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One of Spain’s best cyclists, Abraham Olano, announced Tuesday he willretire at the end of the 2002 season “to live a life without pressure and fully enjoy my family.” The 32-year-old Olano said he made the decision to retire the day beforethe Spanish championships last weekend despite the fact that he and ONCEwere planning on Olano racing one more season. “I began to realize things were changing when, as a cyclist whose lifeis based on suffering and training alone, I would be sad to go on trainingrides. I missed my family when I was traveling and I began to wonder aboutretiring, the moment

Even though you can’t make it to France and don’t usually drive theteam car at your local stage race, you can still act like a director sportifin this year’s Tour de France. And if you’re really good at, you may justup in France for next year’s Tour.VeloNews.com is teaming up with Winnercomm, a leading television andinteractive media production company, to produce an online entertainmentexperience VeloNews Fantasy Cycling.Players get to select from the actual Tour de France rosters and puttogether a team of GC contenders, climbers and sprinters. Unlike the Tour,participants can shift riders

Olano wants to spend more time at home.

Be sure to check back for live race coverage!

In the peloton since 1997 Sponsor: National lotteryBudget: $3.2 millionManager/directeur sportif: Marc MadiotAssistants: Yvon Madiot, Martial Gayant, Franck Pineau RidersCASAR Sandy   (F),  February 2, 1979CASPER Jimmy   (F),  May 28, 1978COOKE Baden   (Aus),  October 12, 1978DURAND Jacky   (F),  February 10, 1967GUESDON Frédéric  (F),  October 14, 1971McGEE Brad    (Aus),  February 24, 1976MENGIN Christophe  (F),  September 3, 1968ROBIN Jean-Cyril   (F),  August 27, 1969VOGONDY Nicolas (F) IntroductionMarc Madiot presents an up-and-coming team, and the seven victoriescaptured at the

In the peloton since 2000 Sponsor: Cement companyBudget: $5.8 millionManager: Giancarlo FerrettiDirecteur sportifs: Alberto Volpi, Stefano Zanatta, Mario ChiesaAssistant: Oscar Pirazzini RidersBALDATO Fabio   (I),  June 13, 1968BASSO Ivan    (I),  November 26, 1977BELLI Wladimir   (I),  July 25, 1970GONTCHAR Sergei   (Ukr),  July 3, 1970IVANOV Sergueï   (Rus),  March 5, 1975LODA Nicola    (I),  July 27, 1971POZZI Oscar    (I),  December 27, 1971VELO Marco    (I),  March 9, 1974ZANOTTI Marco   (I),  January 21, 1974 Strong temperamentsIn 2001, during Fassa Bortolo’s second year in the

In the peloton since 1986 Sponsors: Domo: rugs, carpets and vinyl; Farm Frites:French friesBudget: $6.3 millionManager: Patrick LefévèreDirecteurs sportifs: Marc Sergeant, Hendrik Redant, WilfriedPeeters, Toon Cruyt Riders (as of June 30)BRUYLANDTS Dave (B), July 12, 1976CASSANI Enrico (I), February 15, 1972KNAVEN Servais (Nl), March 6, 1971KONECNY Tomas (Cz), October 11, 1973MERCKX Axel (B), August 8, 1972RODRIGUEZ Fred (USA), September 3, 1973VAN BON Léon (Nl), January 28, 1972VIRENQUE Richard (F), November 19, 1969WADECKI Piotr (Pl), February 11, 1973 All behind VirenqueThe

In the peloton since 1999 Sponsors: Lampre: manufacturer of sheet metal;Daikin: air conditioningBudget: $4.2 millionManager: Giuseppe SaronniDirecteur sportif: Pietro AlgeriAssistants: Maurizio Piovani, Brent Copeland RidersBELOHVOSCIKS Raivis (Lat) January 21, 1976BERTOGLIATI Rubens (Swi) May 9, 1979CORTINOVIS Alessandro (I) October 11, 1977DIERCKXSENS Ludo (B) October 14, 1964PAGLIARINI Luciano (Bra) April 18, 1978RUMSAS Raimondas (Lit) January 14, 1972SERPELLINI Marco (I) August 14, 1972SVORADA Jan Cz August 28, 1968PINOTTI Marco (I) Experience countsThis Italian team is solid, if not

In the peloton since 1998 Sponsors:Tacconi: sports clothing; Emmegi:heat exchangersBudget: $2.8 millionManager: Davide BoifavaDirecteurs sportif: Fabrizio Bontempi, Vittorio AlgeriAssistant: Pietro Turchetti RidersBORTOLAMI Gianluca I August 28, 1968BOSSONI Paolo I July 2, 1976DONATI Massimo I January 18, 1967FRIGO Dario I September 18, 1973HAUPTMAN Andrej Slo May 5, 1975LUTTENBERGER Peter A December 13, 1972MAZZOLENI Eddy I July 29, 1973FERRARI Diego (I)APOLLONIO Massimo (I) Frigo bears watchingThis Italian team, which has had trouble holding on to its best riders,cannot hope to stand out

In the peloton since 1980 Sponsors: Kelme: athletic clothing and footwear;Costa Blanca: tourism office for the region of Valencia,SpainBudget: $3.5 millionManager: Joan MasDirecteurs sportifs: Vicente Belda, Ignacio Labarta, JoséLuis Laguia RidersBOTERO Santiago (Col), October 27, 1972CABELLO Francisco (Sp), May 20, 1969CUENCA Juan Manuel (Sp), May 3, 1977GOMEZ José (Sp),GUTIERREZ José Enrique (Sp), June 18, 1974PEREZ Santiago (Sp), August 5, 1977SEVILLA Oscar (Sp), September 29, 1976TAULER Antonio (Sp), April 11, 1974VIDAL José Angel (Sp), October 28, 1969 Taking on ArmstrongKelme, the

In the peloton since 1989 Sponsor: Spanish national lottery, run by the society for theblindBudget: $4.2 millionManager: Pablo AntonDirecteur sportif: Manolo SaizAssistants: Santiago Garcia, Sebastian Pozo, Marino LejarretaRidersAZEVEDO José    (P),  September 19, 1973BELOKI Joseba    (Sp), August 12, 1973GONZALEZ DE GALDEANO Alvaro (Sp), January 3, 1970GONZALEZ DE GALDEANO Igor  (Sp), November 1, 1973JAKSCHE Jorg (G)NOZAL Isidro    (Sp), October 18, 1977OLANO Abraham    (Sp), January 22, 1970PRADERA Mikel    (Sp), March 6, 1975SERRANO Marcos    (Sp), September 8, 1972Building upONCE is not

Sprinting and climbing have their honors, and winning the green or polka-dotjersey is great, but the puff daddies in the peloton have their eye onone prize: the yellow fleece of the overall race leader. The general classification (GC) is computed by adding together everyrider’s finishing time for each stage, less any time bonuses he earns.For the team time trial (stage 5), the time of the fifth finisher in eachteam is given to each rider in that team, except for those who finish behindtheir teammates — they are given their actual finishing time. The maximumtime for a rider finishing alone

Tyler Hamilton will be in uncharted waters July 6 in Luxembourg. For five straight summers, the quiet New Englander rode the Tour de France in the blue-and-white colors of U.S. Postal Service, the only professional team he’d ever known. His first two Tours were tests of survival. Arriving in Paris with the entire team intact in 1997 was a major victory for the Postal team in those early days. But with the 1999 reincarnation of Lance Armstrong, who would go on to win three consecutive Tours, Hamilton found himself first lieutenant to a five-star general. This year, Hamilton is stepping out

The Tour de France kicks off on Saturday afternoon at the Place du Glacis in Luxembourg.The 21 teams have until the end of the week to firm up their start lists and some are still making changes, as was the case when Mapei was forced to drop David Cañada Gracia from its line up after he suffered a nasty fall in the Spanish national championship on Sunday.The final rosters are expected by Friday, but here’s an early peek athow some of the teams are shaping up:U.S.Postal ServiceLed by three-time defending Tour de France champion LanceArmstrong, Postal comes with what it’s calling its strongest

Just a week after Mapei shocked the cycling world by announcing itsdeparture from the sport, two of Belgium's biggest teams have announcedthey will merge for the 2003 season.Domo and Lotto announced Monday and will race under the name of Lotto-Domo,with each sponsor paying a reported $2.5 million to the team's budget givingit the wallet to chase the sport's biggest names."With the creation of a powerful Belgian team, the merger will stimulatean already strong interest in cycling in Beglium," said Rik Daems, presidentof Lotto, Belgium's national lottery. "With the joined

The image of Tyler Hamilton crashing at the bottom of a key descentas the Giro d’Italia’s other main contenders is firmly emblazoned inthe minds of anyone watching OLN’s coverage and saw that loop of tape played over and over. Coming through a turn, Hamilton stood up onhis pedals and suddenly lurches forward and hits the ground. Hamilton stated in his diaryon velonews.com that the freehub had not engaged when he stood on thepedals, causing the crash. The pain he had to deal with with over the remainderof the Giro is well documented, as is the amount of time he lost on mountaintopfinishes

Russel Bollig’s path to Lance Armstrong’s feet began with Tyler Hamilton,for whom he first built some custom orthotics in 1992. About four yearsago, Christian Vande Velde got some as well. They passed the word on toArmstrong, who was looking for an improved fit in his cycling shoes, andafter the 2001 season Bollig went to Austin, Texas, to fit the three-timeTour champion. While at Armstrong’s home, Bollig used resin-filled casting socks tomake casts of Armstrong’s feet and ankles. Then, back at his Podium Footwearshop in Boulder, Colorado, he made plaster duplicates of Armstrong’s feetfrom

This year will not be the first time anyone has ridden a titanium Litespeed at the Tour. That’s happened many times since the small Tennessee-based industrial metals firm began turning out titanium bicycles in 1986.

Sometime last spring, Levi Leipheimer got the bad news. He wouldn’t be going to the 2001 Tour de France. Though he probably didn’t think so at the time, it was the best thing that could have happened to him. Instead of helping Lance Armstrong win his third consecutive Tour, Leipheimer retreated to California and focused on the Vuelta a España. The rest — to borrow a cliché — is history. Leipheimer finished third overall in his first-ever start of a major three-week stage race, and was the first American to ever appear on the Vuelta podium. His surprising strength in the mountains

The first rider start rider leaves the starting ramp of the prologue at 4 p.m. on Saturday July 6, 2002.

Mengin

Getting the lanterne rouge for last place won’t bother Casper if he can score a stage win.

Sergueï Ivanov will be one of the team’s leaders.

Domo rides bikes by Eddy Merckx, who watches over the team.

Domo-Farm Frites

Lampre-Daikin

Svorada took the final stage in Paris last year

A solid team with careful ambitions.

Kelme will try to make things hard on Armstrong

ONCE won’t just wait for the mountains.

Beloki

Sevilla

Can anyone beat this guy?

The elbow may have hurt, but the shoulder was worse

True to form Bollig’s fine-tuning starts with custom casting.

INDIVIDUALITY - Finalizing details on Tchmil’s custom Ghisallo.

GOOD TO GO - The Lotto squad got the bikes it wanted this year.

ROBBIE'S RIDE - Putting the finishing touches on McEwen’s new Ultimate.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS - Leipheimer says he doesn’t feel the pressure, but he’ll be Rabobank’s go-to guy in July.

PAYBACK - By working hard for the team in the spring, Leipheimer expects the favor to be returned in July.

The 2002 Tour de France

The weekend before the Tour de France is the traditional time on theracing schedule for the Europeans to hold their respective national championshipraces. It’s the last major racing before the Tour, which kicks off thiscoming Saturday in Luxembourg. The races are typically held this weekendso the winners can show off their new colors at cycling’s biggest race,at least for those from teams that will be racing at the Grande Boucle.Here are the winners in the men’s road races from Europe's top cycling powers: FRANCENicolas Vogondy won out of a five-up sprint to earn his first majorvictory

Annabella Stropparo has won the third round of the cross-country WorldCup at Mont Ste Anne ahead of Barbara Blatter and Alison Dunlap. Dunlap's third is enough to propel her into the overall leader's jersey. Stropparo was overcome with emotion as she granted interviews. She wascrying and laughing and just plain full of joy. "I've waited such a longtime for this. I kept worrying that something would go wrong in the lastlap. That made it very hard. When I got through the last major climb itwas very enjoyable. I was so happy on the last half of the final lap. Itried to be very smooth and not

In the peloton since 1995 Sponsor: American postal serviceBudget: $5.6 millionManager: Mark GorskiDirecteur sportif: Johan BruyneelAssistants: Dirk Demol, Frankie Andreu RidersARMSTRONG Lance (USA)   September 18, 1971EKIMOVOV Viatcheslav (Rus)HERAS Roberto  (Sp)   February 21, 1974HINCAPIE George  (USA)   June 29, 1973JOACHIM Benoît  (Lux)   January 14, 1976LANDIS Floyd  (USA)   October 14, 1975PADRNOS Pavel  (Cz)   December 17, 1970PEÑA Victor Hugo  (Col)   July 10, 1974RUBIERA José Luis  (Sp)    January 21, 1973 Primed and readyU.S. Postal was built slowly but surely with input from the

In the peloton since 1991 Sponsor: State-owned telecommunications companyBudget: $4.3 millionManager: Walter GodefrootDirecteur sportif: Rudy PevenageAssistants: Frans Van Looy, Mario Kummer RidersALDAG Rolf   (G)  August 25, 1968FAGNINI Gian Matteo (I)  October 11, 1970GUERINI Giuseppe  (I)  February 14, 1970HONDO Danilo  (G)  January 4, 1974JULICH Bobby  (USA)  November 18, 1969LIVINGSTON Kevin  (USA)  May 24, 1973BOLTS Udo (G)WESEMANN Steffen  (G)  March 11, 1971ZABEL Erik   (G)  July 7, 1970A seventh green jersey?Walter Godefroot hopes each year for a new victory from Jan Ullrich.But

In the peloton since 1996 Sponsor: Dutch banking groupBudget: $3.7 millionManager: Jan RaasDirecteur sportif: Théo de RooyAssistants: Adri Van Houwelingen, Joop Zoetemelk RidersBOOGERD Michael  (Nl),  May 28, 1972DE GROOT Bram   (Nl),  December 18, 1974DEKKER Erik   (Nl),  August 21, 1970ENGELS Addy   (Nl),  June 16, 1977KROON Karsten   (Nl),  January 29, 1976LEIPHEIMER Levi   (USA),   October 24, 1973NIERMANN Grischa  (G),  November 3, 1975WAUTERS Marc   (B),  February 23, 1969ZBERG Beat    (Swi),  May 10, 1971Levi in the mixWhile this Dutch squad is building toward the future with a

In the peloton since 1993Sponsors: Mapei: chemical building products; Quick Step: laminatedflooringBudget: $6.9 millionManager: Alvaro CrespiDirecteurs sportifs: Roberto Damiani, Fabrizio Fabbri, SergeParsani, Eric Vanderaerden, Jésus Suarez-Cueva, Matxin FernandezRidersBODROGI Laszlo  (Hun),  December 11, 1976DE WAELE Fabien FREIRE Oscar  (Sp),  February 15, 1976HORRILLO Pedro  (Sp),  September 27, 1974HUNTER Robert  (SA),  April 22, 1977MARTINEZ Miguel  (F),  January 17, 1976STEELS Tom  (B),  September 2, 1971TAFI Andrea   (I),  May 7, 1966TRAMPUSCH Gerhard (A),  August 11, 1978A better

In the peloton since 1990 Sponsor: Spanish banking corporationBudget: $4.9 millionManager: José Miguel EchavarriDirecteurs sportifs: Eusebio Unzue, José Luis Jaimerena,Alfonso Galilea RidersBARANOWSKI Dariusz  (Pol), June 22, 1972BRUSEGHIN Marzio (I)GARCIA ACOSTA J. Vincente  (Sp), August 4, 1972GUTIERREZ José Ivan (Sp), November 27, 1978LATASA David (Sp)MANCEBO Francisco  (Sp), March 9, 1976MENCHOV Denis  (Rus), January 25, 1978OSA Unaï  (Sp), June 12, 1975PASCUAL RODRIGUEZ Javier (Sp), November 14, 1971Hungry climbersIt has been difficult for Spain to discover a champion to fill theshoes

In the peloton since 1984 Sponsors: Lotto: Belgian national lottery; Adecco:temp agencyBudget: $3.3 millionManager: Christophe SercuDirecteurs sportifs: Jos Braeckeveldt, Claude Criquiélion,Walter Planckaert, Hugo De Dier RidersAERTS Mario   (B), December 31, 1974BAGUET Serge   (B), August 18, 1969BRANDT Christophe  (B), May 6, 1977DE CLERCQ Hans   (B), March 3, 1969MCEWEN Robbie   (Aus), June 24, 1972MIKHAïLOV Guennadi  (Rus), February 8, 1974VAN DE WOUVER Kurt  (B), September 24, 1971VERBRUGGHE Rik   (B), July 23, 1974VIERHOUTEN Aart   (Nl), March 19, 1970 Seeking stage winsAfter an

The sun came out and the war of attrition started. Racers dropped indroves as the heat and dust claimed many. It even became a strategy forsome racers to simply outlast the others. The racers only gained some reliefin the finish area where the wind could cool them a bit. Only the toughmade it through.The toughest today was Filip Meirhaeghe (Specialized). He rode a magnificentrace finishing with a 2 minute and 13 second gap over Christophe Dupouey(Giant Global) in second. Merihaeghe was jubilant. "Already in the firstlap I felt that I was strong, but so were Dupouey and Sauser. Sauser

The 43rd Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic came to an end on Sunday with Chris Horner (Prime Alliance) and Lyne Bessette (Quebec Selection Team) wrapping up the overall race titles while team Saturn swept the final day with Kim Davidge winning the women's race and Ivan Dominguez taking the men's. Bessette headed into the criterium with an overall lead of 5:21, having already taken care of her weekend's work with wins in the time trial, circuit race and criterium. That left it for teammate Clara Hughes to make the decisive move of the day on Sunday afternoon, with temperatures in Fitchburg topping 90

The black, red and gold striped German National Champion’s jersey was exchanged between two Saturn riders June 30th, as Judith Arndt won while defending champion Petra Rossner finished second. Arndt, who rode for the German National team last year before signing with Saturn, has had an impressive season, already taking overall wins at Redlands, Solano, Tour de L’Aude, Tour de Snowy, and most recently, the HP Women’s Challenge. Sunday’s 60-mile race was determined in the final 10 kilometers, when Arndt attacked 200 meters from the top, on the steepest pitch at the mountain sprint. Trixi

Vogondy

U.S. Postal Service

U.S. Postal Service

Vinokourov will shoot for the general classification in Ullrich’s absence.

Will Wauters wear yellow again in 2002?

One of the strongest teams in the peloton, Mapei has never won the Tour.

iBanesto.com

Lotto-Adecco

Stroparo

Dunlap takes over as World Cup leader

Meirhaeghe

Hughes and Davidge broke clear

Bessette took the overall

Prime Alliance protected Horner all day

Dominguez took the win for Saturn

Ceremonial Start: 12:20 p.m. Boulevard de la Foire.Flying Start: 12:45 p.m. N. 12 Luxembourg Exit

Flying Start: 12:42 p.m. on No. 4

Flying Start: 1:00 p.m. on N.3 Rozérieulles exit.

Start: First team starts at 2:15 p.m., then the remaining 20 teams start at 5-minute intervals.

Flying Start: 12:38 p.m., N.31, Soissons exit.

Flying Start: 12:29 p.m., D.921, intersection D.921 and La Ruche.

He’s stronger, smarter, leaner and more confident than at any pointin his career. Now in his fourth season of full-time European racing, FredRodriguez, 28, knows what it takes to win a stage at the Tour de France.His Domo-Farm Frites squad is expecting its best Tour results from GC ridersRichard Virenque and Axel Merckx. But given the right breaks, the two-timeU.S. pro champion also has a great chance of success — particularly sincehis second-place finishes this spring at Milan-San Remo and Ghent-Wevelgem. "I think the team will now have more confidence that I’m capable, ifI get a good

Where does it come from, this legendary fear of Mont Ventoux? It’s a mountainthat has been climbed only 12 times in the Tour — two time trials, fourfinishes at the summit and six times mid-stage — yet it is more dreadedthan, say, the Tourmalet, which has featured in the Tour 67 times.While L’Alpe d’Huez, a cycling crucible, provides a spectacle, the Ventouxdelivers tragedy. It brought the great Eddy Merckx to his knees for thefirst time in his exceptional career in 1970 when he was forced to takeoxygen after winning a stage at the summit. In 1955, it forced Rick VanGenechten and others to

When you watch him slicing his way through the field on another solo attackto a mountaintop finish, it’s easy to forget that there’s much more toLance Armstrong’s stunning Tour victories than a lone rider battling arugged climb. Granted, if he didn’t have his genes or genius, he wouldn’thave the potential to pull off those remarkable feats. But behind the manis a whole team of consultants, colleagues and friends who help Armstrongexcel in every sphere of matters Tour de France. In some ways, he has put together a high-profile company that has asingle mission: to win the Tour de France. That

Flying Start 1:02 p.m. on D335, Bagnoles-de-l'Orne exit