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Jose Rujano’s run at the overall Tour de Langkawi title won’t officially come to an end until the finish of Sunday’s stage 10 criterium in Kuala Lumpur. But in his mind, the pint-sized Venezuelan climber’s concession likely came with 3km to go in Friday’s stage 8 run from Kuala Kuba Baru to the top of the Genting Highlands. It was there that Rujano’s chief rival in the chase for the GC title, South African Ryan Cox, rolled up beside him and gave him a glaring gaze of confidence.

One of the top stories coming out of last year’s Tour de France was the fighting panache of Thomas Voeckler, the quiet, hard-working national champion who held the yellow jersey for more than a week. The fresh-faced national champion defied the odds and carried the maillot jaune out of the Pyrénées, giving French fans something to cheer for as Lance Armstrong barnstormed to a record sixth consecutive win. Voeckler is making his season debut at the Tour of Qatar with his fellow Bouygues Telecom teammates. Here are excerpts from an interview posted on the official race page: Q: How do you

Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich could cross swords on more than one occasion this season if the Union Cycliste Internationale’s ambitious plans for major reforms come to fruition. Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France winner, and Armstrong, the six-time winner and record holder, hardly ever race each other outside of the Tour. But that could all change. Or at least that is what UCI president Hein Verbruggen hopes will happen when the system that has been in place for nearly two decades is ripped up and replaced by an elite league which, in theory, will guarantee cycling's top stars ride in

The 10-race World Cup and the UCI world rankings are no more, replaced by the 27-race ProTour series and a new system of awarding points that will determine who wears the ProTour leader’s jersey. In the three-week grand tours, the first 20 overall finishers gain ProTour points; in the others, such as Paris-Nice and Milan-San Remo, only the first 10 overall finishers do. In most stage races, stage winners collect one point. However, in the more difficult grand tours, the first three stage finishers receive three, two and one, respectively. And the Tour de France delivers more points than

Wow. File this week’s column under the “Stranger Than Fiction” heading. Or, following last week’s story about Matt DeCanio and the Ofoto-Sierra Nevada squad parting ways, maybe we should designate this as chapter 2 of “How to lose your job before ever toeing a start line with the team.” So, where to begin? When three-time NRC winner Chris Horner left the upstart domestic Webcor Builders squad to take his rightful place among the world’s elite in Europe, the first question many asked was, “What will happen to Webcor?” That question seemed to have been answered when Webcor announced that it

Giroscopic Sports Management is pleased to present Team Biovail, which will be competing in road cycling events throughout North America in 2005. Team Biovail continues to build on an existing five-year franchise and is actually two distinct teams. The Elite Women's team focuses on key Pro-Am races in the U.S. and Canada while the Master Men's team will contest events primarily in Canada. Women's Elite Team: Newcomer Amanda Shaw, 2004 Ontario provincial ’cross champion, returning rider Anna Garnett, Jennifer Stephenson, Nanci Dodman and newcomer Tracey Vincze. Men's Masters

American cyclist Will Frischkorn will moving into a team leadership role as he joins newly crowned national champion Ian Macgregor in heading up Team TIAA-CREF in 2005. Sponsored by Fortune 68 financial services company TIAA-CREF, the team begins its second season with a full slate of the country’s most exciting young up-and-coming riders. Frischkorn, who comes to TIAA-CREF after serving as a key teammate for Chris Horner at Saturn, is widely recognized as one of the country’s top talents. An accomplished rider at only 23, Frishkorn has won stages in the Ronde de L'isard and the Tour

Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) finally got it right in a week dominated by sprinting’s biggest names. After watching Tom Boonen and Mario Cipollini take the glory earlier, the Aussie boxer punched his way to victory in the 153km final stage from Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche. There were some early attempts at a breakaway, but the sprinter teams were anxious for one more stab at the spoils before leaving behind the oil-rich Persian Gulf nation. Boonen came through third, but McEwen scored the win that eluded him all week in Qatar. Team CSC delivered Lars Michaelsen into the overall

What we read and how we communicate have always been important elements in the evolvement of our sport. At the outset of professional road racing in the late nineteenth century, the editors at newspapers and magazines not only reported the events but they also dreamed up the races and put them on. The world’s very first long-distance road race, from Paris to Rouen along the length of the Seine valley, was sponsored in 1869 by a magazine called the Vélocipède Illustré. Another title, Véloce-Sport, organized the first Bordeaux-Paris classic in 1891, Le Petit Journal put on the inaugural

A sprint to the line at Genting

Cox was clearly not intimidated

The two leaders emerged from a shrinking lead group as the climb to Genting took its toll

Grajales managed fifth

Danielson

Barry

Grinding

Raisin had a great ride and was the top finisher for Credit Agricole

Voeckler before the start of Thursdays stage at Qatar

The Once Were Warriors look didnt go over with Webcor team management

McEwen finally punches his way through to victory

But Michaelsen got the big prize

CSC swept the podium

The final circuit race

Tom Simpson on the cover of Sporting Cyclist

Tyler Hamilton is expected to have his day in court in late February when the Olympic time trial champion is hoping to prove his innocence of allegations of blood doping or face a possible two-year racing ban. According to a posting on the Tyler Hamilton Foundation web page, a hearing date before U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has been set for the week of February 28. Last September, Hamilton’s world spun out of control after UCI officials notified his Phonak team that he failed doping tests following his victory in a time trial stage at the 2004 Vuelta a España. Subsequent follow-up “B” tests

Calling the seventh stage of the 2005 Tour de Langkawi purely academic would be a disservice to Aussie Graeme Brown and Japan’s Koji Fukushima. After all Brown did pick up his third stage win of this year’s race, upping his career record here to seven. And Fukushima easily held the yellow jersey for yet another day. But make no mistake, Thursday’s 167.7km rolling run from Maran to Raub was simply window dressing for the big show here in Malaysia.

This is crunch time for the tech’ guys in VeloNews editorial. Whilemost of our colleagues may dread the workload heading into July, Lennard and I are hard at work putting together the annual Buyer’s Guide. Still, Iwas lucky enough to sneak away from the office to spend two precious daysin the Northern Sonoran Desert with the folks of SRAM last week. On theagenda: two days of riding the latest SRAM, Truvativ, Avid and RockShoxproduct. Held a month before the official SRAM press launch, this particularcamp was designated for bicycle product managers intent of putting thefinishing touches on

PROFESSIONAL AND AMATUER ROAD CYCLISTS ROLL INTO MORGAN HILL TO COMPETE IN THE MORGAN HILL GRAND PRIXSpecialized Bicycle Components Creates a Road Race in its HometownMorgan Hill, Calif, - The Morgan Hill Grand Prix, Northern California’snewest and most eagerly-awaited professional and amateur road race, willtake place on April 10, 2005, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Between 300-500pro and amateur athletes, and approximately 2,000 spectators are expectedto attend.“It's really great to be involved in the creation of a local race,"says Mike Sinyard, Founder and President of Specialized

Mario Cipollini is back at the front of the pack after scoring an importantvictory in Thursday’s fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar, his first sincelast year’s Tour de Georgia. The 37-year-old Tuscan held off 24-year-old Tom Boonen (Quick Step)in a significant objective for the Lion King, who edged near retirementbut joined the Liquigas-Bianchi team with new motivation to come back tothe elite levels of sprinting after two lackluster seasons. “Every win encourages you very much and this one in a particular waysince it comes after months full of sacrifices and a very tough training,”Cipollini

The Union Cycliste Internationale has released its first set of Continentalrankings in keeping with the comprehensive restructuring of internationalracing that came into effect this year. With the the 2005 cycling seasonunderway in America (North and South America), Asia and Oceania, the UCIhas released the first leaders’ individual rankings on these continents. The first leader jerseys of these rankings, which mark the beginningof a new era for cycling sport, will be worn from the 1st to the 28th ofFebruary 2005 by the following riders: UCI America Tour:José Rujano Guillen (VEN)UCI Asia

Yup, its a Panaria jersey crossing the line first.

Koji Fukushima

Brown grabs win No. 3 at Langkawi

Brett Lancaster leads out of the last corner, around 300 meters to the finish. Brown is sitting about 8th here, and still wins.

Herbolds riding skills were about the only thing we could document with a camera

Cipo gets his first win in his new kit.

Thomas Voeckler and friend.

Michaelsen had some troubles Thursday, but his lead remained safe

"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.Pioneer Press - TwinCities.com - February 1, 2005LeMond faces backpedaling firm in courtThe Medina bicycling legend charges breach of contract after a manufacturerdropped his brand, saying Lance Armstrong's star had

It’s been a lonely road for Spanish rider Angel Casero since his hey-day after winning the 2001 Vuelta a España. Since then, he spent two under-productive years at the ill-fated Coast and then sat out the entire season last year after Kelme couldn’t deliver its required bank guarantees and contract papers to the UCI. Casero is set to return to racing in the coming days with Comunitat Valenciana (formerly Kelme) with more modest goals. His most important step will be simply to be racing again as a professional. “I will have to suffer on the bike now to have options to win something perhaps

If organizers had to choose an alternative to the sugary Tour de Langkawi theme song that’s been a staple of the race for years, they might consider the musical “Annie Get Your Gun” and its famous tune Anything You Can Do. It would certainly be appropriate for this year’s event, which thus far has been dominated by the one-on-one battle of Panaria speedsters Graeme Brown and Ruben Bongiorno.

Cold and flu season are still lingering and with your training programswitching into higher gear for the 2005 racing season, nutrition strategiesfor staying healthy remain a top priority. You don’t want a viral infectionto slow down your workouts and hamper your fitness, so that you can berace ready for this season.  This column focuses on some nutritionalstrategies that you can practice in both your daily diet and nutrient supplementation,and specifically around training sessions in order to give your immunesystem a good boost.From a nutritional perspective, it is key to prevent deficiencies

The Race Route has been announced!Navigate themap to learn more about each host city.The 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia begins on Tuesday, April 19, with allof its pageantry in historic downtown Augusta, along the banks of the SavannahRiver. Stage One will challenge The Masters of cycling as they traverse120 miles across Middle Georgia to its finishing circuit in the Song andSoul of the South, Macon. It will be an ideal day for the sprinters tomake a lasting first impression as they race to the city that musical legendsOtis Redding, the Allman Brothers, James Brown and Little Richard haveall

Dear Lennard,I have an ’04 Specialized S-Works E5 frame. I’ve noticed after a ridein the rain when I tip the bike up some pretty murky water runs out thechain stays near the rear wheel. Last night I was changing my bottom bracket(the new Dura-Ace 10-speed, if that matters) and it made a nice little pondon my garage floor. Since water and probably some nasty road salt, gritand grime are getting into my frame, do I need to strip it down on occasionand flush it out with some clean water?MattDear Matt,Yes, that is a very good idea. Also, a drain hole in the bottom bracketshell is a good idea – or

Team CSC blew through the Tour of Qatar peloton in Wednesday’s thirdstage like a tornado, doing a ditty much like the team pulled off in lastyear’s Paris-Nice and delivered Danish veteran Lars Michaelsen an over-duestage victory.Team CSC put six of its eight riders into the day’s decisive move of17 riders in the blustery 194km stage across the otherwise flat Qatar,leaving pre-stage leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step) gasping for air.In the end, five Team CSC riders were in the top seven (Fred Rodriguezfought bravely to finish sixth), with Michaelsen taking the flowers androokie Matti Breschel in

Casero, after winning the 2001 Vuelta.

Deja Vu all over again

Michael Barry and Tom Danielson discuss plans before the stage

Discoverys Michael Creed shows off a few of his battle wounds from the big pile-up

Discovery mechanic Geoff Brown makes a few on-the-road adjustments

Discovery DS Lorenzo Lapage hands off bottles to Patrick McCarty

Plan of attack: CSC made its move at the right moment

American Fred Rodriguez finished sixth on the day, at 1:22

The winds forced the field into echelons for the second day

Unique hazards at the Tour of Qatar

A new leader

Nicki Sorensen (CSC) got the 2005 season off to a strong start, taking the win at the GP d’Ouverture La Marseillaise in France to mark the season’s first race of the European calendar. Sorensen finished ahead of Team CSC teammate Vladimir Gusev and Daniele Masolino to take the win marred by some confusion on course. There was a group clear that featured Philippe Gilbert, among others, who took a wrong turn and steered off course. Sorensen was part of a second group and pushed through to take the victory in the first race of the 2005 season in Europe. Action continues Wednesday with the

It’s not supposed to be this easy, but following the bunch sprint that concluded the fifth stage of the 2005 Tour de Langkawi, you got the feeling Graeme Brown and the Ceremica-Panaria crew could win these things with one foot unclipped. After Brown and teammate Ruben Bongiorno grabbed victories in stages 1 and 2, Brown earned another win on Tuesday in Kuala Terengganu. That gave the Aussie an all-time best six Langkawi stage wins.

The Court of Arbitration of Sport ordered the UCI to place the Swiss-based Phonak squad back on to the roster of teams contesting the 2005 ProTour. Partly upholding an appeal by Phonak, the CAS said it had "set aside" the decision by the Union Cycliste Internationale last November to exclude the team from this year's ProTour after three of its riders failed doping tests in 2004. The panel of three legal experts granted the team a license for a reduced period of two years instead of the usual four. The team could not be excluded now, the court ruled, because at least two of the riders,

Tom Boonen made it two in a row at the Tour of Qatar on Tuesday, out-sprinting Fabrizio Guidi (CSC) and Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) to claim his second straight win on the 2005 season. The 24-year-old Quick Step star was part of a 21-man breakaway that tore away from the main bunch at 90km into the 167.5km course from the Camel Track to the Qatar Olympic Committee headquarters. Six Quick Step riders were in the decisive 21-man group, including Kevin Hulsmans, Servais Knaven, Nick Nuyens, Guido Trenti and Wilfried Cretskens and Boonen. The group held a 40-second gap on the main bunch

Canadian researchers working in conjunction with the World Anti-Doping Agency announced Tuesday that they have discovered a new “designer” steroid developed along the lines of THG, the drug at the center of the BALCO case in the U.S. Acting upon an anonymous tip e-mailed to WADA officials this past summer, scientists said they have reproduced a drug that appears to have been designed to avoid detection in standard drug tests. WADA science director Olivier Rabin and Christiane Ayotte, director of Montreal's anti-doping lab, told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday that the agency

Are the Panaria boys the only ones trying for the line?

Another reminder that this is not the Tour de France

Ed Beamon handing out water and sage advice from the team car

Cesare Grejales after another hot day on the road.

Phonak manager John Lelangue and Nicolas Jalabert, at the Tour of Qatar, now know what they will be doing in July.

Boonen makes it look easy

Rodriguez is in Qatar for early season prep work...

... and McEwen is there, perhaps recovering from a string of wins Down Under.

Cipollini missed the key break and finished out of the money on Tuesday.

Thomas Voekler and friends

Its January and Qatar is warm...

...although a touch on the windy side