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O'Grady's ready to rock

Two-time Vuelta a España champion Alex Zülle, former world champion Oscar Carmenzind and two other pros were intentionally driven into a guard-rail by an angry motorist Thursday in Spain. Zülle, Carmenzind (both Phonak), compatriot Fabian Jeker (Saunier Duval) and Santos González (Phonak) were training near Alicante in southern Spain when an 84-year-old driver exchanged heated words with the pros and then forced them into a guard-rail with his vehicle, the EFE wire services reported. Jeker suffered a three-inch cut in his left thigh while Zülle was taken away in an ambulance, received five

Former world champion Mario Cipollini's Domina Vacanze team and the Spanish squad Kelme, which won the team title at the 2000 Tour de France, have been denied places on cycling's elite list for 2004, the Union Cycliste Internationale said on Friday. They were among six teams, including the U.S. Postal team of five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, that the governing body had asked for more information before Thursday. “On the basis of the complement of information given to the UCI since the 22nd of December 2003, and following the advice given by Ernst & Young, the PCC could

Let the games begin (and not the good ones, either)Editor:The article about Alison Dunlap is just the start of a long hot summer before the Olympics. Every Olympic year deserving cyclists are not selected for the team. There is always going to be someone left out in the cold, and cold people usually employ lawyers to heat things up. Just wait – as the selection process gets closer there will be other stories to tell. On a similar note, it has been rumored for more than a year that the USA may not qualify a sprint "team" for the Olympics. Now that doesn't sound good for the country with the

In what appears to be a classic case of not enough limelight to go around, 2003 world cross-country champion Sabine Spitz has left the German-based Merida team. Last year, Spitz and Norway’s Gunn-Rita Dahle dominated women’s cross-country racing, with Dahle sweeping all five of the World Cup races and Spitz taking the world’s win in Lugano, Switzerland. But apparently all that success could not offset what Spitz called an “environment that did not allow me to concentrate fully on my races. The internal situation became such that I could not stay and continue to develop as an athlete.” No

A threat to drivers?

Don't expect Mario to be celebrating this news...

Like many Mac addicts out there, I sacrificed a few hours of my Tuesday morning to watch the live Web cast of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’s keynote address at the annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Each year, the biggest geeks in the industry come together for several days in a large showroom to meet with designers and engineers and drool over the latest technological advances. Fluorescent lights hum, camera flashes sparkle, and schwag is freely distributed while people discuss issues of speed and performance. Right — just like Interbike, only nerdier, if you can imagine that. But Jobs’s

WARNING: WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ CONTAINS SEVERAL EXPLICIT REFERENCES TO MOTORCYCLES. IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY THE OF NOTION OF NON-HUMAN-POWERED TWO-WHEELED VEHICLES, PLEASE SKIP TO ANOTHER SECTION OF THIS WEBSITE NOW. Well, I just got back in from a bit of vacation time over the holidays [hope you had a good one]. Instead of the usual “hang-out-and-eat-and-drink-myself-silly” holiday, I chose to head south of the border with a pal of mine for a little two-wheeled adventure. As much as I’m a fan of the mountain bike, I had to concede that this trip required a bit more oomph in order to

This year, German classics man Steffen Wesemann turned from Australia to Arizona for his winter training home base and he's glad he did.“I never had such good training conditions before,” Wesemann said on the T-Mobile web page. “The climb to Mount Lemon is hard and the view from the top is amazing.”Wesemann has hit the roads of Australia for the past three years, but chose Arizona to “try something new,” for his lead-in to team camp on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The 2002 Paris-Roubaix runner-up put in 4000 kilometers and usually joined up with American pros “so we were never less than

The directors of the Webcor cycling team announced Thursday that they had signed sprinter Charles Dionne for 2004. "We are thrilled to have Charles aboard," said team director Frank Scioscia. "Dionne is unique in his ability to be a fast finisher in criteriums as well as a powerhouse in incredibly difficult road races like the San Francisco Grand Prix. He will be a significant part of the formula for creating a winning team." Dionne's breakout 2002 season included a solid win at the San Francisco Grand Prix by outsprinting a small breakaway group that included several seasoned European

So what is a good use of their time?!?!?Editors;I just want to know what is in the water in Colorado Springs. Maybesome of the cost of licensing should go to higher education for such "nuances." (see "Dunlapa long shot for Athens?") That line from USA Cycling's Matt Cramer- "To translate every nuance of the UCI rule book is not the best use ofour time..." says it all.What? To be continually embarrassed is a good use of their time!?! Whatin the world are you doing that is more important than the Olympics? Iknow as riders we have to look out for ourselves, but you'd think thatour "Director of

A look at the newly updated U.S. Postal Service team roster reveals a surprise: the as of yet unannounced addition of American Michael Creed to the squad. In a phone conversation from Tucson, Arizona, the Colorado Springs resident — who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Thursday with a 200km training ride — discussed his progression from the now-defunct Division 3 Prime Alliance squad to Postal with VeloNews. When informed of his appearance on the team’s Web site, the always-amusing rider was somewhat surprised, explaining that although his agent has been in discussions with the team, all the

Now that is brand loyalty

Plusher than ever in deepest, darkest Baja

Okay, we get it. You are officially a 'geek.'

Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Mike Creed, U.S. Postal's newest recruit

After two forgettable seasons, 2001 Vuelta a España champion Angel Casero is hoping to rediscover his winning legs for the 2004 season. “I’ve had two difficult seasons. In 2002, I had problems with my knee and I couldn’t race the Tour and it impeded my preparation for the Vuelta, where I finished sixth. And last year the situation with the team was truly chaotic,” Casero told the Spanish daily AS. Casero is set to ride for Kelme, though there’s no signed contract yet. “I have a lot of motivation for this season. After such a hard year that I had, with the disappearance of Coast, the

Try this on for size: Barring what would amount to a small miracle, 2001 world cross-country champion Alison Dunlap will probably not be at the start line for the 2004 Olympic cross-country race. "Say what?" you ask. Well, the chain of events is a bit convoluted, so put on your thinking caps and follow along. The story starts back in June when Dunlap took a nasty digger during the NORBA cross-country race at Snowshoe, West Virginia. That crash resulted in a badly separated shoulder and put an end to her 2003 mountain-bike racing campaign. The obvious consequences were to Dunlap, but her

Casero after winning the Vuelta in 2001

Dunlap may not get the chance for Olympic gold in '04

Dear Lennard;I've seen many times when you recommend a pair of custom orthoticsto alleviate many common cycling issues. I plan on having a pair made formyself, but therein lies my question: when shopping around for a podiatrist(I've heard too many stories about people purchasing expensive orthotics,which then turned out to not be effective), what does an athlete need tospecifically ask or have done to maximize their monetary efficiency? I know that all custom orthotics will be different based on the individual'sneeds, but I'd like some advice from a man who's had effective orthoticsmade. Are

American pro Christian Vande Velde confirmed Tuesday that he is close to reaching an agreement with Roberto Heras’s Liberty Seguros team. The U.S. Postal team rider told VeloNews that he has been negotiating with the Liberty squad since late last year and that the two parties are close to finalizing a deal, “although nothing has been signed at this point.” Vande Velde, who spends much of his season based in Gerona, Spain, said that he still has a year remaining on his current contract, “and some of those details need to be worked out,” before he can formally make the switch to the team now

Tour de France prologue winner Bradley McGee said he’s planning on making an all-out assault on the 2004 Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under as a springboard to what he hopes is an Olympic medal. “I'm confident I'll have better form than I did this year so I can attack the race because my goal is for a strong early season,” said the FDJeux.com rider in an interview on the race web page. “The best way to ensure I'll be firing when I get back to Europe is to be in the race and competitive in South Australia.” Set to join McGee in the TDU (Jan. 20-25) are 2003 Tour de France stage winner and green

USA Cycling has fleshed out the team it will be sending to the cyclo-crossworld championships January 31-February 1 in Pont-Château, France,adding 12 discretionary selections to its six automatic qualifiers.The team will include:Elite menJonathan Page (Selle Italia-Guerciotti)Jackson Stewart (Clif Bar)Andy Jacques-Maynes (Clif Bar)Elite womenAlison Dunlap (Luna)Carmen D'Aluisio (Clif Bar)Gina Hall (Clif Bar)Ann Knapp (Kona)Rachel Lloyd (Redline-Ritchey)Under 23Jesse Anthony (Hot Tubes)Jeremy Powers (NCC-Bikereg.com)Alan Obye (Balance Bar-Devo)Matt White (NCC-Bikereg.com)Michael Cody

Vande Velde

Reigning Giro d’Italia champion Gilberto Simoni kick-started his season– literally – over the weekend, competing in 7.5km cross-country skiingrace near his hometown of Trento, Italy.Simoni and Saeco teammate Leonardo Bertagnolli participated in the racewhich drew more than 5,000 skiers. For the 32-year-old two-time Giro champion,it marked the transition into formal preparations for the upcoming season.“As with tradition, I’ll start my preparation at home then join my teammatesin Terracina,” Simoni told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Some of myteammates will race in Qatar, but I prefer to stay and

Italian national team cycling coach and former race star Franco Ballerini has been called before a judge in Florence to answer charges of taking doping products in 1998, the year he won Paris-Roubaix for the second time, the Ansa news agency reported Sunday. Ballerini will appear before a judge at Pistoia, just outside Florence on January 14, to answer charges of taking anabolic steroids. His summoning comes following an enquiry opened by a court at Brescia which implicated former national coach Antonio Fusi and nine riders including Ballerini on charges of “sporting fraud,” a crime which

Japanese rider Masahiko Mifune, just four days short of his 35th birthday, upset a star-studded field to win the $60,000 Hong Kong Cycle Classic on Sunday. Mifune of the World Wide Cycling team from the Netherlands, outsprinted Australia's Cameron Hughes and Slovakian ace, Milan Dovrscik to claim the top prize in the 80km individual circuit race. "This is one of my favorite circuits and I felt good at the finish. I had some luck at the finish and I think it was tactics that won the day for us," said the 34-year-old Belgium-based Japanese. Mifune sat back and made his move around 500 meters

Ballerini in 2002

Geneviève Jeanson was in the news a lot during 2003 - first, because she is one of Canada's biggest cycling stars, and second, because of the high hematocrit result she posted at the road world championships in Hamilton, which led to her withdrawal from the women's road race mere hours before its start. Although Jeanson tested negative in a subsequent doping control, the frenzy, particularly among the Quebec media, has taken a long time to die down. Jeanson has been sparing in her media contacts since, in part because of the Quebec College of Physicians' investigation of Maurice Duquette on

Jan Ullrich spent his holidays on the Spanish island of Mallorca, training, we assume. The German star was spotted riding with several T-Mobile teammates and will return to the Mediterranean island later this month for more training. The Spanish daily AS reported the 1997 Tour de France champion will make his 2004 season debut at the Mallorca Trophy, Feb. 1-5. USPS ‘getting fixed’Lance Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Service team status for the 2004 season is still pending, but team director Johan Bruyneel said it’s just a matter of paperwork. “We had some delay with the paperwork, mainly because

Tour of the Gila race director Jack Brennan has notified VeloNews that the Tour of the Gila will have a new title sponsor for the 2004 edition of the race. National Geographic Adventure magazine has signed on, replacing the Silver City Holiday Inn Express as title sponsor, with the motel remaining on board as a co-sponsor. Brennan explained that in a very unusual development, Mike Trumbull of the local Holiday Inn Express - the previous title sponsor - did the work to find the new one. Trumbull, who is chairman of the Silver City/Grant County Chamber of Commerce tourism committee, worked

Geneviève Jeanson spent a good deal of time in the spotlight during 2003, and she wasn't always celebrating

Spain’s national team coach, Paco Antequera, said he’s already named three riders who will be part of the five-man Olympic road-race team to compete in Athens in August. Antequera told the Spanish daily MARCA that world champion Igor Astarloa, runner-up Alejandro Valverde and two-time world champion Oscar Freire top the list. “Freire, Valverde and Astarloa, even though he doesn’t like the heat, are the focus of my plans,” Antequera said. “The three are winners, they ride well in the hills and are quick, which is what you need in these kinds of races. The other two places will be the time

Hi, Bob,I signed a contract with a cycling-related manufacturer to endorse their product. I believe in the product and have used it successfully for several years. At the end of the nine-page agreement there was a clause called Force Majeure. This clause contains language about fires, floods, wars, etc. What’s up with this, and how does it apply to the contract? Thanks in advance,B.D. Dear B.D.,I suspect the Force Majeure was included as simply as boilerplate. In law, the term “boilerplate” refers to standard language contained in a legal document that is identical to language used in

How apropos – Sven Nijs won the GP Sven Nijs on New Year’s Day, and easily, too. His biggest competitor, world champion Bart Wellens, who was five for five in the seven-race Gazet van Antwerpen Trofee series going into today’s race in Baal-Tremelo, in Belgium, was no threat in the snowy weather. Nijs took off very fast from the gun, leaving the pursuing peloton behind after the first lap. Wellens had chosen the wrong tires for the conditions – but even with the right rubber, he could not compete with the flying Nijs. Wellens and Ben Berden refused to abandon the chase, but Nijs had the

Oleg Grichkine (Moscow City Sports Association) clinched overall victory in the Tour of South China Sea today as teammate Sergey Koudentsov won the closing stage-eight criterium in Macau. Grichkine won four of the tour’s eight stages to finish 17 seconds up on Kam Po Wong (Pocari Sweat Hong Kong) and 31 ahead of Peter Milostic (Bicisport Australia). Grichkine also claimed the points competition. Meanwhile, the U.S.-based Navigators cycling team announced that Grichkine would no longer race with the squad and would instead concentrate on his work with the Russian national team. “The

Who else could win the GP Sven Nijs?

World champion Bart Wellens is five for five in the seven-race Gazet van Antwerpen Trofee series after winning the Azencross on Tuesday in Loenhout, Belgium. Wellens attacked on the first lap, and only Sven Nijs could match his pace. It was a two-man race that finally was settled when Nijs went astray in the final corner, leaving the door wide open for Wellens to win his fifth straight race. Nijs hung on for second, followed by Ben Berden in third. American Jonathan Page crossed in 18th place. Results1. Bart Wellens2. Sven Nijs3. Ben Berden4. Erwin Vervecken5. Peter Van Santvliet6. Sven

Challenger Wong Kam Po (Pocari Sweat Hong Kong) gave it all he had in stage seven of the Tour of South China Sea, but there was no wresting the overall lead from Russian Oleg Grishkin (Moscow City Sports Association) Maros Kovac (Dukla Trencin) won the hilly stage on Coloane, Macao, but the real race was between Grishkin and Wong, first and second on GC. After a couple of early breaks were reeled in, Wong attacked with five laps to go, joined by Alexey Kolessov (Kazakhstan National Team) and Robert Nagy (Dukla Trencin). Grishkin’s team kept the move under control, commanding the front of

The Navigators have confirmed the team’s lineup for the 2004 Jacob’s Tour Down Under, set for January 20-25 in Adelaide, Australia. The eight-man team will include Siro Camponogara, Vassili Davidenko, Jeff Louder, David McKenzie, Kirk Obee, Ciaran Power, Burke Swindlehurst and Phil Zajicek. Henk Vogels, the team’s Aussie star on the comeback from his terrible crash last July, will not ride JCTDU but will join his teammates for a short training camp before the race. The riders will then participate in an official team camp and presentation in Italy in early February and stay in Europe to

Wellens was back on top Tuesday at the Azencross in Loenhout, Belgium

Berden, who won the last World Cup, settled for third

Why is this man smiling? Groenendaal finished 22nd

Page, meanwhile, scored another top-20 finish

Kovac charges up the hill to victory

Dear VeloNews.com readers. Wishing you a New Year filled with good health and happiness. I look forward to your questions for 2004. Monique Dear Monique,Had a quick question about the rising levels of mercury found in our fish sources. I’m famous for my diet of canned tuna. I can easily go through a can or two of BumbleBee white albacore tuna in water a day. From what I’ve read, this could easily put me at risk for mercury poisoning. What’s the latest on this issue? Thanks,CP. Dear CP,That is a very good question, as the American Heart Association advises us to eat two fish meals per

Adham Sbeih tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) at the U.S. Elite Track National Championships August 26 in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee. The USOC announced Tuesday that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's review board had found that "sufficient evidence of doping exists to proceed further in seven cases," including Sbeih's. The 30-year-old Sacramento resident, who raced for Sierra Nevada-Clif Bar in 2003, won the individual pursuit at this year's nationals and rode on the championship-winning team-pursuit squad. He and the six others, all

Dear Lennard,So there are two Giro TT helmets, right? (The round one that everyone has and the square one that Lance rides.) In the Vuelta I noticed that David Millar was wearing the square variant. What's the deal with this? Is one faster in certain conditions? Why David and Lance?– Geoff Dear Geoff,As far as I know, Lance’s helmet is not available for sale, whereas the other one is. Lance’s was designed specifically for him and works well with the hump in his back. Apparently, Millar has reason to believe that it is fast for him, too. When I was at the final time trial in the Tour in 2001,

The Moscow City Sports Association team showed that they are the class of the field on Tuesday in the Tour of South China Sea. During the sixth stage at Zhuhai, the team worked like a well-oiled machine to deliver Russian sprinter Oleg Grishkin to his fourth win in this tour. Kam Po Wong (Pocari Sweat Hong Kong) collected six bonus seconds by finishing second, and that may prove important in the final calculations, as he is the favorite in Wednesday’s stage on Coloane Island, which finishes up a steep climb. The stage began with a flurry of attacks. American Chris Baumann (Sierra

Adham Sbeih racing at the 2003 track nationals

The bunch rolls through the start-finish

Ciaran Power (Navigators) was the emphatic winner of Rás Turcaí in Carraroe, Ireland, on Sunday. On a 10km circuit, Power took control over the 89-man field when he attacked on each climb of the six laps and comfortably set himself into a 20-second lead just after the halfway point. Power was reproducing the sort of form that saw him take two stages in last year's Milk Rás as he powered away to increase his lead to more than a minute at the finish. The former Ofoto Lombardia rider David O'Loughlin came second after taking the first prime of the day, but he couldn't match Power, who was a

Russian sprinter Oleg Grishkin (Moscow City Sports Association) won the fifth stage of the Tour of South China Sea on Monday, taking the bunch sprint just ahead of Aussie Brett Aitken (Bicisport Australia). It was the third victory so far in the eighth annual race for Grishkin, who claimed stages one and four, and holds the overall lead just 13 seconds ahead of Kam Po Wong (Pocari Sweat Hong Kong) and a further second over Aitken. The tour has been a sprinter’s race since stage three, and while Grishkin didn’t look good in the hilly second stage, where he briefly surrendered the jersey to

Grishkin and Aitken – and a few of their closest friends - have at it in stage five

Belgian Ben Berden soloed to victory on Sunday in the Grand Prix of Belgium, the fourth round of the cyclo-cross World Cup. Dutchman Richard Groenendaal took off on the first lap in Koksijde, pursued by a host of Belgians. Sven Nijs took a spill and lost about 10 seconds, but first Bart Wellens, then Berden were able to join Groenendaal at the front. With three laps remaining, Groenendaal and Berden left Wellens behind – and during the last lap, Berden took off alone to win. Groenendaal hung on for second, followed by Erwin Vervecken, Wellens, Nijs and Sven Vanthourenhout. Nijs, winner of

Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) has been named cyclist of the year for 2003 by a panel of readers of the sporting newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. The Italian sprinter was favored by 31.7 percent of the 5527 people consulted on the Milanese daily newspaper’s website. Petacchi beat out compatriot Paolo Bettini, who garnered 23 percent of the votes, and American Lance Armstrong, who drew 19.3 percent. German Jan Ullrich got only 6.2 percent, while Italian Gilberto Simoni polled just 5.1 percent. Petacchi, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on January 3, won 24 times this

Our man in Belgium, Marcel Van Hoecke, was on the job in Koksijde at the fourth round of the World Cup. A gallery of the usual Belgian battlers, along with a resurgent Richard Groenendaal and the tenacious Jonathan Page, is presented below. For the story, click here.

Wellens has been winning everything this season – until now

Today was Berden's day to shine

Richard Groenendaal shot away from the gun on Sunday

But he was shadowed by a host of Belgians, including the eventual winner, Ben Berden

Bart Wellens was having an off day, and could only manage fourth

Erwin Vervecken, meanwhile, copped the last step on the podium

And Jonathan Page flew the stars and stripes to 19th place

World time trial champion David Millar says the 2004 Athens Olympics will overshadow the Tour de France in his season’s goals and is eyeing an appearance in track racing to bolster his chances. “I competed in the Sydney Olympics and it was a great lesson for me,” Millar said in a press conference this month. “The Athens Olympics are now one of my biggest objectives from here on. The Tour de France is my second objective for next year, and the World Championships will come third. “Sydney was a magnificent experience, and I learned a lot. I now know what to expect from the Olympics, and yes,

The Health Net Pro Cycling Team, presented by Maxxis, announced on Thursday the signing of former Prime Alliance rider Danny Pate. The announcement came from Gregory Raifman, Chairman & CEO of Momentum Sports Group, LLC, a Piedmont, California, based company that owns and operates the Health Net cycling team. A resident of Colorado Springs, Pate, 24, has shown great promise as a professional, riding in Europe for Saeco in 2000 and returning to the U.S. to take the No. 2 ranking in the NRC Standings in 2002 while riding for Prime Alliance. To date, Pate is perhaps best known for his win at

Bart Wellens won the latest round of the Superprestige cyclo-cross series on Christmas Day in Diegem, Belgium. It was his fourth win in five outings, and his 16th victory this season. In the early going, a lead group formed containing Wellens, Mario De Clercq, Sven Nijs, Tom Vannoppen and Erwin Vervecken. During a tactical game of “Who’ll take the lead?”, Wellens kept a low profile, but in the fifth lap he went for it, accelerating through a turn. Only De Clercq was able to keep up, but soon even he fell off the pace, eventually finishing second. Vervecken crossed third. American champion

Wellens claimed his fourth Superprestige race of the season

Vervecken found himself settling for the lowest step on the podium ...

... while Nijs missed the podium altogether

Vannoppen was right behind Nijs in fifth

U.S. champ Page wore his Santa hat for the Christmas Day race

De Clercq doesn't look overjoyed to finish second again

Joseba Beloki sounded like a lot of other riders at last week’s 2004 Vuelta a España presentation: The route looks great, but the Tour de France is the priority. “It’s likely I will race both the Vuelta and the Tour, but the Tour will always be the most important race for me,” the three-time Tour podium finisher told VeloNews. “The Vuelta course looks very challenging, and it’s one I like and I’d like to win, but there’s the Tour and perhaps even the Olympics, which every athlete dreams about.” Beloki was all smiles at the presentation ceremony, especially since his injuries have healed

Santa Cruz Bicycles and DSD have announced the formation of the Santa Cruz Syndicate team, which will compete on the 2004 mountain-bike racing circuit. Comprised of top athletes in gravity racing, street, urban, free ride and ultra-marathon, Santa Cruz Syndicate is not the typical factory racing effort. One of the details that sets Santa Cruz Syndicate apart from standard teams is that all riders are allowed to sign individual sponsors for personal items, such as clothing, goggles, helmets and shoes. Riders with individual clothing sponsors will be flying them in Syndicate colors, and have

American cyclist David Clinger has sealed a ride with Mario Cipollini's Domina Vacanze team for next season, the Italian team announced Wednesday. The 26-year-old from California, a former member of U.S. Postal, has been a professional for six years and rode with the Festina team before moving to Postal in 2002. He left Postal to race for Prime Alliance during 2003. –Copyright 2003/AFP

The Navigators will be heading to Australia after the New Year to make its season debut in the Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under, Jan 20-25. The team will join 11 other squads in what’s the first major race of the 2004 season. Heading to Australia will be Siro Camponogara, Vassili Davidenko, Jeff Louder, David McKenzie, Kirk Obee, Ciaran Power, Burke Swindlehurst, and Phil Zajicek. They will hook up with their Aussie teammate Henk Vogels for a brief training camp prior to the race, the team reported. The official team camp and presentation will follow the JCTDU with a complete team gathering in