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For the second straight day the Russians proved to be the masters of the points race. This time it was Olga Slyusareva, who powered to a six-point win over Mexico’s Belem Guerrero in the 100-lap race at the Olympic velodrome on Wednesday. Slyusareva was quiet early in the race, while Guerrero and Colombian Maria Luisa Calle Williams were trading the lead, but the Russian won two straight sprints at lap 80 and 90, putting her over the top. Guerrero came back to score two points in the final sprint snagging the silver, with Calle settling for bronze. Slyusareva is a four-time world champion,

Whispers that U.S. Postal Service strongman Floyd Landis is leaving theblue train took on more weight Wednesday when sport director Johan Bruyneelconfirmed reports that Landis is poised to join former teammate Tyler Hamiltonat Phonak.In an interview with the Spanish daily MARCA, Bruyneel all butconfirmed Landis´s departure from Postal Service, where he rode thepast three years alongside Lance Armstrong en route to Tour de France victories.“We had an option to keep him and we were ready to equal the offer madeto Phonak, but at the same time we didn´t want him to force him tostay with us,”

In the moments after a tacitly perfect run to Olympic glory in the Madison, Aussie Graeme Brown could barely stand. Minutes earlier he and teammate Stuart O’Grady had given Australia its fifth gold medal of these Athens Olympics, but now Brown needed help getting his shoes off. “It was the most painful race I’ve ever ridden,” said Brown. “I never been in so much pain in my life.” Clearly the pain was worth it, though. Brown and O’Grady started fast, gaining a lap along with the German duo of Robert Bartko and Guido Fulst. From there the Aussies picked their spots wisely, winning the fourth

Aussie Ryan Bayley affirmed his status as world’s fastest man on a bike, taking his second gold medal of the 28th Olympiad by winning the keirin on the final day of track racing in Athens on Wednesday. The shaggy haired 22-year-old shot out from the bunch in the final of the keirin, cruising across the line well ahead of second-place finisher Jose Escuredo of Spain. German Rene Wolff was third, but was later relegated by the judges giving Shane Kelley the bronze, yet another medal for the green and gold. Paired with the Madison win by Graeme Brown and Stuart O'Grady, Australia will leave

Olga Slyusareva

American Erin Mirabella takes fourth

Brown: 'The most painful race I’ve ever ridden.”

Brown kept close tabs on Bartko

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said on Tuesday it will ask Athens Olympic organizers to try and get medals for cyclists Peter Dawson and Stephen Wooldridge who missed out on a team pursuit gold medal. Dawson and Wooldridge were nearly inconsolable after missing out on Australia's gold medal win on Monday in the 4000m team pursuit after riding in the record-setting qualifying round on Sunday. Under cycling's rules, unlike swimming's relays, only those who ride in the final get the medals. The Olympic rule differs from world championship events, in which all teammates share in the

In a battle of grace and finesse versus brawn and power, the brute force of Australian Ryan Bayley was the ticket to gold in the men’s sprint at the Olympic velodrome on Tuesday. After losing the opening heat of the best-of-three final against Dutchman Theo Bos, Bayley stormed back to take two straight, giving Australia its fourth cycling gold medal of the 28th Olympiad. It’s the best ever showing for the green-and-gold clad team that had been shadowed by a drug scandal on the lead-up to the Games. “After I lost the first heat I just got really agro,” said Bayley, who fits the part of a

Lori-Ann Muenzer earned Canada's first-ever Olympic cycling gold medal in the women's match sprint on the boards of the Athens Velodrome Tuesday. To reach the podium, Muenzer first had to reverse her world championship sprint loss to Australian Anna Meares in the semifinals and then dispatch Russian star Tamilla Abassova in the final. In a sport which rewards youthful power and speed, where certified legends like Florian Rousseau (30) and Jens Fiedler (34) just retired, Muenzer climbed to her sport's summit at 38 years of age and has no plans whatsoever to quit. "Age is just a number

The Spanish newspaper MARCA is reporting that Tyler Hamiltonwill race next month´s Vuelta a España to make up for his disappointing Tour de France, when he was forced to pull out after injuring his back after falling in the first week.Hamilton is fresh off his gold medal performance in the Olympic time trial race and said last week he still wasn´t sure about which races he would start in the second half of the season.Hamilton told VeloNews editor Jason Sumner last week in Athens he was considering racing the Vuelta and had even gone to check out some of the routes after he returned to his

After warming up with a weeklong training camp in France, the American triumvirate of Todd Wells, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Mary McConneloug arrived in Athens on Monday and got their first look at the Mont Parnitha mountain bike venue on Tuesday. With only one sustained descent, and two sharp climbs, Wells said there wouldn’t be much time to rest. “You’re going to be pedaling most of the time,” said the GT-Hyundai rider, who qualified for the Olympic team behind a 10th place finish at the Calgary World Cup. “It’s really dry, kind of loose and pebbly. There’s two climbs and a couple of

It's been an eventful two days at the velodrome in Athens. Photographer Casey Gibson has been there, documenting everything from Australia's team pursuit title to Lori-Ann Muenzer's ride to Canada's first-ever Olympic cycling gold medal.

Olympic cover-upDear Lennard,After watching the Olympic road race and time trial, I noticed an abundanceof tape covering helmet, bike and component logos. Why would countriesgoverning bodies force this on riders knowing that they race professionallyfor other teams?Some examples: Julich and Hamilton covering up the Bell logo on thesides of the TT helmet but not the front. While it looks like most peoplein the TT field were covering up bike and fork logos on the headtubes andfork legs. What gives?ShawnI’ll let Bell Sports answer that:It basically comes down to limits on equipment logo sizes

Pearce

Bayley outsprinted Bos 2-1

Australia didn't set a world record, but then they didn't need to.

Great Britain is Australia's colosest challenger

Spain rode to bronze, toppling the once unbeatable Germans

Colby Pearce represented the U.S. in the points race

The American lapped the field once...

... but eventual winner, Russian Mikhail Ignatyev, did it four times.

New Zealand's Greg Henderson took fourth

American Jeannie Reed eventually ended up in 10th place

For Canada's Lori-Ann Muenzer the result was a little better

Muenzer dispatched Abassova in the final 2-0

Bayley and the formidable Gane met in the semis

Gane looked strong, but lost to the Australian 2-0

Bayley enjoyed similar success against

the Netherlands' Theo Bos, winning gold with two straight

That tape keeps you from seeing what Backstedt is riding... as long as he doesn't move his foot

Jorge Ferrío (Almería Paternina) won the one-day classic Vuelta a los Puertos on Sunday in the mountains north of Madrid that will play a starring role in next month’s Vuelta a España. Almería Paternina delivered a one-two punch in the 146km race that started and finished Guadarrama with teammate Ramón Golbano taking second. The teammates opened up a two-minute gap on the mostly Spanish peloton on the lower ramps of the Alto de Navacerrada, which will see a summit finish in the Vuelta’s penultimate day. Ferrío and Golbano stayed away for the rest of the day, with Gustavo César coming through

Dear Dirk and JoeLast year I bought a copy of your "MountainBiker's Training Bible" and structured a training plan around the advisein your book. I contact you and you gave me some valuable information onhow to tweak the program to suit my needs. I participated in my first MountainBike stage race. The Cape-Epic race held in March 2004. The total distancecovered was 800 km over eight days and approximately 17,000m cumulativeelevation gain. The event is staged along the same lines as the Trans-Rockiesin Canada and the Trans-Alp in Europe. Incidentally the organizers of theCanadian and European

The Mail Bag 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.All Americans all the timeEditor:What's up with the lack of Olympic track event coverage on the majorAmerican networks? It was great that some of the networks covered the roadrace and time trial, but track coverage has been almost non-existence onAmerican TV. Track events have been some

In the battle for supremacy at the Olympic velodrome in Athens, the men from Australia beat back the challenge of Great Britain, claiming gold in the team pursuit. The Aussies’ effort didn’t match their world record time from qualifying the day before, but their mark of 3:58.233 on Monday was easily enough to outclass the Brits, who trailed throughout on their way to a 4:01.760. That left the gold medal count for the two countries at two apiece, with Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins having each taken wins for Great Britain, while Anna Meares and now the team pursuit squad of Graeme Brown, Brett

I lost the services of the digicam for a day after its memory card bit the dust. But I managed to find another one while walking around Pireas before Monday’s track racing. Pireas is Greece's main port and the jumping off point for trips to the Greek Islands. Here’s some of the sights, plus some odds and ends from the velodrome.

This place is as busy as Penn Station.

The green line of Athens tram line.

Canada's Lori-Anne Muenzer breaks down her day.

The track is sold out all week.

Sarah Ulmer embraces Katier Mactier after the individual pursuit final.

McGee's daughter wants to check out daddy's gold.

Spain beats the once unstoppable German to take bronze

The Brits are second once again

Great Britain's Chris Hoy explains his 1km win.

Leontien Zijlaard-van Morsel gets ready to roll.

With all of the hype and excitement at the Athens Olympics, athletes still have to spend their down time getting ready for events, training or just relaxing with friend. During the Olympics, most of that down time takes place in the athletes' village. One frequent VeloNews contributor recently sent us a photo essay of life in the village.

It’s been a long road to the summit for Sara Ulmer of New Zealand. As a callow 20-year-old in Atlanta, she was an anonymous seventh in the 3000-meter individual pursuit final. Four years ago in Sydney, 24-year-old Ulmer finished the 3000-meter individual pursuit in the cruelest Olympic position — eight-hundredths of a second out of bronze. Ulmer lost third to 39-year-old Yvonne McGregor’s of Great Britain with just 125 meters to go, and remained deep in the shadow of Sydney’s golden girl of cycling, Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, who crushed silver medalist Marion Clignet by five seconds

Fassa Bortolo’s Juan-Antonio Flecha took advantage of a the ongoing World Cup duel between series leader Davide Rebellin and his nearest challenger, Olympic champion Paolo Bettini, to charge out of the field in the final meters of Sunday’s 241km event in Zürich, Switzerland. Bettini, who finished second in the Zürich Championships, has now moved to within six points of leader Rebellin, after eight rounds of the 10-race series. The Gerolsteiner rider figured in the final break and now stands on 314 points to Bettini's 308, with Rabobank's Oscar Freire a distant third with 198 points. With

Depending on the venue you happen to be at, there are two ways the post-race press conferences can go. At some events, including the men’s and women’s road races, the press conference room is outfitted with hearing devices that allow members of the media to hear translation of what the athletes are saying in Greek and French, while up on the podium is a translator taking care of English-language needs. It’s a reasonably smooth process that keeps things moving along at a decent clip. On the other hand, you have the venues that are not outfitted with hearing devices, like the velodrome.

Hot, humid and blazing fast. Track racing in Athens Sunday was all that and more as three world records toppled in a single day. Casey Gibson was there to capture some of the highlights

If you were looking for a sentimental favorite for this year’s USPRO Criterium Championships, there were several good choices, but the two best candidates were probably Jonas Carney and Robbie Ventura. Postal’s Ventura has been going after the title in Downers Grove all his career, but has always fallen short, coming closest two years ago when he lost the USPRO title to Kevin Monahan in a photo finish. Carney does have a pro criterium title to his name, winning in Downers Grove in 1997, but having announced his retirement earlier this season, the Jelly Belly rider was shooting for one last

A diverse community in Athens

The Brit's brought a bit of flavor from home...

... as did the Cubans.

The Dutch team were all given some pretty hip recumbents...

... just for cruising around the village

Michael Barry stops for lunch in the cafeteria.

Kristin Armstrong, Dede and Michael Barry along with Gord Fraser on a training ride outside of Athens

Oh Canada: Gord and Michael

The U.S. women: Barry, Christine Thorburn and Armstrong

The Sponsor: Oakley's Steve Blick striking a pose with the TT medalists

Mactier, Ulmer and the soon-to-be-retired Zijlaard-van Moorsel

Reed

Ulmer has come a long way since her Olympic debut