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Wow! That's all I have to say when reflecting on the past seven days. My colleagues have had their hands full covering all the heated racing action going on around the world ... but I've had my plate loaded with late-breaking tech developments. Don't think tech can be as exciting as racing? You've got two choices here: Hit your browser's "Back" button to get your fill of blow-by-blow race coverage, or read on to find out why this has been one of the most exciting weeks of tech coverage since I began working with VeloNews. Dura-Ace again! First off, Dura-Ace is in the house. Well, it was

John Lieswyn (7UP-Maxxis) survived a scare in the final 1500 meters of stage 2 at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce to retain the overall leader's jersey, while Oleg Grishkine (Navigators) took the stage win ahead of local favorite Charles Dionne (Canadian National). The 169km stage through the rolling countryside south of Québec City unfolded as expected, with a break of five riders going clear 6km into the race. Jindrich Vana (Ed's System-ZVVZ) and Trent Wilson (Flanders-Iteamnova.com) started the break, and were quickly joined by Cam Evans (Canadian National), Jeff Hansen (Atlas Cold

2003 vs. 2004 Dura-Ace – which do you like better?

Six forks put to the test

Cockpit controls – looks like 'pumped-up' XTR to us

Prototype rear derailleur gets beefed up too

Disc brakes see oversize calipers and rotors

Tech report: Overwhelming developments!

Deore-XT goes two-piece in 2004

I am a Planckaerts fan. These days, such a comment will certainly turn a few heads here in Belgium,especially among the more conservative Flemish. But in my case, I am compelledto watch it. I laugh for an hour straight at all the whacky shenanigans that goon at the Planckaerts house. “DePlanckaerts” is a reality TV show on VTM featuring cycling legend,Eddy Planckaert and his family in the struggle of bankruptcy, living ina little cabin in the Ardennes. There is no argument; they are a hillbillyfamily, barely getting by. The story I heard is that Eddy lost his moneyfrom cycling in a bad

Dear Lennard;I'm building a front wheel for my new FSR, and I am concerned about the torsional rigidity of the front wheel. The spare parts I have can allow me to do radial lacing or standard three-cross. I'm running a Fox Float RL 80mm fork, a standard non-disc XT front hub, and a Bontrager Valiant 32-hole rim. I have run both wheels (three-cross and radial laced) on my old bike with a 75mm Marzocchi bomber Z3, and the three-cross wheel seemed to steer much better. I would prefer to do the radial because it looks cool and I have nice butted spokes for that wheel. By the way I weigh 180, am

After an aggressive ride, Telekom’s Alexander Vinokourov took a win in the opening stage of the Tour de Suisse. Vinokourov had been on the attack throughout the latter portion of the 163km stage from Egerkingen to Le Locle, but never managed to initiate a successful break until the closing meters as the peloton charged to the finish in Le Locle. Vinokourov managed to slip away with Fassa Bortolo’s Sergei Ivanov, before beating the Russian to the line, in a winning time of 4:13:43. Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Domina Vacanze) took third, two seconds back. The victory was particularly

The 2003 Insight Race Across America moved into it’s third day and the field strung out across Arizona and New Mexico by Tuesday morning. Allen Larsen leads the solo field commandingly, hitting the Pie Town, New Mexico time station at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Larsen’s strategy of not sleeping until New Mexico is paying off. His impressive 14.94 mile per hour average has put him about 4.5 hours in front of rookie phenomenon Marko Baloh and almost 6 hours up on 18-time RAAM racing legend Rob Kish. But such a risk can just as easily work against Larsen as for him. His support crew has

You’ve got to feel for Tara Llanes. Less than a year removed from a crash at the Durango NORBA that brought a premature end to her 2002 season, the gated-racing specialist has had another season halted mid-stride, after the Giant-Pearl Izumi rider suffered a broken foot in a car accident on Monday in Pennsylvania. Llanes, teammates Jared Rando and Dustin Adams, and team mechanic Matt Duniho were on their way to Vermont for the third stop of the NORBA NCS when their Ford F350 was involved in a crash with another vehicle. According to Giant team director Steve Westover, Adams and Rando escaped

The Grande Prix Cycliste de Beauce kicked off Tuesday with a hard 125-kilometer stage around the environs of Quebec City. John Lieswyn (7Up-Maxxis) took the stage and the first leader's jersey in a two-up finish with Chris Baldwin (Navigators). The opening stage was a wake up call to the riders: you will be climbing; A lot. After four circuits of an 8-kilometer loop with a significant climb on the south side of the St Lawrence River, in the town of Levis, the peloton headed north across the river to Quebec, where they did another eight circuits, with a tough 14-percent climb each lap. The

Monday, June 16th As the sun came up on the second day of the Insight Race Across America on Monday, the lead solo racers have already passed the time station in Congress, Arizona, 336 miles into the race. Riders weathered temperatures reaching beyond 110 degrees across the Southern California desert before making it into the steep, but cooler, roads of Arizona. By Monday morning there was a battle developing at the front of the race for the lead. Through Sunday night, the number one position on the road changed hands several times as four riders, Rob Kish, Marco Baloh, Allen Larsen, and

Fassa Bortolo’s Fabian Cancellara was the fastest Monday in the opening prologue of the 67th Tour de Suisse on a 7.1km course in Egerkingen. The 22-year-old Swiss rider won the opening prologue of the Tour of Romandie last month and pipped Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) just one second. Aussie Brad McGee (Fdjeux.com) came across third at two seconds slower. “The course was very hard, but the crowd carried me along,” Cancellara said. “I think my team can win this race, but maybe not me. I still have time.” Defending champion Alex Zülle finished fourth at four seconds back. It was

Ullrich

After a halting start to his season, former Tour de France champion and four-time runner-up Jan Ullrich said Sunday that it is probably unrealistic for him to expect to contest for overall victory in this year’s Tour de France, adding that the Vuelta a España and the world championships are his top targets for the year. "I am not placing myself under any special pressure, because I could not carry out perfect preparation for the Tour," the German cyclist, who won the world's toughest cycling race in 1997, told NZZ am Sonntag. Ullrich, who is taking on the Tour of Switzerland starting on

Lance Armstrong quieted the nay-sayers Sunday and won his second consecutive Dauphiné Libéré after holding off yet more attacks from the indefatigable Iban Mayo in the 174km finale from Briançon to Grenoble. Cofidis rider Cedric Vasseur attacked on the Category 1 Col du Coq with 40km to go to win his first race of the season. Mayo tried in vain to shake Armstrong one last time but the Texan matched his every move. Mayo, Armstrong, Credit Agricole’s Christophe Moreau and iBanesto.com’s Juan Miguel Mercado rolled in at 2:09 back of Vasseur. It was an exciting and intense week for Armstrong,

After riding Saturday’s cross-country in leftover mud from Friday’s drenching rain, riders were treated to a batch of fresh mud during the NORBA NCS #2 short track cross-country at Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia. The skies opened up at 10 a.m. Sunday, and a steady downpour created slick conditions on the short, fast track, but Subaru-Gary Fisher’ Chrissy Redden and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (RLX-Ralph Lauren) stayed upright and at the front to take the STXC titles. For Redden, it was a sixth NORBA short track win, and perhaps her hardest fought. Midway through the race, a strong front group

The solo riders in the 2003 Insight Race across America rolled out along San Diego’s Harbor Boulevard at 7 a.m. Sunday, escorted by police motorcycles and several hundred local cyclists and supporters, beginning a cross-country competition that will end more than eight days later on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the 18-rider field rode Rob Kish, a 17-time finisher, ultramarathon cycling legend and inspiration to anyone who has attempted the RAAM since he first lined up in 1985. Beside him rode Allen Larsen, last year’s Rookie of the Year and a definite contender for this

It was another stellar day for the men and women of Saturn Cycling, as they swept the closing stage — and overall — of Minnesota’s Nature Valley Grand Prix, with Trent Klasna and Katie Mactier taking top honors. Saturn dominated the podium all week long; both the men and women won four of their respective five stages. Coming into Sunday’s Stillwater criterium, Mactier’s podium-top finish was all but assured, but then again, it was so thought of Saturn’s powerful Viktor Rapinski, who started the stage with a 1:02 lead over defending race champion John Lieswyn (7UP-Maxxis). But it was not

On Fathers' Day, June 15, five-month-old Zach McCarthy watched his dad take on some of the biggest names in U.S. domestic racing and beat every one of them to the white line. With a field that included Tour de France veteran Jonathan Vaughters, national time-trial champ Chris Baldwin, and a host of top locals, the 2003 Historic Downtown Longmont (Colorado) Criterium provided an exciting day of racing. Picturesque manicured streets, pleasant temperatures and a gentle breeze disguised the exercise in suffering that ensued from the gun. As Travis Jones (Team Stealth), observed, the flat

Mayo and shadow

Millar preserved his podium spot

The Col du Lauteret

Armstrong stayed with his competition

Legendary 18-time RAAM racer Rob Kish at Sunday's solo field start

A couple hundred cyclists and supporters showed up Sunday morning up to follow the solo field through it's 15-mile nuetral start

The lone female solo racer, Rebecca Smith

2003 RAAM solo racer Allen Larsen kisses wife and baby goodbye on Father's day

Editor's note: Vincent Gee is mechanic for the U.S. Postal ServiceCycling Team, largely responsible for the domestic circuit. Gee will bereporting back to VeloNews.com throughout the season.June 5 - Tuesday’s race in Lancaster was raining all day long but today (Thursday), it was dry. Nonetheless, it was bike wash, followed by bike wash, followed by yet another bike wash yesterday and this morning. The Lancaster race ended really late Tuesday so we put the dirty bikes away for the night and set off to a late dinner. Wednesday morning Julien (head mechanic) Allen Buttler and I pulled them

Lance Armstrong’s spill in Friday’s fifth stage of the Dauphiné Libéré race was one of the Texans rare crashes during competition. Armstrong went down on a descent after leaving Morzine after his wheel apparently locked up and sent the four-time Tour de France champion sprawling to the pavement. Armstrong wasn’t seriously injured and finished the race with cuts to his right elbow and rips in his cycling shorts. He later received two stitches and was expected to start Saturday’s climbing stage. Typically, Armstrong stays out of trouble by staying near the front of the bunch, the safest place

If the Dauphiné Libéré race is Lance Armstrong's dress rehearsal for the upcoming Tour de France, don't expect any major changes in the plot line come July. The four-time Tour winner brushed off aches and pains from Friday's spill and withstood more aggressive attacks from Euskaltel's Iban Mayo on the classic climb up the Col du Galibier. "From the moment I cycled from the hotel to the start line, I knew it would be a difficult day because my body was aching all over," Armstrong said after finishing fourth behind winner Juan Miguel Mercado. "I suppose that's why I couldn't find my proper

On a muddy day in the West Virginia mountains that claimed a couple of prominent victims, Jimena Florit and Ryder Hesjedal slipped and slid to cross-country glory, and Jill Kintner and Mike King navigated the brackets to mountain-cross wins on day one of NORBA NCS 2 at Snowshoe Mountain. Alison Dunlap, Luna’s former world champion and World Cup winner, was transported to a nearby hospital with a possibly dislocated shoulder following a crash in the cross country. Meanwhile, Trek-Volkswagen’s Wade Bootes went down hard in the evening mountain-cross competition and required several minutes to

SATURDAY: Things haven’t changed much since my last update. The heater’s still set on high here in France, and I’m still taking things pretty easy. Yesterday’s stage featured a fair amount of climbing. But the big story of the day was Lance’s crash on an early descent. Being that he’s always so well protected, he’s not a guy you see hit the bricks very often. So it was big news when word of his hitting a pothole spread through the peloton. Luckily he was able to get back on his bike and continue the stage. Most of the riders were pretty respectful toward his situation, especially as

Lance Armstrong tests his legs on the Galibier.

Mercado celebrates.

A well-managed, properly officiated and expertly driven road-race caravan can be a beautiful thing. It is a choreographed vehicular ballet, balancing cars, drivers, riders, roads and the climatic elements in a colorful montage moving along at 40kph to sometimes 80kph. On the other hand, a poorly organized and badly handled one can be a dangerous cluster … er… flick. At the Hamilton World Road Championships we’re hoping for the former. If we get the latter, I will have really screwed up. But I won’t be alone, and indeed I will be in very esteemed company, as the other guy – the guy with the

If Raimondas Rumsas is guilty of doping charges stemming from this year's Giro d'Italia, Lance Armstrong for one believes that the Lithuanian should be banned from the sport for life. "Rumsas? He is an idiot to take drugs after what happened last year and knowing that the UCI people were watching him," Armstrong said after retaining the overall lead in the Dauphine Libere on Friday. Rumsas has been temporarily suspended by the Lampre team for failing a doping test at last month's Giro d'Italia. Sources close to his team say that Rumsas tested positive for EPO following the sixth stage of

I’m sitting here waiting. I know the news is coming, it’s just a matter of when. When will Boulder begin its prairie-dog, monkeypox hospice program? For those of you unfamiliar with VeloNews’s hometown, this is the city that banned the killing of prairie dogs and enacted a “relocation” program in 1999. It was the constant inundation of stories about prairie dogs -- and the guy whose goal in life was to locate by GPS every single dog dropping in city open space -- that eventually led me to cancel my subscription to the local Boulder Daily Camera. Since the monkeypox outbreak, though, I’ve been

Drew Miller (Landis-Trek-VW) has added the inaugural North American Climber's Cup to his list of triumphs this year, following impressive wins at Arizona’s La Vuelta de Bisbee and New Mexico’s Tour of the Gila. The cup combined a pair of two-day USCF races with 42,535 feet of climbing over 233 miles - the Death Valley Road Stage Race, May 17-18, and the Everest Challenge Stage Race, June 7-8. Both were held in California’s Sierra Nevada. The Death Valley race included a 12.7-mile climb that averaged 8 percent grade, rising 5,280 feet to a finishing elevation of 9,200 feet. A $1,000

Newly crowned U.S. national champ Mark McCormack’s first defense of his new stars-and-stripes jersey fell short at the opening stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix Thursday. McCormack’s Saturn squad rode wisely, making the key breaks and setting up for the final sprint, but could not hold off a tough Navigators squad determined to show its strength. Riding a three-man break into Virginia, Minnesota, in the inaugural Iron Range Road Race, Navigators’ Irishman Ciaran Power found his legs in the final sprint to beat McCormack, who finished third behind new professional Adam Bergman (Jelly

Lance Armstrong brushed off a rare crash early in Friday’s 192km fifth stage to retain the overall lead of the 55th Dauphiné Libéré race in another blistering hot day in France. Armstrong crashed alone while coming off a descent just 14km after the start in Morzine and cut his right elbow and buttocks. Team officials said they weren’t sure what caused the crash, but the four-time Tour champion went down going an estimated 70 kph. “He’s okay. You never know what can happen when you crash going that fast,” said team spokesman Jogi Mueller. Armstrong finished the stage with rips on his

Saturn scored a double in stage two of the Nature Valley Grand Prix Friday in Virginia, Minnesota, as Tom Danielson and Manon Jutras won their respective 6-mile time trials. Danielson turned a 9:08, followed by teammate Viktor Rapinski in 9:18 and Jelly Belly’s Adam Bergman, who continues to shine in his home-state debut as a pro, in 9:28. In the women’s race, Saturn swept the podium, with Jutras at 12:06, Lyne Bessette at 12:16 and Katie Mactier at 12:20. Complete results and overall standings were not immediately available. The racers travel to downtown Minneapolis for a twilight

Going up: Ron Hudson (Sportsbook.com) and Drew Miller (Landis-Trek-VW) reach the last of 11 switchbacks on the climb to Onion Valley in the Death Valley Road Stage Race.

Lance Armstrong gets a little doctoring after a spill in stage 5.

The consequences of laying it down at 70kph ...

Laurent Lefevre scores for his Jean Delatour squad.

Bob;Is it possible to get comprehensive bicycle insurance that will cover theft, injuries to me caused by a motorist, and liability arising from any damage I might cause to someone else while riding?GW Dear GW;In general, there is no such thing in the United States as “comprehensive bicycle insurance,” although it’s pretty common in the United Kingdom. In fact, a quick internet search indicates that “consumer report” type comparisons exist between policies offered by different firms in the UK. Unfortunately, to obtain comparable insurance in the U.S. requires that one “cobble together”

Got a message this week and it’s for the vast majority of the world’s elite gravity racers — or at least the ones who were at Alpe d’Huez. You all need to stop whining, bitching, moaning and protesting, and start paying attention to the writing on the wall. Because if you read it, you’ll see that right now more than ever, the sport of mountain-bike racing needs solidarity, not sit-down strikes. Now, I don’t doubt that the courses at Alpe d’Huez were sub-standard. The legend of UCI course designer Frank Roman and his general lack of competence is well known. Just last year he refused (or

Too bad Iban Mayo isn't talking up a big game for the upcoming Tour de France. The tenacious Euskaltel rider won his second stage of the 55th Dauphine Libere on Thursday, edging out Lance Armstrong and Francisco Mancebo after attacking hard in the Alps. "In a stage like that, held in such heat it's, not the quickest who comes out on top but the freshest," said Mayo, who also won the opening prologue. "It was a good win, but Armstrong is stronger. It's clear he's going very good now and will be even better at the Tour." Mayo, Armstrong and Mancebo chugged away from the fractured peloton on

THURSDAY: It’s been two very telling days here at the Dauphine. The contenders have shown their cards. Yesterday’s time trial and today’s stage of nearly 245 kilometers put a gap between the guys here to win and the rest of the race. The time trial was demanding, as I predicted it would be. I wanted to set a pretty good tempo at the beginning so my teammate, Carlos Sastre, would have some benchmarks to work off of. For the remainder of the race I tried to stay steady, but didn’t push myself too far into the red. Yesterday turned out to be a great day for the Americans. Lance’s decisive

This story originally appeared in the July, 2003, issue of Inside Triathlon magazine Chann McRae pulls off his cycling jersey and pauses a minute before putting on his running clothes. There, on McRae’s spare, sinewy arms, shoulders and hips, you can see a veritable oad map of his past. And if you know what you’re looking for you can see the marks of his future. After 14 years as one of the top bike racers in the U.S., McRae has taken his share of tumbles. Faded scars dot his body, the faint reminders of scrapes with the roads of France, Italy, Spain and most of North America. But what you

Health Net’s Gord Fraser will no longer be barred from some ofNorth America's most prestigious road races, after a legal settlement reached on Tuesday. Fraser, long regarded as one of the top road racers in North America, had been relegated to the sidelines by Threshold Sports because of a mounting legal argument with the company. (See "Why Gord Fraser and Health Net won't be in Philly" - June 2, 2003) "I'm just glad it's finished," Fraser said yesterday in a telephone interview from Ottawa, where he is visiting his mother. "I'm looking forward to racing in Threshold events again." Fraser

You can't make me....

The freshest win on days like this

Still in yellow. Still in control.

The team is finding its form, too.

Mancebo makes a charge.

The move of the day

Fans

Bjarne's back

Congratulations are in order to Saturn’s Lyne Bessette and Mark McCormackon their performances in Philly last weekend — Bessette for her LibertyClassic win ahead of former teammates Petra Rossner and Judith Arndt (bothnow with Nürnberger) and McCormack for his fourth-place at the USPROChampionships, good enough for a year in the stars-and-stripes jersey. In addition to being long-time Saturn athletes, both are down-to-earth,hard-working riders from the Northeast deserving of their successes. 2002wasn’t an easy year for either of them: On April 1st of last year, McCormackwas struck by a car

Dear Monique;I have heard about the glycemic index and have incorporated it intomy training program. However, I have also recently come across the ideaof a "glycemic load," but have a question concerning it. I was wondering,does the glycemic load of a food double if one consumes twice the amountof that food was used to determine the original glycemic load? Thanks,-- NP  Dear NP;I think that you will be hearing more about glycemic load in the future.Referring to a food simply by it’s glycemic index may seem too simple whenyou look at the big picture of how you portion foods and how they

Dear Doctor,I am a competitive cyclist who has been experiencing excruciating abdominalpains after my training sessions. The episodes usually occur approximately15-30 minutes after I am finished. The symptoms are severe bloating andunbearable pain that sometimes doubles me over. Usually if I take an anti-gaspill the discomfort is minimal and shorter in duration. What do you thinkthe problem could be and what can I do about? -- HG Dear HG:Exercise-related abdominal pains like you're describing can have severalcauses. Your question is a good one because studies have shown than 30to 40 percent

As if there was ever any doubt. Of course, just in case there was any, Lance Armstrong made a point of reminding the cycling world that he's the alpha male of the pack with a blistering performance under Texas-like heat of central France. Armstrong blasted his way to his first victory of the 2003 season in Wednesday's 33.4km individual time trial and jumped into the overall lead of the Dauphine Libere race. The win comes just in time to remind everyone that Armstrong won't be arriving at the July 5 start of the Tour in anything but winning form. "I think it's more important to show myself

The Lampre team has confirmed that a urine sample submitted by Raimondas Rumsas following Stage 6 of this year’s Giro d’Italia has tested positive for EPO. Rumsas, who is still awaiting the results of his “B-Sample” test from the Giro, has ridden under a cloud of suspicion ever since his wife was jailed for procession of performance-enhancing drugs on the final day of last year’s Tour de France. Rumsas finished third in 2002 Tour and was twice tested for drugs in the three-week race. None of those tests came back positive. Nonetheless, Rumsas was the center of a firestorm of controversy on