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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

ProTour leader Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) did yeoman's work on the gravel steeps of the Colle delle Finestre

But race leader Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) rode his own race and took back time from the attacking trio

When Di Luca cramped and fell off the pace, Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) pressed his advantage, dogged by José Rujano (Selle Italia-Colombia)

But it would not be enough - Simoni will finish second in Milan

The stage went to Rujano . . .

. . . and the maglia rosa stays with Savoldelli

The madness of the Finestre

Ivanov and Niermann get an early start on the day's suffering

Savoldelli's fans

Watching the race on big-screen TV at the finish

Jeanson cranks it up

It was slow going for much of the day

Jeanson wasn't sure this one would stick

Amber Neben

Wood now leads the World Cup

Gaggioli tries her hand

The latest Photo Gallery in our on-going photo contest has now been posted for your viewing pleasure. Last Week's WinnersWell, actually we just couldn't make up our minds... Firstoff, Jeff Schweninger's "VueltaFans 2004" underscores just how spectacular the sport ofcycling can be. Despite the fact that there isn't a single bike racer inthis photo of fans lined up to watch the 12th stage of the 2004 Vuelta,you can sense the anticipation of what will be happening as the pelotonreaches the winding roads that climb to the Observatory complex at CalarAlto. (In case you forgot,

Paolo Savoldelli and other Giro d’Italia contenders must be quietly thankful that Ivan Basso had his stomach problems. If the Team CSC captain hadn’t come down with a crook stomach and lost 40 minutes over the Stelvio, this Giro very well could have been all but decided a week ago instead of being one of the most exciting in a generation. For the second day in a row, Basso blazed to an impressive stage victory, this time roaring to the first major time trial victory in his career in Friday’s 34km race against the clock in the hills around Torino. “These stage victories make up for the

When 23-year-old Markus Fothen returns home to his parents' farm near the Dutch-German border after the Giro d'Italia, the Gerolsteiner rider will be a different man. Before the Giro, which marked his grand-tour debut, he was a young, albeit very talented rider trying to get used to the hardships of pro racing. But if he holds onto his 12th-place spot in Milan, he will have to live with the expectation of becoming the next big thing in German cycling, the idol of German fans in the era after Erik Zabel and Jan Ullrich. His greatest moments during this Giro, Fothen says, came during

Sunday's eighth annual CSC Invitational will unleash a host of national and international cycling champions upon the streets of Arlington, Virginia. Part of USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar, and the second event in the American Criterium Championship Series, the race will pit men and women against a five-turn, 1km circuit. The 50km women’s race is shaping up as a battle among former winners, with 2004 victor Gina Grain (Victory Brewing) facing 2003 champ Laura Van Gilder (Quark) and two-time winner Ina Teutenberg (T-Mobile). A pair of runners-up also will take the start - Shannon

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.Lament for NYC raceEditor:It is very disappointing to hear that the NYC championships have been "postponed.” It was a wonderful race. This is another example that Mayor Bloomberg and his office are only interested in sport and the Olympics as an excuse to bully the city into building the

Cyclist Randy Dreyer of Chapel Hills, North Carolina, has accepted a two-year suspension for using a prohibited stimulant, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Friday. Dreyer tested positive for phentermine on August 22, 2004, at the USCF-USPRO Criterium Championships in Downers Grove, Illinois. Phentermine is a prohibited stimulant under the USADA Protocol and the rules of the Union Cycliste International (UCI). Dreyer, who had been provisionally suspended since November 1 of last year, accepted USADA's decision Monday. The suspension will be retroactive to November. Dreyer also forfeits

The competition for the maglia rosa has been tight throughout the Giro d'Italia, and it should reach a climax on Saturday during stage 19, one of the most challenging mountain stages of the race, finishing in Sestriere. With Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) and José Rujano (Selle Italia-Colombia) dropping race leader Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) and edging a little closer to the lead in Thursday's mountaintop finish, and then Savoldelli regaining the lost time in Friday’s time trial, it is hard to predict who will have the lead in Sestriere. Although CSC’s Ivan Basso lost

Well, Ivan has sure proved himself over these last two days, hasn’t he? We had a great team meeting on Thursday morning and we decided that we’re still here to fight and that we were just going to take the bull by the horns that day and not let anyone else dictate the race. Sure it makes sense for us to say that, but you have to admit, after last weekend, it’s something of an act of faith for the guys to believe that, but they did. Really, we were kinda going into the unknown on Thursday. Ivan said he felt good, which was a good sign, but still it means that the other guys really have to

Basso rides to his second consecutive stage win

Taking third, Savoldelli padded his lead going into Saturday's crucial mountain stage

Zabriskie raced his stars-and-stripes skinsuit into third on the day

Is Simoni still within stricking distance?

Karpets has been picked to play a big role for Illes Balears at the Tour. He showed why on Friday.

Basso showed fine form

Once dominant in time trials, Serhiy Honchar could only manage sixth

Dario David Cioni takes fifth

Fothen showed great form on Friday

Ivan Basso won’t win this year’s Giro d’Italia, but a stage victory high in the Italian Alps sent a warning shot to anyone thinks the 27-year-old Team CSC leader gives up easy. Basso doggedly refused to quit despite ceding 40 minutes to what were his fellow overall contenders up the mighty Stelvio last weekend and then roared back to the winner’s circle Thursday with an emphatic solo win in the 194km 17th stage. “I never considered quitting the Giro. I came here to win and when my physical problems wouldn’t allow that to happen, I had to change my focus to winning a stage,” said Basso, who

Third brake lever on CSC’s TT bikesDear Lennard,From the UK - watching the TT at the Giro on Eurosport the other day I noticed CSC were running what seemed to be a third brake lever on the aero’ extension. Can you give any insight to this, as there is nothing on the team website - i.e., would it be wired up like a 'cross lever? Why hasn't anyone done it before and so on?Stuart Dear Stuart,A number of people wrote me about this. A lot of people with sharp eyes out there! Yes, David Zabriskie and Ivan Basso placed 1-2 using Cervelo P3s (one aluminum, one carbon) with a second

Stupidity: stu·pid·i·ty n1. lack of intelligence, perception, or common sense2. extremely rash or thoughtless behavior I have a cartoon on the corkboard above my desk that I look at nearly every single day. Drawn by the great New Yorker cartoonist Bruce Eric Kaplan (BEK), the scene features a man and woman standing at a cocktail party, holding martinis. “I was reading somewhere that people are stupid,” the woman tells her companion. For some reason I’ve always loved that cartoon. Maybe it’s because of the absurdity of one person telling another person that she’s read a book, written by a

After the second Giro d’Italia rest day, the competitors were eager to race in stage 16. From the start, the pace was very high and groups of riders were flying off the front. Race leader Paolo Savoldelli’s Discovery Channel teammates had their work cut out for them, as they could only afford to let riders go up the road if they posed no threat to the maglia rosa. The team was forced to chase, and with the help of Fasso Bortolo, which preferred to keep the bunch together for sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, they managed to keep the riders in check until Discovery allowed a group with the right

Basso flies to the finish

CSC's Cervelo P3 with a third brake lever

The right lever cable loops around, up the left extension tube, down the right one and through the third lever to the brake caliper

Dede and Michael Barry

Dede and Lennard Zinn

Carpenter/Phinney camper Tracey Adams with Connie Carpenter

A track bike, with its clean lines, sans brake levers and cables, is a thing of beauty - unless you've never ridden a fixed gear down a steep hill

Basso bounces back to win

Di Luca loses ground

Savoldelli held onto the lead, but by a slimmer margin

Cunego and Lampre marshal the chase

Schleck and Basso storm onto the final climb

Garate and Savoldelli woked together to minimize the damage

Halgand and Sutherland helped break things up on the Madonna del Colletto

Basso seems fully recovered, no?

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Simoni and Rujano scoot out of the gruppo maglia rosa

It’s amazing to think a Frenchman hasn’t won a stage in the Giro d’Italia since Laurent Jalabert did so in in Lumezzane in 1999. That’s a sign that,France isn’t the cycling powerhouse it used to be.That the Giro had truly become a national tour that attracted little attention beyond the Alps.Some combination of the twoIt may be the third choice, since both factors are probably a little true, but the Giro is growing in stature and French cycling seems to be slowly on the rebound. A whole new crop of young French riders are making their presence felt in the peloton. Wednesday’s 210km

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.Photo contest recalls love of cyclingEditor:After reading countless letters about this doping scandal and that, my feelings for cycling have become twisted. Seeing all the beautiful photographs sent in as part of your contest reminded me why I love cycling. It’s not about Lance, Tyler,

WASHINGTON -- Athletes in the four major US professional leagues would be subject to the same two-year bans for a first positive drug test now handed out to Olympic athletes, under legislation proposed Tuesday that would put the sports' steroid policies under the White House drug czar. Arizona Sen. John McCain joined fellow Republican Tom Davis of Virginia, the House Government Reform Committee chairman, and ranking Democrat Henry Waxman of California in introducing the Clean Sports Act of 2005. It's the second recent bill that would establish minimum, standardized steroids policies

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve received several e-mails from people asking whether I’m alive. So it’s clear, I am way overdue with a report. The last month or so has been rough, both physically and mentally. Three-quarters of the way through April, while racing here in Bern, Switzerland, in a 1.9.1 UCI race, I had a bit of misfortune. On the last lap, while trying to move up through a corner, I found myself staring at a median and a pole, straight ahead. I tried to move to the right to avoid it, but the field had spread out too much in the turn and there was nowhere to go. A second after

MONTEREY - Sea Otter Classic LLC announces the departure of its chief operations officer/chief marketing officer Rick Sutton. Sutton spent 13 years with Sea Otter Classic LLC and leaves to become the vice president of retail sales at Specialized. Rick Sutton said about his shift: "As I change my focus from helping cycling events grow to helping Specialized dealers grow, the Specialized president, Mike Sinyard, has provided me the time to smoothly transfer my knowledge and responsibilities, ensuring that Sea Otter and Cougar Mountain will continue to prosper. And I am confident that the

Le Mevel celebrates his win

Zabel the cover boy

Savoldelli rides safely in the bunch