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During training before the fourth round of the World Cup cross-country in Willingen, Germany, riders were calling the course boring, not a mountain-bike course. It also was considered the hardest course seen on the circuit this year, due to its steep, long and loose gravel climbs. Come race day on Saturday, it certainly lived up to its reputation for difficulty, and while it was not very technical, the course ended up providing some exciting racing. The pro men’s and women’s races both were decided by less than a minute, with Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida) taking her third win of the

Three days after he became the first American to earn a world pro road championship medal, the silver, at Goodwood, England, in September 1982, Greg LeMond began the Tour de l’Avenir (Tour of the Future) as the hot favorite. Then 21, LeMond was hungry to win a big European race, not least because he was about to renegotiate his contract with Cyrille Guimard’s Renault-Gitane team. LeMond had already established himself as a budding stage-race rider by winning Colorado’s 1981 Coors Classic in his rookie year, then following up with a string of excellent finishes in early 1982 (second at the

Armstrong hunting victory to take into TourLance Armstrong has admitted that his bid for a seventh consecutive yellow jersey on his final Tour de France in July could come unstuck by his recent lack of racing and victories. This week, Armstrong will race the Dauphiné Libéré, which with the June 11-19 Tour of Switzerland is a crucial warm-up before the three-week Tour. In either race, contenders for victory in July usually find out exactly where their form lies. Armstrong, however, has not had the sort of pre-Tour season he would have hoped for. He left Paris-Nice early in March due to

Can Fast Freddie win a fourth USPRO title?

Dahle said she had to dig for this win

Sauser took his first World Cup of this season

Lampre-Caffita sees the future and it includes Damiano Cunego, but not Gilberto Simoni. According to a report in L’Equipe, the Italian team will extend Cunego’s contract for three more years while Simoni be allowed to leave the team despite finishing second in last month’s Giro d’Italia. Simoni and Cunego have often clashed on Lampre and the former incarnation of the team, Saeco. Simoni, who was already rumored to be in negotiations with Domina Vacanze for the upcoming season, criticized the work of his team during the Giro, above all Cunego, who he said let him down. Cunego responded to

Lance Armstrong makes his penultimate start as a professional bike racer at the 57th Dauphiné Libéré June 5-12 in what will be his final warm-up before the 2005 Tour de France. Armstrong’s European return and a climbing stage up Mont Ventoux highlight the 2005 Dauphiné, which should be one of the most exciting races of the season. The 33-year-old hasn’t raced in Europe since the Tour of Flanders in April and will be among the favorites for the eight-day race, which includes a spectacular course across the French Alps. In addition to the legendary Ventoux, there are two time trials (prologue

Lapierre Ultimate Cycles (member of Accell Group, leading European bike group), has officially opened a branch office in North America, and plans on distributing a complete line of road and mountain bikes starting in October 2005 at Interbike. After an investigative trip to the States in April for the Sea Otter Classic, Gilles Lapierre, Managing Director, officially appointed Brett Lindstrom as Sales and Marketing Manager for the US Market. Headquarters will be located in Boulder, Colorado, a geographic hub for the U.S. cycling community. Brett comes to Lapierre with extensive knowledge in

T-Mobile’s reaction to Paolo Savoldelli’s victory in the 2005 Giro d’Italia was characteristic. Mario Kummer, Rudy Pevenage’s successor in the team car, proved to be a poor loser. “Savoldelli did 10 races for us in two years,” Kummer said. “We paid him his salary throughout his injuries, and when his contract was up, he didn’t even consider our new offer.” Analysis It was bad timing for the airing of dirty laundry – it would have been far more graceful to congratulate Savoldelli on his magnificent comeback and save the rest for later. And Kummer’s remarks also revealed a skewed vision of

Round four of the cross-country World Cup takes place tomorrow in Willingen, Germany, followed on Sunday by the second stop on the downhill/4-cross circuit. Willingen is a new host to the World Cup; however, the ski village at the foot of the Ettelsberg is home to the BIKE-Festival, now in its eighth year. The festival attracts some 3000 participants for the marathon event, and boasts that it is one of Europe's biggest bike expos. So far, reviews of the courses have been mixed. The downhill and 4-cross runs are drawing rave reviews for their big-air jumps, although there is a concern

Coming off a broken hip in March at Tirreno Adriatico, American Chris Horner (Saunier Duval), the top rider in USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar rankings the past three years, returned to racing on Tuesday in Lancaster, where he finished sixth. He again took sixth in Trenton Thursday, showing his Spanish team directors that he’s on the mend and eager to make his first trip to the Tour de France. A win, or a strong showing, in Philadelphia on Sunday could go a long way to make that happen. We caught up with Horner to pose the questions everyone’s been asking about the Tour and the USPRO

Paolo Savoldelli, Erik Zabel and Santiago Botero - of the three, only Zabel remains with T-Mobile

World champ Dahle would have liked more single-track

Saul Raisin is back on the bike and preparing for the upcoming Tour de Suisse (June 11-19). The 22-year-old Crédit Agricole rider said he’s been training normally for two weeks following an incident in the opening stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk in early May. A motorcycle knocked him off his bike during the stage, injuring his hip and collarbone. “I am training and riding again. I have been riding on the road for two weeks now and my first race back will be the Tour of Swiss,” Raisin told VeloNews. “I have no set goals but just to finish and help my team as much as possible. It is good

Hi Bob, My bike was stolen from my property and the insurance company has asked for the original purchase receipt. The bike was a gift from an ex-girlfriend and I don’t have contact with her and therefore cannot produce a receipt. Am I out of luck? Ron D. Dear Ron, I am assuming you have made a proper claim with your insurance carrier and that you have standard homeowner’s coverage. You are not required to produce the original receipt in order to recover for your loss. You should go to a shop that sells the make and model of bicycle that was stolen and ask if they can provide a

For immediate release: June 2, 2005World Champion Katie Mactier Joins T- Mobile TeamJune 2, 2005. San Luis Obispo, CA.- T-Mobile Professional Cycling today announced that Katie Mactier, the 2005 World Pursuit Champion and OlympicSilver Medalist has joined their top ranked international women's team.“Katie is a tremendous athlete. Her speed, power, and tactical skillsmake her an excellent addition to our team” said Andrzej Bek, DirectorSportif for T-Mobile Professional Cycling.Mactier, an accomplished road and track cyclist, won the World Championshipin the Pursuit earlier this year in Los

Sports publisher seeks an experienced , detail-oriented managing editor for VeloNews, the Journal of Competitive Cycling. Responsibilities include working with editors, designers and freelancers to coordinate assignments, copy and art under tight deadlines. Must have strong editing, writing /re-writing, budgeting and proofing skills, and experience in scheduling and staff management. 2+ years experience in a similar position at an accelerated frequency magazine and/or newspaper required. Knowledge of competitive cycling essential. Résumé and cover letter: Attn Human Resources, Inside

There’s a saying that’s come en vogue these days that’s applicable across many horizons in life: When it’s on, it’s on. And for the domestic Health Net-Maxxis team, the Wachovia Cycling Series has been on. The team followed up its win by Greg Henderson in Lancaster Tuesday with another sprint win Thursday evening in Trenton, New Jersey, this time coming from cagey veteran Gord Fraser. Add in Ivan Dominguez’s win at the CSC Invitational in Arlington, Virginia, on May 29, and the powerhouse team has taken three sprint wins in three consecutive races with three different riders. Looking at the

Another near miss for Rodriguez

Julich and McCormack slip off the front

Lotto in pursuit

Fraser celebrates another Health Net win.

Jelly Belly puts in an effort for Candelario and McCook

Horner concedes that Health Net is hard to beat in a sprint.

Van Den Broeck

Dutchman Marc Lotz has been sacked by his QuickStep team for taking blood-boosting drug EPO, the ProTour cycling outfit said on Wednesday. The 31-year-old Lotz admitted in a judicial inquiry that he had taken EPO recently. Later on Wednesday, police announced that an unnamed Dutchman was being held for questioning for suspected sale of doping products, including to Lotz. Agence France Presse Zabriskie on track for Tour?Dave Zabriskie’s impressive Giro d’Italia performance could get him a ticket to the Tour de France. The 26-year-old Utahan won a time trial and finished third in another as

Press Release: Discovery ChannelDiscovery Channel Celebrates Its Pro Cycling Team With 'Watch With TheWorld' Programming Event, THE SCIENCE OF LANCE ARMSTRONGIn-Depth Global Special Takes Viewers into the Power and Physiologyof Armstrong's Physique and Training; Premieres June 27 in 160 Countriesand 35 LanguagesSILVER SPRING, Md., June 1  -- Gearing up for the July 2start of the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong's historic final attemptto win a seventh title, Discovery Channel presents an exclusive hour-longspecial, THE SCIENCE OF LANCE ARMSTRONG, to premiere in

Former Phonak rider Tyler Hamilton has filed an appeal to world sport's top tribunal to overturn a two-year ban for blood doping, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced on Wednesday. Hamilton, who won an Olympic gold medal in Athens just weeks earlier, tested positive for homologous blood transfusions – the injection of red blood cells from another person - during the Vuelta a España last September. Following a lengthy hearing in March, the U.S. anti-doping agency handed down a two-year suspension on April 18. Hamilton’s suspension expires in April of 2007,

Michael J. Ross, M.D., team physician for Jittery Joe’s-Kalahari andrace doctor for the U.S. Pro Tour, will give a presentation on the scienceof cycling at Cadence Performance Cycling on June 4,7:30 p.m.Dr. Ross will talk to cyclists about how to tailor workouts to theirown unique physiology and then answer questions after the presentation.Ross will also sign copies of his new book, Maximum Performance for Cyclists,on sale at Cadence for $18.95. Maximum Performance for Cyclists guidesreaders through the steps of individualizing workouts, making sound nutritionalchoices, and planning for

LONDON (AP) The World Anti-Doping Agency has told its accredited laboratories to modify testing procedures for the banned steroid nandrolone. In the last several months, WADA said it has come across ``very rare cases'' of so-called ``unstable urine,'' which could produce a positive finding for nandrolone. WADA has asked its labs to conduct ``stability tests'' if there is a positive nandrolone finding. If these tests reveal unstable urine, the positive result will be annulled. In a statement, WADA defined unstable urine as a chemical reaction that ``may occur in a

Spanish police have arrested 70 people, breaking up a drugs network that made and trafficked anabolic steroids for sports use. According to the Interior Ministry, six drug manufacturing laboratories were raided in north-eastern Catalonia province where police discovered 30 million products, including the stimulants EPO, clenbuterol and nandrolone following an undercover investigation dubbed "Operation Mammoth." Although the products are designed to increase muscle mass they can have potentially lethal side effects. The products were destined for sale to gyms, sports and fitness clubs at

Lance Armstrong will be back in the peloton Sunday for the start of the Dauphiné Libéré, his final tune-up before a run at a seventh Tour de France crown. As the Tour nears, Armstrong took a look at his likely teammates. The Texan will be tackling his final Tour without the help of veteran teammate Viatcheslav Ekimov, who injured his back in a training spill with Armstrong last month. Assured places for the July 3 start of the Tour are George Hincapie, the only rider to be a part of all six of Armstrong’s previous Tour victories, Spanish riders Manuel Beltran and Chechu Rubiera and

Park City, Utah, and USA Cycling are hosting the second annual ParkCity Cycling Festival '05, June 21through July 2. The complete programfor the event is included as a special section in the latest edition ofVeloNews. We are also pleased to offer it in itsentirety in PDF form here on VeloNews.com

Lancaster, Pennsylvania- Heading into June, the big wins just keep coming for the Health Net Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis. Coming off Ivan Dominguez’s win at the CSC Invitational in Arlington, Virginia, on May 29, Health Net came in to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on May 31 for the 91-mile opening round of the three-race Wachovia Cycling Series as the undisputed top team in the U.S. And the team lived up to its reputation, putting four men into the race-winning 14-rider breakaway and setting up New Zealander Greg Henderson for a bunch sprint victory, beating American national champion

Armstrong's final Tour tune-up begins Saturday

Henderson

Despite his troubles, Rodriguez was still there for the final sprint

Horner was motivated

The final stage of the Giro d'Italia is traditionally a parade into Milan, followed by a series of fast circuit racing leading up to a massive field sprint and this year held true to tradition. The riders lined up in Albese Con Cassano, a small town on the edge of Como decorated in pink to start and then paraded towards Milan, with a stop for gelato and cookies along the way. T he mood was relaxed and the Discovery team staff served champagne to all the other team cars in the caravan during the race. Everything was going smooth until Sean Yates got a flat tire in the first Discovery

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.Simoni can’t face up to his own failuresEditor:Perhaps like most others in recent years, I anticipated this Giro only its completion would bring us that much closer to the start of the Tour. I had some hope that Simoni might do something special and that the “underdog” might get past some

MILAN, Italy- (AFP) - Paolo Savoldelli's face looked anything but that of an angel as he struggled to hold on to his pink jersey on the penultimate day of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday. But the 32-year-old Italian, who won the race for the second time in Milan on Sunday, is not known as the 'falcon' for nothing. As Gilberto Simoni led a threatening three-pronged attack in the company of Danilo Di Luca and Jose Rujano on the tough Finestre climb on the race's 19th stage, Savoldelli was left trailing and had lost the race lead - at least at that point on the road. Once

Somerville, New Jersey - A trio of trackies came out on top in the62nd running of the Tour of Somerville on Memorial Day, with Snow Valley-SealOn’s Kyle Wamsley netting the team its first NRC win. It was a win that Snow Valley had been looking for since the beginningof the season, when the standout elite development squad from Marylandmade the jump to the professional ranks.“It’s outstanding,” said Wamsley of taking some pressure off the squad.

Paolo Savoldelli’s imminent victory in the 2005 Giro d’Italia is a combination of cunning, strength and luck. Even by his own account, Savoldelli admits he wasn’t strong enough to blow apart the race. Yet he’ll take his second Giro victory within four years. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood sat down with Discovery Channel’s Sean Yates before Sunday’s final stage to get the inside story on Savoldelli’s remarkable victory. Here are excerpts from the interview: VeloNews: What was it like sitting in the team car listening to Paolo having some difficulties?Sean Yates: It was

For once, there wasn’t a surprise in the Giro d’Italia. Sunday’s 119km final stage unfolded just like everyone expected, with Alessandro Petacchi riding the fumes of his Fassa Bortolo train to his fourth stage victory of this year’s corsa rosa. Beyond that, there was hardly a day where something unexpected didn’t happen. From Ivan Basso’s stomach problems to Damiano Cunego’s collapse to José Rujano’s near revolt, the 88th Giro has packed plenty of surprises per kilometer. “This victory has been very satisfying because it was a very challenging and interesting Giro,” said Paolo Savoldelli,

The Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home team sent a powerful message Saturday at the Kelly Cup, the pro men’s event of the Baltimore BikeJam in Patterson Park. The squad took four of the top five spots in Maryland, spearheaded by winner Aaron Olson and runner-up Mark McCormack. New Zealander Glen Mitchell (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) was third. The top trio was part of a five-man break that went away just a few laps into the race, 40 laps of a 1-mile circuit. After a warm, sunny morning, the race began in a windy downpour as an afternoon storm blew through the city. Bad weather, the subsequent

Michael Carter and Karen Kingsley won the 34th annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road race on Saturday, a Colorado monument with 5500 feet of climbing over its 47-mile course between Durango and Silverton. The 42-year-old Carter (Colorado Velo) emerged triumphant from a three-man battle with Mitch Moreman and the apparently immortal Ned Overend, who were racing for the new Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory team. As Carter assaulted the 10,660-foot Coal Bank Hill, Moreman and Overend struggled to hold the pace. Carter reached the summit first, shot down the wicked descent, climbed alone up

Rain gear is usually more critical at Houffalize than sunscreen, but on Sunday riders were wilting in 30-plus degree (Celsius) heat and choking on dust during the third round of the mountain bike World Cup. But the Belgian bakery didn't cook Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida), who took her second consecutive victory over the women's field, to extend her lead over Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects). In the men's race, there was a new face on the top step of the podium - Marco Bui (Full Dynamix). Bui stormed away from the field, as he has done in both previous

ARLINGTON, VA – Ivan Dominguez (HealthNet Maxxis) and Laura Van Gilder (Team Quark) out sprinted their respective break-away companions to win the CSC Invitational on Sunday. Dominguez was the last sprinter standing in a four-man break formed only thirty minutes from the finish. Break mates Kirk O'Bee (Navigators), Ivan Stevic (Aerospace Engineering-VMG) and Bobby Julich (CSC), after trying several times to attack the HealthNet sprinter, could do nothing more than watch Dominguez power out of the last turn and throw his bike across the line for the win. Van Gilder nipped Ina Teutenberg

Carter soloes to his second victory in the Iron Horse

Savoldelli toasts his victory

Savoldelli mistakes the winner's trophy for a podium girl

The final podium

Zabel runs out of real estate as Petacchi takes the stage

Ahh - that's more like it

Simoni was critical of defending champ Cunego, saying he could have used more help from his young teammate in the mountains

Dahle was unstoppable once more

Spitz fought her way into second

McConneloug bounced back from a bad start into fifth

The men start . . .

. . . and Bui finishes

Dominguez powers to a win

Woman to woman - Van Gilder gets the edge

Julich gets a good reception at his sponsor's showcase event

And then there were four

Saturday’s larger-than-life battle over the gravel roads of the Colle delle Finestra was a fitting ending to what’s been an epic Giro d’Italia. Discovery Channel’s Paolo Savoldelli saw his maglia rosa come under fire in the grueling 190km 19th stage after Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) and Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) attacked hard up the fearsome Finestra, but he clawed back to save his second Giro victory in four years with just one day left in the 88th corsa rosa. “I don’t feel like a great Giro champion because I don’t attack and make a dramatic showing like the other Giro

Saturday's stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia was an epic battle for the final podium, with more than one memorable moment along its 190km route between Savigliano and Sestrière. Here are a few of them as captured by the photographers of Agence France Press.

Well, we tried to get another one, but this time it just didn’t work out. We did a lot of work today and chasing that early break from like 30 kilometers or so and pulled the peloton all the way to the base of the Finistere. At least we got to that point… after that, I dunno. The plan today was to do pretty much what we did on Thursday, when Ivan pretty much rode everyone off of his wheel. That and yesterday showed us all that Ivan was capable of doing it, it’s just that he didn’t really have it today. Frankly, after these last couple of days, it really, that shouldn’t come as that big of a

Stage 19 was a nail-biter to watch - all the protagonists were fighters, giving every ounce of energy on the road. Discovery’s Paolo Savoldelli looked to be in danger on the Colle delle Finestre, steadily losing time to Lampre’s Gilberto Simoni, Selle Italia’s José Rujano and Liquigas’s Danilo Di Luca, but he fought back, flew down the descent and chased all the way up the final ascent into Sestriere and essentially won the race, as Sunday’s final stage is sure to be a parade commandeered by the sprinters in the final meters. Rumor has it that on the final stage of the Giro, townspeople stop

Always the crowd pleaser, Canadian Genevieve Jeanson surprised a few people and turned a few heads when she pulled off another World Cup win in Montreal this weekend. She won Saturday's race in similar style to her 2004 victory, taking the win with an uphill sprint finish in the final 300 meters of the race. The international women's field of just under 100 riders found the 12 lap, 99.6km event to be something of a race of attrition. The field stayed together for the first 10 laps of the race, despite a series of early attempts to break away. The attacks that did happen were futile

Savoldelli clings to a 28-second lead over Simoni with one stage remaining

Rujano wins

Di Luca leads the attacking trio on the Finestre

Savoldelli battles back

Rujano makes his move