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Behold, the ligher, improved suspension 2004 Specialized S-Works Epic

The Gravity Dropper remote activated telescoping seatpost

Daniel Baal, the man widely tipped as the next Tour de France chief, has quit as deputy director of the world's biggest cycling race, organizers Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) announced Monday. Baal, an outspoken anti-doping campaigner and regarded as the likely candidate to take over from director Jean-Marie Leblanc, had already planned to quit as ASO director of cycling at the end of January. The ASO group said that French television journalist Christian Prudhomme, 43, will join the team from January 1 and will be second in command to Leblanc. Prudhomme has worked in sports television

No matter how you package it, the Wrench Science ad is stillobnoxiousTO: VeloNewsRE: Caitlin Aptowicz letter (seeWeekend mailbag letter"VNis porn")Nice attempt to justify your degrading ads by using a woman's letterto do it.Those ads are degrading and your shots of men, while beautiful, arenot the same thing and we all know it. Your continued running ofthose ads has lost you a bookmark not to mention lost that company a customer.Michele HarrisChange is goodEditors;This one is for Nate Simms (See Weekend mailbag letter "Discbrakes, schmisc brakes") and all the other disc brake naysayersout

The 16th Annual VeloNews Awards issue hits the newsstands this week, naming Lance Armstrong as the 2003 international cyclist of the year. Armstrong, who was selected over other finalists including Alessandro Petacchi and Tyler Hamilton, earned VeloNews's highest award for the third time in his career. Armstrong is the only athlete to have been selected International Cyclist of the Year three times. Other major awards winners in the December 8 edition of VeloNews include Tyler Hamilton as North American Male Cyclist of the Year and Geneviève Jeanson as North American Female Cyclest of the

Still under contract with Bianchi, Ullrich did not want to stir the pot.

Baal

Our 16th Annual VeloNews Awards Issue

Bart Wellens easily took the third round of cyclo-cross’s Superprestigeseries in Gavere, Belgium, on Sunday.Wellens powered to a substantial lead, finishing nearly three minutes ahead of fellow Belgians Erwin Vervecken and Sven Nijs.The reigning world champion took control of the race within the first few meters after the start and never looked back, building his final winning margin over Vervecken to 2:50.Wellens’s win is his second of the series thus far, after he won the opener in Ruddervoorde and then lost to Nijs in round 2 at Sint-Michielsgestel in the Netherlands.Superprestige Round 3,

Wellens went from the gun.

There was some seriious horsepower in the 1st chase group...

.. as well as the second.

Groenendaal took fifth

American Jonathan Page came to Gavere with high hopes...

.. but encountered troubles and did not finish.

Romans Vainsteins, the 2000 world champion, will race for the Italian team Lampre in 2004, according to sporting director Giuseppe Saronni. Vainsteins rode for the Vini Caldirola squad this season; his results included a sixth place at Paris-Roubaix and 18th at the Tour of Flanders. Sarroni hopes for great things from the pairing of Vainsteins and Gianluca Bortolami, particularly in the northern classics. –Copyright 2003/AFP

Get rid of the adDear VeloNews;I think it is time to move the “Wrench Science” advertisement. I really enjoy reading your web site and your magazine. But it is getting a bit boring to see that sex ad every time I look at your web site.You provide such minimal coverage of women in cycling and that is the only regular photo of a woman on your site.Maura FreemanSeattle, WAVN is pornEditor;The Wrench Science ads are porn for guys, but 99.9 percent of cycling coverage is porn for girls. Three elements contribute to this. First there is the raw material: prime-of-life men with unbelievably hot

Downhill mountain-bike racer Kathi Krause has been handed a one-year suspension after testing positive for a metabolite of marijuana at the NORBA National Championship Series race June 22 in West Dover, Vermont, according to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). The Fair Lawn, New Jersey, resident tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol acid (THC), a substance prohibited under the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Krause's suspension began on the date of the positive test, and all results that occurred on or after that date have been declared invalid.

The big boys of European cyclo-cross tuned up for Sunday's Superprestige race in Asper-Gavere, Belgium, by tackling a 'cross in Hooglede. Our man Marcel Van Hoecke was on the job, and he forwarded some photos of the action. Results1. Bart Wellens (B)2. Sven Nijs (B)3. Ben Berden (B)4. Maxime Lefebre (F)5. Erwin Vervecken (B) For more, see Marcel's website.

With a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, and temperatures toppingout in the 20s, Boulder Racing’s final series race proved to be classiccyclo-cross in all forms. Freezing temps, snow, ice and mud brought thetrue cyclo-crossers out to test their skills. As the day progressed thesnow on the well-ridden track turned the dirt to mud, making clipless pedalsa disadvantage. Indeed, the master’s winner claimed the victory on a veryretro’ pair of toe clips and straps. Both pro races proved to have it abit easier, with the mud refreezing during the races and making it muchless sticky and making the

Bart Wellens and Sven Nijs dicing in Hooglede

Wellens off on his own en route to victory ...

... and by Jove, there Wellens is again, making it look easy

Nico Mattan finished outside the top five

... but Erwin Vervecken 'crossed into fifth place

Vervecken punched in and on the job

Men's winner Jonathan Baker

Szabo in pursuit

The ditch was a barrier for some

With the 40th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination on Saturday, there will be endless discussion of the “defining moments” of each generation. That event, the Challenger explosion and 9/11 will all surely be brought up. I wasn’t thinking about any of that the other morning, but still got to wondering about how certain sports figures and events will be remembered and measured a few years down the road. The thoughts began to swirl as I was paging through “The Salt in his Shoes,” a children’s book that came packaged with a box of cereal a few months back. It’s the story of a young

Help Floridians get bike lane on A1AEditor:As an avid cyclist and long time reader of your publication, I am writing toask for your help in generating awareness about an important issue in PalmBeach County, Florida. Recently, a group of wealthy homeowners have banded together to form anorganization to prevent the installation of a bike lane on a state roadthough their town. This seaside road, State Road A1A, is by far the mostpopular road in the entire region with cyclists of all types - from familieson the way to the beach, to Olympic-caliber cyclists out training. The organization of

Saiz hopes to hook ValverdeFormer ONCE chief Manolo Saiz, now running the new Spanish team Liberty Seguros, wants to lure Alejandro Valverde away from his troubled Kelme team. The 23-year-old Valverde, runner-up in this year’s world road-race championships in Canada, recently told the French daily L’Equipe that while he hopes to continue with Kelme, he will leave the team if it cannot solve its money problems. And Saiz is ready to welcome him with open arms. "[Valverde] is an extremely interesting prospect," Saiz told L'Equipe. "I'm ready to begin negotiations with Kelme to get him." Kelme

Bobby Julich has signed a one-year deal with CSC, according to the team’s website. The 32-year-old American was the second American to make the Tour de France podium, placing third in 1998, but since has suffered through a couple of less-than-stellar seasons. Still, team director Bjarne Riis says “we can get more out of him than he has shown in the previous years.” “Our team will give him the opportunities he needs, and I look forward to seeing him getting back to the level that he used to have," Riis says. "He is an experienced stage-race rider, and I think that he will be able to benefit

Bobby Julich must've liked Nicolas Jalabert's CSC jersey – because now he has one of his own

The former head coach of Finland's nordic ski team, Kari-Pekka Kyroe, was charged Thursday with smuggling illegal performance-enhancing drugs used by his athletes during the world championships in Lahti two years ago. Six of the host country's skiers, including renowned veteran Harri Kirvesniemi and triple Olympic champion Mika Myllyla, were caught illegally using hydroxyethyl (HES), a plasma-expanding compound. A report into the matter said that the skiers may have used the drug in an effort to mask their use of the stamina-boosting Erythropoietin (EPO). State prosecutor Pekka Koponen

Bob;Until a few days ago, I worked at a bicycle related business. I thinkI was fired, but the company says I quit.I ride at noon and am often late returning to my desk. My old supervisorrecognized that I worked more hours than my fellow employees and allowedme to be a bit late returning from the noon ride. I would take an hour-and-a-halftotal and then work through all my breaks, to make up for it.That worked well for my old supervisor, but his replacement was notas understanding. Anyway, I no longer have a job.Is it true that if I quit I am not eligible for unemployment, but ifI was fired, I

Dear VeloNews;I saw Andy Lee’s response to my diatribe yesterday (see O'Brien's letter, "I see no improvement," and Lee's response in Tuesday's mail bag) on the VN site this morning. Yes, he supplied a direct link to the “Forms and Applications” page, but I also clicked on the USA Cycling home page link he listed to look for a way to find that same page and … well, at the risk of appearing even less “computer savvy” than yesterday, I suggest that you try to find it off of the front page.It ain’t there.His patronizing, “everyone in the world is an idiot except us” attitude is what got the

Dear Monique;What advice can you offer readers who are interested not gaining weight and are concerned about overindulging during the holiday season? This can be a challenging time of year with more social events, decreased training, and just general holiday stress.Thanks,CRDear CR;The holiday season can be a challenging time for any endurance athlete,even with a regular commitment to your training schedule (albeit, a somewhatpared-down training schedule). Many useful holiday food tips really centeron your behaviors and habits, and simply require forethought, commitment,and planning. Of

Dear Doc;I have been wondering about how donating blood can affect an athlete'sperformance. Obviously, in the short term after a blood donation, performancewill be hindered, since there is less blood to carry the oxygen around.But what about long-term effects?How long after a blood donation does one's body typically recover? Isthere any type of "super-compensation" that may occur from continued trainingafter a donation? In other words, will continually putting a high demandon my cardiovascular system after donating cause my body to regeneratemore red blood cells than I had before the

“I’m hungry. I’m a determined man. I’m going to rip some legs off next year. If you see me in the leader’s jersey next year at ‘Toona… you’d better stay out my way.”Nathan O’Neill This quote of the week comes courtesy of Saturn’s Nathan O’Neill, whohad one hell of a rollercoaster 2003 but is currently without a team for2004. A four-time Australian national time trial champion, O’Neill had competedat both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta de España riding with theItalian Panaria squad before heading to the States to sign with Saturnlate last year. In his first season of domestic racing, he

O'Neill, with Jittery Joe's team director Micah Rice

Mr. Rogers' neighborhood: That's one angry Aussie

Dear Lennard;What is your formula for measuring crank arm length? I have a 73cminseam with a size 39 foot. I have been on 170's for two years and havebeen able to progress with all training except hills. I was becoming frustratedbecause I'm only 130 pounds and should be able to fly up them. I've trieddifferent styles of climbing, etc. My husband and I decided the lack ofa 25 was not the issue; I just could not get on top of the gears I wasusing. I read your column and we had a 165mm from my son's bike and decidedto try.I feel I'm getting on top of the gear, a good feeling because I feelI have

It’s time for a little good news about women’s cycling -- some very successfulgrassroots programs are out there -- programs that are making the sportaccessible to hundreds of new women racers every year.  The varietyof these programs is impressive -- successful clubs, clinics, rides andseminars, all focused on getting more women involved with racing. Some of these are programs for women only and some are part of existing co-ed programs.At the 2nd Yoplait Women’s Cycling Summit held on October 13th, a taskforce was formed to identify these successful programs and to help developsimilar

Costa Rica’s Marvin Campos won the latest edition of La Ruta de Los Conquistadores November 14-16, keeping the host country’s record intact – a Costa Rican has won every edition of the 11-year-old mountain-bike race. Campos staved off an unrelenting field in the three-day, 212-mile epic, including Diego Garavito, a top Columbian rider, and Germany TransAlp champion Karl Platt. Campos completed the grueling coast-to-coast race in 15:43:19,12 minutes ahead of Garavito. Fellow Costa Rican Eddy Perez was third in 16:20:38, with Platt fourth in 16:28:24. The women’s race was an intense

She's innocent until…Dear VeloNews;Geneviève Jeanson took drugs (see “Jeansondenies EPO use”) well at least we think she did, so now we aregoing to cast a long dark shadow over her and give her no chance to proveher innocence.Hmmmm, what about the right to defend yourself, the right to face youraccusers, the right to counsel? Okay, I know these are principles of Americanjurisprudence, but there has to be a standard by which athletes are judgeddomestic or internationally.As it stands now the athlete's future is dependent on the whim of what ever Kangaroo panel wants to point a finger. Doesn't

What had been rumored for months finally became official on Tuesday, when it was announced that world downhill champion Greg Minnaar was leaving Haro-Lee Dungarees to ride for Honda. In a news release issued by Haro, company president and CEO Jim Ford said “Greg is both a great person and a great athlete, but we choose not to match an offer presented to Greg to ride for Honda in 2004. Although the financial terms of the offer were significant, money wasn’t the real issue. Greg and I talked and after hearing his desire to work with Honda on this project, I felt that it was best for both of us

Just stopped by the offices of Maverick American to say hi to the guys and ran into resident marketing guru, Steven Elmes. To be totally honest, I was officially on the Maverick premises to visit with our resident mad engineer/tester Mark Rhomberg who inhabits a small corner of the spacious 5000 square foot facility (complete with 1 acre backyard dirt jumping area) . On my way through the Maverick assembly area I ran into Elmes and his beautiful assortment of freshly painted Maverick frames. As he briefly showed me a few of the latest paint schemes Maverick is offering (my favorite was the

Minnaar during his final run at world's...

... and Minnaar after his final run at world's

Drink enough of 'the good stuff' and win one of these.

Germans rejoice! SRAM triggers are now legal in the homeland.

Sven Nijs and Hanka Kupfernagel both won the second round of the cyclo-cross World Cup series in St. Wendel, Germany on Sunday. Thriving in what can best be described as Belgian conditions; Nijs bettered a surprisingly strong Jiri Pospisil of the Czech Republic. "I was surprised by Pospisil but these conditions favor him," said Nijs, "What remains to be seen is if he can race like this on different types of courses." Nijs, racing in a continuous cold downpour and heavy mud was relieved of his strongest competitor when world champion Bart Wellens crashed in the midpoint of the race and was

Insisting that she has “never taken any banned substance,” Canadian cyclist Geneviève Jeanson confirmed Monday that she was the elite cyclist mentioned in charges against Montreal orthopedic surgeon Dr. Maurice Duquette, but denied that he had given her EPO. Jeanson had a called a news conference to ask that a publication ban against use of her name in connection with the case be lifted in order to allow her to publicly assert her innocence. Duquette recently pleaded guilty to a number of charges brought against him by the Quebec College of Physicians, most of them dealing with the

If things get any better for Clif Bar riders during their forays to EastCoast cyclo-cross races, they may relocate from their balmy base in SanFrancisco’s Bay Area to the colder, but welcoming air of New England andthe Mid-Atlantic. Clif Bar’s Carmen D’Alusio and Jackson Stewart won theirrespective races at Sunday’s Cycle-Smart International ‘Cross race in Northampton, Mass., the second day running that the NorCal team swept the top spots at an eastern ‘cross event. Fresh off her commanding win in New Jersey, D’Alusio and teammate GinaHall wasted no time making the Northampton race, stop

D’Alusio

Stewart

Wells

Jeanson with attorney Alain Barrette

Anderson case wasn’t relevant to real dopingEditor:Bryan Jew tries to compare drug abuse in cycling to the "major" U.S. sports (see "Notes from the road"). While I agree that cyclists and track athletes are given an unfair amount of the bad press for using performance-enhancing drugs, using Mike Anderson as the bad example for football is a poor comparison. There are plenty of examples of NFL and major college football players using performance-enhancing drugs, but Anderson was suspended for detection of marijuana (and in an amount that suggests it was second-hand smoke). Unless he is riding

Team Clif Bar won both elite events in the Highland Park (N.J.) Cyclo-Cross on Saturday, round eight of the Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Championship Cyclo-Cross Series. Clif Bar teammates Carmen D’Aluisio and Gina Hall established the early pace in the women’s race, with Hall on the front. D’Aluisio eventually overtook her teammate and rode the remainder of the race solo, increasing her lead with each lap and cruising in for the victory. Hall crossed a minute behind D’Aluisio for second. Anna Milkowski (Gearworks-SpinArts) who had two strong races in the Mid-Atlantic series last weekend,

Spain's Joseba Beloki is already basking in his new role as leader of the La Boulangere cycling team - which he hopes will provide him with the ammunition to challenge Lance Armstrong on the Tour de France. Beloki, who has spent the past four years fighting Armstrong for cycling's main prize as the leader of the ONCE team, created general surprise by signing with the little-known French team on Thursday. The 30-year-old Basque has claimed three podium finishes in the past four years on the world's biggest bike race, and, with five-time runner-up Jan Ullrich, was one of Armstrong's main

Just 48 hours from the August 28 opening of this year’s Eurobike trade show, Shimano lawyers filed an injunction against the SRAM corporation forbidding the manufacturer from exhibiting and distributing its new trigger-shifter line in Germany. Caught by surprise, SRAM scrambled to amend its ’04 catalogs and pull all of its trigger-shifter technology from its display at the trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. For almost three long months SRAM waited with bated breath to see if the German court would interpret its trigger shifter as being an infringement on Shimano’s RapidFire Plus

Some random thoughts on some random stories in the world of sports this week: Item No. 1: Kelme’s Javier Pascual Llorente, who tested positive for EPO at this year’s Tour de France, gets an 18-month suspension. Item No. 2: Four Americans and one British track and field athletes test positive for the newly discovered steroid THG, and face two-year bans by track and field’s governing body, the IAAF. Item No. 3: Major League Baseball announces that between 5 to 7 percent of anonymous drug tests of major league players in 2003 were positive for steroids, meaning that testing with penalties

“Save the ‘Drome ‘Cross Madness,” a fund-raiser for the endangered Ed Rudolph Velodrome in Northbrook, Illinois, kicks off on Sunday, November 23, at the Anets Golf Course. The velodrome may be forced to close after the 2004 season if improvements are not made. The Northbrook Park District, which owns the facility, has offered to fund half the project, if the local cycling community can raise approximately $150,000. The November 23 fund-raiser kicks off at 9 a.m. with a “steeple ‘cross” running race that will use the same course as the subsequent cyclo-cross races, which begin at 10 a.m.

Jimena Florit and Tyler Hamilton are among the cycling stars who have donated items for the International Mountain Bicycling Association’s 15th-anniversary auction on eBay, which begins today. More than 100 donated items are available, including: Florit's NORBA winning Tomac Buckshot (full bike)New Specialized Epic FRS Pro (full bike)A Hamilton-autographed photo and Tour de France race numberNew Yeti Scandium mountain frameFox suspension forksMavic Crossmax wheelsWestern Spirit mountain bike adventureRockShox Duke Race forkCrank Brothers pedalsCool mountain bike artworkOriginal Dirt Rag

Back in Deutschland...

Beloki has big plans for '04

For all those OLN-addicted race coverage fans currently suffering withdrawals, fear not. A full-length feature film of this year’s Giro d’Italia is headed your way December 8. Just in time for the holiday season, “The Quest” — sponsored by Cannondale and produced by the Santa Monica-based Spinning Wheel Productions — promises to be a rare “inside look” at life in the professional peloton, focusing on the Saeco team of Giro winner Gilberto Simoni. Although the film is still in its final editing stages, a viewing of the trailer (which premiered last month at Interbike) as well as a

Joseba Beloki, has signed with the French La Boulangere team, his agent announced on Thursday. "Joseba has signed for two years, his brother Gorka has also signed a two year contract, and on Friday we'll see whether they'll be joined by a third cyclist, Mikel Pradera," Pablo Arregui told AFP. Beloki, a former ONCE rider, is considered one of the few cyclists capable of challenging five-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong in the mountains. He was forced to pull out of this year's race after a dramatic crash while Armstrong was on his heels. The 30-year-old's switch brings to an end his

Colavita-Bolla announced Thursday that it has completed its 2004 roster with the signing of Vic Roads Herald Sun Tour winner Tim Johnson. The former Saturn pro has been building a solid reputation as professional, not only winning this year’s Sun Tour but also the grueling 260km Classique Montréal-Québec, the Mount Washington Hill Climb and multiple national championships and world championships appearances. In 1999, Johnson surprised many with a breakthrough bronze medal performance at the under-23 cyclo-cross world championship in Poprad, Slovakia. “I feel really great to be joining a

A few minutes after the slide show celebrating the season of the 5280 development team, Jonathan Vaughters addressed the small group of attendees at Denver’s Adega restaurant on Sunday evening. “The 5280 team is the main focus of the evening,” Vaughters said, “but I also have a ‘surprise’ announcement to make … one that most of you already know about, since I’m such a blabbermouth. I’m using tonight to also announce my retirement from professional cycling.” And at that, the 30-year-old Prime Alliance man put a formal end to his career as a pro. “I’d really already made the decision this

Bob,I was hit by a beverage truck in late 1999 here in Connecticut. Itwas the driver's fault, as he pulled out of a parking lot just as I passedby in the bike lane. I hit the side of his truck and broke my collarboneand hurt my knee. His insurance company paid for the bike. I had healthinsurance and that covered my ER visit. I was going to let the matter go,but in the last sixweeks, the knee injury has started to hurt so much Icannot ride. Is it too late to do anything about this case?T.S.ConnecticutDear T.S.,The good news is that you are not a “cold one.” The bad news is thatit is almost