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The underpinnings of the new track

It's a hard-hat area ...

... especially if you try riding this section

But things will be smooth as silk, eventually

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Hey, dude, when can we ride?

Race officials revealed the 2005 Tour de France will start with a 19kmindividual time trial with the Vendée region of western France hostingthe “grand depart.”The time trial and two road stages will be featured for the openingof the 92nd edition July 2-4, 2005, which will then push east toward Choletinto central France, Societe du Tour de France officials revealed Thursday.Challans will be the site of the “Grand depart,” but the first stagewill be a 19km ITT from nearby Fromentine to Noirmoutier en l’Ile. Becauseof its length, it will be called stage one rather than a prologue, raceofficials

The knives were out in what was expected to be an innocuous second stage of the 58th Tour de Romandie in Switzerland on Thursday With some serious mountain stages on the menu Friday and Saturday, Thursday’s 156km circuit stage into Romont served up a nice appetizer for what awaits this weekend. Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola) confirmed he’s on rising form just in time for the Giro d’Italia with an impressive stage-win on the rising finish near the historic chateau at Romont. A winner two weeks ago at the Tour of Aragon in Spain, Garzelli led home a group of 27 riders fractured by Phonak’s

We’re still settling down from the madness that was this year’s Sea Otter. While you can read the blow-by-blow race coverage in VeloNews No. 8, I thought I’d follow up on one of the more interesting tech stories fluttering about the Laguna Seca raceway: The return of Scott U.S.A to the United States market. You may or may not remember when Scott – which began life as a ski pole manufacturer – became involved in cycling. The company started producing aero' handlebars based on Boone Lennon's design way back in 1986. Of course, the brand really hit the big time when Greg LeMond used a Scott

It’s fair to say that there has been more than a little animosity between some of America’s top cross-country pros and the organization that governs them. From the medical monitoring mess at last year’s world championships, to the single women’s Olympic start spot, to the way the U.S. berths in Athens are being chosen, riders have had plenty of reasons to point an angry finger at USA Cycling. But there comes a time when it’s best for all parties concerned to move on, and it sounds like that is just what happened during an impromptu meeting at the Pan American Championships last weekend in

Manzano's recent testimony has closed the door to the Giro for Kelme

It was supposed to be a quiet day in the idyllic Swiss countryside

Hamilton on the offensive

McGee defends his jersey

A quiet day in the idyllic Swiss countryside

Hamilton on the offensive

McGee defends his jersey

Scott's vice president of U.S. bicycle sales Scott Montgomery shows off the hyper-light (895 gram) Team Issue CR1 carbon road frame

The complete Dura-Ace 10-speed equipped Team Issue CR1 will be available later this year

Thomas Frischknecht piloted this RC-10 at Sea Otter. Notice the funky Scott pull shock.

The peloton ripped apart over a Category 2 climb midway through the opening stage of the five-day Vuelta a Castilla y León in northern Spain. Strong winds finished off the job as José Ivan Gutierrez (Illes Balears) drove home a seven-man group. Pre-race favorites Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme missed the move, which Liberty Seguros had leader Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano safely tucked into the seven-rider group that came through 29 seconds ahead of the chasing Alejandro Valverde (Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme). Joining Gutierrez in the lead break were Galdeano, teammate David Navas, Gorka Beloki (La

Dear Monique,I have heard a lot about the glycemic index. There seems to be no low glycemic index sports drink on the market. I know that Gatorade is high glycemic, and that fructose is low glycemic. Wouldn’t a fructose only sports drink be better (provided it had the right balance of electrolytes)? It would be low glycemic and work for diabetics, and not raise insulin or blood sugar levels like sucrose. Wouldn’t this be a better alternative than a high glycemic product? I have heard some negatives things about fructose in relation to tolerance. Also, how important is the 4- to 8-percent

Vicenza, April 28, 2004 - Campagnolo has decided to go a stepfurther than the simple compact crankset, and develop a fully integrated10-speed drivetrain so that there are no half measures where safety, performance and longevity are concerned. This project has resulted in the new CT crankset and CT derailleur, which is why we can now introduce the first compact drive train. Campagnolo CT CranksetThe cranks are born of a project that skilfully unites Multidirectionaland Unidirectional Carbon Fiber technology. The Campagnolo CT crankset will be available in the Record, Chorusand Centaur

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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. This reader doesn't miss MissyHey Velo,What's the deal with keeping your readers informed on Missy Giove? (see "MTBNews and Notes: Missy on being Missy") Nobody wants to hear abouther spats with Anne-Caroline Chausson, or her marital

Veteran sprinter Jan Svorada (Lampre) proved he still has it in the sprint, taking victory Wednesday in the opening road stage of the 58th Tour de Romandie against a field of young guns nipping at his heels. The 35-year-old Czech sprinter has racked up 70 wins since turning pro in 1991, including stage victories in all three grand tours. He won his second race as a pro at Romandie in 1992, but seemed happier in 2004. “I’ve arrived here in good condition and I really wanted to win a stage,” said Svorada, who barely held off a late-charge by Marco Zanotti (Vini Caldirola). “The team worked

The 18th annual 2004 National Geographic Adventure Tour of the Gila got underway Wednesday in Silver City, New Mexico, opening with the Tyrone Time Trial, a hilly 16-mile out-and-back course. Ryan Blickem (Aida’s Bail Bonds) of Albuquerque, New Mexico took the men’s event in 36:01, a full minute ahead of second place and former Gila winner Scott Moninger (Healthnet/Maxxis). In the women’s time trial, Amber Neben (T-Mobile), posted a time 18 seconds faster than her teammate Mari Holden, a former world champion time trialist and fresh of a three-day, four-stage training stint in the pro men’s

See ya! Astarloa's stint in his Cofidis kit was short-lived

Spring time in Switzerland

Hamilton and teammate Oscar Sevilla

Danielson is holding his own

Brad McGee – winner of the 2003 Tour de France opening prologue – sliced his way through a short, technical course in Geneva to win Tuesday’s opening prologue of the 58th Tour of Romandie. Fueled by his recent success on the track, McGee put his excellent time trial skills to good use on the narrow 3.4km course to claim the victory three seconds faster than Olaf Pollack (Gerolsteiner). Defending champion Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) didn’t take any unnecessary risks and finished fifth at eight seconds back. Hamilton’s Phonak team, motivated to win the race on home soil, put three riders into

Over the last week I have been in Belgium, at a hotel just outside of Liège. This was our base for the Ardennes classics of the spring: Amstel, Fleche and Liège. The hotel here is a bit of a bike zoo at the moment with several teams of riders cooped up in rooms, bikes and trucks filling the parking lot and fans flowing in and out of the lobby looking for a photo with their hero or a free hat or water-bottle. This week marks the transition in the season from the flatter cobbled races to the hillier races. Some of the riders from Roubaix will push through until Amstel but few will go all the

The courses are set, the athletes are ready, and the 2004 TREK Bikes Collegiate National Cycling Championships Presented by TIAA-Cref are only four weeks away. The Nation's top collegiate cyclists will converge in Madison, Wisconsin on the weekend of May 21, 2004 for three days of intense racing to crown this year's Collegiate National Champions. Racing begins on Friday, May 21 with the TIAA-Cref Criterium (Lapped Race) held on historic State St. in downtown Madison (Racing begins at 1, Men's D-I race at 5:30). Saturday sees action in the 86 mile road race that passes through Black Earth,

Coming to the CLIF BAR Headquarters Thursday evening, May 13th! CLIF BAR & VeloNews are excited to present: First we'll tap a few kegs and fire up the pizza oven, then we'll sit back for an evening all about the Luna Chix Mt. Bike Program, highlighting the '04 Luna Chix Women’s Mountain Bike Team . Alison Dunlap, Marla Streb, Shonny Vanlandingham, Katerina Hanusova, and Kathy Pruitt will all be joining Gary Erickson on stage in the CLIF BAR Performing Arts Theater for an evening of fun and chat. Please join us! Hang out with fellow cycling fans, chat it up with the folks from CLIF BAR, and

For immediate release (Boulder, CO) -- America's most grueling bike race -- the 2,959-mile Insight Race Across America (RAAM) -- has chosen VeloNews to produce its 2004 event program. The program will be featured in a special RAAM cover-edition of VeloNews and as a special tabloid-sized section inside the magazine, plus have over-prints that will be distributed full run-of-book in Tailwinds and UltraCycling magazines. Total distribution is 100,000 copies. Now in its 23th year, RAAM starts on June 20th in San Diego and finishes in Atlantic City on approximately July 1. The event was

Dear Lennard,Aargh -- so much about getting UST tires on the rim (seelastweek's Technical Q&A), now what about some help with getting themoff!?!? I mounted my tires pretty easily, but I just bought some Stan's andneed to yank them off again to install the Stan's. And I can't for thelife of me get them off. Any help?Philip Dear Philip,The first thing you need to do is to deflate it completely. Starting opposite the valve, push one bead inward with your thumb sothat it drops into the rim valley all of the way around. That reduces thecircumference it encompasses when you push it over the

Mayo wants to arrive fresh for the Tour

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - More tire talk

McGee put his pursuit talents to use

Hamilton

Danielson

Dario Frigo, plagued by a viral infection since Paris-Nice, won’t start next month’s Giro d’Italia. Instead, Fassa Bortolo has tapped the in-form Frank Vandenbroucke to take his place as team captain. Frigo became sick during Paris-Nice and has been unable to effectively train since then. Frigo -- kicked out of the 2001 Giro by his team after being found with banned substances during the San Remo raids -- scored victories last year at Paris-Nice and won a Giro stage, but has yet to win this year. Vandenbroucke, meanwhile, has been riding strong throughout the spring despite not scoring a

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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 that and SNOOKER, too!Dear Editors:With OLNTV cycling coverage on the classics deteriorated to the point that it is just not even worth the wear-and-tear on my TiVo's hard-drive letalone for me to watch, I have half-started looking into

Norristown, PA – The first five juniors qualified for the JuniorPro Cycling Tour to be held Sunday, June 6, as part of the Wachovia USPROChampionship, now celebrating its 20th year in Philadelphia.  MichaelChauner, 17, West Chester, PA high school senior and a member of the Colorado-based,Team Rio Grande, blistered to a solo finish, followed by Chad Young, 18,from Lancaster, PA, Main Line Cycling, both over a minute ahead of thefield of 24.Colton Valentine, 16, Philadelphia, Quaker City Wheelmen, Elliot Gaunt,17, Williamsport, Main Line Cycling and Chris Ruhl, 17, Quakertown andalso on

An Albuquerque man was killed during the Tour of Canyonlands cross-country mountain-bike race near Moab, Utah, on Sunday. The Grand County sheriff’s department identified him as 33-year-old Samuel Hall. Authorities say he died when he collided with a Ford Excursion sport-utility vehicle that was towing a trailer. Officers say the accident caused a pile-up with other bicyclists. Hall died at the scene. Also injured was Robert Milne, 22, from Murray, Utah. He was airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado, with a possible broken arm and a possible broken clavicle. According

If bike racing was only about legs, lungs and fitness, we'd all be racing nothing but time trials and concentrating only on aerodynamics and gear selection. But anyone who has toed the line at anything from a local office-park crit' to the Tour de France will already know that the real beauty of bicycle racing is in its tactics.Competitive cycling is about using good technique and having a strong tactical sense - "race smarts," if you will. While it's true that the most physically prepared cyclists usually survive, they don't necessarily always win. One of this country's premiere cycling

Americans Sue Haywood and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski each scored wins at the Pan American mountain-bike championships in Baños, Ecuador on Sunday. Competing on a short, but technical course that also included a 1km section of road that meanders through Baños, Haywood (Trek-Volkswagen) grabbed the win ahead of countrywomen Mary McConneloug (Seven), with Alison Dunlap (Luna) settling for third. This was the first time this year that all three of America’s top women’s Olympic hopefuls had competed against each other. The Pan Am race was also the most valuable thus far in 2004, carrying 125 UCI

Final Overall Standings 1. Lance Armstrong (USA) U.S. Postal Service, at 1066.4km in 25:39:20 (41.566kph) 2. Jens Voigt (G) CSC, at 0:24 3. Chris Horner (USA) Webcor, at 1:01 4. Bobby Julich (USA) CSC, at 1:57 5. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) U.S. Postal Service, at 2:59 6. Cesar Grajales Calle (Col) Jittery Joe's Coffee, at 3:07 7. Scott Moninger (USA) Health Net/Maxxis, at 3:44 8. Sergio Marinangeli (I) Domina Vacanze, at 4:06 9. Brian Vandborg (Dk) CSC, at 4:52 10. Eric Wohlberg (CAN) Sierra Nevada, at 5:25 Full Results

PHONAK HEARING SYSTEMS1. Tyler Hamilton (USA)2. Niki Aebersold (Swi)3. Oscar Camenzind (Swi)4. Martin Elmiger (Swi)5. Bert Grabsch (G)6. Gutierrez José Enrique (Sp)7. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp)8. Gregory Rast (Swi)T-MOBILE TEAM11. Steffen Wesemann (G)12. Mario Aerts (B)13. Giuseppe Guerini (I)14. Matthias Kessler (G)15. Klöden Andréas (G)16. Daniele Nardello (I)17. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz)18. Erik Zabel (G)LOTTO - DOMO21. Peter Van Petegem (B)22. Serge Baguet (B)23. Christophe Brandt (B)24. Thierry Marichal (B)25. Axel Merckx (B)27. Rik Verbrugghe (B)28. Piotr Wadecki (Pol)29. Glenn D'Hollander

There’s now little doubt that Gerolsteiner’s Italian wonder man Davide Rebellin is the man of the week, the man of the month, maybe even the man of the year. That seven-year gap between World Cup victories after the two he scored in August 1997 was more like a blockage than a drought. Suddenly, last Sunday in the Netherlands, the dam broke and in eight days Rebellin has simply swept away his opposition in a torrent of victories: Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Tyler Hamilton said Sunday that he is focusing all of his efforts on a strong showing at this year’s Tour de France, perhaps joining his former boss and teammate on the podium. The 33-year-old from Massachusetts, who left U.S. Postal just over two years ago having helped Lance Armstrong win the first three of five yellow jerseys, failed to repeat his success from last year when he won the Liège-Bastogne- Liège World Cup classic for the Danish CSC team. Hamilton on Sunday finished ninth on the season's fifth World Cup race, finishing 12 seconds behind winner Davide Rebellin who claimed his

There was plenty of racing in Europe beyond the Ardennes. Here’s a round-up of all of Sunday’s other action: Cunego takes another winRising Italian star Damiano Cunego (Saeco) took another big victory Sunday in the 65th Giro dello Appennino (ITA 1.2), an important one-day race coming just days following his breakthrough victory at the Giro di Trentino earlier this week. 65th Giro dello Appennino (ITA 1.2)1. Damiano Cunego (I), Saeco 5h13:372. Giuliano Figueras (I), Ceramiche Panaria3. Rinaldo Nocentini (I), Acqua & Sapone4. Luis Jimenez (Col), Formaggi Pinzolo5. Gilberto Simoni (I),

Gord Fraser of Health Net-Maxxis took the final stage of the Dodge Tour de Georgia Sunday, beating out Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita Olive Oil) and 2002 world champion Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze) in a high-speed 65kph dash to the line. There were no significant changes to the general classification, sealing the final overall victory for U.S. Postal-Berry Floor's Lance Armstrong.

Davide Frattini (Team Monex) and Lynn Gaggioli (T-Mobile) wrapped up the overall titles at La Vuelta de Bisbee Sunday morning despite both final stages being won by gutsy solo breakaways. Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators) found a reserve of strength after having to contend for his top-three spot without team support and powered the infamous Tombstone Canyon climb for his solo win. In an almost 50-mile breakaway, two-year cycling veteran Michelle Beltran (Red 5 Racing), stormed up the final climb minutes ahead of the field to claim her stage win. The day opened with GC leaders holding known,

Rebellin stikes a familiar pose

The day's first escape

On the Cote St Roche

Jaksche on the attack

Iñigo Landaluze leads

Wesseman slips to third in the World Cup standings

Fraser scores another

Armstrong takes the overall title

Julich marked his return to American racing with a solid performance

Eki' drops back for a feed

Fraser takes the opener and the closer at TDG

And the winner is...

Gaggioli defended her lead

Beltran had company for the first few miles but, no one could stay with her

Beltran stayed out alone

Gaggioli was left to monitor the break on her own

Frattini

The early break in the men’s race would gain just over three minutes before the chase began

Swindlehurst took his second stage win but Frattini monitored the gap

Team Monex in control

Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) said he’s feeling strong and will be motivated to defend his title in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège race in Belgium. Since joining Phonak, the popular New Englander has been quietly building his form for July’s Tour de France. He narrowly missed victory in the final time trial at the Tour of the Basque Country in early April and worked himself into an early attack in Wednesday’s Flèche Wallone. “You maybe didn't see it on Wednesday, but I consider myself to be in good shape, maybe slightly below that of a year ago but not by much,” Hamilton told Belgian newspaper La

The sunshine that enveloped the green hills of the Ardennes Saturday evening augers well for the Italians who have arrived in force for Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Not only do they have the highest number of starters (44) and teams (six) for this World Cup race, but they have also delivered the race winner four times in the past seven years. Last year, of course, Tyler Hamilton broke their stranglehold with a brilliant solo victory ahead of two other non-Italians, Spaniard Iban Mayo of Euskaltel-Euskadi and Dutchman Michael Boogerd of Rabobank. Both Hamilton (race No. 1) and Boogerd (No.