third place away from Carlos Sastre. "I knew that Mancebo was going to attack again and it was better to get ahead of the storm so I would be there for Carlos," Vande Velde said while he was getting a massage post-stage. "It

The Phonak team has attracted more unwanted publicity after it refused to allow one of its Spanish riders, Santos Gonzalez, to start the 18th stage of the Vuelta a España following an internal doping control. .A Phonak team source told AFP that Gonzalez, who was eighth overall in the general classification, was refused a start "because during a control he was over the permitted limits set by the team." No further details were divulged to the press, although the team's brief statement suggests that Gonzalez's hematocrit (red blood cell count) level may have been near or above the

Travis Brown (Trek-Volkswagen) and Gretchen Reeves (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) rode to national-championship titles in the 100km marathon Thursday at Mammoth Mountain, California. Held on a fast 22-mile loop that spun its way around Mammoth Mountain, the marathon featured single-track and fire roads so loose and dusty that all racers sported dirt-smeared faces after only one of three laps. Defending champ Reeves made winning look easy, opening a big gap from the gun. After one lap, she sat comfortably ahead of second-place Monique Sawicki (Team Mata), the recently crowned 2005 NORBA

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong confirmed Thursday that he had granted permission to a L’Equipe journalist to scour doping records from the 1999 Tour de France, adding that he had been misled in doing so. Armstrong held a press conference Thursday on the heels of commentsby World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound, who said that thepresident of the Union Cycliste Internationale had released key documentslinking the American cyclist’s name to at least six positive doping testsfrom the 1999 Tour de France. Armstrong acknowledged that he had granted L’Equipe reporter

One of the last big showdowns of the Vuelta is over and now all there is left is the time trial on Saturday. Today, as predicted Mancebo attacked on his home turf but to no avail-he was unable to gain time on his rivals up the final major ascent of the Vuelta. It is a shame OLN didn't cover the race this year as it was an exciting race which raced through some beautiful countryside back home. Levi Leipheimer e-mailed me this morning and said he was disappointed he missed the live coverage of the race on TV. Maybe next year.... Tom and Stijn did a great job today and Tom was able to

Stage 18: Should be fun

Vande Velde and compatriot

Sorensen takes the two-up sprint

Vande Velde took a jump to be up front when Sastre needed him

Garcia Acosta gave it all he had only to come up short

You race past one Spanish fortress, you've raced past 'em all

Now that's what we call 'bridging'

Perdiguero and Pereiro work the break

Pereiro and Quesada

Liberty kept the bunch under control

The peloton slithers along

No worries for Heras today

He looks like a lock for a fourth Vuelta crown

Vuelta Notebook: CVV, Sorensen enjoy a good day; González re-ups; Bettini bails; what's next

The Vuelta a España might be all but over as far as the fight for the overall victory is concerned, but the battle is still on for the final podium spots. Race leader Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) only had to follow the wheel Wednesday to protect his 4:30 lead and watch the other top riders duke it out in the four-climb, 165.6km 17th stage. "Another day done," Heras said after finishing ninth in a small chase group. "My teammates were sensational and I felt good. The race was very fast with a lot of attacks, but we controlled them without problems." Carlos García Quesada (Comunidad

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.How about a non-Tour comeback?Editor:What if Lance did come back, but didn’t race the Tour? How would the French like to see Lance in the Giro or the Vuelta? Television coverage in the States would shift. Advertisers would follow. Everyone loves the Tour de France, but LA fans will watch

Jaan Kirsipuu (Crédit Agricole) won the third stage of the Tour of Poland, held over 212km between Ostroda and Bydgoszcz on Wednesday. Italian Luca Paolini (Quick Step) consolidated his overall lead by finishing second. Max van Heeswijk (Discovery Channel) crossed third. "It was the kind of finish I like," Kirsipuu told Reuters. "There was a small climb and the wind was blowing against us. I decided to stay behind Max van Heeswijk and to follow his pace. With 200 meters to go I made my move and I passed him." Results1. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Crédit Agricole, 198km in 5:38:092. Luca Paolini

Alejandro Valverde is fit enough to make the world road race championships later this month and has been selected for the Spanish squad, the Spanish Cycling Federation's coach said Tuesday. "I've spoken to him and I think he'll be in the best possible condition," said coach Paco Antequera, who said Valverde's indubitable will to win was an additional factor in his decision. Valverde, who rides for Illes Balears, missed the Vuelta a España following a bad knee injury suffered in the Tour de France, where he won a stage. His presence will cheer a Spanish formation already

Crank Brothers Rolls out U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Series, Version2.0On the heels of a monumentally successful premiere edition last year,title-sponsor Crank Brothers has returned for a second helping of NorthAmerica’s most dynamic cycling series: the 2005 U.S. Gran Prix of CyclocrossSeries. The six-race series, starting October 8 in Portland, OR, will makestops in the thriving hotbeds of American cyclocross throughout the fallseason, with the overall series champions crowned November 20 in San Francisco,CA. Working in conjunction with USA Cycling, series winners will punchtheir tickets to

It’s been a long racing season for America’s mountain bikers. The NORBA National Championship Series is over, as is the UCI World Cup; the world titles were decided last week. But it’s not time to hang the bike in the garage - not with the 2005 U.S. mountain-bike national championships scheduled September 15-18 at the Mammoth Mountain ski resort in California. Though other national championships are long since in the books, the U.S. national championship remains, the last major fat-tire race of the year.

I arrived at the Discovery team hotel last night to be greeted by some seriously tired faces. There are three teams here and on each team I saw the same, the tired look did not differentiate between the riders who are leading the race and those that have been suffering at the back. They are nearly at the end of three weeks and the mental and physical efforts have taken their toll. It was a but sad to see only four riders at the Discovery team dinner table last night, but what was even crazier was to see the staff to rider ratio, which is 1:3 at the moment. Unfortunately, the team has had a

Garcia Quesada takes the win

Heras followed the wheels

Liberty gives chase

Danielson at the finish. He has preserved his top-ten spot.

Vande Velde and Danielson

Devolder leads the first escape

Heras and Beloki make for a formidable pair

Quesada left Mancebo and Gonzalez soon after

Sevilla on the attack

Quick Step’s Paolo Bettini was forced to dig deep to win the 16th stage of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday. The 2004 Olympic champion almost ran out of space as Fassa Bortolo’s feared sprint ace Alessandro Petacchi, who has already won four stages in this year’s Vuelta, came surging up on the outside at the end of the 162.5km stage from Leon to Valladolid in northern Spain. Already the winners of four stages in this year's Vuelta, Petacchi's Fassa Bortolo team lost control of the stage on a slight ascent close to the finish and Bettini made his move 300 meters from the line, narrowly

CYCLING COMMUNITY UNITES TO HELP IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANE KATRINASeptember 9, 2005Boulder, CO - Pro cyclists around the world join VeloNews and 3 CatsPhoto to raise funds for the American Red Cross and Hurricane Katrina.In light of the tremendous tragedy in New Orleans, Mississippi and otherGulf States, cyclists from Ivan Basso to Tim Johnson signed and donatedteam jerseys for an on-line auction on Veloswap.com. Additionally, USACycling has donated an official USA National Champion jersey that is currentlytraversing the USA garnering signatures from Davis Phinney, George Hincapie,Freddie

Heras: ‘Race not over yet’Roberto Heras enters final stretch of the Vuelta a España enjoying his largest lead ever in his three previous victories. Heras and his Liberty Seguros team blew apart the Vuelta in Sunday’s climbing stage, putting the three-time champion back into the driver’s seat with just five days left to go. “I will enter the final week with tranquility, confidence and, above all, humility,” Heras said during Monday’s rest day. “I have a lot of respect for my rivals and, just like we saw when I fell last week, the race is never over until you reach Madrid.” Heras entered

Italian Daniele Bennati (Lampre), won the second stage of the Tour of Poland on Tuesday. Bennati outsprinted compatriots Luca Paolini (Quick Step) and Francesco Chicchi (Fassa Bortolo) to win the 226.5km stage from Tczew to Olsztyn. Paolini took the race leader’s jersey from stage-1 winner Baden Cooke (Française des Jeux), who slipped to second at two seconds back with Bennati third in the same time. Wednesday’s third stage will be held over 212km between Ostroda and Bydgoszcz. Results1. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 226,5km in 5:54:372. Luca Paolini (I), Quick Step, same time3. Francesco

Digital Production ManagerSports Publisher seeks talented/detail-oriented Digital ProductionManager for VeloNews, Inside Triathlon & Ski Racing magazines. Strong project management and publication production experience required.Must have a minimum of 2+ years experience in print production (magazinepreferred). Excellent organizational, time management, multitasking, problemsolving, project management and strong verbal & written communicationskills. Must be able to proof, postscript and PDF all outgoing pages for4+ publications to various printers. Also responsible for layout of

Dutch veteran cyclist Erik Dekker on Tuesday ruled himself out of the world road race championships, which begin in a week, due to an ongoing injury to his collarbone. Dekker, who has won several stages on the Tour de France, fractured his collarbone on August 20 after a crash in the Tour de Rijke. "The lack of competition I've had because of the injury - which isn't fully healed - means I have to rule myself out of selection," said the 35-year-old Rabobank rider. Dekker was supposed to return to the fray at the Tour of Poland on Monday but has flu and a sore throat. The men's

A Canadian mountain biker has been suspended for two years after testing positive for EPO, the Canadian Cycling Association said Tuesday. Chris Sheppard, 32, showed traces of the drug at an out-of-competition urine test at his home in Kamloops, B.C., on May 29, the association said. EPO is a drug that builds endurance by boosting the amount of oxygen-rich red blood cells. It is the same substance that American star Lance Armstrong has been accused of using at the 1999 Tour de France. Armstrong has denied the allegation. Sheppard has competed for Canada internationally and rides

The flat days are misleading in Spain, as I have now learned after racing the Vuelta four times. They are usually in the wide-open countryside and the racing is nervous and not as easy as a bike rider might imagine a flat stage to be. We woke up this morning, ready for a stage without a hill but with about a dozen corners in 160 km and a lot of wind on open stretches of prairie. As we rolled out of Leon, the start town, towards the official start banner on the outskirts, the peloton was already nervous and expecting the race to open up from the gun. It did, and never really relented until

What knee?

The day's only major break never got more than a minute up the road

Another few meters and...

Once the break was caught, the pace mellowed considerably

Heras: Cautiously optimistic?

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.Armstrong’s jerking chains with comeback taleEditor:Lance Armstrong is not seriously entertaining the notion of riding in the 2006 Tour de France. He is justifiably furious at the French press and the Tour management and is simply jerking their chains. Johan Bruyneel's perpetuation of

Baden Cooke (Française des Jeux) won the opening stage of a glitch-marred Tour of Poland on Monday. The Aussie won a bunch sprint at the end of the 149km stage from Gdansk to Elblag, outkicking Luca Paolini (Quick Step) and Francesco Chicchi (Fassa Bortolo) after more than three hours of racing. The Polish tour, making its debut as part of the UCI ProTour, got off to a dubious start when Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile) - who was only 48 points behind Pro Tour series leader Danilo Di Luca of Italy (Liquigas-Bianchi) in the individual rankings - was one of four riders from Kazakhstan who did

Tom Danielson has one week to go before finishing his first grand tour of his young European career. The Discovery Channel rider is sitting comfortably in the top 10 at eighth overall at 12:05 back. The 27-year-old struggled through a bad stomach in Friday’s stage that nearly took him out of action ahead of this weekend’s epic climbing stages across northern Spain. Danielson struggled through it and now he enters the final week more motivated than ever to finish strongly. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with Danielson during Monday’s rest day in León. Here are excerpts

MADRID, Spain (AP)- Three cyclists have denied a French newspaper report accusing them of testing positive for EPO during the 1999 Tour de France. Le Journal du Dimanche reported Sunday that Spanish rider Manuel Beltran, Denmark's Bo Hamburger and Colombia's Joaquim Castelblanco are suspected of being among those whose frozen urine samples reportedly tested positive at a French laboratory. Last month, the French sports daily L'Equipe reported that six urine samples provided by Lance Armstrong were among 12 specimens that were positive for EPO during the 1999 race. Armstrong, a

The second rest day has arrived and is now nearly gone. Today however was a real rest day, unlike our last “rest” day where we spent a good portion of the day traveling in the team cars. Yesterday, Liberty Seguros rocked the race and flipped the standings in their favor with Roberto now in gold. Not only did their team dominate the stage but also Roberto completely crushed all of his rivals. It is hard to explain how fast he went uphill, how fast the stages have been the last few days, and how strong the Liberty team has been since the start. Despite crashes and losing a rider, they still