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This year’s Giro d’Italia is shaping to be a fight between Spain’s Aitor Gonzalez and the Italians. The season’s first major three-week stage race kicks off Saturday with a road stage in Lecce, where world champion Mario Cipollini hopes to tie the record of 41 stage victories record held by Alfredo Binda. But it’s in the mountains in the Giro’s final decisive week that will keep the cycling world on edge. The major plot line is whether or not Gonzalez, with the help of Fassa Bortolo teammate Dario Frigo, can topple a group of motivated Italians on their home turf. “I believe I can finish on

With Team Coast slapped with its second racing ban in two months, 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich could soon be heading to a new team. The UCI banned Coast from racing Thursday until the team can provide money up front for team expenses through the end of the season. The team was en route to the Peace Race when the news broke Thursday evening and didn’t start Friday’s first stage. For Ullrich, who has returned from knee surgery and a doping ban, the news could mean he’ll be looking for a few team in time to start the Tour in July. “If the situation remains what it is, we will have

The 2003 NCCA Road National Championships commence Friday morning in northern California with criterium racing on Treasure Island. The six-turn, pancake-flat course is on the southeastern edge of the former Navy-occupied island that sits halfway between Oakland and San Francisco beneath the Bay Bridge.

“Mutation. It is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward.” - Professor Charles Xavier’s opening monologue, from “X-Men” Mutants are among us. One week after going out with a few of the boys from our editorial department to catch “X2: X-Men United” on opening night, that’s the conclusion I’ve reached. In case you’re out of the loop on superhero lore, the X-Men were, like

Former USA Cycling chief executive officer Lisa Voight has been hired as the first CEO of the International World Games Association, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The IWGA, an International Olympic Committee-recognized organization formed in 1981, oversees a quadrennial competition for more than 30 non-Olympic sports, such as billiards, orienteering, bowling, handball and rugby. “I’m honored to have been named as the first CEO of the IWGA and I am very much looking forward to this opportunity," Voight said. Voight, who left USA Cycling’s top job last year, is a member of the U.S.

Editor:Yes, mountain bike racing has changed. The early 1990's were cool, no doubt, with big fields and the big show at nationals. But the big events now are the epics – 100-milers and 24-hour races. Heck, anyone who has gone to a 24-hour race in the last year could not say that the sport is dying - tons of people just off the couch, giving it a try because it sounds fun. Think about that – fun. These events cater to general participants. Tinker gets the same treatment as Joe Tennis Shoes with his skater helmet. Grass roots is alive and well. Riders in southern California will have

So, I watched Liège-Bastogne-Liège on OLN last night. I’ve got to admit, I really thought Lance was going to take it. He was just looking so strong when he was out there with Sanchez and Shefer. But when CSC caught the break, and then Tyler attacked - wow!, what a shocker. And who would have thought he’d be able to hang on for a solo win? That’s the great thing about live TV - the action, the drama, the suspense. I know, I’m living in a dream world here. Let’s face it. A week-and-a-half delay sucks. By the time the coverage aired, we had known all the details of the action for 10 days. And

If your rooting interests were on a solely regional basis, the first day of the 2003 National Collegiate Cycling Association Road National Championships was a good day no matter what time zone you were pulling for. The breakdown of winners from the Treasure Island Criterium covered all reaches of the country, with Yale’s Marissa Kellogg, Midwestern State’s Stephanie Hannos, Colorado College’s Robbie King, and UC-Santa Cruz’s Ben Jacques-Maynes each grabbing victories on Friday in Northern California. Kellogg’s was the first of the day, as the cognitive-science major from the Ivy League

Gonzalez wants to do in the Giro what he did at the Vuelta

It's Giro time: Aitor versus the Italians

Geneviève Jeanson: Homo (Most) Superior

The criterium course on Treasure Island

McEwen Road is the key to the road race.

Anyone for a little climbing?

Don't tell us who won, we're waiting for the TV coverage.

The Treasure Island criterium with the Bay Bridge in the background.

DII women's winner Kellogg.

DII men's winner King.

Jacques-Maynes won the DI men's race.

Hannos was No. 1 among the DI women.

One of several pile-ups.

Dane Lars Michaelsen won his first race since the 2000 season after he edged Ag2r’s Jaan Kirsipuu to take the 200km second stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk on Thursday. The Team CSC rider overcame a back injury in February but missed the spring classics and only returned to competitive racing last weekend. Michaelsen, 34, cracked a vertebra when he crashed when a time trial handlebar snapped during a team training camp in Tuscany. “He tried to come back for the classics and tried to race at Harelbeke (March 29) and De Panne (April 1-3), but he just wasn’t up for it,” said Team CSC sport

Dear Bob;When I go out riding, I usually take my driver’s license with me so I can use it for identification in an emergency. A friend warned me that I shouldn’t do that, because if the police wrote me a ticket and I had my license on me, the state would assess moving violation points. Can they do that?Thanks in advance,Anonymous Dear Anonymous;I have had my share of experience in this area with both police in patrol cars and police on bikes. When I was a student at the University of Wisconsin in the '80s we wanted to know if the bicycle police cruising around campus with mirrored sun

So finally, a week after the world found out that the Telluride World Cup was cancelled, word came down from the UCI that…the Telluride World Cup has been cancelled. In its brief press release dated May 7, cycling’s world governing body was kind enough to reiterate that fact, remind us of the dates that no longer matter, and then impart these encouraging words. “The UCI regrets this decision and will make the most to ensure however a harmonious development of the 2003 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.” Hmm…ensure however a harmonious development? Not sure what that’s all about, but wouldn’t it

How about if people quit whining about cycling on TV and just goride their bikes? Isn't that what the sport's all about? Why waste a beautifulday sitting on the couch watching someone else do what you could be outsidedoing yourself? If it's nice hit the road, if it's not hit the trail, or vice versa.There's a whole world out there to be enjoyed and a bicycle is a greatway to do it. You know, cycling doesn't need people making $2 million ayear to validate it. Whether anyone ever gets paid to ride a bikeagain or not, there will still be more people on bikes on a

The UCI on Thursday suspended Team Coast for the second time this season from racing in what's another setback for the troubled German team. The UCI issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying that riders had not been paid during April and that it was once again suspending the team from competition. "Unfortunately, this reveals the structural problems of the team remain very serious, despite all the steps taken by the UCI to protect the interest of the racers," the UCI said a statement. "Team Coast is not authorized, as of this day, to take part in any race on the international

Giro news: Colombia-Selle Italia Division II Colombia-Selle Italia is hoping for big things from its fleet of sleek Colombian climbers. It’s been a few years since the glory days of the Colombian mountain goats (even Santiago Botero is better in the time trial than on the steeps), so it’s hard to tell if this team can bring back the mystic. John Freddy Garcia was the rider race judges ruled that Francesco Casagrande barged into the fences on a Category 3, leading to Casagrande’s early exit from last year’s Giro.Colombia-Selle Italia José J. Castelblnaco (Col)Freddy González (Col)John Freddy

“I’m not a great champion like Binda,' says Cipo'

No word from the silver city on the hill

Ullrich must be regretting that CSC decision

They say the Salad Days of mountain bike racing are dead and gone... whoever "they" are. If you've been following Jason Sumner's recent reports on the current state of the NORBA National Points Series, it's clear that the current model of "prime time" pro racing is currently on life support. Even World Cup events (Telluride) are not immune from decreased sponsorship involvement. Like it or not, big-time (i.e. cash, big rigs, gala events and liberal TV coverage) pro mountain bike racing ain't what it used to be. Even our very own Patrick O'Grady has chimed in on current events, claiming,

Frenchman Frederic Finot (Jean Delatour) won the 190-kilometer stage fromDunkirk to Roost Warendin as part of a two-man break that held off themain peloton in Wednesday's opening stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk. With the win and time bonuses, Finot grabs the race lead of the five-day,six-stage race across the flats of northern France after finishing aheadof Stephane Berges (Ag2r). Tom Steels (Landbouwkrediet) led the main bunchat 2:05 back. The 49th Four Days of Dunkirk continues Thursday with the 200-kilometersecond stage from Sin le Noble to Bapaume. Stage 1, Four Days of Dunkirk,

Dear Ms. Ryan;I recently had the MedGem test completed and found that my metabolic rate was 1590 kcals a day. I also train with a power meter that measures the number of calories that I burn during a ride. Every Tuesday the club meets for a "hammer and suffer fest." During this 1:45 minute death march, I burn approximately 1600 joules, which equates to roughly 1600 calories. Adding these numbers up, I would need approximately 3200 calories on this day to maintain. Since I spend most of the time above my anaerobic threshold, I suspect that the majority of the calories burned are from sugars

Doctor Prentice Steffen answers a reader question on dealing with depression

Editor:As an avid cyclist, and an avid sports fan, I am dismayed at the mediacoverage that is given to cycling in general, not just mountain biking. Tyler Hamilton won a huge race not too long ago, and this accomplishmentgot not one second of coverage here in Southern California. And I listento sports talk radio all day long at work. Granted, Lance Armstrong getshis play after he wins the Tour de France, but during last year’s Tour,the 20-second blurb that came across the radio waves was pessimistic abouthis chances of winning until he actually had the maillot jaune on his shoulders.This

A little late-night Super 8 wrenching before the race

Titec's CM carbon bars

A sticky situation...

Botero at last year's Vuelta

A break that worked

Dear Lennard,I am refitting the components on my son’s bike, and was looking for150mm crank arms. Where did you find them? Are they single, double or triples?--Ron Dear Ron,HSC makes 150mm in double or triple. www.hscycle.comTA used to make that length as well, but I have not seen any in years.--Lennard Dropping the chainDear Lennard,My chain continues to jump past my small chain ring when I go fromthe big ring 53 to the small 39 tooth. This always seems to happen at themost inopportune times. I have the front derailleur adjusted to where itis all but touching the chain in the 39X25 combo.

Who says mountain-bike racing is dead? From the looks of it, the sport has a bright future. All you have to do is look in the right places. Last weekend, for example, all you would have had to do was look at the muddy trails around an abandoned air strip near Nevada City, California, to understand just how vibrant the sport really is. This year, an influx of new coaches, and the young teams they lead, raised the competition to a new level. New coaches meant new riders and, in some cases, entire new schools choosing to become involved in an increasingly competitive high school mountain bike

Tyler Hamilton is back at his home-base in Spain after an amazing run when he became the first American to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege and then pulled off the rare double to take the overall title at the Tour of Romandie. Only Ferdi Kubler (1951) and Bernard Hinault (1980) have equaled the feat and Hamilton’s the first to do it since Liege was bumped back a week in this year’s racing calendar. “It’s been an incredible eight days,” Hamilton told VeloNews on Tuesday. “I didn’t have time to really reflect on my Liege win before I started Romandie. I didn’t want to rest on my laurels and relax too

For decades, there has been a friendly but heated rivalry between theU.S. and Canada in bicycle racing. Nowhere has that been more evident thanin the Pacific Northwest, where riders from both sides of the border havedone battle in such storied races as the Cascade Classic, Gastown GrandPrix, Tour of White Rock, and the Tour of Willamette. Another skirmish between the North American rivals took place this pastweekend at the three-day, four-stage Columbia Plateau Stage Race, and theCanucks unquestionably came out on top, winning seven of a possible eightstages and taking all six overall podium

As the under-18 women line up for the start, one proves you can still have fun while readying to kick some butt.

Redwood High

Rand Miller at the start

Michael Roye

The final podium at Romandie

It all came together in the TT

Two of the most common questions we get at Hamilton 2003 are “why aren’t your tickets on sale?” and “when will they be?” The answer is, they are now and we still have more than six months to go. Now, let me explain why it took longer than you might expect and where the best places are to see the race. Like most other busy downtown cores, Hamilton, Canada’s eighth largestcity with a population of over 500,000 people, doesn’t normally have grandstands for more than 10,000 lining its Main Street. What it does have is big, bustling city hall, a very beautiful and well-attend performing arts

I can sum up the last week in Belgium with one word: wind. Windier than average, which is to say "lots of wind." Luckily, the wind has been blowing from the south, which means that the temperature has been relatively mild. Some Belgians will tell you that the reason for so much wind (irrespective of global circulation models and regional weather patterns) is that France sucks, and Holland blows. Perhaps it is for this explanation that actual weather forecasting seems even more voodoo here than in the good ol' USA. Weather on the 8's, forget about it. Doppler radar, no way. Hey man, we

Editor:I think Patrick O'Grady has done a fine job of expressing what manyof us have been thinking recently about the sponsorship of bike racing(See “Dog breath:Hard times”) But I think his basic premise can be challenged withtwo words: bull riding. Based on my own random sampling, I'd estimate that OLN devotes roughly16 hours a day to televising professional bull riding. I couldn't findany good data on the number of people involved in recreational bull riding,but I asked around the office, and only one person claims to have triedit, and I'm pretty sure he's lying. My conclusion is that

This will be covered in seating

Target: Hamilton

Crossing with hand power

Despite a winter of training and seemingly miraculous recovery from a broken shoulder, Gerolsteiner’s Davide Rebellin will miss the Giro d’Italia it was reported in Berlin on Sunday. According to German sports news agency SID the 31-year-old suffered a reaction to a shoulder injury when he won the Frankfurt Grand Prix last Thursday and has decided not to contest the Giro, which starts on May 10 and runs till June 1. "I trained all last winter with the Giro as my objective," admitted a frustrated Rebellin. "However competing in it now would be too risky. I felt the pain when I was riding

"It's the toughest sponsorship climate I've ever seen. Right now it's justa dry lakebed."Rick Sutton of GaleForcein a chat with Jason Sumner of VeloNews About 8 million people age 7 and older tried mountain biking off-road at least once in 2002, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. More than 82 million tried walking. And we’re surprised that the NORBA National Championship Series has sponsorship troubles? Puh-leeeze. With all due respect to the pros who may be racing for fun like the rest of us this season, if I were the marketing wizard for Chevy Trucks, I would have my

What a week it’s been for Tyler Hamilton. Just a week after becoming the first American to win Liège-Bastogne- Liège, Hamilton erased a 46-second deficit in Sunday’s final-day time trial to claim the overall title at the Tour of Romandie in Switzerland. “I’m incredibly happy and it’s like a dream come true to win them both,” Hamilton said of his rare Liège-Romandie double. “I didn’t know how well I did in the time trial. I didn’t have time splits, so I went as hard as I could. I knew there was a lot at stake, but I am surprised to win by that margin.” The 20.4km time trial was well-suited

Danes celebrated cycling during its most important weekend of racing in fine fashion, with national riders Frank Hoj (fatka) winning Saturday’s GP S.A.T.S. and Jakob Piil (CSC) taking the big win in Sunday’s CSC Classic. The two Danish powerhouses dominated both races, the most important one-day races on the Danish cycling calendar. The only things bigger are the Danish national championships and the Tour of Denmark. Saturday’s race took the peloton over gravel and dirt roads around Herning, the hometown for 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis. But it was fatka’s Hoj that stole the show

In the mountains surrounding Silver City, New Mexico this Sunday, Canadian cycling phenom’ Geneviève Jeanson (Rona Esker) and Flagstaff, Arizonan, full-time father, husband, mechanical engineer, and self-proclaimed ‘old, club rider,’ Drew Miller tucked their third Tour of the Gila overall wins each under their respective belts on Sunday. Showing two different types of cycling dominance -- Jeanson purely overmatching her competition, Miller outworking and outplaying his -- the men’s and women’s races were each decided before they had reached the halfway mark earlier this weak. In a

They're working on developing a downhill event, too.

All of the excitement of Mountain-cross, without the insurance hassles

A strong TT made all the difference.

Perez was in yellow... for the day

Laurent Dufaux took second overall

After a while, Jeanson had no one to chase except the masters racers who had started well ahead of her

The alliance up front

Neutral support. When you get a flat, your first job is to find your wheel

Working man's hero

At the close of the 2002 Telluride 360 Degree Festival, Rick Sutton couldn’t have been happier. His latest brainchild had been a substantial success, and he was already looking ahead to 2003. Next year would almost certainly include a World Cup triple, and there was even talk of a point-to-point cross-country race that might start on the other side of the mountains in Durango. Sutton’s event would eventually be awarded that World Cup triple, and until recently it looked like all was a go for the second year of the multi-sports festival in the scenic southwestern Colorado resort town. But

Spaniard Francisco Perez Sanchez (Milaneza-MSS) took the lead in the Tour of Romandie on Saturday after winning the 146.5km stage between Monthey and Chatel-St-Denis on the penultimate day of the event. Perez Sanchez cruised home alone on the final kilometer after overtaking second-placed Italian Eddy Mazzoleni (Vini Caldirola-Sidermec), who eventually finished 21 seconds behind, on the final mountain climb. Swiss riders Fabian Jeker (Milaneza-MSS) and Alexandre Moos (Phonak), finished third and fourth. American Tyler Hamilton (CSC) was fifth. The start was delayed by three minutes as

The 21st century isn't all it's cracked up to be. The mighty Inside Communications Server Farm spent most of Saturday immobilized by a power outage after a peon whose Starbucks card had been rejected tripped over an extension cord en route to the coffee urn at a nearby 7-Eleven. The fan quit spinning, the hamster got all sweaty, the wheel stopped turning, and before you could say, "Al Gore invented the what?", cycling journalism as we know it ground to a halt. We promise it will never happen again. Until the next time. Stay tuned from reports from the 1989 Tour de France, where we understand

A gutsy solo move in the final three laps of Saturday’s fourth stage of the Tour of the Gila propelled Tecos’s Florencio Ramos Torres to a win, robbing the field’s prominent sprinters from an opportunity to strut their stuff… and earn their paychecks. Of course the day’s biggest and most unexpected development came during the women's race when Rona’s Genevieve Jeanson did not win. We repeat: Jeanson did not win. At least that’s how the news should probably sound with Jeanson so dominant in U.S. women’s cycling these days, but that story line would take due credit from the strength and

Francisco Perez Sanchez (Milaneza-MSS) salutes the crowd as he dons the leader’s jersey with just one stage remaining

Alexandre Moos (Phonak) dogs Tyler Hamilton (CSC)