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Parade Lap - Stage 1

Race Start Stage 1

Saul Raisin

Andrea Tafi

TIAA-CREF plotting and planning at the start Stage 1

One of the few fast moments in Tuesday's stage

Hunter takes slooooooow Georgia opener

Bowman gets sage advice from team guru Jonathan Vaughters

For Tafi, it may seem like retirement started early...

Armstrong had a safe and easy day

Profile Stage 2

Map Stage 2

Phil and Bob ready for commentary

Bus Stage 2

Kabush

Image files - info Tour de Georgia

Image files - info Tour de Georgia

VN View

Street2

Steven

Finish

Julich

Navs

Rudy Pevenage, the Belgian sport director and trainer who’s worked with Jan Ullrich since his amateur days, says his German pupil is in his best form since he won the Tour de France eight years ago. “He’s made great progress since January. He’s had his best preparation for the Tour de France since 1997,” Pevenage told the German wires. “We did a lot of quality work in Tuscany in February and March. Jan has got good base miles in his legs.” Just a year ago, Ullrich was forced to not start Flèche Wallone after being behind in his training due to illness and being overweight. This season has

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 the jerseys – study the ridersEditor:I offer a friendly tip to all these VeloNews readers who are still wondering who won the Roubaix 'cause everyone's little outfits look so similar: Stop looking at the jersey, people, and pay attention to the rider! George is the big

Initially choking on his words, six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong dropped the bombshell Monday afternoon that the cycling community has been speculating on for years: that after a bid for an attempt at an unprecedented seventh Tour de France victory, the 2005 Tour will be his last. Flanked by his Discovery Channel team director and longtime advisor Johan Bruyneel at a pre-race press conference for the Dodge Tour de Georgia, Armstrong wasted no time announcing his decision to retire on July 24th, the final day of the 2005 Tour. After sitting down, Armstrong cleared his

In a split decision, a three-member arbitration panel from the American Arbitration Association/North American Court of Arbitration for Sport (AAA/CAS) has ruled that former Phonak star Tyler Hamilton is guilty of homologous doping - transfusing another person’s blood - and ordered the 34-year-old American suspended from competition until April of 2007. The panel handed down the maximum sentence for a first-time doping offense, ordering that Hamilton begin serving that suspension on Monday and forfeit any results earned on or after the date of his positive test, September 11, 2004, the

Ullrich during the third stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe, April 7th.

Armstrong plans to say goodbye to cycling at the end of the '05 Tour.

The end of an era: Armstrong to retire after '05 Tour

Olympic hero or doper? Two-thirds of the review panel votes for the latter.

Consistency has never been a problem for Australian gravity racer Jared Graves, but until Sunday morning the Yeti-sponsored rider was lacking the standout win to add to the national titles and string of downhill podiums he has accumulated the past few seasons. On Sunday Graves edged out British downhill star Steve Peat (Team Orange) and world champion Fabian Barel (Kona-Les Gets) to take the downhill race at the Sea Otter Classic. Barel’s Kona-Les Gets teammate, three-time British downhill champion Tracy Moseley, won the women’s downhill race. Power, pacing and the right choice of gear were

American racer Chris Horner (Saunier Duval-Prodir) will be forced to sit out the upcoming Dodge Tour de Georgia, as well as next month’s Giro d’Italia, due to a broken hip. The hairline fracture on Horner’s left hipbone occurred at stage 2 of Tirreno Adriatico on March 10th. After returning to the U.S. following Setmana Catalana, where Horner finished 16th overall, an initial MRI revealed the fracture. At that time, he was told he could continue training on the painful injury, and that it should be healed in time for next week’s Tour de Georgia. But soon after, a panel of experts reviewed

Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton is expecting an arbitration decision in his blood doping case as soon as Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. With the decision - and a possible two-year suspension - imminent, Hamilton continued to deny wrongdoing. "I didn't blood dope, that's for sure," he told the newspaper. Hamilton presented his case in late February and early March to hearing conducted by a three-member panel of the North American Court of Arbitration for Sport and the American Arbitration Association. Rumors have abounded for the past seven days, with many

After sucking on the fumes of Alessandro Petacchi all week, Aussie sprinter Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros) finally got a stage victory in a hard-fought battle in the final day of the 42nd Vuelta a Aragon in Spain. Petacchi, a winner of two stages in the five-day Aragon race in his return to racing since Milan-San Remo, faded out of contention in the heated final sprint more than a minute back on a gradually climbing finish to Illueca at the end of the 139km stage. Davis, who finished second twice to Petacchi earlier this week, showed off some strong finishing skills on the deceptively steep

On Saturday, Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) followed up his pre-race promise to ignite a mid-race afterburner by flaming out feet from the finish line of the short track. Sunday, few thought the 28-year old Canadian would be brash enough to make a another pre-race promise, but before the 36-mile long cross country, Kabush announced that he had a similar battle plan. “I’ve come in third and second this week. I’m going to take risks and either win it or go down trying,” said Kabush, who decided to run an unconventionally skinny pair of tires, weighing only110 grams, on the course. “It’s a risk, but

You can’t help but feel the anguish of Michael Boogerd. Although he did win the Amstel Gold Race in 1999, by narrowly outsprinting Lance Armstrong, Rabobank’s lanky Dutchman has since been the runner-up no less than four times. The cruelest of those second places came on Sunday, when the latest man to beat him to the line was Danilo Di Luca, the revitalized Liquigas-Bianchi team leader who last week won the Tour of the Basque Country.

Start List for the 40th edition of the Amstel Gold Race(as of Saturday April 16, 2005) * = ReserveProTour TeamsGerolsteiner1. Davide Rebellin (I)2. Andrea Moletta (I)3. Ronny Scholz (G)4. Fabian Wegmann (G)5. Peter Wrolich (A)6. Markus Zberg (Swi)7. Heinrich Haussler (G)8. Thomas Ziegler (G) * Marcel Strauss (Swi) * Beat Zberg (Swi)Davitamon-Lotto11. Serge Baguet (B)12. Leon Van Bon (Nl)13. Johan Vansummeren (B)14. Aart Vierhouten (Nl)15. Christophe Brandt (B)16. Bjorn Leukemans (B)17. Axel Merckx (B)18. Preben Vanhecke (B) * Mario Aerts (B) * Koos Moerenhout (Nl)Quickstep21. Kevin De Weert

For struggling racers, figuring out the logistics of getting to a far-off start line can be every bit as challenging as the race itself. Travel and accommodations present the two most crucial elements in race planning, and a perceived lack of either can make the difference between a result and “what could have been.” With ridetimes.com, one racer has developed what he hopes will help alleviate this scenario for North American bike racers: a centralized database of host housing and carpooling for events across the country. Kevin Hankens, the founder of ridetimes.com, saw the need for a

To celebrate the 40th edition of the Amstel Gold Race, the Dutch organizers are hosting this weekend as many of the past winners as could come. Among those who could accept the invitation are the inaugural 1966 winner Frenchman Jean Stablinski, now a septuagenarian, and the event’s most prolific winner, Dutchman Jan Raas, who won the race five times between 1977 and 1982. The Amstel champion who has traveled the farthest, literally from halfway around the world, is 1983 winner Phil Anderson. “This is the first time I’ve been back since I retired,” said the bronzed Aussie, who’s growing his

A few weeks ago, organizers of the Sea Otter Classic road stage race decided to change the course on the final road stage in hopes of sparking more action for a climactic finale. That objective was achieved, and if the final stage was much more difficult than in years past, that’s just fine with overall winners Doug Ollerenshaw (Health Net-Maxxis) and Kristin Armstrong (T-Mobile). For each, Saturday’s arduous final stage, which took riders from the start at the Laguna Seca Raceway into the surrounding hills of Fort Ord, overlooking California’s Monterey Bay, proved decisive. For the

After an ambitious off-season spent training and racing down under in the Australian summer, Aussie Trent Lowe (Subaru-Gary Fisher) entered the 2005 season expecting early victories. After a slew of podium finishes and near-wins at the two opening NORBA nationals, Lowe finally snagged his first win of the season at Saturday’s Sea Otter Classic short track. “This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole year. I came over here in really good form and I came so close to Geoff (Kabush) so many times,” he said. “I think this is showing that my form is starting to come back. The work of the summer

Rebellin hopes to repeat his 2004 Amstel victory

Ollerenshaw and the Health Net boys were in good shape up front . . .

. . . until they got the word that Stevic was on his way up, closing a six-minute gap all by himself

That meant it wouldn't be Fraser's day

Instead, Ollerenshaw attacked the break, and got the stage and the overall

Wherry, meanwhile - GC leader going into the stage - may have suffered from a bit of course confusion

Gaggioli has a go with an early break in the women's race

But once Teutenberg caught and passed the break, Pic and Thorburn launched a chase of their own

But the day would go to Armstrong, who hit the climb fresh and ready to rock

Boogerd launches his attack on the Cauberg

Thick as pea soup...

Freire

Moreau and Thijs kept up the effort for nearly 200km

Etxebarria on the attack

On the Cauberg

Today was the first day of the Sea Otter Bicycle Classic in Monterey, California. This has always been one of my favorite races. I love the atmosphere. It is the only race on the calendar where we have both mountain biking and road racing. It creates a carnival-type scene, complete with a great expo, where sponsors and exhibitors have tents set up so spectators can browse and buy. Okay, so you get the picture – lots of bikes, tents and people. But what really sets the Sea Otter apart from other races is its location. The race is held on the Laguna Seca Speedway, which for most of the year is

I was in my office on Boulder Wednesday afternoon wondering what I was going to write about this week when the phone rang. “Art Valencia here,” said the Spanish-accented voice on the other end of the line. “Do you remember me?” “Of course,” I replied, “Tour of Baja.” I met Art in the early 1980s at the sorely missed Tour of Baja in Mexico. Art was the promoter of the weeklong event (and its main benefactor) for seven years. So, yes, I remember Art. He’s now 68 and retired, but still enjoying the many bikes that always hung in the garage of his suburban home near San Diego. “I’m still

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. The Outdoor Life Network will carry live coverage of Lance Armstrong's April 18 press conference at approximately 3 p.m. Eastern time, following OLN’s live coverage of the 2005 Boston Marathon. As to just what Armstrong plans to announce, speculation has ranged from his

Rebellin: Don't expect a repeat of '04Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) lines up Sunday at Amstel Gold Race as defending champion, something he’ll do all week during the Ardennes run, which also includes Flèche Wallone and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Last year, Rebellin became the first racer to sweep the Ardennes treble, but he says repeating the feat is unlikely. “To have the same success I had last year I believe is almost impossible. These are races I like very much, but what happened is once in a lifetime,” Rebellin said earlier this year. Rebellin has had some close calls this year,

At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, German Michael Rich has made an improbable career as a time trialist. Dating back to his participation in Germany’s Olympic gold-medal-winning team time trial squad at the Barcelona Games in 1992, the 35-year-old Gerolsteiner rider has missed out on the world champion’s rainbow jersey five times – three times in the individual time trial, and twice when it was contested as a team event. On the eve of Paris-Roubaix, I sat down with Rich to ask him his thoughts on Roubaix, the controversial finish at the recent Ghent-Wevelgem and about his unusual preparation for

Lance Armstrong will look to hone his form for the 2005 Tour de France in the 57th Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, a demanding, weeklong race in June that the American has won twice before going on to claim victory in the Tour. Organizers on Friday announced the route for the June 5-12 race, which should have the 33-year-old American salivating with anticipation – in addition to a climb up the legendary Ventoux, it has a time trial that is slightly shorter than the Tour’s 55km time trial around Saint Etienne, to be held on the penultimate day. It’s the Tour’s only true time trial, barring the

It’s the toughest job in sports—riding for Lance Armstrong in pursuit of a Tour de France victory. But as Michael Barry demonstrates, it is also the most rewarding.A member of the U.S. Postal team from 2002 to 2004, Michael rode in support of Lance Armstrong, Roberto Heras, and George Hincapie, among others. Now he opens the door to reveal what life on the U.S. Postal bus was really like. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet Michael and purchase "Inside the Postal Bus" at the event. Michael will sign books on Sunday, April 24, at the Roswell Bicycles expo booth immediately following the

Chains rarely left the big ring during the 2005 Sea Otter Classic’s off-road time trial on Friday as riders powered through the short, technical course around Laguna Seca Speedway. Friday’s course was trimmed to two miles from last year’s six to keep the general classification closer going into Saturday’s short-track cross country, said Jeff Frost, part of the management team that runs the NORBA schedule. “We wanted a tighter, faster course this year,” he said. “Last year the time gaps were a little too big on the course, which went all over the place.” Last year’s course spun riders out

Michael Boogerd and Erik Dekker have a job on their hands if they are to win the only Dutch one-day classic in the 27-leg Pro Tour series, the Amstel Gold Race, which takes place Sunday in Maastricht. Boogerd, the winner in 1999, and reigning Paris-Tours champion Dekker, the winner here in 2001, are among the favorites for the 250.7km race, especially as a host of other contenders have opted out of the ProTour's eighth race. ProTour series leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step) - the recent winner of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix last week - is among those giving Amstel Gold a miss.

When it comes to pro road racing at the Sea Otter Classic, you can always expect the unexpected. Things are just different at the Otter. On Thursday the pro stage race kicked off in Monterey, California, with a rollicking downhill time trial that sent riders spiraling through the famous “corkscrew,” a twisting section of banked turns at the Laguna Seca Raceway. On Friday, more than 100 riders in the pro men’s field were pulled after a Health Net-Maxxis-fueled break lapped the majority of riders in the 96.5km, 27-lap race. Scroll down for a photo gallery from Casey Gibson As expected, Health

From the May 25, 1979 issue of Velo-news: Bob Cook, John Howard and Jonathan Boyer race at La Vuelta de Bisbee

Michael Rich

Serbia's Stevic puts the hammer down

Pic shoots ...

... and scores

Fraser was left behind with four to go

Health Net's attack surprised Clinger

Not the weather we've become accustomed to at Sea Otter

Armstrong shadowed by Webcor

Wherry on the climb . . .