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Rodriguez goes it alone

Another unpredictable day in Italia. It's the only way to describe this first week of the 2005 Giro d'Italia, where, yet again, on a stage seemingly set for the pure sprinter, things went horribly wrong. Just as he did three days ago in Tropea, Paolo Bettini (QuickStep) foiled the fast guys' plans, attacking with vengeance on a not-so-straightforward finale, then burying the hatchet with a punchy sprint finish. Or so he thought... Only Baden Cooke (La Française des Jeux) had the legs and the audacity to challenge Bettini, but suspect sprinting tactics from the Olympic road champ

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.Wilcockson revives fond memoriesEditor:Kudos to John Wilcockson for his delightful column about his 62nd birthday road ride around Boulder. As a 28-year-old Colorado native, an avid mountain biker, and the son of a former recreational road racer, I grew up watching the Coors Classic.

What a difference a year makes. Ivan Basso joined Team CSC for the 2004 season, and under Bjarne Riis’s watchful eye, the reserved, almost shy Italian took a major leap forward in his professional career. Last year he was the only rider strong enough to stay with Lance Armstrong in the Pyrénées and earned a stage victory and third-place Tour de France podium for his efforts. Basso has grown out of his shell with Riis, building the necessary skills to forge that “killer instinct” so necessary to win cycling’s grueling three-week grand tours. Basso is now racing in the first week of the Giro

It’s hard to believe that Stephanie Graeter has only been racing bikes for three years. After all, the 22-year-old Graeter – one of Christine Thorburn’s talented domestiques on the Webcor Builders team - has an impressive list of results that women 10 years her senior would be proud to claim. Still, the Fairfax, California, racer is only a college senior, and for the past two seasons has juggled the conflicting lives of a Cal Berkeley student and a professional cyclist. As Graeter will attest, completing two difficult degrees (one in environmental biology, another in German) is not an easy

The common thread we've seen running through the last two stages of the Giro has involved an early breakaway of riders hoping to stay away for the stage win, but falling just short. In the final kilometers of stage 3, the riders passed over a category-2 climb, and indications of who's on form were provided. All the favorites fared well, but a few stood out, like Damiano Cunego and stage winner Danilo Di Luca. Di Luca has had a spectacular start to the season, with two World Cup victories in April. We could see him in the maglia rosa in the next few days, as he is a climber and can

Wednesday, May 11As I mentioned before, this is my first Giro d’Italia. I’ve ridden the Tour de France before, but this is different. On the surface, the racing is much more relaxed. You have the attacks at the start, then maybe a break forms… and then everything is pretty much controlled until the end, when they pull the guys back and then you see this rush to the line. While it is more relaxed on one level, that changes things down the road, so you end up with some moments when you’re totally bored and others when it’s complete panic. Take Tuesday for example. We were pretty relaxed and

Bettini's celebratation was short-lived...

Not in the mood to talk. Cooke declined to discuss the matter.

Vasseur and Pinotti

Time to bring them back...

The 88th Giro d’Italia is already in full flight and there’s no more beautiful spectacle in cycling than the corsa rosa. With its passionate tifosi, its dramatic backdrops and action-packed racing, the Giro is the race of the season for many fans worldwide. While the Tour de France has eclipsed its Italian neighbor in statue and prestige in the past quarter century, the Giro looks to be creeping closer to parity with the French colossus. Thanks to a variety of reasons, this year’s Giro is sure to be more thrilling than the Tour and a much more entertaining race to watch. Look at the

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Well, the maglia rosa only took a day's leave off Paolo Bettini's shoulders before the 31-year-old Italian decided he wanted it again. When stage winner Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) lit it up on the decisive climb of Santa Tecla, Il Grillo simply hopped, skipped and jumped into the lead group, and held his top-10 position all the way to the end. By virtue of his eighth place in Giffoni Valle Piana, Bettini resumed his place at the top of the leader board, nine seconds ahead of Di Luca and 17 in front of defending Giro champion

Will a 31.7mm bar fit a 31.8mm stem?Dear Lennard,What do you think of using a 31.7 diameter road bar with a 31.8 stem? I'm under the impression that it is widely accepted to be okay. to use 25.8 diameter bars with 26.0 stems, and I do this on three of my bikes as I really like Deda bars, but prefer other stems. I would like to change one bike to a Thomson X4 stem and Deda oversize bars.Shane Dear Shane,The oversized handlebar diameter is done on an inch standard, namely 1-1/4”. Well, 1.25 inches is equal to 31.75mm, putting it squarely between the 31.7mm and 31.8mm dimensions. My opinion

We think we've created a monster, albeit a talented monster.As we said yesterday, we thought the response to ourfirst VeloNews.com photo contest was overwhelming, both quantitativelyand qualitatively, but our readers have outdone themselves again.Indeed, so many of you have submitted entries (hundreds of them!) that we've now been forced to put up a gallery each day this week in order to accommodate them all. Yesterday we posted what we thought would be thefirst of maybe three galleries, but as you might guess, that triggeredanother flood of submissions. So it's likely that

Van Hout goes at 8km

A lonely time for Van Hout...

... with this bunch finally swooping him up with 25km to go

The one ranked climb of the day had an impact.

Back in the lead.

Wheelbuilding part one ...

... and part two

Record and Chorus cranks

It was a battle of the bumping elbows on the mean streets of Santa Maria del Cedro in southern Italy, but fearless Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) slipped through unscathed to claim both the win and the maglia rosa. The first 181 kilometers of the 182km second stage along the absolutely stunning Calabrian coast unfolded pretty much as can be expected, but then things got downright ornery as the peloton bore down on the final 1000 meters. There was an outright rebellion as Crédit Agricole and Davitamon-Lotto refused to step aside for Fassa Bortolo and undisputed sprint king Alessandro

Paolo Bettini couldn’t be happier asking scoring his first career Giro d’Italia stage victory and snagging the maglia rosa for good measure in Sunday’s action-packed first stage. The Olympic champion lived up to his signature nickname, the Cricket, and jumped away from the bunch with a perfectly timed attack to derail Fassa Bortolo’s feared Silver Train in the opening stage of the 88th Giro. “Winning everything together -- the first road stage, my first [Giro] stage and the pink jersey -- is great,” said Bettini, who bounced into the lead ahead of prologue winner Brett Lancaster thanks to

Jackson Stewart (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) and Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders) won their respective races in the 32nd Testarossa Vineyards Cat's Hill Classic on Saturday in Los Gatos, California. Los Gatos native Stewart outsprinted his longtime friend, former teammate, and 1998 Los Gatos High School classmate Zach Walker (McGuire-Langdale) for the win. Stewart and Walker, with Ben Haldeman (Webcor Builders) and Glen Mitchell (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada), had broken away with 15 laps remaining. Mitchell lost contact with four laps remaining and drifted back to a chasing trio -

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.Lance talks the talk and walks the walkEditor:Come on, people, whether you like him or not, you have to realize talking trash and backing it up is what has made Lance Armstrong who he is today, way before cancer came along. Think back over the last few years: When Italy's Gilberto

Well you folks never cease to amaze us.We thought the response to lastweek's photo contest was overwhelming, both quantitatively andqualitatively, but our readers have outdone themselves againthis week. Indeed, so many of you have submitted entries, that we'vebeen forced to spread the wealth a bit and add a gallery a day for at leastthe next three days. As we post a host of images over the next few days,we'll be soliciting your opinions - and the opinions of our panel of volunteerjudges - as what your favorites and their favorites might be. On Thursday,we'll announce another

The prologue and the first two stages of the Giro are now completed and the riders are beginning to settle into the rhythm of the grand tour. For the next three weeks, they will pedal, eat, get massage, and try to recover. Being a part of the race is like joining a traveling circus, as everyone moves from one town to the next each day, putting on a show. The same faces appear each day in the peloton, but in a different order, and the ups and downs encountered make each day unique for each rider. The fans along the roadside are often dressed in pink, and even decorate their towns in pink.

I have to say the Giro is really cool. It’s my first time in this race … in fact, it’s the first time for a bunch of guys, everyone from 20-year-old kids, in their first year, up to Erik Zabel, who is making his first appearance at the Giro at the age of 34. He’s done something like 12 Tours de France, but never the Giro, until this year. The ProTour is part of the reason. Every top team has to be here and riders are looking at the season a little bit differently. Instead of spending May training, they come here to help the team, spin the legs and get some nice weather to boot. I figure

Tonkov delivers a win - and a message - at the 2004 Giro.

Hey, who wouldn't be happy?

McEwen emerges victorious

Bettini and his team car were in the pink today

The escape

Lopez de Munain suffered a horrific crash

McEwen in the maglia rosa

Some travel brochure, eh?

Barry and Vande Velde enjoy the stage

Gunn-Rita Dahle wasn't about to lose again. After all, the reigning mountain-bike queen hadn´t lost a World Cup since 2002 until Canadian phenom Marie-Helene Premont ended the streak two weeks ago in Spa. The Norwegian blasted away on the first of five laps and Premont simply didn´t have the legs to follow under a hot Iberian sun on a fast, dusty course in Madrid´s Casa de Campo in front a rowdy, cheering crowd. "I'm a sore loser," Dahle said after crossing the line with bike in hand. "After Spa, I really wanted to win again and I really like this course, so I came here extra

Finishing on the podium Saturday night and just two seconds behind Australian maglia rosa Brett Lancaster, the smart money was on Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) to earn a stage win and take over the leader's jersey at the end of Sunday's 208 kilometer stage from from Reggio Calabria to Tropea. But a short, but steep, final rise to the finish seemed to nearly derail the Silver Train of Fassa Bortolo, opening the door for a well-timed final kilometer attack from QuickStep's Paolo Bettini. Timing his jump to perfection, and reminiscent of the attack that led to his Olympic

It’s not that Julien Absalon and Jose Antonio Hermida don’t like each other. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, they are very good friends. But come crunch time in a big mountain-bike race, there’s no room for feel-good hugs when the victory is prime for the picking. So, with less than one lap to go in the seven-lap battle of attrition in Madrid’s balmy Casa de Campo, the knives came out. “It was like a war out there without borders,” Hermida said after finishing second again to his French nemesis. “Everyone was attacking each other and it was really vicious there in the end, but that’s the

Fedrigo claims Dunkirk; Rodriguez third in finaleFred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) finished third in Sunday's final stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk in northern France. Adam Wadecki (Intel Action) won the mass gallop to wrap up the five-stage race, with Tomas Vaitkus (Ag2r) second. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) finished safely in the main bunch to sew up the overall title. Stage 5 results1. Adam Wadecki (Pol) Intel Action, 165.5km in 3:43:192. Tomas Vaitkus (Lit), Ag2r Prevoyance, same time3. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Davitamon-Lotto, s.t.4. Crescenzo D'Amore (I), Acqua & Sapone,

Since starting “Inside Cycling” a few months ago, I’ve written about dozens of people instrumental in expanding modern road cycling in North America. For many readers, those pioneers are just names on the paper (or screen, in this case). So I feel privileged that I’ve known nearly all of the people I’ve written about in this column, including those who live (or have lived) in my current hometown. Boulder, Colorado, as I hinted last week, has been one of the most influential places in expanding the sport this side of the Atlantic. Among the reasons for its influence — besides it being the

Bettini won by a very comfortable margin

Bettini e buonissimo!

Veneberg tries to go it alone

Dahle roars back to the fore

Premont couldn't hang

Spitz had a slow start, but finished third

Absalon profits from Hermida's bobble

Hermida settles for second in 'a really good race'

Giro Images

Aussie Brett Lancaster (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) put his gold-medal track skills to good use Saturday evening, winning the short prologue to kick-start the 88th Giro d'Italia and grab the first maglia rosa. The 25-year-old from Victoria posted a time of 1 minute, 20 seconds for the 1.15km prologue, run under brilliant spring skies in Reggio Calabria, with Sicily and the brooding Mt. Etna in the backdrop. The course was peculiar for a grand-tour prologue; long and straight, with nary a curve, it was a drag strip for the start of what should be an exciting corsa rosa. But it suited

Tonkov wins in SpainInstead of racing in the Giro d’Italia, Russian veteran Pavel Tonkov won the opening stage of the Clasica de Alcobendas in the suburbs north of Madrid on a hot Saturday afternoon. The 36-year-old won the opening stage of the so-called “mini-Vuelta a España,” which finished with a Cat. 1 climb atop the Puerto de Navacarrada. The “czar” punched the accelerator with 500 meters to go to finish ahead of José Angel Gómez Marchante (Saunier Duval) and Fran Pérez (Milaneza). “I’m very pleased with this victory. I felt my condition improving by the day and today I proved it,”

2005 Giro d'Italia CoverageTime Trial - May 7Stage 1 - May 8Stage 2 - May 9Stage 3 - May 10Stage 4 - May 11Stage 5 - May 12Stage 6 - May 13Stage 7 - May 14Stage 8 - May 15Stage 9 - May 16REST DAY - May 17Stage 10 - May 18Stage 11 - May 19Stage 12 - May 20Stage 13 - May 21Stage 14 - May 22Stage 15 - May 23REST DAY - May 24Stage 16 - May 25Stage 17 - May 26Stage 18 - May 27Stage 19 - May 28Stage 20 - May 29Live CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageREST DAYLive CoverageLive CoverageLive CoverageLive

Giro Images

Lancaster snags the short prologue

Efimkin wins

Runner-up Tosatto

A long sprint to third place for Petacchi

Big Bird meets Super Mario

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