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Wow - what a Giro we're seen so far. After two individual time trials, eight road stages, and 1592 kilometers, the top 10 riders overall are separated by two minutes and 11 seconds, the top 20 by 3:48, and the top 50 by 8:29. That last figure alone can be lost on one bad day in the mountains. Heck - it can be lost on one ’Big Bird’ turns pink flamingo. It all started when that character known as “Big Bird” – a.k.a., 25-year-old Australian Brett Lancaster (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) - decided to ditch Sesame Street that evening and ride down the Lungomare Italo Falcomata in Reggio

The rest day and come and gone. I am not sure just how rested I feel and now Stage 10 is on the horizon. I have mixed feelings about rest days. First off, I am not all that sure that they help you that much. In a way, I’d like it if we just got on with it and went home one day earlier. On the other hand, you do need a little respite from the stress of bike racing, just to relax. In that sense, the rest day is “rest” in the psychological sense than it is the physical. Still, I did sleep for two hours this afternoon, so I guess I was a bit tired, after all. One thing about the rest day is

Di Luca has the jersey - how long can he hold it?

A day at the office

If at first you don't succeed... Try, try again. That's the motto being adopted by Fassa Bortolo, who, after several failed attempts, finally got their Silver Train in motion, sending Alessandro Petacchi to the line for his first stage victory of the 2005 Giro. It would have been a travesty if he didn't win. With wide-open streets and generous corners, the stage was tailor-made for his team to deliver their man in fine form to the line. And that's exactly what the team managed to do on Monday, at the close of a 139km race from Firenze to Ravenna. With his lead-out men

Although no cyclist from the University of Colorado stepped atop the podium at the NCCA Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships in Lawrence, Kansas, the team as a whole posted enough top-10 finishes to wrap up the Division I team omnium title on Sunday. After the women’s team of Molly Hummel, Kelly Murphy, Sarah Levy and Melissa Thompson finished third in Sunday’s 12-mile team time trial and the men’s squad of Collin Becker, Josh Bezecny, Taylor Kneuven and Adam Blanchard finished seventh, the Buffaloes topped Cal Berkeley by 36 points. It’s the first team omnium road title for CU

A new technical criterium at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, Arkansas, proved the undoing of Jelly Belly-PoolGel as the 28th annual stage race concluded on Sunday. Scott Moninger (Health Net) leapt into first place on general classification after finishing a close second to Garrett Peltonin (Advantage-Endeavor), who won the fourth and final stage. Health Net sent Chris Wherry and John Lieswyn out to an early lead in the 90-minute race, building a 40-second gap on the main field. Teammate Greg Henderson bridged up as Jelly Belly led a furious chase, decimating the peloton. About

When Greg LeMond and Jonathan Boyer became teammates on Renault-Gitane at the start of 1981, there were expectations that America’s top two riders would form a winning alliance. But their contrasting personalities and different styles of racing saw them grow apart rather than connect. Although Boyer was the first American to ride the Tour with Renault that year, he soon moved with another American, John Eustice, to Sem-France Loire, a French team led by Irish star Sean Kelly. At the same time, LeMond established himself as the heir apparent to Bernard Hinault at Renault. After winning the

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.Where are Zabriskie’s stars and stripes?Editor:Congratulations to David Zabriskie for his fantastic performance in the first Giro TT. I am disappointed, however, that unlike the Europeans, Zabriskie was not wearing a national-champion skinsuit. Zabriskie should be recognized for his

Andy Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage) and Ann Trombley (Excel Sports) stood atop the final podium at the Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Sunday, a double-stage day that began with a brutal hill climb and ended in a furiously contested criterium. Racing began with the morning’s Sunshine Canyon Hill Climb, a 9-mile stage that climbed 3300 feet. In the men’s race, Chris Baldwin (Navigators Insurance) initiated the winning move early on the first steep pitch. “There were six guys left, and I’m like, ‘God, this is the race,’” said. Andy Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage), who took second in front of Mitch

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Sunday May 15, 2005 -Yesterday (Saturday) was a tough day...I had a lot of flashbacks of riding with Lance and Johann.Obviously we didn't have the jersey, yet. We weren't even planning ontrying to get the jersey, but we had decided as a team to make a statement,so we spent most of the day up front – not chasing an unthreatening break– but riding up there to show that Ivan and the team are here to play offenseand not to be put on the defensive. Ivan and Bjarne are also being verycareful to keep him out of trouble.Thestage was crazy, with its crosswinds and wet roads, so our

The day's escape went early

Krauss and Christensen continue on their own

Coming down the Muraglione

The chase is on...

Still in the lead, Di Luca keeps the jersey on the first rest day

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Forty five kilometers is more than enough to sort out the men from the boys and on Sunday the man of the moment turned out to be an American by the name of David Zabriskie, who blazed into Firenze under the Tuscan sun at a fantastic average speed of 46.140kph. It was the second grand tour stage win for this Utah native, who now spends his European summers in Spain and winters in California. His first came not so long ago, on Stage 11 of the 2004 Vuelta a España, where the 26-year-old staged an audacious, 162 kilometer solo adventure of suffering - and then did the incredible by actually

Day two of the 2005 NCCA Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships saw riders tackle the 23.2-mile loop around Perry Lake, roughly 20 miles outside of downtown Lawrence, Kansas. The relatively flat course featured a handful of rolling hills, and the varied terrain matched with gusty winds made for a variety of results at the finish line. The women’s Division I road race managed to stay clumped together throughout the entire two-lap, 56.4-mile ordeal. Early in the race they were packed tightly enough to send several riders to the tarmac, including last year’s road-race winner, Stephane

Anderson, Eposti take stage 2 in BoulderKim Anderson (Colavita-Cooking Light) outsprinted Mari Holden (T-Mobile) to win stage 2 of the Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Saturday, while Paul Eposti (Haul n’ Ass) caught a lead trio napping and slipped past for the victory in the men’s race. The 8.5-mile Boulder-Roubaix circuit, which was mostly dirt, wrought a fair amount of havoc among the peloton. No follow vehicles were allowed, though three pits were set up along the circuit, so when Ann Trombley (Excel Sports) flatted in the early going of the 42.5-mile women’s race, teammate Maatje

A delighted Miller

Abbott meets the press

Western Washington University's 1-2 punch

Basso's performance moved him out ahead of the major GC contenders

Savoldelli takes third

Zabriskie takes Giro TT, Di Luca holds on to jersey

Zabriskie takes Giro TT, Di Luca holds on to jersey

Karpets' strong performance moved him up on GC

Di Luca keeps the jersey for another day

Today, the rolling hills of Tuscany left their mark on the 2005 Giro d'Italia, as the first successful breakaway saw 27-year-old Liberty Seguros rider Koldo Gil triumphant in Pistoia. It was a beautiful victory on an ugly day; not just due to the overcast, rainy weather, but for the Sammommé climb that split the peloton into pieces, and most likely dashed the hopes of more than a few overall contenders. Just 12 riders finished 20 seconds in arrears of the victorious Gil – Damiano Cunego (Lampre), Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi), Mirko Celestino (Domina Vacanze), Patrice Halgand

The first week of the Giro is finished. The parcours has not been particularly tough in comparison to what lies ahead in the next two weeks, but the riders have still faced many obstacles. With nearly 200 riders heading into the rather technical finishing kilometers of the first week’s flat to rolling stages, many fell victim to crashes. Stages 4 and 6 were particularly messy in the final, with several crashes causing injuries, abandons and lost time. It is amazing to see fallen riders leap up and jump back onto their bikes. They never want to quit. Even when the injuries are bad, the

After two days of rain swamped the streets of Lawrence, Kansas, the NCCA Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships opener on Friday was a seminar in crash avoidance, and not everyone passed. “It was pretty crazy for the entire race. I just tried to stay at the front and stay out of trouble,” said Stanford’s Amber Rais, who won the 60-minute women’s Division I race in Friday’s Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Criteriums, run on a rain-slick, L-shaped, mile-long course in downtown Lawrence. After local hero Steve Tilford started the day off with a victory in the 45-minute open crit, the hourlong

Baldwin, Holden win Boulder Stage Race kickoffChris Baldwin (Navigators) and Mari Holden (T-Mobile) won the opening stage of the 2005 Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Friday, a short individual time trial that took in the hardest sections of the old Morgul Bismarck course outside Superior, Colorado. Baldwin was the only rider to post a time under 16 minutes for the hilly TT, which climbed 1100 feet in seven miles, ascending the fabled Wall, Hump and feed-zone hills. Baldwin covered the course in 15:42, besting teammate Phil Zajicek by 29 seconds, with Tim Duggan (TIAA-CREF) third at 34

Gil savors his win

Uhl hoped to stay out of trouble - and got the bronze

Brandenberg's bike - or what's left of it

Baldwin blazes the Boulder opener

Holden gets set to start

A big bunch leaves early in the day

Michael Barry made the break

The group was trimmed to three... and then to one

Chasing duties fell to CSC for much of the day

Rujano caught all but Gil by the top of the day's biggest climb

Cunego leads an elite group in 20 seconds after Gil takes the stage

Basso lost some precious time

Simoni thins out the herd

Di Luca is back in the jersey

As we've already mentioned several times now, so many of you have submitted entries (hundreds of them!) to our WeeklyPhoto Contest that we've now been forced to put up a gallery eachday this week in order to accommodate as many as we can. If we missed you this week, try again next week, please. Today'sGallery is now available for your viewing pleasure. We'll keepthis up all week and announce a winner on Friday. Just so we can handle what we've got, we must ask that you do not submit any more photos for this week's contest. We will begin accepting new submissions on

When the sprint is rough, tough, tight and twisty, there's only one person you should bank on. Despite missing the entire spring due to a virus, speed demon Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) is just about back to his best form, winning today's crash-filled finale in Marina di Grosseto with apparent ease. In fact, in a rare show of generosity, the 32-year-old Queenslander tried to give the stage to his fellow Aussie and loyal lead-out man, Henk Vogels, soft-pedaling in second wheel with a kilometer to go, and allowing Vogels to surreptitiously sail off the front. It was a great move,

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.Can’t beat Bay Area/SacramentoEditor:To Neal Rogers: I couldn't resist commenting on your well-written Boulder/Orange County article. I believe everything you and others say about Boulder as a cycling Mecca, but having lived in the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento area since 1993, I

Who can remember the last time the maglia rosa swapped shoulders every day in the first seven days? We can't. But it's good. Actually, it's great; it means this ProTour thing is working. There's certainly a stronger field of sprinters, as shown by Alessandro Petacchi's lack of success to date. And Fassa Bortolo fan or not, you have to admit it's great to see a new depth to the Giro. But to derail the Silver Train, the other sprinters' teams have brought along quality gregarios, unafraid of fighting the Fassas in the final kilometers, so it's a deeper field

I am officially out of touch with the outside world. I had no idea that they evacuated the capitol and the White House the other day because of what they thought might be some kind of terrorist attack. I don't even know what day that was... heck I don't even know what day this is. My daily concerns tend to focus on just a few things: eating, sleeping and spending the stage helping to keep Ivan out of trouble here and there. We've already done one week of racing and when we're not on the bike, we're often looking for something – anything – to do. That's especially

McEwen wins as Fassa falls

Bettini's back in the pink . . .

. . . displacing Di Luca

Hesjedal was one of the day's victims

And the Fassa choo-choo jumped the tracks once again

Another day at the office

With a few of the tifosi a little disheartened by what they saw on Wednesday, some may have been hoping to see another of their guys in pink. Well today, Danilo Di Luca gave them their wish. After his performance in L'Aquila, the 29-year-old darling of Italian cycling has surely won all the hearts of his countrymen. As they did at Pais Vasco, Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne and two days ago in Giffoni Valle Piana, his Liquigas-Bianchi team rode their hearts out, setting Di Luca up perfectly for the final kilometer and in a finale like Thursday’s, the speedster from Spoltore proved

My colleague John Wilcockson’s recent column, “Boulder cycling and its mountains,” got me thinking about all of the velonews.com readers who have never been to Boulder, or ridden anywhere in Colorado. Readers in places like Pennsylvania, Oregon, Florida, Wisconsin or British Columbia, who think their local riding and racing is just fine, thanks. Readers who may be sick and tired of hearing yet again about the “promised land” of Boulder. I know how they feel. I used to be one of them. This had nothing to do with Boulder, or even cycling. My irritation was with the surfing mecca that is

It’s the day before the 2005 collegiate road nationals, and already the Kansas clouds have offered up a blustering tempest that would send Dorothy and Toto running for cover. Less than 20 hours before the start of Friday’s race, the entire Manhattan-Topeka-Lawrence area is under an extreme thunderstorm, flood and tornado warning. Still, more than 500 collegiate cyclists – ranging from rosy-cheeked freshmen to bearded doctoral candidates – have descended on the University of Kansas’ hometown in preparation for Friday’s Sunflower Criterium, which spins a 1-mile, L-shaped loop near downtown

Score two stage wins for the man who leads both the Giro and the ProTour.

The Boulder area's fabled Morgul Bismarck course got the Hollywood treatment in American Flyers, for the two or three people who actually saw the movie

'Off Road to Athens' comes to Boulder on Saturday. Don't expect to see Kevin Costner in this one

Bettini needed to let off a little steam.

Thursday was potentially dangerous, happily uneventful

The daily ritual begins

Simoni and Garzelli stayed low key for most of the day

Danielson is looking toward the mountains.

Rodriguez goes it alone