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Fassa Bortolo works the front for their man Petacchi ...

... as Saeco marshals its forces for overall leader Simoni

The boss remains firmly in charge

Giro

Robbie McEwen couldn’t have asked for a better finish than the one that was handed to him at the end of stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday. For sure, the 177-kilometer ride from Civitella in Val di Chiana to Spoleto, featured one of the flattest courses of this year's Giro, but the peloton was treated to a challenging finishing circuit that seemed to suit the Lotto-Domo rider’s talents more than anyone else’s in the peloton. By the time riders had completed three trips around the 7.3km loop through Spoleto, the steep 1.4km hill had taken its toll on some of the field’s better

Why can't I climb?Dear Joe,I'm a recreational roadie who spends some time on a mountain bike as well. I've been actively riding for four years. I put in 100-150 miles a week, with mostly mixed rides - by virtue of living in remote Wyoming, I don't get many flat, easy spins! Here is my challenge. I feel fit, but I cannot climb hills. I'm 5'11", approximately 160 pounds, resting HR of 44, no chronic illness, and I can't ride up hills! I do well on the flats between any rises, which means I make my pulls when riding with a group, I can spin around 22-24 mph, and am reasonably comfortable at

Replace those face-plate boltsDear Lennard,I have heard that 3TTT has recalled their Zepp stems. I have an XL version of this stem – how can I find out if it is on the recall list? Can you tell me more about the problems associated with the stems? Should I pull this puppy off the bike?William Dear William,Yes, there has been a recall of those stems. You do not necessarily need to remove it from the bike, but you must replace the face-plate bolts with longer ones.Lennard Wippermann chain with Dura-Ace?Dear Lennard,I’ve got a Shimano 7800 drivetrain on my Seven Elium. In your most recent

(Vicenza) - Campagnolo's Neutron Carbon wheels made their first appearance last year on BMW's F1 road bikes. These bikes - of which only 100 examples were produced - form part of a select and limited bicycle series bearing the official BMW F1 graphics and colours, created by the famous German luxury car manufacturer for its Lifestyle collection. Campagnolo, asked to fit these bicycles with Record groupsets, was also commissioned to create an exclusive wheel product. This collaboration eventually gave birth to Campagnolo's Neutron Carbon: a Neutron rim in aluminium coupled with a Hyperon hub

As luck would have it, a few members of the VeloNews staff and I were able to sneak away two weeks ago to Moab for a little product testing/vacation mountain bike riding. But before we hit hit the legendary slickrock, I wanted to make sure to bring along a fair share of mountain bike product to test in the harsh desert environment. Coincidentally, RockShox is nearing final production of its 2005 Pike and Reba suspension forks, which provided me the perfect opportunity to beg to borrow one for a bit of test riding. A quick call to one of the RockShox product managers resulted in a

MEMPHIS, TN -- True Temper Sports and TREK Bicycle Corporation announced a strategic supplier relationship today linking the world’s premium bicycle manufacturer and the world’s leading bicycle frame tubing manufacturer. The LeMond brand will use True Temper’s proprietary OX Platinum lightweight air hardening steel alloy as the “Spine” material for their multi-material LeMond branded frames. LeMond and True Temper will work together to introduce new models using OX Platinum and other metal alloys currently being engineered by both companies R & D groups. LeMond Product Manager, Aaron

Former world downhill champion Myles Rockwell was arrested on Tuesday in his hometown of Durango, Colorado, on suspicion of having a “very sophisticated” marijuana-growing operation in his home, according to a press release issued by the Southwest Drug Task Force. Rockwell, 31, was booked into the La Plata County jail on a class 4 felony after law enforcement officers seized 52 “high quality” sinsemilla plants from his Durango home. The former downhill pro, who last rode for the Giant team in 2002, was released on $10,000 bail. Rockwell’s arrest occurred following the execution of a search

A few members of the VeloNews staff and I were able to sneak away two weeks ago to Moab for a little mountain-bike product testing that was part work, part vacation. Coincidentally, RockShox is nearing final production of its 2005 Pike and Reba suspension forks. And as luck would have it, a quick call to a RockShox product manager resulted in a freshly-built, long-travel Pike being delivered just in time for our departure. I planned to install the Pike on my 2004 Specialized S-Works in the classy digs of Moab’s Apache Motel, then head for the trails. Silly me – I forgot that Pike is a

Hi, Monique:What is the best strategy for pre-training fueling in regards to timing and low and higher glycemic index foods? Thanks.DV DV,Often pre-training timing is a product of your work or school and training schedule. Depending on the timing of your workouts, you may decide to eat something two to four hours beforehand, or your schedule may even require that you ingest some fuel in the hour before training. Depending on the timing, you can adjust your food choices and portions. You can also decide if the glycemic index of foods is something that you also want to consider when making

Spanish rider David Herrero (Paternina-Costa Almería) won the 153km second stage of the Vuelta a Asturias in northern Spain on Thursday while Luis León Sánchez (Liberty Seguros) retained the overall lead. Herrero attacked with 4km to go coming off the descent on the Puerto de El Infanzón to deliver a big stage-win for the modest Division II team against the larger teams. Miguel Angel Martín Perdiguero (Saunier Duval) and Josep Jufré (Relax-Bodysol) came through second and third, respectively, as the main bunch crossed the line two seconds slower. The race continues Friday with the 166km

It’s been a bit of an eventful day. First off, I really twisted my ankle last night. The thing is, I was just walking down the stairs to dinner. So I had to have that taped up and it’s a bit swollen and a bit sore to walk around on. I spent the early part of the day trying to test that out a bit. In fact, it was my ankle that really made me try a shot at that break today. I really wanted to do the sprint today, but early on I tried a couple of times to do a couple of good accelerations. It hurt my foot a little too much when I really accelerated, so I figured I should try something else… if

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In his element. McEwen relishes a big win

The RockShox Pike in its element

Rockwell in the world champion's jersey.

Moment of panic - Cunego's flat came in the closing kilometers

Giro d'Italia: McEwen has a perfect day

The flattest day so far

Three trips through Spoleto gave McEwen ample time to figure out the finish

Cipollini was ready to ride Thursday morning.

Simoni was wear he needed to be all day

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Luis León Sanchez (Liberty Seguros) surprised the big guns forthe second time in a week after taking victory in the opening stage ofthe 48th Vuelta a Asturias in northern Spain. Less than a week after winning the final time trial of the ClasicaAlcobendas last weekend in Madrid, the 20-year-old shot clear with DavidNavas (Illes Balears) with 3km to go to take the stage between Oviedo andLlanes along Spain's northern coast. Despite the victory, León Sanchez said he's racing to help teamcaptains Isidro Nozal and Roberto Heras in the five-day stage race thatconcludes Sunday. León Sanchez says

What’s the difference between a fall and a crash? Ask Alessandro Petacchi and Mario Cipollini. The former suffered a fall midway through the rainy 184km fourth stage of the 87th Giro d’Italia, but rebounded to win his second stage in four days. The latter crashed 200 meters from the line, landing hard on his left side before getting hit by another rider in the hard-charging bunch. Cipollini finished the stage – 150th at 1:35 back -- and didn’t suffer any broken bones, but the cycling world will have to wait until Thursday to see if Cipollini’s spirit was crushed in the horrific high-speed

Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 12, 2004)--USA Cycling announced today its entry of a junior national road team in three European events throughout May beginning with this weekend’s Le Trophée Centre Morbihan in France. The following week, the team of six will compete at the Internationale Junioren Driedaagse van Axel in the Netherlands May 21-23 and then return to France to close out their European campaign with the Tour de Larriance May 28-31. Riding for the U.S. Junior National Team will be Chad Beyer (Peoria, Ariz.), Mike Chauner (West Chester, Pa.), Taylor Lane (Cloudcroft, N.M.), Chris

Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 11, 2004)--USA Cycling announced today the addition of Bryan Cook as its new Vice President of Marketing. Cook, most recently the Associate Director of Sales and Planning for Kellogg’s Food Away From Home, a consumer products division of Kellogg’s Corporation, brings to USA Cycling over twenty years of sales and marketing experience. As V.P. of Marketing, Cook’s focus will primarily be aimed at expanding brand and property development of USA Cycling and its many assets. Like the United States Olympic Committee and most other National Governing Bodies, USA

Marblehead, MA. (USA) – The Tyler Hamilton Foundation, today announced the Pedal for Progress Cycle Series; three fundraising bike rides to be held in Massachusetts, Colorado and California during the summer and fall months. The first event on June 13 is in Tyler’s home state of Massachusetts; the remaining two will take place in October. Individuals can register online now at www.tylerhamiltonfoundation.org. Tyler is scheduled to join the rides in Colorado and California. “The Tyler Hamilton Foundation is very excited to announce the Pedal for Progress Series of fundraising rides,” said

RIDE WITH GREG LEMOND! A once in a lifetime opportunity to ride with a legend brought to you by Bicycle Village. Before there was Lance there was LeMond!!! Greg LeMond, three time Tour de France winner and 2 time world champion, will be leading the Saturday morning ride, then holding an autograph session at the Bike Expo at Bicycle Village in Aurora on Saturday, May 15th. This is an amazing opportunity to meet one of the true legends of cycling. Pre-register to ride with Greg LeMond --online at www.bicyclevillage.com or by calling Bicycle Village-Aurora 303-337-1734 In honor of this

I’m relieved… I think my heart has finally started to beat again. As you might recall, the other day I said that I was not feeling up to contesting the sprint, figuring that it was not my day and I wanted to stay out of it, mostly out of respect for the guys who were in a position to contest it. Well, today I was feeling up for it, got myself into the mix and had a very, very, very close call when Cipo’ went down. I even had his bike clipping my foot as he went down, so I just missed it. I stopped breathing there and my heart is just now starting up again. Some times it is just so, so close

One thing you have to keep in mind about tactics is that they have to change to suit the circumstances. All teams start the day with a general plan, but then everyone has to be ready at a drop of a pedal stroke to change that plan and improvise. This is certainly what happened in today’s stage at the Giro. I can fully imagine the Fassa Bortolo team meeting this morning before the start of the stage. “This should be an easy day. All we have to do is keep the group together and set up Alessandro for the sprint with 10 kilometers to go. Every one knows their job on the lead out, so let’s get

Although the UCI revealed its new 2005 Pro Tour schedule on April 22, very little information has yet to come forth on how this top-down restructuring will affect the burgeoning domestic race scene here in North America. With races like the Dodge Tour de Georgia and the T-Mobile International popping up over the last few years, North America has drawn some heavy hitters, including Lance Armstrong, Jens Voigt, Gilberto Simoni and Mario Cipollini. A look at the UCI’s Web site reveals that the presentation of the “new rules to the management committee” for the continental circuits, of which

Petacchi had his own trouble along the way

Conditions were not always ideal

Petacchi scores as Cipo' hits the tarmac

Petacchi scores as Cipo' hits the tarmac

Simoni played it safe all day

Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) sent another shot across the bow with a dramatic win in Tuesday’s Subida al Naranca one-day climbing race in northern Spain’s rugged Asturias region. Just days after sweeping to victory in the Clasica Alcobendas in the mountains north of Madrid last weekend, the Basque rider punched the accelerator with 2km to go to drop the bunch on the short, but steep climb. In further proof that the Alpe d’Huez stage-winner from last year’s Tour de France is hitting some fine early season form, Mayo set a new record up the 5.2km climb to the Naranco summit, covering the distance

Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) erased any doubts of his form with a dramatic victory in Tuesday’s summit finish at Corno Alle Scale and slipped on his favorite color in May. The two-time Giro d’Italia champion was uncharacteristically quiet in the spring, letting teammate Damiano Cunego take the spotlight while he calmly prepared with the idea of arriving to July’s Tour de France with fresher legs than last year’s disappointing meltdown. But first comes the Giro, and Simoni made a clear demonstration Tuesday that he’s the man to beat, gapping pre-race favorites Yaroslav Popovych

Let’s set the stage. Gilberto Simoni, a former winner and climbing specialist of the Saeco Team had already said that he intended to make his first mark on the Giro on this stage. He began the day wanting to put some time between himself and the man in the leader’s jersey, Bradley McGee (FDJeux) and more importantly, his closest rivals. Now McGee is a flatlander and pursuiter, who is a respectable climber, but no specialist and was not expected to challenge on a day with a long difficult climb to the finish. Of course, Simoni had a host of other climbers to contend with, including the

Los Angeles-based cycling club Veloworx Racing will hold an online auction to benefit one of its sponsors, the Tyler Hamilton Foundation (THF), beginning Sunday, May 16th on eBay (www.ebay.com). Bidding closes Sunday, May 23rd, the same day an open house and closing reception will be held at the Veloworx bike shop from 3-6 p.m., which is free and open to the public. All of the proceeds from the auction will benefit THF, a charity launched in January by professional cyclist Tyler Hamilton, perhaps best known for his heroic ride in the 2003 Tour de France when he incredibly finished the

Well, a guy can’t be too disappointed with that. Today worked out nicely for the team. It was actually a bit better than we might have expected for the first mountain-top finish. Despite all of that heavy Saeco firepower driving at the front of the field, our little Alessio team got two of our guys - Franco Pellizotti and Andrea Noe' – into the top ten. Franco crossed in third, 16 seconds behind Simoni and Andrea took tenth at 34 seconds. Not bad. I’m sure that if you’ve seen any of this on television, you can tell that it’s really hard going up against Saeco right now. As far as I am

Saeco hit the last climb with all guns firing

Mazzoleni: Lots of TV time in a 136km solo break

Cunego kept tabs on Popovych

Saeco stayed near the front when it counted

McGee finished 2:21 off of Simoni's pace

The final push

A long day in the saddle

Tim Johnson (Saunier Duval) gets back into action this week with two races in Spain. The American was hoping to earn a start in the Giro d’Italia, but flu then a rotten stomach in March delayed his preparation by nearly a month. “Having a bad month in the lead-up like that set me back. To start a grand tour when you’re not exactly as strong as you need to be is almost worse,” Johnson told VeloNews. “I wish I were doing it, but I almost know enough to be smart. Going when you’re not ready it could screw up your whole season.” Instead, he’ll be racing at the Subida al Naranco on Tuesday and