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There's no stopping Paolo Bettini, even when he's marked as the man to beat. Bettini attacked up two decisive climbs late in Saturday's 227km Clasica San Sebastian to win his third World Cup victory of the season and his second in a week after holding off compatriot Ivan Basso (Fassa Bortolo) in a two-up sprint. "Everyone said that I was the favorite, but it's true I have great form and I wanted to attack and take advantage of the situation," said Bettini, who won in 5 hours, 44 minutes, 42 seconds. "We started the race thinking about taking the World Cup lead, but at the base of the

Ukrainian Vladimir Duma (Landbouwkrediet) won the fourth stage of the 19th Regio-Tour Saturday. Duma finished more than a minute ahead of Germany’s Jens Voight (Crédit Agricole) in the179km stage from Wehr to Neuenbourg. Christian Werner (Telekom) crossed third. Ukrainian Volodymir Gustov (Fassa Bortolo) retained the overall lead. Barbosa takes fourth stage in PortugalCandido Barbosa (LA Pecol) of Portugal won the fourth stage of the Tour of Portugal on Saturday. He covered the 154.6km ride from Castelo Branco to Coimbra in 3:49:19, followed by Spain's Angel Edo (Milaneza-MSS) in second

Judith Arndt (Nürnberger Versichering) outsprinted Susanne Ljungskog (Bik-Powerplate) and Edita Pucinskaite (Michele Fanini) on Saturday to win the seventh stage of the Grande Boucle Féminin, a 107km run between Royat (Puy-de-Dome) and Commentry. Joane Somarriba, sixth on the day, retains the overall lead going into Sunday’s 84km stage from Aubusson (Creuse) to Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat (Haute-Vienne). Among those abandoning before today’s stage were Sonia Huguet (French National Team) and Australian Sara Carrigan (Bik-Powerplate). Results:1. Judith Arndt (G), Nürnberger Versichering), 107km

Jaksche, Garcia Acosta, Hoste and Portal got the ball rolling early

Cañada and Hincapie survived an early selection on the Cat. 1 Alto de Jaizkibel

But the battle boiled down to Bettini and Basso

And it was Bettini at the finish

Team CSC's Tyler Hamilton won't be racing in September's Vuelta a España, according to sport director Johnny Weltz. Hamilton is set to return to Europe next week after a trip back to the United States, where he was honored with a parade in his hometown, an appearance on the “Today” show and served as the starter for the New York City race last weekend. Hamilton will likely race some events in August and September, but the Vuelta is not in the plans, Weltz said. "It's too hard to focus all the way through the season. He's had a long season and he's still recovering from his injuries at the

Germany's bid to defend its Olympic men's team-pursuit title in Athens next year will have to start from scratch after suspensions were handed out to bickering riders Friday in Frankfurt. The German Cycling Federation (BDR) did not hold back in its punishment of its top track riders, whose internal quarreling led hosts Germany not to present a team for the event at the recent world track cycling championships in Stuttgart. The BDR's decision to disband the team and start afresh came after some nasty nitpicking between Robert Bartko and Jens Lehmann at the recent world

A week ago we posed the question in this space: "How many donuts is too many?" Well, after poring over the responses, we came up with a concrete answer: 4.625. So, don’t tell my wife, but that means I’ll consider it acceptable to down four donuts on any given morning at work. As for those of you who responded that one donut is too many, or that I should eat a good, hearty breakfast and lay off the donuts, I’m sorry that your Web browser accidentally took you to this page. If you go back to the VeloNews.com home page, I’m sure you’ll find what you were looking for. I’ll leave the last word on

Lithuanian Rasa Polikeviciute (Team 2002 Aurora) won Friday’s sixth stage of the Grand Boucle Féminin, a 129km run from Vif (Isère) to Davezieux (Ardèche). Polikeviciute crossed more than two minutes ahead of Australians Emma James and Margaret Hemsley. Spain’s Joane Somarriba, 17th on the stage, remains in the overall lead. –Copyright 2003/AFP Stage results1. Rasa Polikeviciute (Lit), Team 2002 Aurora, 129km in 3:42:54. (average speed: 34,724 km/h)2. Emma James (Aus), Les Pruneuax d’Agen, at 2:043. Margaret Hemsley (Aus), Nürnberger, at 2:044. Anita Valen (Nor), Bik-Powerplate, at 2:115.

The TransRockies Challenge, a wilderness mountain-bike race traversing the Canadian Rockies, will begin with a detour when the 600km endurance event kicks off August 10. “As most of you are already aware, Southwest Alberta (Crowsnest Pass) is under a serious state of emergency with forest fires,” said race director Chester Fabricius in a recent e-mail. “The area is in complete lockdown, and there is no sign of any rain in the near future.” As a result, Fabricius said, organizers are devising an alternate route for the first three days of the seven-day race. The race will still begin in

Okay, time to play a short game of word association. If I say (write) “national championship,” what comes to mind? I’ll give you a hint. Usually it involves a high-level sporting competition where athletes from a specific country compete against each other to determine who is that nation’s fastest runner, strongest swimmer, best football team or whatever. Simple enough, right? Well, not in the case of next week’s NORBA National Championship Series finals in Durango, Colorado. Yes, the event will finalize the U.S. national mountain bike champions (instead of a one-day national title like

Dear Bob, I was commuting to work two months ago and a guy pulled out of an apartment parking lot just as I was passing. I hit the side of his vehicle and went face first into his windshield. I have been left with large medical bills and several large scars on my face. His insurance company has offered up $50,000 policy limits, which I am about to accept. They told me I have to sign a release before cashing the check. What should I know before I sign? Dave C.Austin, Texas Dear Dave, The release the insurance company will require you to sign before you can accept the policy limits is a

Tyler Hamilton came in fourth in the Tour de France, but to the crowd that showed up to honor him at his hometown Wednesday, he might as well have been the winner. "He completely endears himself to the Marblehead community, not just because he's a native son, but also he showed this courage in one of the hardest sporting events in the world. There's just a lot of awe and pride here today," said Wendy Booher, one of the organizers of a parade for Hamilton in the Massachusetts town. Even after breaking his right collarbone in the first stage of the cycling race last month, the 32-year-old

Spanish rider Alberto Benito won Thursday's second stage of the Volta a Portugal and jumped into the overall lead. Benito relegated Spanish sprinter Angelo Edo (Milaneza-MSS) into second place in the 148.5km stage from Loule to Beja in the scorching south of Portugal. Benito finished second in Wednesday's opening stages and used time bonuses to jump into the overall lead. Another Kelme rider abandoned, Jesus Manzano, leaving the team with just two from its original eight members. Five Kelme riders quit Wednesday with stomach problems. The 65th Volta continues Friday with the 150.9km third

Italy’s Fabiana Luperini (Team 2002 Aurora) on Thursday won the fifth stage of the Grande Boucle Féminin, a 101.5-mile run between Argentière-la-Bessée (Hautes-Alpes) and Vaujany (Isère). Spaniard Joane Somarriba (Bizkaia Panda Spiuk), second on the stage, retains the overall lead. –Copyright 2003/AFP Stage results:1. Fabiana Luperini (I), Team 2002 Aurora, 101.5km in 3:00:09 (average speed: 33,805 km/h)2. Joane Somarriba (Sp), Bizkaia Panda Spiuk, at 0:033. Nicole Brändli (SUI), Prato Marathon Bike, at 0:154. Suzanne Ljungskog (Swi), Bik-Powerplate, at 1:305. Edita Pucinskaite (LIT),

Nothing 'national' about this podium.

Sher was the '02 U.S. downhill champ despite finishing third overall.

Since when does 8=1.

Back with Bianchi.

Pascual Llorente (Kelme-Costa Blanca) was reported to be the rider who tested positive for the performance boosting drug EPO (erythropoietin) during this year's Tour de France, the sports daily Marca claimed Wednesday. Kelme director Juan Mas told AFP that one of his riders had indeed tested positive, with confirmation coming after the rider´s B-sample had been tested. But Mas said he was reluctant to specify which of the nine members of the Tour squad tested positive. "I can't reveal the name of the rider until he has received official notification," said Mas. The Spanish rider was the

The 2003 season is over for reigning world time trial champion Santiago Botero, his Telekom team announced Wednesday. Nagging stomach problems that forced the Colombian to pull out of the 2003 Tour are still bothering him, and his team said Botero will neither race the Vuelta a España in September nor defend his world title in October. "Santiago must first fully recover," said team doctor Lothar Heinrich. Medical tests revealed a stomach bacterial infection and lingering virus. Botero finished fourth overall in the 2002 Tour, but pulled out of this year's race after stage 17 after

Jacques Hanegraaf, general manager of German Olympic champion Jan Ullrich's Bianchi team, on Wednesday blasted rumors in the German press that the cycling team is in financial difficulty. "We don't have any problems, otherwise we wouldn't have obtained our license,” he said. As to rumors that Bianchi was not paying its riders, Hanegraaf added: "Evidently, we pay our riders' wages. If not, we wouldn't be allowed to take part in races.” Hanegraaf confirmed that Bianchi is looking for a co-sponsor. "We're in some very good negotiations,” he said. “But it makes no sense to announce a sponsor

Italy’s Fabiana Luperini (Team 2000 Aurora) won Wednesday's abbreviated fourth stage of Le Grande Boucle Féminin, which was trimmed to 31.2km between Guillestre and Puy-Saint-Vincent because of a mudslide. By finishing third on the day, Spain’s Joane Somarriba (Bizkaia Panda Spiuk ) seized the leader’s jersey that the Russian Olga Zabelinskaia (Vélodames-Colnago) had worn since the beginning of the race. Initially envisaged between Val d'Allos (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) and Puy-Saint-Vincent (Hautes-Alpes), the stage was disturbed by a mud flow the previous day between Barcelonnette and

Time trial world champion Santiago Botero's season has drawn to a premature close as he struggles to shake off persistent stomach problems. The Colombian, who rides for Telekom, withdrew from the Tour de France before the 18th stage when he was placed 70th with a two-hour deficit over eventual winner Lance Armstrong. Before he returns to racing, according to team doctor Lothar Heinrich, "He's going to have to make a complete recovery." Botero, who finished fourth in last year's Tour de France, signed for Telekom from Kelme last November. The previous month he had become the first Colombian

A quick recap for those just joining the program: in my column last week I made mention that the Trek TT bikes used in the Tour de France were showing up in the worldwide media sporting modified Shimano headsets. I went on to discuss how I felt this odd, considering Chris King was the official headset sponsor for the team. Most interesting was the response I received from Chris King representative Jacki Sterner, indicating that the Postal mechanics didn’t “have time” to install headsets on the Tour bikes. A simple technical reason (stack height, cup fit) would have quelled my curiosity, but

Italian Cristian Moreni (Alessio) won Wednesday’s first stage of the 19th Regio-Tour, a 189.4km run between the German city of Heitersheim and Guebwiller in France. Moreni was the man of the moment in this first of five stages, which cover 814km in the area of the Upper Rhine, claiming not only the yellow leader’s jersey but also those of best climber and best sprinter. The 116 racers from15 teams began the stage slowly amid hot conditions. But with the approach of the Vosges, the race became animated and breakaway attempts multiplied until a group of about 30 went clear. About 3km from

First, a moment of silence for my lost youth, at least the 12 years of sunny afternoons spent standing around a baseball diamond shagging ground balls and spitting sunflower seeds when I could have been building up a sorely-missed lifelong base of cardiovascular fitness. Not buying it, sports fans? Okay, then how about a moment of silence for the loss of the 140-mile Boulder-to-Breckenridge one-day epic that had been scheduled to run this Saturday, August 9, but was cancelled several months ago after two-year title-sponsor Saturn pulled its sponsorship in the spring. After an admirable

My childhood hero. I don't think 'The Garv' ever shaved his legs.

Bianchi's Jan Ullrich confirmed he will race in October's world championships but remained doubtful on whether he'll use the Vuelta a España as his warm-up. "The focus of the remaining season is the world championships," Ullrich told German television after the HEW Cyclassics race Sunday. "There's a question mark whether I'm going to do the Vuelta, but I will see in two weeks’ time." Ullrich confirmed he'll race in the next two rounds of the World Cup - Saturday's Clasica San Sebastian and GP Zurich on Aug. 17 - but left his participation in the Vuelta up in the air. "I would love to do

A week after automatic qualifiers were revealed, USA Cycling named its remaining selections for the 2003 mountain bike world championships in Lugano, Switzerland. Among the riders getting discretionary nods were Carl Decker, Jimi Mortenson and Carl Swenson in men’s cross country, and Alison Dunlap, Shonny Vanlandingham, Gretchen Reeves and Dara Marks in women’s cross country. In the under-23 ranks, the final additions were Nick Waite and Alan Obye. Junior cross-country racers making the team includedPerry Paolini, Sam Schultz, Bryan Fawley and Grace Koerber. In downhill, four men and five

There is a gesture that symbolizes the blooming of a new era in Spanish cycling. In 1991, right after crossing the finish line in the 13th stage of the Tour of France, behind Italian Claudio Chiapucci, Miguel Indurain raised his fist to the sky in Val Louron. It was a gesture of joy and courage; the starting point of a career that led Spaniard Miguel Indurain to win five consecutive Tours of France, from 1991 to 1995. When talking about Indurain racing for Banesto you are talking about a Basque giant, born in 1964, in Villava, Navarra, to whom amateur cycling soon grew too small for him to

Spaniard Joane Somarriba (Bizkaia Spiuk Panda) won the third stage of the Grande Boucle Féminin on Tuesday, an 88km run from Fayence to Valberg. Swiss Nicole Braendli (Prato Marathon Bike) crossed second at 0:50 with Fabiana Luperini (Team 2002 Aurora) third at 1:49. Olga Zabelinskaïa (Vélodames-Colnago) finished in a bunch that finished more than four minutes behind the leader. She retained her yellow jersey, but just barely, as Somarriba moved to within 30 seconds of the Russian. Wednesday’s fourth stage is a 116km run from Val d’Allos to Puy-Saint-Vincent. –Copyright 2003/AFP

The wave of fires that has swept Portugal for a week could disturb the Tour of Portugal, which starts Wednesday in Albufeira, according to his organizers. On Friday and Saturday, the race will traverse the areas most seriously touched by fire, during the third stage (Campo Maior-Castelo Branco) and the fourth (Castelo Branco-Coimbra). For the moment, nothing indicates that it is necessary to modify the routes of the stages, according to Lusa Fernando Petronilho, press spokesman for the race organizers. "We are in daily contact with the mayor of Castelo Branco and with civil protection, and

Dear Monique:Working at a bike shop, I see customers every day spending hundreds of dollars on high-tech hydration and recovery mixes. I however, do not use them, and I’ve never felt like my performance is sub-par compared to my buddies and teammates. I hydrate only with water and Gatorade, and I recover with chocolate milk and a PB & J sandwich. I’m curious as to whether there has ever been any independent testing of these products, and whether they actually do provide an edge over my “over-the-counter,” homemade diet - either in terms of a week of racing or training, or during a weeklong

Australia's head cycling coach has demanded an apolgy from the head of the Italian cycling federation after casting doubts over his team's record breaking performances at the world track championships in Stuttgart. Giancarlo Ceruti, president of the Italian federation, told Gazzetta Dello Sport that he could not understand the results of the Australian and British pursuit teams at the event claiming that "on the road they are normal riders and on the track they become phenomenons." The Australians took more than two full seconds off their own world record while the British claimed silver,

Will he or won't he race La Vuelta?

Spanish cycling took a blow Monday when perennial team sponsor ONCE announced it will end its 15-year support of cycling at the end of the 2003 season. Rumors began circulating last week that ONCE (a Spanish agency that serves blind people and runs a national lottery) would pull the plug at the end of the year instead of continuing through the 2004 season as planned. The team will compete in the 2003 Vuelta and the remainder of the racing calendar, but an internal decision taken Monday leaves Spain's premier team without a title sponsor come November, reported the Spanish daily

Most of you have probably stopped waiting for my Tour de France wrapup. But for those who might still be interested, here goes. I don't know where to begin, really. It was a wild month for me. I can't remember any other time in my life that was more jam-packed with highs and lows. I talk a lot about living through the suffering cycling offers up, and how the bad days outnumber the good. But it's those one or two elusive good days that make it all worthwhile. Rarely do you experience the depths of disappointment and heights of success in one race. But the Tour de France is unique. You never

Spaniard Joane Somarriba (Bizkaia Spiuk Panda) soloed to victory Monday in the second stage of the Grande Boucle Féminin, a 106km run from Corte to Saint-Florent. Just past Oletta, 84.5km into the race, six riders escaped the bunch – Fabiana Luperini and Jolanta Polikeviciute (Team 2002 Aurora), Judith Arndt (Nürnberger), Nicole Braendli (Prato Marathon Bike), Somarriba and Edita Pucinskaite (Michela Fanini). A few kilometers from the Col de Teghime, Somarriba attacked and took the lead by a handful of seconds over her breakaway companions. On the descent, covered at more than 80 km/h,

In many ways, it is easy to forget that I am living in a foreign country. The unfortunate thing is that it might actually be possible to exist here in Belgium without ever coming to terms with it. By now, the local shops know we are English-speaking and address us accordingly. Ann and Bernard speak English perfectly. With the Internet, it is possible to transport your mind, and therefore the essence of yourself, back to the States in a few millibits per second. The standard pastime between email checks is watching DVD's in the living room – in English, of course. Not that this is anything

Colby Pearce gets ready for the points race

Another frustration - U.S. coach Des Dickie tries to figure out what went wrong for the U.S. in the team sprint

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Jens Fiedler tries to compose himself after being relegated in the sprint competition

Sometimes-Californian Josiah Ng is riding for Malaysia in the keirin

Australian Katie Mactier, who took silver in the pursuit after taking up the discipline in May, meets with her hometown TV crew

Old trackies never die.... American Mark Whitehead and former world champion Michael Hubner trade drinking tales and a few lies

Simon Derney - best named and indispensable part of the keirin

The automatic starter keeps things honest

Arnaud Tournant, the first man to break the minute barrier in the kilo', awaits his start

Chillin' like a villain in Belgium

Before the gun - The Aussie pursuit squad awaits the start before smashing the world record

Stuttgart’s world track championships wrapped up on a high note for Germany as its sprinters showed the host country’s riders were still capable of a bit of teamwork. After the implosion of its team pursuit squad, Germany demonstrated the depth of its sprint program by fending off a strong challenge in the gold medal round from the French to secure the world team sprint competition on Sunday. The final in the three-lap event – formerly tagged with the somewhat confusing moniker of “Olympic Sprint” – pitted Germany’s Carsten Bergemann, Jens Fiedler and Rene Wolff against a strong French

Quick Step's Paolo Bettini tried for three weeks to win a stage at the 2003 Tour de France but fell short. Now, a week later at Sunday's HEW Cyclassics race in Germany, the Italian upstaged local favorite Jan Ullrich (Bianchi) to win his second World Cup victory of the season. "This is a great race, no matter what people say," said Bettini, who moved into second overall in the World Cup standings. "Some criticize it because the course is relatively undemanding, but look how exciting it was. I'm delighted with this victory, and I'm looking forward to winning this race again." Ullrich and

Russian Olga Zabelinskaia (Vélodames Colnago) won the opening stage of the Grande Boucle Féminin Sunday, a 105km run under blazing sun from Sarténe to Ajaccio. Zabelinskaia crossed the line alone in 3:03:03, trailed nearly four and a half minutes later by Austrian Sara Carrigan. Lisbeth Simer was third at 5:28. American Katrina Grove was fifth at 5:54. The Russian collected both the leader’s jersey and the jersey for best climber. Prerace favorite Susanne Ljungskog is sitting 18th on GC at 6:27. –Copyright 2003/AFP Stage results1. Olga Zabelinskaia (Rus), Vélodames Colnago, 105km in 3:03:03

Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein (Navigators) outsprinted the rain and Saturn's Victor Rapinski to win the New York City cycling championship on Sunday. Winner of the match sprint on the track at the Sydney Olympics, Nothstein has been making an impressive transition to road racing and blasted past Rapinski in the final 100 meters of the 62-mile event through the streets of New York. American David Clinger (Prime Alliance-TIAA-Cref) was third. "Since winning the gold medal in 2000, this has been a big transition from the track to the road," said Nothstein. "With proper training

Just moments before a sudden rainstorm swept across Lower Manhattan on Sunday afternoon, former track-racing superstar Marty Nothstein delivered a lightning bolt of his own when he unleashed his world-class speed to win the second annual New York City Cycling Championship on the streets of New York. "I’ll tell you what," said Nothstein, whose rich track-racing resume includes the Olympic gold medal he won at the Sydney Games in 2000. "Since winning the Olympics, I’ve only been focusing on one thing, and that’s coming out to these criteriums to try and become one of the dominant

At the International-Tour de Toona, Saturn completed a sweep of the men’s and women’s races as Lyne Bessette wrapped up the women’s title on Sunday, while Tom Danielson overtook Navigators Chris Baldwin to win the men’s race, which concluded on Saturday. Danielson entered the final stage trailing Baldwin by 20 seconds, but the Saturn rider broke clear in the race, bridging to early breakaways Tim Johnson (Saturn), Brice Jones (7UP-Maxxis) and Baldwin's Navigators teammate Mark Walters. With Johnson and Danielson powering the breakaway, Danielson rode into the race lead. Walters sat on and

Wolff screams encouragement as Bergemann begins the last lap.

Swiss Bruno Risi celebrates the Madison win

Paolo Bettini overpowers the competition

Ullrich gave it his best for the hometown crowd

Marty Nothstein expands his racing résumé

The slimmed-down Nothstein says he's getting the hang of this road-racing thing

Danny Pate pulled the break like a locomotive

The peloton doing business in the financial district

They’ve said the track in Stuttgart, with its aged wooden surface is a fast one. It took the Australian pursuit team to prove just how fast as the four-man team of Graeme Brown, Peter Dawson, Luke Roberts and Brett Lancaster smashed the existing world mark – set by the Aussie squad a year ago – by more than two seconds Saturday. Facing a British team that included Robert Hayles, Paul Manning, Bryan Steel and individual pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins, the Australians knew they had to ride a sub-four-minute pursuit just to remain competitive in the final. The two teams both appeared nervous

Jan Ullrich won the Night of Hannover cycling race Saturday, a midnight event which also turned into a celebration for 85,000 of the Bianchi rider's fans. Ullrich beat out local German Grischa Niermann in a sprint at the end through the city, with Mario Cipollini third, as Ullrich continues a series of city races since finishing second at the recent Tour de France. The German was bombarded by well-wishers and autograph seekers after his recent Tour de France comeback. The 1997 winner finished second to Lance Armstrong. "Everybody's great, I'm very happy about that," Ullrich said.

While many of Nathan O’Neill’s Saturn teammates were celebrating Tom Danielson’s impending overall win at the International /Tour de ‘Toona — and others were preparing to defend Ivan Dominguez’s title at the New York City Cycling Championships — O’Neill sat in a hospital bed three hours away, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. As the fourth stage of The International came to a field sprint, the Aussie was wearing the leader’s jersey when he was taken out in a gruesome headfirst crash, suffering a broken nose, facial lacerations, and as it would be later discovered, two broken

According to USPRO road racing champion Mark McCormack, there are two things the 105 racers scheduled to start Sunday’s New York City Cycling Championship will be concerned with. The first is a problem that anyone who has negotiated the streets of Manhattan will be familiar with: potholes. The second thing that could make things interesting in Sunday’s 100km race, held in New York’s Financial District beneath the skyscrapers of Wall Street, is a forecast that’s calling for rain. "The taxis don’t have the most leak-proof engines, so you’re dealing with a lot of oil on those roads," said

The Aussies blaze to gold in the team pursuit

Two's a charm. The Australians had to start twice

Brett Lancaster, Luke Roberts, Peter Dawson and Graeme Brown meet the press

In case you're wondering, it's a 55x14

O'Neill, on a better day, after winning the Oak Glen stage at Redlands

My question for the week: How many donuts is too many donuts for one person to eat in a morning? I’m talking all morning – from the time you stumble into work and pour yourself that first cup of coffee until the time you’re ready to haul out for an hour-and-a-half lunch break. Without divulging any numbers, suffice it to say that I powered through a few of those round fried things this morning as I banged out my column, and am just wondering whether I overdid it or not. Drop a line to VN.com and let me know. * * * Last week I proposed letting readers pay $150 to write my column for me.

Cycling's World Cup moves back onto center stage with Sunday's 253km HEW Cyclassics race in Hamburg, Germany, the sixth stop of the 10-round series. The rolling course features no less than 23 rated climbs, but none are hard enough for the top pros to get out of the big ring. The course heads out into the farmland outside of Hamburg before heading back into the bustling port city for two finishing circuits. Whether it will come down to a bunch sprint or not is kind of a crapshoot. The race hits the short but steep Wasseberg climb three times, the last coming just 15km from the finish,

World champions Australia boosted its chances of defending its team-pursuit title after topping qualifying here Friday at the world track cycling championships. The foursome of Graeme Brown, Peter Dawson, Ashley Hutchinson and Stephen Wooldridge clocked an impressive 4:03.26 to launch their bid for Australia's first gold of the championships. Britain, who came third in the team event last year behind second-placed Germany, came a close second with France qualifying in third and New Zealand placing fourth. In the absence of a pursuit team from the hosts, who are the reigning Olympic