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The sporting director of the Spanish team Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme has reacted angrily to their omission from next year's Pro Tour. Kelme, relegated from cycling's elite division by the UCI this year, was not included on the list of four squads named by the UCI on Wednesday to join the Pro Tour. Spanish team Euskaltel-Euskadi, Belgium's Davitamon-Lotto, and Italian teams Liquigas and Fassa Bortolo were granted provisional licenses. They joined 13 other teams named to form the Tour, a new grand-prix-style cycling calendar comprising 28 races, including the three big Tours and former

It’s definitely not the most technical test, but the cross-country course at the world mountain bike championships in Les Gets, France, isn’t a sleeper either. During the 6.3km trip up and around the Chavennes side of this quaint ski town, riders face three sustained climbs (660 feet per lap), lots of tight twists through the pine forests, and several steep drop ins that will be become treacherous with just the slightest bit of precipitation. Right now the forecast is for morning showers on race day. The women are slated to start on 11 a.m. Sunday, while the men will head out at 2:30

Three national champions were crowned Wednesday during the USCF Elite Track National Championships at the Superdrome in Frisco, Texas. Nerac.com – Colby Pearce of Boulder, Colorado, Jame Carney of Durango, Colorado, Robert Lea of Taneytown, Maryland, and Guillaume Nelessen of Bellemead, New Jersey – turned a 4:31.9 to win the team pursuit. Team Veloworx – Douglas Beck of Maynard, Ohio, Curtis Gunn of Tucson, Arizona, Julian Cushing of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Kenneth Williams of Kirkland, Washington – raced to the silver in 4:36.4. The bronze went to Cody Racing – Marcus Black,

Today was both a good and a bad day - good because Triki and Floyd were in the front group and Triki is now in the leader’s jersey, and bad because we had to battle an incredibly strong headwind for 190km and then our bus broke down as we drove down the mountain toward our next hotel. The race started out slowly again due to the wind and we pedaled along at 25 km/h for quite a while when a few attacks were launched. There were two potentially threatening breakaways today, and thankfully both times we had riders up front in the groups, which means we didn’t have to chase in the wind. It

Schneitter made time on the downhills.

Freire took advantage of the hard work his Rabobank team did in the wind

Heart break for Hurikova.

Schneitter celebrates.

Forsman made her world's debut.

The start runs along the grassy base of the ski area.

The opening climb is gradual, with plenty of passing lanes.

The first drop is the only real rocky section, but it's short and the line is clean.

After the main climb riders head back across the hill through the trees.

The second drop is rideable...for now.

Next comes more twists through the trees.

Most of the junior girls were running the next drop...

...some more graceful than others.

That leads to one of several creek crossings.

Almost everyone will run this section. High left is the line.

Then it's back into the sun.

At 1.5km to go, the course heads down the old 4X track.

Get off the brakes and pretend you're Brian Lopes.

The final climb isn't long, but it's the steepest.

Chicken wire has been laid down to ensure at least some traction.

The course closes with a run down this gully, before heading back to the start/finish line.

Quinziato and Hulsmans work a two-man break

Rabobank led the chase into the wind

Freire kept his sights on Zabel ... and it paid off

Beltran is golden for another day

Freire enjoyed his win, but is focused on world's

The peloton motors along

The chase split the bunch into echelons

Here comes Nerac.com . . .

. . . and there they go

Jame Carney rides for and coaches Nerac.com

He must be doing something right . . . that's his team in the pretty jerseys

Quist flew around the track in the kilo . . .

. . . and then he flew around the infield in celebration

And Conzelman gets the stars and stripes in the sprint

It was all a matter of timing, and Denis Menchov knew he had timed it right when he looked over his shoulder near the finish line of the fifth stage of the Vuelta a España on Wednesday and saw that Alejandro Valverde wasn't with him. Menchov (Illes Balears-Banesto), was not in the minority at the start in Zaragoza when he pegged the Kelme rider as the day's favorite. "This course suits a rider like Valverde," Menchov said of the 186km haul to Morella. It wasn't the wind-blown flats that opened up the stage, or the seemingly endless run of tough, but un-rated, climbs that peaked out with

Olympic bronze medalist Bobby Julich could be joining compatriot Fred Rodriguez at the new Belgian super-team Davitamon-Lotto in 2005. The Belgian newspaper Het Niewsblad reported that Julich is close to inking a deal with the team and the 32-year-old Coloradan’s name was linked to the team in a press release by new bike sponsor Ridley Damocles. Julich did not reply to an e-mail query Tuesday from VeloNews but his current team, Team CSC, said there was no contract yet for Julich to stay with the Danish team. In 2004, Julich enjoyed his finest season since finishing third in the 1998 Tour de

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If depth is the true measure of a country’s cycling strength, then Canada certainly deserves the nod as one of the world’s best. Despite fielding a team that included just one world’s team relay veteran, the Canadians powered to a 24-second win over Switzerland in the opening event of the 2004 world mountain bike championships at Les Gets, France on Wednesday. It was the third relay victory in four years for Canada, which also took the world’s title at Vail in 2001 and Kaprun in 2002. “We know we have good depth,” said Geoff Kabush, who rode the opening leg of the four-lap race, giving

Dear Lennard,I just installed a new Wippermann 10-spd chain on an otherwise Campy Record group. All the components are one year old. I'm trying to eliminate an annoying "tinging" that I'm getting when climbing hard out of the saddle or sprinting. No success with the "tinging" but I introduced a new problem ... the new chain jumps and skips and won't stay engaged in the larger cogs. Have I worn out the rear cogs? I'm now thinking that the "tinging" noise may be coming from the engagement of the chain with the chainrings (30-42-52 ); the old Campy chain engages the rear cogset okay, but perhaps

Menchov countered a late-race move by Gonzales and Joaquin Rodriguez (Saunier Duval) to win the stage

Stage 5

The Canadians celebrate.

Team Canada.

Gagne delivered the win.

Bisaro held the line.

Botero calls it quits

. . . which devolved into the smaller O'Grady break

Beltran is the latest in a series of Postals to wear the golden jersey

Cruz takes a turn in the first big break . . .

With the O'Grady group absorbed, the race fell to climbers like Cunego, Piepoli and Menchov

And Menchov was on time, on target

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Winds were the star of the fourth stage of the 59th Vuelta a España, all but smothering the action in the 167.5km stage from Soria to Zaragoza. Heavy cross- and headwinds made escape all but impossible. Several tried in vain, but the stage finally came down a mass sprint with Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) taking his second win in three days. And the day wasn’t without mishaps. Several riders hit the deck, including Olympic time trial champion Tyler Hamilton (Phonak), who crossed the line with a bloodied right knee and hip. Zaragoza equals wind Wind is always a protagonist in

Fresh off winning Tuesday’s rainy stage into Soria in the 59th Vuelta a España, Alejandro Valverde said he will leave the troubled Valenciana-Kelme team if it’s not included in next year’s UCI Pro Tour. “I still don’t know what I am doing. I still have three years of contract with Valenciana-Kelme and in principal I have to continue with them,” Valverde told the Spanish daily AS. “The team has asked for a racing license to be in the Pro Tour but it appears it’s not sure they’re going to get it. And if I am going to be among the best then it’s obvious that I have to go.” Several teams have

World championship events can seem a bit anticlimactic in Olympic years, but when it comes to mountain biking that’s hardly the case. Only one of the three fat-tire disciplines was contested in Athens. And with just 80 mountain bikers involved in the Olympic Games, this year’s world’s remained the focus for most pros. That means it’s time to deliver, as the 2004 world mountain bike championships get set to kick off in Les Gets, France on Wednesday. Racing begins with the cross-country team relay, where four riders from each country (elite man, elite woman, U23 man, junior man) take a lap of

Juan Jose Haedo of Colavita Olive Oil took the overall title at the World Children's Cycling Classic in Georgia over Labor Day weekend, while U.S. Postal Service's George Hincapie won the weekend's final event, the U.S. 100K road race in Marietta.

Bobby Lea (T.E.A.M. Fuji) and Annette Hanson (Team Rubicon) won national individual-pursuit titles on Tuesday during the USCF Elite Track National Championships at the Superdrome in Frisco, Texas. Defending champ Lea, of Taneytown, Maryland, and Hanson, of Kirkland, Washington, each posted the fastest times in the morning’s qualification rounds. Lea went on to beat Kenny Williams (First Rate Mortgage) of Kirkland in the evening’s finals. Tucson’s Curtis Gunn (Veloworx Racing) won the bronze from Boulder’s Colby Pearce (TIAA-CREF-5280). In the women’s pursuit, Hanson defeated North

Petacchi takes a narrow win at the line

Tyler found it hard going in today's stage

The main break of the day fought to a three-minute lead in the wind

A second break late in the race never got out of eyeshot