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World road race champion Mario Cipollini's team has been ruled out of this year's Centenary Tour de France. Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc announced the last four teams for this year's race which starts July 5 but overlooked Cipollini's Domina Vacanze team. "Cipollini hasn't had a very convincing start to the season despite the fact he won a stage in the Giro yesterday," Leblanc said Monday, noting that it had been "very difficult" to make the final choice. “At the age of 36 we felt he doesn't fit into the profile of the race which after a week of racing on the flat will head into the

Coming into the finishing stretch of Stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia, MarioCipollini drove all of his frustration and anger into his pedals as henegotiated the narrow streets of Montecatini Terme Monday afternoon. No one was going to beat him. Not Robbie McEwen, not AlessandoPetacchi and certainly not that Frenchman in Paris, who just hours earlier had once again denied the world champion a spot in the Tour de France. In an angry gesture against his Tour snub, Cipollini won his secondconsecutive stage and established a new mark with 42 career Giro d’Italiavictories. “What motivated me last

How completely bogus (yet entirely predictable) that Mario Cipolliniwas again denied an invitation to this year's Tour de France. Not invite the world champion? I'll bet they wish they didn't have toinvite Lance either. Not to worry Mario, because everyone knowsyou deserve to be there; the fact that you won't be only makes the Tourdirectors look more petty and foolish than they already do. So, they wanted to "give a little boost to the French cycling?" Maybethey should invite only French teams - that way they can be sure of a win.Time to re-run that cartoon from last year - "Le Tour de

In the real world, the choice would have been simple. Do you select a second-rate team with no stand-out riders to start the world’s most important event instead of a squad that’s led by the reigning world champion? Do you select a team that has an outside chance of winning a stage instead of one that will almost guarantee a bunch of victories, along with a likely yellow jersey? The answer doesn’t need to be spelled out. Mario Cipollini’s Domina Vacanze squad should have been a shoo-in; the Frenchmen from Jean Delatour should have been given the boot. And after selecting The French team,

Although race promoters Trilife Sports, Inc., recently ended its affiliation with NORBA — thus losing its status as a 24 Hour NORBA national championship — racing went on as planned at the 24 Hours of Adrenalin solo national championships, held at Laguna Seca raceway in Monterey, California, over the May 17-18 weekend. In the end, it was two familiar winners from 2002, Tinker Juarez and Louise Kobin, that ended up atop the podium. Riding for the Siemens-Cannondale mountain-bike team, cross-country veteran Juarez successfully defended his 24 Hours of Adrenalin solo national title, completing

Arcs-en-ciel en juillet?

Riding through Chianti

Garzelli still in pink

One face will be missing from the Tour portrait

Tinker lives up to his race number

Kobin just kept on riding through the winds and the cold

Jon Brown finished second

Riding through Tuscany

Charging to the line

Cipollini nailed 'em all

Number 42

Cipollini drinks a toast to Jean-Marie

World champion Mario Cipollini did Sunday what everyone expected him to do last weekend: win a stage at the Giro d'Italia and equal the 41-win record held by the late Alfredo Binda. In Sunday's eighth stage, Cipollini shook a monkey off his back that, to some, seemed to be quickly growing into a gorilla after he failed to win a stage in six consecutive sprints that opened the 86th Giro. Domina Vacanze's zebras shot the 36-year-old toward the line and this time no one beat him to the tape. Lotto-Domo's Robbie McEwen took second while three-stage winner Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo)

Haruko Fujinaka was in the United States on her honeymoon. But instead of heading to the beaches of California or some other romantic destination, the native of Japan made the trip to Big Bear Lake, because just like almost everybody else who drove up Highway 18 this weekend, Fujinaka loved bike racing. Sadly it was that love that ended the 33-year-old’s life, the victim of a bad crash in the Naked Falls section of the Snow Summit Resort downhill course. “From what I was told, it was just a classic endo,” said Tom Spiegel of Team Big Bear, the local organizer of the opening round of the

Teams are holding their collective breath going into Monday’s announcement of the final four teams to race in July’s Tour de France. Several teams are on the bubble to be selected by the Societe du Tour de France for the four wild-card invitations to join 18 other teams already lined up for the July 5 start of the centenary Tour. One of the major question marks is the status of 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich and his now defunct Team Coast, which was suspended two weeks ago by the UCI for not paying riders’ salaries. Bike manufacturer Bianchi stepped forward last week to take over sponsorship

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and on Sunday in Big Bear Lake, California, it finally did. After combining for 20 straight wins on the NORBA national championship series circuit, neither Roland Green or Ryder Hesjedal had the guns to stay with Jose Adrian Bonilla, as the Costa Rican grabbed the first NCS win of his career with a victory in the short track. In the women’s race it was another first-timer, Trek-Volkswagen’s Sue Haywood, who beat back the challenge of fellow American Alison Dunlap. Bonilla’s win came courtesy of a perfectly timed attack with 2 laps to go in the

Quick, in the long illustrious mountain-bike racing career of Eric Carter, how many big-time downhill races has the American won? Got your answer? Well if you said anything but zero before this weekend, you would have been wrong. But Carter changed that on the steep slopes of Snow Summit Resort on Sunday, earning the first major downhill victory of his career. In doing so the Hyundai-Mongoose rider ended a long slump for U.S. riders that dated back to Myles Rockwell's win at the 2000 world championships. The last NORBA DH win for an American male was at round No. 2 in 2000 (also

David Clinger and his Prime Alliance team fended off a day of attacks and other pressure to hold on to the overall lead as the inaugural Tour of Connecticut wrapped up with the Houstonic Valley Classic on Sunday. On paper, this wasn’t a day that was supposed favor the sprinters. Nope, Danbury’s Housatonic Valley road course, with its rolling terrain and formidable length shouldn’t have podium that looks like the winners’ list at a typical criterium. Still, the sprinters shined in both the men’s and women’s events Sunday with Russian Vassili Davidenko (Navigators) repeating his win of a year

Matched... but still not bettered

No talk of retirement on Sunday

To the line

A couple of new faces were atop the short track podium.

Bonilla was understandably gassed after his win.

An exultant Haywood.

Hanusova's face shows the pain of the day.

Carter's second trip to the podium.

Top qualifier Hannah settled for fifth in the final.

Moseley was all smiles after her win.

Mayolo-Pic takes the sprint

Davidenko

Work horses: Pate (L) and Vaughters kept tabs on the front of the field

This time, it was revenge for Stefano Garzelli. A year after his days in the Giro d’Italia were numbered because of a positive doping test, Garzelli returned to the top of the mountain in Saturday’s 146km stage to Terminillo. The 2000 champion is back in the pink jersey after an emotional victory ahead of Saeco’s Gilberto Simoni in the Giro’s first mountain stage, which saw the chances for many pre-race favorites fade to black. “It was a great stage for me and a very special day,” said Garzelli after racking up his second stage win in a week. “Exactly one year ago I won the stage to Limone

On a perfect blue-sky day in Southern California, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal and American Alison Dunlap each took wins at the NORBA NCS season opener at Snow Summit Resort. Hesjedal’s triumph brought an end to the seven-race win streak of fellow Canadian Roland Green, who hadn’t lost an NCS cross-country since he was a no show at race No. 3 in 2001. Green, still suffering the effects of a bad crash at the Tour de Georgia, did not finish Saturday’s race. But while Hesjedal’s win ended Green’s streak, it kept alive the run of consecutive NORBA victories the pair of training partners have strung

Germany’s Steffen Wesemann won the Peace Race for the fifth time of his career after finishing safely in the lead bunch in Saturday’s final stage. Wesemann won one stage and broke apart the race when he attacked with defending Ondrej Sosenka in stage 4. Sosenka won the stage, but Wesemann grabbed the lead. He never let go and even widened his gap in Friday’s difficult climbing stage. Saturday’s 160km flat stage from Bad Elster to Erfurt offered little chance to shake up the overall standings. Italian rider Enrico Degano (Mercatone Uno) won ahead of Rene Hasselbacher (Gerolsteiner) while

For the first eight of the 15 laps in Saturday’s Waterbury Circuit Race in Waterbury, Connecticut, it looked like racing as usual on the men’s pro circuit. That is, Saturn’s Chris Horner was dancing all over the field on a brutal course that saw an attrition rate of nearly 75 percent. But in the end, a potent combination of patience and strength finally paid off for Prime Alliance, the team that has spent the better part of the past three months watching Horner and his Saturn teammates ride away from them. David Clinger (Prime Alliance) sprung loose from the dwindling pack on lap 12 and

The first day of racing at the NORBA NCS season opener in Big Bear Lake, California wrapped up with wins from one very familiar name, and one that’s just starting to make its way round the pits. The name everyone knows was longtime pro Eric Carter, who used a great start to out duel Brian Lopes in the men’s mountain cross final. The new name was young Jill Kintner, who parlayed her No. 1 qualifying position into the first NORBA win of her short mountain biking career. Carter came in as just the No. 3 qualifier, but said he anticipated the gate drop perfectly in the final. “I started moving

With the Big Bear cross-country course offering predominantly dry, fast fireroad conditions, it was no surprise that most of pro men chose to run hardtail rigs. In fact, a straw poll of the top-20 call-ups revealed 17 hardtails and only three full-suspension rigs (two Giant NRS's and one Specialized Epic). Coincidence or not, both the Giant and Specialized pro teams mandate that their riders ride full-suspension technology–like it or not. By the end of the race, the winner and top nine finishers rolled across the line on hardtails. Full suspension was nowhere to be found. And while the

Marco Pantani was not having one of his better days.

Gilberto Simoni and Stefano Garzelli dueled all the way to the top.

Prime Alliance's David Clinger salutes the crowd in Connecticut.

Saturn's Chris Horner went early - a little too early.

Hesjedal sets a fast early pace.

Dunlap was at the front all day.

Bisaro had plenty to smile about.

Carter takes NORBA No. 1.

Kintner tops the women's podium.

Tubeless tires were on-order for the day, as well as Shimnao's new XTR M-956 wheelset

Ryder left his granny in the pits

Alessandro Petacchi is pretty in pink yet again Friday after winning his third stage of the 86th Giro d’Italia in what was another disappointing finish for world champion Mario Cipollini. The world champ’s Domina Vacanze zebras burst out of the herd in the finale to sling Cipollini toward the finish line in customary fashion, but when final set-up man Giovanni Lombardi finished his pull, Cipollini stopped pedaling. Super Mario didn’t have the legs to contest the sprint and rolled across sixth. Petacchi, meanwhile, was right on Cipo’s wheel and dashed ahead of Kelme’s Isaac Galvez to clinch

It looks like Jan Ullrich will at least have a team after a new sponsor stepped forward Friday to take over the cash-strapped Team Coast. Whether he starts the Tour de France now depends on race organizers. According to an agreement taken Friday by the Council of Professional Cycling, Bianchi will take over the sponsorship from Team Coast, which was suspended last week by the UCI for not paying riders’ salaries in April, L’Equipe reported. Sport director Rudy Pevenage is reportedly working on a deal to hire the entire Team Coast staff, from the racers on down. The professional body awarded

I’ve got to admit, I’m a little on edge. After months of writing longingly about donuts, greasy spoons and the like, it suddenly struck me that I could become a target. What is it that has me worried, you ask? In California earlier this week, a public interest lawyer in San Francisco filed a lawsuit seeking to ban the sale of Oreo cookies to minors. The argument: Oreos contain trans fats, which, according to the suit, are too dangerous for children to eat. Stephen L. Joseph argued that the general public is unaware of the danger of trans fats, which are present in about 40 percent of the

Host nation Australia was rolling in medals after the first day of competition in the fourth and final round of the 2003 UCI World Cup track-racing series, May 16-18 at Dunc Gray Velodrome in Sydney. Australia has won two gold medals and one bronze in the six finals contested so far in the three-day event, which features almost 200 riders representing 42 countries. Mark Jamieson, Australia’s 19-year-old 4km individual-pursuit champion, posted the fastest qualifying time in the morning - 4:24.425, good enough for selection to the national team for July’s senior world championships in

Minus a full OLN TV crew, some sponsor banners and prize money for the pros, the opening race of the NORBA national championship series doesn’t look much different from years past. On Friday in Big Bear Lake, California, 24 hours before pro racing commences, the pits seemed as vibrant as ever, with all the expo space filled up and plenty of riders and spectators milling about in anticipation of the coming weekend’s action. “It’s a NORBA national,” said a matter-of-fact Eric Moore of USA Cycling. “We all know there’s some things missing, but it still has the vibe. It’s been a huge team

Saturn's Eric Wohlberg of Canada won the fastest of two heats in the opening stage of the inaugural Tour of Connecticut Friday evening in New Haven. The 75km criterium was run in two heats due to the tight half-mile circuit around New Haven's famed Green. Wohlberg, by virtue of winning the fastest heat, was awarded the yellow jersey, while teammate Ivan Dominquez of Cuba, winner of the slower heat in a terrific sprint battle with Gord Fraser (Health Net), was given the green jersey of best sprinter. Brice Jones (7UP-Maxxis), second in the fast heat, was given the best-climber jersey. Stage

Cristian Moreni (Alessio), Costantino Gutierrez Zaballa (Kelme) and Team fakta's Magnus Backstedt sparked the early action.

Fassa Bortolo comes to the fore.

Saturn's Eric Wohlberg wins the fast heat at the Tour of Connecticut opener.

The first of two rest days comes early in the 86th Giro d’Italia, just six days into the three-week march to Milan. There’s been plenty of action and story lines both on and off the bike in what’s been a scandal-free Giro, including Cipollini’s stalled motor, McEwen’s relegation and subsequent redemption, Pantani’s helmet hatred and Petacchi’s run in pink. Here’s a look at where some of the major players stand nearly a week into the Giro: Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) 1st overall Two stage-wins and the maglia rosa, not bad for a guy who’d never won a Giro stage before this year.

Dear Bob;Here’s an odd one for ya: Can someone get their driver’s license revoked for cycling while drunk? Is it illegal and, if so, what can they do to you if you are caught riding while intoxicated?OtisNorth Carolina Dear Otis;I have to admit that at first, I didn’t think this question was really all that applicable to readers of this column. But, the more I thought about it, the more relevant it seemed. For instance, I’m sure many cyclists have attended a summer barbecue by bike only to partake in all that is offered before riding home. Then there is former 7-Eleven rider Alex Steida’s

Greeting from beautiful Berkeley, California. I just finished up taking the grand tour over at Clif Bar world headquarters and let me tell ya, if you’re looking for a progressive, outdoor oriented company, dust off the resume. Besides all the bars and shots you can get your hands on, employees at Clif have a top-notch gym, yoga instructors, massage therapists and a whole bunch of other cool stuff at their disposal to make the work day not seem so much like work. Clif Bar also does a fair bit for the cycling world, sponsoring at one level or another the Luna, U.S. Postal and Sierra-Nevada

From a gastrointestinal perspective, it’s been a bad week for former Mercury teammates Tom Danielson and Chris Wherry. Danielson and Saturn teammate Nathan O’Neill were forced to abandon the eastern European Peace Race after a bout with the stomach flu, while, for better or for worse, Wherry, now with Navigators, has finally nailed down what’s been ailing him this season — a parasite. A common microscopic parasitic organism found throughout the world, Blastocystis hominis has invaded Wherry’s system, leaving him weak and unable to fully recover from hard efforts on the bike. It’s a

One of the greatest all-around athletes in cycling history, Hendrik (“Rik”) Van Steenbergen, died in an Antwerp, Belgium, clinic on May 15 after a long illness. He was 78. At 6-foot-3 and 183 pounds, Van Steenbergen was big for a professional cyclist, but his renowned resilience made him a formidable rider on both road and track throughout his exceptionally long career. In 24 seasons as a professional (1943-1966), Van Steenbergen won 270 times on the road, including three world road championships, eight classics, and 25 stages of the grand tours; and 715 times on the track, including 40

Team Coast’s loss is the Postal team’s gain. Nope Lance Armstrong hasn’t recruited Jan Ullrich for this year’s Tour de France, but the team did announce on Thursday that it had signed former Coastie Manuel Beltran for the remainder of the 2003 season. Following Team Coast’s second suspension of the year for financial problems, UCI rules allow riders to negate their existing contracts with the team and become a cycling equivalent of a free agent. Ullrich announced his plans to leave Coast on Wednesday and Beltran finalized a deal with Postal on Thursday. "This is a great addition to our

How many more bottles in store for Petacchi?

Deja Vu: Cipo' has been close twice.