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It was an all-star cast taking the initiative in Wednesday’s 111km opening stage of the Tour Mediterranean with last year’s green jersey winner Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com) edging classics strongman Michele Bartoli (CSC) in a 20-up sprint. Some of cycling’s biggest names seemed anxious to test their form as a group of about 20 riders tore away from the main bunch early in the sunny stage featuring two Category 1 climbs. “Since I was the only sprinter in the group I worked to stay with them in the break,” said Cooke, who’s already won at the Tour Down Under and the GP d’Ouverture. World

Dear Monique,This time of season many of us are including resistance training inour current training programs. What can I do nutritionally to maximizemy strength-building efforts? I am specifically interested in what I caneat before and after weight training. How do my nutritional strategiesdiffer after a long bike ride or run?ThanksBK Dear BK,For the cyclists and triathletes who opt to include resistance trainingin their program, nutritional considerations should include both one'sdaily training diet (especially when combined with your regular endurancetraining), and before and

Stage 6 map

Quaranta timed it perfectly

Good roads and....

Quaranta put on the charm before the start

Gert Vanderaerden is working with TV crews to provide an in-the-peloton perspective

Lots of horsepower and plenty of motivation

Astarloa in this season's ensemble.

Cooke in yellow

[nid:26838]Canadian rocket Eric Wohlberg stormed through a tight 18km circuit in central Melaka to take the time-trial stage of the Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi on Tuesday. “I went as hard as I could. It was really tough out to the turn but I had the lead at that point and was really surfing coming back,” Wohlberg said at the finish. It was a double triumph for the strong man, originally from Ontario but now residing in California, as he also led his compatriots Roland Green and Peter Wedge to the team prize.

Keeping important parts comfyDear Lennard,This isn't a nuts and bolts question, but I thought you might shedsome light on this subject. Most roadies I know (including myself) preferto wear bib shorts with leg warmers instead of tights in cold weather.I can't understand why nobody makes a short with a windproof panel in thesensitive chamois region. Surely I'm not the first to think of this.JayDear Jay,Good question! No, you are certainly not the first to wonder this!Here are somewhat contradictory answers from De Marchi and from Sportful,which also owns Castelli.From De MarchiDear Lennard,The

Portuguese rider Candido Barbosa won his second stage and wrapped up the overall victory in the three-day GP Correos in Portugal. Barbosa edged two Spanish riders to take his second stage in three days and lay claim to the spoils of the first Portuguese race of the season. Garzelli confident in GiroStefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie) wants another maglia rosa to go along with 2000 victory and is putting everything into winning the 2004 Giro d’Italia. The 30-year-old from Varese told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he’s confident he can take down defending champion Gilberto

Stage 5 map

Perez back in yellow

Lieswyn takes third

[nid:26834]It was another day for breakaways in Malaysia, as Australian Sean Sullivan of the South African Barloworld squad took the fourth stage of the Tour de Langkawi in a dramatic two-up sprint against breakaway companion Devis Miorin (De-Nardi) after 100km off the front. Behind, Canadian Gord Fraser of Health Net won the bunch sprint for a second consecutive day, adding to his points jersey tally and confirming that, at this tour, he’s the sprinter to beat.

Sprinting superstar Mario Cipollini will start Wednesday’s Tour Méditerranéendespite crashing hard in Sunday’ GP Costa degli Etruschi, team officialsreported Monday. Cipollini wasn’t seriously injured in the spill about 2.5km from thefinish line along Italy’s coast, with his helmet evidently protecting the2002 world champion from serious injury. “Despite the hard crash in the finish Sunday, Cipollini will be at theTour Méditerranéen,” said Domina Vacanze sport director AntonioSalutini. “This will be the first stage race of the season for Cipolliniand the team. Our goal is to win a

Stage 4 map

Fraser holds the points jersey

Dancers provide a send-off

Saying 'I do' on the podium

[nid:26830]Panaria’s 24-year-old Brett Lancaster, a member of Australia’s four-man world record-setting team pursuit squad, pulled off a courageous stage victory Sunday in heavy rain at the Tour de Langkawi. After Saturday’s 60km climbing day, the event’s third stage featured 100km of flat terrain before ascending a gradual pitch at Gap Rest House (elevation 881m), deep in Malaysia’s highland country. The course then quickly dropped into a fast and winding 35km descent to the town of Raub.

French team Ag2r enjoyed a banner day Sunday in the final day of theEtoile de Bessèges, claiming the overall title with Laurent Brochardand the stage victory for veteran sprinter Jaan Kirsipuu.Thirteen riders escaped early in the 145.8km stage between Pont Gaignièresand Bessèges and stayed away until the final lap on the finishingcircuit. Kirsipuu surged ahead of Saulius Ruskys (MBK-Oktos) to take hissecond stage of the five-day race.Stuart O’Grady (Cofidis) nipped former teammate and rival Thor Hushovd(Credit Agricole) to take third, but the Aussie didn’t win a stage in hisseason debut.

Stage 3 map

Before the storm: Lancaster led from km36.

Health Net leads the chase

Gord' gets the points jersey

Perez loses lead

Teammates Marlon Perez and Freddy Gonzalez of the Columbia-Selle Italia squad set the stage for the general classification on the first of two mountain stages at the 10-day Tour de Langkawi Saturday, finishing first and second on the day’s nearly 60km gradual climb into the Cameron Highlands. It was a good day for the South American squad, which now holds both the yellow leader’s jersey (Perez) and the blue sprinter’s jersey (Gonzalez).

Laurent Brochard (Ag2r) won Saturday’s fourth stage and slipped into the overall lead of the Etoile de Bessèges with just one stage remaining. The victory makes it the first by a French racer of the 2004 season and proves the 36-year-old former world champion still has the desire to race at the sport’s top level. Brochard outfoxed the younger French rider Sylvain Calzati (MBK-Oktos) and Spanish rider Joseba Zubeldia (Euskaltel) in the 150km stage between Branoux les Taillades and Les Salles du Gardon in France. Seven riders attacked on the day’s climb at La Baraque and took a one-minute

Stage 2 map

[nid:26826]Spectators at the finish of the Tour de Langkawi’s flat stage 1 from Penang to Taiping, Malaysia, were surprised to see the peloton roll across the line intact without a contested sprint. What initially appeared to be a rider protest proved to be more a matter of survival after local police marshals errantly waived traffic onto the course following the first of two 8km closing circuits.

With our 2004 Buyer’s Guide entering the critical home stretch, I was hoping I’d be able to dodge this week’s Tech Report, but this press release from Michelin was too important to overlook. As rumored for the past three years, tubeless technology is officially making the crossover to the road. Here are some excerpts from Michelin’s release: Michelin is initially targeting the world of professional road racing in 2004 with three new products: the Michelin Pro Race Tubeless, the Michelin Pro Grip Tubeless and the Michelin Pro Grip Special Paves Tubeless. This year, Michelin-sponsored

South African sprinter Robert Hunter (Rabobank) took care of business in the Middle East to win Friday’s final stage and claim the overall title of the third Tour of Qatar. Hunter won his second stage in three days to claim the overall prize, scoring a big win ahead of Italian Francesco Chicchi (Fassa Bortolo) and Wouter van Mechelen (Vlaanderen), who came across third. With only one second separating race leader Hunter and archrival Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) going into Friday’s 163km finale, it was heated battle from the gun. A group of about 40 riders tore away early as Lotto-Domo

Page 2 news in my local paper yesterday was the story of the 11 Cubans who tried to sail to the U.S. in a 1959 Buick. They had sealed shut the car’s doors and added a double bottom, bow and propeller. However, they were intercepted on their 90-mile journey to Florida by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, and it was unclear whether they would be allowed to stay in the U.S. or be returned to Cuba. This wasn’t the first attempt for some of them. Some members of the group were intercepted by the Coast Guard last July, trying to make the journey in a 1951 Chevy pickup converted into a boat with

Stage 1 map

Health Net takes the front ... only to find traffic on the circuit

The peloton wrapped up the first stage in parade fashion

Division 3 squad Pagcor-Casino Filipino has Merculio Ramos in the leader's jersey ... sort of

Toni Colom (Illes Balears-Banesto) sewed up the overall title of thefive-day Mallorca Challenge on Friday – too bad it won’t be in the officialrecord books. The Mallorca Challenge is technically a series of one-day races, whenriders can pick and choose which races they want to start. Officially,there are no UCI points for the final GC, but that didn’t stop the Spanishriders from racing break-neck through the final five-climb stage. Kelme – oops, Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme – tried to rattle Banesto –oops again, that's Illes Balears-Banesto – but couldn’t over the challenging up-and-down

The 10-day, 1251km Tour de Langkawi is set to start Friday, February6, on Malaysia’s resort island of Penang. Now in its ninth year, the Tour’s2004 course will follow a clockwise loop along the western coast of PeninsularMalaysia, offering a feast of sprint finishes with just three mountainousstages and two mountain-top finishes. Twenty teams of seven riders will contest the Tour, which boasts thefourth largest prize list in pro cycling. However, missing from the raceis any one overwhelming favorite, generating a consensus that it’s anyone’srace to win. Last year’s winner, American Tom

Honda Racing Corporation announced on Thursday that as part of its global activities program, it is launching Team G Cross Honda, a downhill mountain-bike team that will contest the world championships, NORBA series and selected World Cup races. HRC has entered into a multi-year contract with Spanish based sports management company 23 Degrees to manage the team, which will include reigning world downhill champion Greg Minnaar and young French rider Cyrille Kurtz, who was third in the junior downhill race at world’s. The team will also have two mechanics, a soigneur and a team director. The

Saturn was tops last year

Belgian Tom Steels (Landbouwkrediet) got his season off to a good start Wednesday, beating compatriot Jo Planckaert (Mr Bookmakers) in a bunch sprint to open the five-day l'Etoile de Bessèges race in France. Stuart O’Grady (Cofidis) and Gorka Gonzalez (Euskaltel) livened things up early with a long breakaway, but the Aussie was reeled in with 15km to go and it came down to a mass gallop coming into Marseille. The race continues Thursday with the 149km second stage into Palavas-les-Flots. l'Etoile de Bessèges, Stage 1, Marseille1. Tom Steels (B), Landbouwkrediet, 139km in 3:34:03 (39.131

Training camp has finished. I am back in Colorado and will soon be heading overseas for the beginning of the season. In the last week the training load increased and that old competitive spirit reappeared in the team. We rode between 4.5 and 6 hours each day with one easy day and one travel day when we left Solvang, California for Scottsdale, Arizona and our "sponsor camp" - which consisted of a weekend of fine meals at a nice hotel, where we could both ride and meet up with our sponsors and friends of the team before heading overseas for the races. The new team jerseys were also unveiled

Organizers of California’s annual spring bike bash, the Sea Otter Classic, have announced that they have signed a title sponsorship agreement with Hyundai Motor America. This year’s Hyundai Sea Otter Classic Cycling Festival is scheduled for April 15-18 at Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey, California. Hyundai has long been an active sports-related sponsor. Its recent partnership with the Mongoose mountain bike team marked the brand's entry into the cycling category. “Hyundai Motor America’s sports related sponsorships have proved an effective medium to promote the Hyundai Santa

Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke (Française desJeux) stormed to victory in the Grand Prix La Marseillaise on Tuesday toopen the French racing season. Cooke nipped Jo Planckaert (MR Bookmaker.com) to take the bunch sprintin the 152km race from Gardanne to Aubagne. Italian Fabio Baldato (Alessio-Bianchi) came across the line third. Racing continues Wednesday in France with the five-day l'Etoile de Bessèges.GP La Marseillaise (UCI 1.3)1. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, 152km in 3:38:302. Jo Planckaert (B), Mr Bookmakers3. Fabio Baldato (I), Alessio-Bianchi4. Stefan Van Dijck

Things that work and things that don't Dear Lennard, Would my 9-speed FSA Carbon cranks work with my 2004 Campagnolo Record 10-speed? Do I need to take off my 10-speed rings from my Record cranks and put them on the FSA cranks? Chad Dear Chad, Yes, it will work fine as is. And you could not take your Campy rings and put them on the FSA crank anyway, because the Campy rings have a 135mm bolt circle, and the FSA crank has a 130mm bolt circle (or 110mm, if it is a Compact Road crankset). Lennard Were it a Brooks, it would just be getting broken in Dear Lennard, How many miles can a saddle last

Tuesday's EuroFile: Cooke at GP Marseillaise; Valverde in Mallorca; Boonen in Qatar

Oscar Freire profited from quality work from his orange Rabobank train to win Monday’s stage into Port d'Alcudia by a half-bike length ahead of Erik Zabel (T-Mobile). Five Rabos set a blistering pace over the final 10km to catapult the former two-time world champion to victory. Sunday’s winner, Allan Davis of Liberty Seguros, was caught out of position but sprung back to finish third. “Today was different than yesterday’s circuit course when it was hard to find the right position,” Freire said after winning in 3 hours, 57 minutes, 38 seconds. “Today the team did amazing work over the final

As part of a renewed push into gravity events, Specialized has signed 16-year-old Californian Kyle Strait to a season-long contract to race national and international events. Strait, the 2003 NORBA’s junior 4X national series champion is expected to ride the company’s new Demo 9 in downhill races and a selection of free ride events in the coming year. Strait has an option to continue riding the company’s bikes at least through 2006 “Specialized has such an amazing history,” Strait effused in a release issued Monday. “They were building a name in racing before I was born! To be at the head of

If bikes are outlawed...Editors,Bravo to Selz and Magas for seeing the case in Trotwood to the end(see "LegallySpeaking - with Bob Mionske: You gotta fight for your right to slooooowdown"). I've long since lost track of how many times I've explainedto non-cycling friends that it is not illegal for me to rideon the road at a slower pace than cars, as long as I don't break the lawsregarding impeding traffic (such as by holding up a line of five or morecars unnecessarily).Darcy AdamsCovington, Washington...only (really slow) outlaws will have bikesDear VeloNewsThank you for publishing Steve

Jean-François Lamour outside of Interpol Headquarters on Monday

Zülle

Monday's EuroFile: Freire in Mallorca; Ventoso in Qatar; Zülle keen on Hamilton

Using the climbing skills that won her the world mountain-bike title at Mont-Ste-Anne five years ago, French off-road star Laurence Leboucher took her second world cyclo-cross title on her home turf Sunday morning. “We’ve talked about the world’s taking place in Pont-Château for a long time, but actually doing them, and winning, was another thing,” said Leboucher. “And I couldn’t have won without Maryline’s help behind.” She was referring to her teammate Maryline Salvetat, who closely marked two-time world champion Hanka Kupfernagel when the German was the only rider strong enough to chase

Bart Wellens made the right choice, Mario De Clercq didn’t. The younger of Belgium’s past world elite cyclo-cross champions chose to start the final sprint from the front. The older man chose to follow. And though there was only about an inch between their knobby front tires at the line, Wellens just held on. “Eight times out of 10 I would lose the sprint to Mario, so it was a great honor to beat him,” said a jubilant Wellens, 25, who thus kept the title he first earned last year in Monopoli, Italy. “Today was much more special for me than Monopoli.” Perhaps this was De Clercq’s final best

Allan Davis christened the 2004 European road season with a sprint victory in Sunday’s Trofeo Mallorca to give his new Liberty Seguros team the best possible start to the year. The Australian fought hard to get back in position after being boxed out in the final kilometer of Sunday’s 82.5km circuit course along the harbor at Palma de Mallorca to open the five-day Mallorca Challenge. Davis overcame a strong effort by Rabobank to set up former two-time world champion Oscar Freire to grab the victory. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) ill-timed his sprint and came through to take third. Racing was

Kupfernagel sure wasn't getting any help from Salvetat

Leboucher wanted to win at home

Knapp turned in a strong performance

French women go 1-2 at ’cross world’s

Pontoni leads Dlask. The Italian was the only non-Belgian to break into the top six

Page and Jacques-Maynes (front)

A familiar sight

It was clear that Saturday afternoon’s under-23 men’s race at the cyclo-cross world’s in Pont-Château, France, was going to be dramatic and highly tactical when there was a crash on the first turn. This was not just another of those crashes caused by a traffic jam of riders when they are still grouped together. This crash happened right at the front when the first six riders tangled wheels and fell on a muddy, off-camber slope as they emerged from the long bend. Among the six fallers were the three top favorites: defending champion Enrico Franzoi of Italy; Belgian champion Wesley Van der

UCI president Hein Verbruggen, road committee chief Pat McQuaid and cyclo-cross committee chair Sylvia Schenk emerged from an all-day session of the UCI management committee on Friday evening to reveal large-scale changes to both the world road-racing and cyclo-cross calendars, while Verbruggen made a scathing appraisal of the current doping situation in cycling. The most far-reaching proposals concern the much-trumpeted UCI Pro Tour that will start in 2005. McQuaid confirmed that only 20 teams will compete on this circuit, which replaces both the UCI World Cup and UCI world rankings system.