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It may be March, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s springtime. Just ask anyone who toed the start line for stage 1 of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen (3 Days of West Flanders) on Friday. The race was canceled about 50km from the start in Kortrijk after the snow started falling, rapidly coating the roads just outside of Roselare. This was the second event to be canceled this week (the first was (Memorial Samyn Fayt-le-Franc), after the riders endured a miserably cold two days of racing last weekend as the northern classics season kicked off with Het Volk and

Not even an unseasonably chilly Texas drizzle and soggy single-track could keep Canadian Geoff Kabush from taking top honors in Friday’s time trial at the Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association’s NORBA National race, the first NORBA race of the 2005 calendar. The lanky 27-year old, clad in his orange Maxxis team kit, was the final rider to start the 3-mile course at the Tapatio golf resort in Bourne, Texas, and posted the day’s best time, flying between bushes, up an asphalt climb, and over the aptly named “slime stone” single-track in 10:39.6. “My legs felt pretty good out there, but it’s

Never shy to attack, Elliott's main quality was working hard as a domestique

Davis wins

Scheuneman leads the break

Liberty keeps things under control

Gerolsteiner hoped to set up Hondo

Lopez tries a solo

Leipheimer enjoys a soggy day in the saddle

On the road

The 2006 X.0 rear derailleurs will feature full carbon fiber inner and outer jockey cages.

The carbon cages are backed and rimmed with a carbon alternative to protect the otherwise brittle carbon from chain rubbing and impact. It will be available in three variations: mini cage (gravity); mid-cage (XC/general riding) and long cage

The new X.O shifters share the same general shifting principles as the 2005 X.9 versions, but have been engineered from the ground-up for maximum efficiency and performance.

The shifter pod can be moved in or out from a rider's hand for perfect ergonomics. The the larger downshifting trigger can be rotated 360 degrees for trigger/finger alignment.

The X.0 triggers feature Zero Loss technology. Thanks to the trigger's high tolerances, four internal bearings and improved ratcheting system, when you press either trigger, a shift is instantaneously engaged.

The new levers feature real carbon fiber covers to provide improved clamshell structural integrity as well as help lighten the overall pods to an impressive 110-115 grams (over the current X.9's 130 grams)

Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Caffita) says he wants to win Saturday’s stage of the Vuelta a Murcia that finishes atop the Collado Bermejo and has been dedicated as the “Cima Pantani” in honor of fallen star Marco Pantani. The defending Giro d’Italia champion is making is season debut in Spain and said he wants to make an early season test of his form. He can’t think of a better way than atop the twisting climb in the mountains of southern Spain. “I know it won’t be easy, but I would dedicate this win to Marco, who was my idol as well as my friend,” Cunego told Spanish journalists before the start

It was no surprise Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) won Wednesday’s opener in a bunch sprint at the Vuelta a Murcia in Spain, but no one expected him to beat the specialists in Thursday’s 22km individual time trial. But that’s just what happened as Hondo laid down the fastest time on the flat course of 25 minutes, 35 seconds. No one even came close, with Spanish national time trial champion Rubén Plaza stopping the clock in second some 19 seconds slower. “It’s a surprise for me,” Hondo admitted. “I knew all the split times and had information from my teammates who were among the favorites. I am

Cunego at Murcia

Hondo's win surprised even Hondo.

Plaza could only manage second.

Gutiérrez takes third

Leipheimer can take solace in that it's still early in the year...

... as can Damiano Cunego. Cunego is hoping for a win on Saturday.

Hondo is enjoying his time in the jersey.

American Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), three-time Tour de France podium man Joseba Beloki (Liberty Seguros) and defending Giro d’Italia champion Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Caffita) headline Tuesday’s start of the five-day Vuelta a Murcia in Spain. Leipheimer is just getting his season started and will be looking to reach peak fitness in time for a top 5 at the 2005 Tour de France. Cunego, meanwhile, officially kicked off his season in Sunday’s Clasica de Almeria and will race Murcia to continue to build form to his title defense at the Giro in May. “I feel I have done a good job in the build

As you continue your basic training and prepare for the coming raceseason, you appreciate the importance of matching training with the properamounts of energy, carbohydrate, protein and fats (See "TheFeed Zone: February 16th"). During this training cycle, you canalso focus on types of food choices you consume to provide quality nutritionand variety to your daily and training diet.Daily DietThis is one of the best times of the year to experiment with new foodsand recipes. While you can still keep convenience and time in mind (what’sgood, quick, and easy?), don’t keep falling into the same old

Two-time cross-country world champion Roland Green announced Tuesdaythat he has been retroactively suspended for six months after testing positivefor a banned substance at the Houffalize, Belgium round of the World Cuplast May (see "Paulissen,Dahle rule Houffalize World Cup"). Green's suspension commenced July 4, 2004 and will conclude April 4th of this year. That is obviously longer than six months, but the suspension includes the UCI's pre-defined "inactivity period" for mountain bike racers, which runs from November through January. A hearing was recently conducted through the

Well, I am back home from Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun. I can’t believe that it has already been a week since we raced. Most of you have seen the results and it was an exciting start to the season for our team. We had first and second overall, and won every stage. I lost third on GC at the finish of the criterium. We had made Genevieve Jeanson work hard and she rode great. It was impressive and she moved into third overall. As I mentioned in my first journal, I had hoped that the training in Phoenix would help me on the Acacia Park group rides. It was a joke, but every joke has some

I’m back from camp and I have never been so happy to be home. Camp number three is in the bag. It was a long one and to make matters worse we rode the trainers inside for the last three days. You might well ask why on earth we would ride trainers in “sunny Tuscany.” Well, it wasn’t for our fitness or for our health and certainly not for our sanity. I’ll get back to that. We had a great start to the camp with the boys returning from the Tour of Med’ high on another win. We had a Champaign toast with the whole team and watched a few clips of the other half of our team putting it "into the

Former three-time world cyclo-cross champion Mario De Clercq has been banned from the sport for four years and cyclo-cross rider Ben Berden for 15 months, the Belgian cycling association (LRVB) announced Wednesday. De Clercq, who retired in November 2004, was involved in the so-called"Jose Landuyt affair," a scandal involving a veterinarian who admittedselling performance-enhancing drugs. Berden is banned until April 2006 after testing positive for the bloodbooster EPO (erythropoietin) in a cyclo-cross competition in Essen, Germanyin December. De Clercq's lawyer Peter Callebaut said

Sayers

The sponsorship of domestic cycling teams is a volatile venture. In the past few years, it seems that almost every brand-name team lost its marquee sponsor. Saturn and Mercury, for example, were dismantled and their riders, some of the most competent and successful racers in America, were scattered to the four winds. But turmoil, as tough as it can be, almost always leaves a vacuum. And a vacuum can be an opportunity in the right hands. One group of racers and their sponsors taking advantage of this vacuum is Health Net-Maxxis. Formed only three years ago on a shoestring budget and around

German sprint ace Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) drew first blood at theVuelta a Murcia in Spain on Wednesday, scoring his first win of the 2005season.Cloudy skies gave way to afternoon sun, but cool temperatures and strongwinds reminded everyone of the cold front that swept through Spain overthe weekend leaving high mountain roads clogged with snow.Several riders tried in vain to slip away from the peloton, includingaging classics warrior Andrea Tafi (Saunier Duval) and Peter Wuyts (Mr.Bookmaker), who were away in a breakaway but reeled in with 15km to go.The pace was torrid for so early in the

Leipheimer's season is just starting

Green at Calgary

...more time on the trainer?!?!?!

De Clerq leads a Belgian sweep at world's in Zolder in 2002

Sayers on the march

Sayers: Leading by example

Hondo - and Gerolsteiner - get their first big win of the season

Murcia in springtime

Gerolsteiner was active all day.

Leipheimer starts his season with Gerolsteiner

Cunego and Tafi on the attack

Tafi tries his luck with Wuyts

Cunego has big goals this season

Beloki is still on the road to recovery

Hondo gets the jersey today and may pass to teammates tomorrow

Map2

Sayers photo

map

Sayers photo

In the firstpart of our conversation with Bobby Julich, the American looked backat what has turned out to be a wise decision to sign with Bjarne Riis's CSC team in Denmark at the end of 2003. For Julich, 2004 can only be seen as remarkable, a comeback season in which he won a stage in the Tour of the Basque Country, finished third overall at Paris-Nice and took home the bronze medal at the Olympic time trial.“The confidence is back, not the cockiness that maybe I had after 1998, but now I am confident that I am back to the highest level,” Julich noted.In today’s installment, Julich talks

Tyler Hamilton could know his cycling future as soon as the end of next week after a three-day hearing before the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency began Monday in Denver. Hamilton is facing a possible two-year racing ban, but has vowed to clear his name with a vigorous defense. A team of lawyers has been working to prepare material to present to the three-person USADA panel to demonstrate inconsistencies in the blood doping test. Hamilton’s lawyer, Howard Jacobs, told The Denver Post’s John Henderson the defense is “fairly optimistic” it can disprove the validity of the test. “It helps that if you

As I mentioned last week, it wouldn’t be until today – March 1 – that I could speak freely about a few of Manitou’s new-for-2006 products. If you couldn’t guess from my somewhat cryptic comment last week, Manitou is back to taking a serious look at the cross-country segment for 2006. Welcome to the lightweight, high-performance world of the Manitou R-Seven. While the race-oriented Skareb served its purpose quite nicely for the past three years, Manitou’s Joel Smith recently explained that it’s the company’s goal to “redefine suspension for the XC market.” Considering what Manitou has

Julich's season was highlighted by a medal-winning performance in Athens

John Tomac was on-hand in Gran Canaria, Spain to show off Manitou's R-Seven

Tech Report: Manitou comes back to cross-country

Tech Report: Manitou comes back to cross-country

Bobby Julich enjoyed a very successful comeback season in 2004, winning a stage in the Tour of the Basque Country, finishing third overall at Paris-Nice and taking home the bronze medal at the Olympic time trial. For Julich, a return to the elite levels of racing was especially sweet. Since his 1998 Tour de France podium ride, the popular Colorado rider struggled to find the winning legs. In joining Team CSC and Bjarne Riis, Julich discovered the team he was always looking for. With his feet firmly planted on the ground, the 33-year-old enters the 2005 campaign with high hopes of building

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.What’s up with OLN?Editor:What is going on with OLN's 2005 cycling coverage? Last year they dropped daily coverage of the Vuelta late in the season, and now this year the only decent coverage of a race is going to be of the Tour. Major cuts include dropping daily coverage of the Giro

With last year’s needle-prick and transfusion tube scandals still fresh in my mind, the big question surrounding all of that hubbub remains unanswered: What is the proper way to punish a doper? Sure, you can slap ‘em with suspensions, fine their bank accounts dry, drag their names through a trough of mud and make their public image darker than an Angus steer’s tuckas on a moonless prairie night. But will it do any good? Of course, the teams, too, have their own “Don’t do it” policies. But with the pressure to win augmented by the long list of hungry replacements (who will do anything to

This story originally appeared as Timothy Carlson’s weekly column onthe website of our sister publication InsideTriathlon. Because the issue of doping seems to transcend sportingdisciplines, we decided that Mr. Carlson’s column was worthy of a seriouslook from interested parties outside of the sport of Triathlon. - Editor "No, no!' said the Queen. “Sentence first - verdict afterwards.”“Stuff and nonsense!” said Alice loudly. “The idea of having the sentence first!'”“Hold your tongue!” said the Queen, turning purple.“I won't!” said Alice.“Off with her head!” the Queen shouted at

Julich has found a happy home at CSC

"Cycling in the News" is a regular service of VeloNews.com. Readers,reporters and friends are encouraged to send links to current stories aboutcompetitive cyclists and cycling that appear in the mainstream media. Ifyou come across a news item that you believe may be of interest to otherVeloNews readers, we would be grateful if you choose to send it to Rosters@InsideInc.com.Khaleej Times - March 14, 2005UAE plans continental cycling teamDUBAI — UAE is planning to form a continental cycling team toparticipate in all major championships around the world. The proposed teamof 16 cyclists, will

Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie won the 58th edition of the Belgian semi-classic Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne on Sunday, as the American outsprinted his breakaway partner Kevin Van Impe (Chocolade Jacques). The two men slipped off the front of an elite group of riders nearing the end of the 190-kilometer race through the Belgian countryside. The two leaders finished 14 seconds of a hard-chasing Bert Roesems (Davitamon-Lotto). The race, held in cold and cloudy conditions, threw riders into tough conditions including a brutally icy headwind at points. The day was a battle of attrition with

Rochelle Gilmore claimed opening World Cup honors with victory in the first round of the series in Geelong, Australia, on Sunday The 23 year old, riding for the New South Wales Institute of Sport team, outsprinted defending World Cup Series champion and 2004 Geelong winner, Oenone Wood, 24, (Team Nürnberger) with Katherine Bates (Ton van Bemmelen) coming home third to give Australia a clean sweep of the podium. Ninety-three riders from 16 countries started the race including the reigning World Champion, Judith Arndt of Germany (Team Nürnberger) and Olympic Champion Sara Carrigan (Ton van

"Go get him." "No, you get him...." And so it went.... The last 15km of the 60th edition of the Omloop Het Volk presented the peloton with a classic dilemma: Chase the one man off the front and risk setting up a win for the competition, or hope someone else chases and risk losing if no one does. They opted for the latter, and that gave 25-year-old Nick Nuyens all he needed to stay away to claim victory, just seconds ahead of a field of pre-race favorites, including his Quick Step teammate and compatriot Tom Boonen.

Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo), stamped his final mark of authority on the sixth edition of the Volta Communidad Valencia on Saturday, winning the fifth and final stage and claiming the overall victory to boot. It was the Italian speedster’s third stage win of the Volta. "For me, with my characteristics, it is very difficult to win a small tour like this one, but I have been very fit since the beginning of the season and I knew that I could race a good tour,” Petacchi said. Spain’s Francisco Ventoso (Saunier Duval) was second on the stage, a 149.5km circuit around Valencia,

Nuyens celebrates his bold victory