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“The American government is leading the country towards hell.”—Osama bin Laden, in a 1998 ABC interview If I see a distraught Forest Service worker on one of my rides, droppinga crumpled piece of tear-stained stationery into a campfire ring with onehand and reaching for a Zippo with the other, I’m headed upwind as fastas my middle-aged legs will drive the bike. The aroma of roasting fat isone thing if you’re sipping a powerful beverage while a thick steak broils,and quite another if your ass is on fire. One fragrance that will never make my olfactory podium is the stenchof stupidity, a

Roland Green (Trek-VW) continued his dominance of the NORBA circuit on Friday, taking his second consecutive victory at Snowshoe, West Virginia, and netting his sixth straight NORBA cross-country title. In the women’s race, Jimena Florit (RLX-Polo Sport) built on a commanding early lead to score her second cross-country race of the series. The men’s race began with a familiar look, as Green streaked out to a holeshot trailed by countryman and training partner Ryder Hesjedal (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and a third dangerous Canadian, Geoff Kabush (Kona). Hesjedal briefly took a solo lead towards

With as many as 10 riders slated to start the Tour — including threeteam leaders — this could be a banner July for the U.S. Lance ArmstrongHometown: Austin, TX Age: 30Height: 5 ft. 10 in. Weight: 165 lbs.Team: U.S. Postal Service Number of Tours: 7 With his well-documented cancer comeback and three consecutive Tourvictories — and the marketing power of Nike — Lance Armstrong has becomean American sports figure on par with Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, anunheard of accomplishment for an American cyclist. And like those othertwo, Armstrong’s season preparation comes under intense scrutiny

Telekom's Alexander Vinokourov, won the third stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Friday, the first of four days in the mountains that usually define the Swiss race. Vinokourov finished ahead of Swiss riders Alex Zülle and Laurent Dufaux at the end of the mountainous 157.6km stage from Domat-Ems to Sammaun. Zülle, winner of the opening prologue, took over the leaders’ jersey with a six-second lead over Vinokourov and nine seconds over Dufaux in the overall classification. The stage proved to be difficult for several Italian cyclists, among whom were some of the favorites for the

The Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce selected its fourth leader in five days on today, as Michael Rogers (Mapei-Quick Step) slipped in front of yesterday's leader Matt Decanio (Prime Alliance). Rogers finished third on the individual time trial stage to German national champion Thomas Liese (Nürnberger), but gained enough time on eighth place finisher Decanio to take the yellow jersey. Phil Zajicek pulled Mercury back into contention with a fourth place result and moved into 7th overall. Canadian national time trial champion Eric Wohlberg (Saturn) was fifth in the stage and moved into tenth

After two consecutive mountaintop finishes, the 83 riders remaining in the H.P. Women’s Challenge were given a slight respite Friday, as an early thirteen-rider break without GC contenders was allowed to slip away and contest for the stage win. At the line, it was Anita Valen, a 33-year-old fitness instructor from Norway, who took the 88-mile stage in a field sprint. Early on, the Norwegian team Sponsor Services came out swinging. First the team’s Finnish rider Pia Sundstedt took a solo flyer at mile 18, opening a gap of 25 seconds before being caught three miles down the road. However, the

Jeff Spencer may be the US Postal Service team’s official chiropractor, but his experience and skills makes him more than just that. His contributions have helped Lance Armstrong win the Tour de France three straight years.

Spencer at home with some of the tools of his trade.

The Alesio teams makes its first appearance at Le Tour

Cofidis: Raised ambitions

Jalabert

Euskaltel-Euskadi: Higher goals

Friday's Foaming Rant: A failure of intelligence

Americans at the Tour: A banner year?

Vinokourov

Zülle and Tonkov were among those in the winning break.

Zülle has the lead now.

Valen

Rona chases... for no apparent reason

Ralph proves that bicycle racing is serious business.

Jeanson takes time to relax

Lubor Tesar (Nürnberger) chalked up his second win in as many days atthe third stage of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce, winning a field sprint over Tuesday's second place finisher - David McKenzie (iTeamNova.com). The pace was fast from the start and, coupled with the seemingly endless rolling two-kilometer climbs of 6%-8%, saw the field split. In the end, only 40 riders made the cut for the front group, with the remainder of the field finishing over 21 minutes back, and putting themselves out of contention. After some early solo and duo break attempts, the serious work beganDuring the

The U.S. Postal team continued its run at the Tour of Catalunya as Roberto Heras took over the lead at the Spanish stage race, the third Postie to do so in as many days. Heras took over the race lead from teammate George Hincapie after finishing second in Wednesday's 10.8 kilometer mountain time trial that finished in Boi Taull, six seconds back of winner Aitor Garmendia of Coast. In the overall classification, Heras leads Garmendia by 15 seconds. "At this point of the race, the right rider is in the jersey for our team," said Dirk Demol, the USPS team's assistant director sportif. "Going

German cyclist Andreas Kloden will not compete in next month's Tour deFrance because of a knee injury and will be replaced by Telekom teammateDanilo Hondo, the German outfit confirmed on Thursday.Kloden, 26, has been hospitalized after pulling out of Tuesday's secondstage of the Tour of Catalunya, where he was making his comeback aftera two-month layoff with the recurring knee problem.But his misfortune has turned in Hondo's favour with the 25-year-oldfinally getting a chance to compete in the Tour de France from July 2-28."I'm really delighted," said Hondo, who won the second

Thursday's 197.3km fourth stage of the Tour of Catalunya cycling race between Barruera and Andorra in the Pyrenees has been shortened to 52km because of a 24-hour general strike in Spain, race organizers said. Race director general Oscar Pitarch and riders' representative Jose Rodriguez reached agreement after a three-hour meeting during which the Spanish riders indicated they wanted to support the strike. The protest is over controversial government plans to reform the unemployment benefit system. The stage will be reduced to two top category climbs culminating in the arrival at the

Spanish television has reported that organizers of the Vuelta a Espana have won preliminary UCI approval for a unique approach to organizing Spain’s national tour in a fashion that will allow it to invite as many as 32 separate teams this fall. Current UCI regulations limit the number of riders participating in a grand tour to just 22 9-man teams, but Vuelta officials have proposed turning the first week of the race into a sort of play-off, involving two separate 16-team races. At the end of the opening week, the top nine teams from each group would then go on to contest the remainder of

VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across something in thepages of VeloNews magazine or see something on VeloNews.com thatcauses you to want to write us, dropus a line.Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mail to this address, you are consenting to the publication of your letter.What a great idea!If the Vuelta goes ahead with the plan of having the new 32 team firstweek (See "Vueltagets preliminary okay for new approach") it would make the race pretty damn exciting. Just imagine, No boring first week, twice the racingwith teams fighting for their lives. There

The names Ryder Hesjedal and Alison Sydor were surprisingly absent when the Canadian Cycling Association released its full Commonwealth Games roster on Thursday. Sydor had initially been an automatic selection but opted out to focus solely on this year’s world championships. "I think at the end of the day she decided that it would be too much travel," said Canadian national team coach Yurri Kasharin. "I was a little surprised, though. Sometimes you think you know an athlete, but it turns out you don’t." With Sydor out, that roster spot fell to Marie Helen-Premont, who joins Chrissy Redden

Erik Zabel won a hotly-contested sprint at the end the191km second stage of the Tour de Switzerland, beating Phonak's Sven Teutenberg by a tire-width on Thursday. Zabel outsprinted the field after 4:15:30 in the saddle, leaving Teutenberg to accept the runners-up place for the second day running. But the win still wasn't enough to take the yellow jersey away from the gutsy young French rider Eddy Lembo (Oktos) who holds on to a 49-second lead over prologue-winner Alex Zülle (Coast), after winning Wednesday's stage by slightly more than one minute. Lembo finished in the field Thursday as

Saturn’s Judith Arndt won a second stage at the H.P. Women’s Challenge Thursday, breaking the course record by more than twenty-one minutes, and more importantly, reclaiming the overall lead for her powerful team. If there was one defining image from Thursday’s 60-mile road race – or the entire H.P. Women’s Challenge, to this point – it was that of the Saturn women united, driving an unreachable team time trial through strong crosswinds, while former teammate Lyne Bessette (Canadian National) and Rona’s Genevieve Jeanson struggled in vain to hang on. Opening with 40 miles of windy flats

Stage four of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce saw a complete revision in the overall standings, with unheralded American rider Matt Decanio (Prime Alliance) taking the lead away from Lubor Tesar (Nürnberger). Former U.S. Postal rider Stephane Barthe (Saint-Quentin-Oktos) took the stage after a 130 kilometer two man breakaway effort. The 171.7 kilometer stage is the "Queen" stage of the race, the one that reduces the number of contenders to a handful. The long rolling climbs from the first few stages wearing down the riders, and the final 5 kilometers to the top of Mont Megantic is rated

Zabel edges out Teutenburg

Lembo still in the lead

With a little help from her friends - Arndt takes over

Jeanson and Bessette (left) were clearly unwelcome at the Saturn party.

Rid of company, Saturn gets to work.

Rona gives chase

Eddy Lembo, of the Division II Oktos squad, survived a long breakaway at the Tour of Switzerland Wednesday to steal a win in a stage that was expected to be a natural for sprinters. The 21-year-old Lembo finished more than a minute ahead of the field at the end of the day’s 172 kilometer stage from Lucerne to Schaffhausen. The win gave the young French rider the overall lead, bumping Coast’s Alex Zülle, winner of Tuesday's prologue, out of the top spot. Lembo covered the course in 4:18:36, finishing 1:08 ahead of the field. Phonak’s Sven Teutenberg, won the field sprint, while many of the

Unless you live in Philadelphia, you probably didn’t get to see the FirstUnion USPRO Championship on television.While it obviously won’t be live, if you have Outdoor Life Network onsatellite or cable, you will get to see highlights of the race in the comfortof your own living room. (If you haven't seen or read about it, we won't spoil the finish for ya, but you can clickhere to read VeloNews.com's coverage if you care to.) The network will broadcast its one-hourwrap-up on several occasions beginning Thursday, June 20.If you are an early riser, you can even get up to watch the

Genevieve Jeanson, the powerful 20-year-old from Quebec, finally had the day she’s been looking for at her first H.P. Women’s Challenge, winning a tough mountain stage and putting nearly one-minute between her and the overall leaders. Rising from the flatland town of Shoshone, Idaho, to the base of the Pomerelle ski resort, the 86-mile stage five – the longest of the nine-stage event – delivered the most action yet, resulting in a shakeup in the general classification and yielding the first non- Saturn stage winner. As the peloton rolled out of Shoshone under sunny blue skies and perfect

Lembo

Jeanson finally bested Saturn

Rossner and Teutenburg were in the early break

Arndt was spent at the finish

Oscar Sevilla has finally had enough. After not being paid for more than two months, the 2001 Vuelta a Espana runner-up contacted the UCI on Monday asking for cycling’s governing body to step in. Kelme has been foundering since spring when its co-sponsor – the regional government of Alicante and its tourism arm Costa Blanca – has not paid its share of the sponsorship budget, leaving the team without cash to pay its riders.

If Alex Zülle intends to use the Tour of Switzerland as evidence that he and his Coast team should have been invited to the Tour de France, he got off to a good start as he blazed through the opening prologue through the streets of Lucerne Tuesday. Zülle held off Alexia’s Giuseppe Di Grande and Allesio’s Laurent Dufaux to win the 5.7km prologue in 7:37. Zülle, who finished second in the 1999 Tour de France, upped his tempo over the last three kilometers following a challenging 800 meter climb to beat Di Grande and Dufaux by six and seven seconds respectively. Despite its 10th place in UCI

The original 1985 Kamikaze downhill course would be part of the 2.7 million acres to be added to California’s 14 million acres of federally designated wilderness closed to cycling under Sen. Barbara Boxer’s recently introduced California Wild Heritage Act of 2002, according to Gary Sprung, senior national policy advisor with the International Mountain Bicycling Association.The California Democrat’s bill, S2535, introduced in late May and forwarded to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, is labeled as a measure “to designate certain public lands as wilderness and certain

Bolstered by three straight World Cup wins, Australian Chris Kovarik has taken over the No. 1 spot in the UCI’s world downhill rankings. Kovarik jumped from third to first, deposing Frenchman Cédric Gracia, who dropped to second. Also moving up was reigning world champion Nicolas Vouilloz, who climbed from sixth to third. Mickael Pascal and Greg Minnaar completed the top five. Eric Carter is the top ranked American in 11th. There was no change at the top of the women’s rankings, with Anne-Caroline Chausson still No. 1. Sabrina Jonnier, Fionn Griffiths, Marielle Saner and American Missy Giove

Adding a fourth consecutive stage win at this year’s HP Women’s Challenge, the talent-rich Saturn squad continues to redefine the meaning of dominance in the peloton, seemingly taking control of any stage at will. Long before Petra Rossner sprinted to the line to take stage four’s Stanley to Ketchum road race, it was all too clear that the Saturn women’s cycling team is, in effect, unstoppable. And while Rossner flew across the line to take her second field sprint victory in four days, setting a new course record by over two minutes, it was teammate Kimberly Bruckner that animated the

Gord Fraser (Mercury), has qualified for his fourth Commonwealth Gamesby finishing third in the second stage of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauceon Tuesday. The 162 kilometer stage began in the town of Levis, south ofQuebec, and finished in the village of Ste-Marie after nearly four hoursof racing. Czech rider Lubor Tesar (Nürnberger), won the stage, anddonned the yellow leader's jersey, approximately 15 seconds in front ofFraser.An early breakaway of two - Johan Coenen (Marlux - Ville de Charleroi),and Doug Ziewacz (7Up-Nutra Fig), were allowed to go away at the 37 kilometermark and build up

The organizers of the Tour de France have outlined a stringent new set of anti-doping measures designed to erase the nagging doubts and suspicions that have plagued the race since the Festina scandal of 1998. In a Paris press conference on Tuesday, the directors of Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), the parent company of the Société du Tour de France, said that a new program of random drug tests and strict penalties will help restore the “emblematic values” of the Tour. Riders who could potentially start the Tour de France on July 6 in Luxembourg are now subject to random drug tests up to and

Resistance is Futile -- Rossner's second; Saturn's fourth.

Bruckner was alone for 20 miles

Up and over Galena

Jeanson and Bessette each face a big fight to overcome Saturn.

Tyler Hamilton will race at the 2002 Tour de France despite fracturinga bone in his left shoulder at the Giro d’Italia last month.That’s according to CSC-Tiscali team manager Bjarne Riis, who confirmedHamilton will start the 89th Tour on July 6.“The shoulder is a lot better,” Riis told VeloNews. “He’s hada good break after the Giro. He needed that.”Riis said Hamilton returned to his home in Marblehead, Mass., followinghis success at the Giro, where he finished second overall and won a stagedespite a crash in the first week when Hamilton landed hard on his leftshoulder.X-rays taken a day after

The troubled saga of Marco Pantani continued Monday as Italian Cycling Federation officials suspended the 1998 Tour de France winner for eight months and fined him 3000 Swiss francs ($1913) for illegally using insulin during the 2001 Giro d’Italia. The management of Pantani's Mercatone Uno team has also been fined 5000 Swiss francs for his use of a banned substance during the 2001 Giro. Traces of the drug were found in a syringe in his hotel room during the San Remo police raids that shut the race down for a day as investigators searched the rooms of every rider competing in the race

The day after his victory in the Dauphine Libere, American Lance Armstrong continues to work his way up the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rankings, climbing one spot into second place just behind world’s number one, Erik Zabel. U.S. Postal team leader Armstrong, who kicks off his bid for a fourth consecutive Tour de France triumph in less than three weeks time, sits behind Germany's Erik Zabel of the Telekom team. Colombian Santiago Botero was also on the move climbing 15 places to 18th following his triumph in the Alps Classic.UCI Rankings – June 17, 20021. Erik Zabel (G),

When Lance asks, you have to be ready to deliver. Take, for example thisstory of Armstrong’s new time trial handlebar. The day after the finish of the Midi Libre, U.S. Postal team managerJohan Bruyneel calls Deda Elementi, the team’s handlebar sponsor, to reportthat Lance is unhappy with his current equipment and wants something lighterfor the upcoming Dauphiné Libéré and the Tour. The next day, May 28, representatives from Deda drive from their factoryin Campagnola Cremasca, Italy, to Les Deux Alpes to meet with Armstrong,Bruyneel and Lance’s mechanic, Jean-Marc Vandenberge. At the

The powerhouse that is the Saturn’s Women Cycling Team swept the Stanley Time Trial at the H.P. Women’s Challenge Monday, with Judith Arndt taking the third stage and teammate Anna Millward three seconds back, remaining in the overall lead. It is the third consecutive Saturn victory at this year’s Women’s Challenge. National TT champion Kimberly Bruckner finished in second, just one tick of the clock off Arndt’s pace. Conditions on the false flat 40 km out-and-back course were cool and windy, embarking into a strong headwind and returning with a crossed up tailwind. In customary time trial

Shozo Shimano, Chairman Emeritus of Shimano Inc., died Saturday due to heart failure. He was 74. Born January 3rd, 1928, Shozo Shimano served as President of Shimano Inc. from 1958 to 1992. During his 34-year tenure, the company grew to be the world’s largest component manufacturer and one of the leading corporations in Japan. He is survived by his wife Aiko and son Yozo, both of Sakai City, and daughter Setsuko of Tokyo. Yozo Shimano is the current President of Shimano, Inc. A privately held funeral was held Monday at the Sakai City home of Shozo Shimano. The company expects to hold a

Jaromir Friede (Wüstenrot - ZVVZ), the early leader during thetwo-up sprint opener to the 2002 Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce, hung onto take the first leader's jersey. Friede, the Czech national road champion,finished just ahead of Canadian track rider Alexandre Cloutier (VW-Trek)and Charles Dionne (7UP Nutra Fig). Another Canadian, Pierre Olivier Boilly(Équipe du Québec) was fourth, and Alex Candelario (PrimeAlliance) rounded out the top 5.The riders raced head to head, in pairs, along a 300 metre strip ofRue St-Jean, finishing under one of the gates to the old city.  The'real'

Hamilton finished second at the Giro with a broken shoulder. How might the Tour be if he's healthy?

From drawing board to bike in 18 days.

The Saturn squad checks the results page

Jeanson found the wind to be a challenge.

T-Mobile's Dotsie Cowden time trialing in Stanley

Three-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong warmed up for next month's Tour by finally conquering the Dauphiné Libéré stage race, which ended Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland. Armstrong led a 1-2 for both the United States and the U.S. Postal team as Floyd Landis came second overall, 2:03 behind the team leader, following the 150km seventh and final stage between Morzine and Geneva. Armstrong crossed the line in 37th position behind Spanish winner Jose Enrique Gutierrez of Kelme, but it was enough to finally secure a race that has escaped him during his career. Armstrong once again

It was probably the shortest course you’ll ever see on the professional downhill circuit, but that didn’t stop the world’s hottest rider from adding another win to his resume. For the fourth time in four tries Australian Chris Kovarik was the fastest man down the hill, taking round No. 2 of the NORBA National Championship Series. Kovarik has now won both stops of the 2002 NCS and the opening two rounds of the World Cup series. In the women’s race Frenchwoman Sabrina Jonnier posted the quickest time, giving the Intense team a pair of wins at Alpine Valley Resort in southern Wisconsin on

Saturn’s Anna Millward, two-time overall winner of the HP Women’sChallenge (1996 & 2000), won the Lowman to Stanley road race Sunday, out sprinting a select group of general classification contenders for her first sprint victory of the 2002 season. In nearly perfect weather conditions and mild wind, the 56.6-mile stage with a lone saw tooth-shaped profile guaranteed action, delivering over 3000 feet of climbing in the opening 33 miles. Once over the 7000-foot elevation Banner Pass, the course flattened out, with a long, gentle straightaway descent into the small alpine valley town of

Kovarik sails to another win.

Hannah just missed his second NORBA downhill win.

Jonnier takes on the opening drop.

Streb just moments before her crash.

Millward and Polikeviciute

Bruckner

Armstrong

North America's largest stage race, the Hewlett-Packard Women’s Challenge, begins Saturday in Boise, Idaho. Formerly sponsored by Ore-Ida, the Women’s Challenge was introduced in 1984 by Army veteran Jim Rabdou, and is infamous for its flaunting the arbitrary limits of the UCI, which ruled the distances too difficult for a women’s stage race and would not sanction the event until 1995. The 543-mile course weaves through Idaho’s southern mountains and high deserts, with a total of 11,000 feet of climbing. Of particular interest this year is 2001’s overall winner Lyne Bessette, who will be

Lance Armstrong romped to victory in the sixth and penultimate stage of the Dauphine Libere, from Albertville to Morzine on Saturday to tighten his grip on the overall lead. The American held off a late challenge from Frenchman Christophe Moreau and Andrei Kivilev of Kazakhstan to claim his first stage victory on a day that included the Cols de Saisies, des Aravis, de la Colobière and Joux-Plane, the famous climb where Armstrong suffered his worst day of the 2000 Tour de France. "I was thinking about the climb of Joux-Plane all week," he said. "I told my teammates, don’t do anything stupid.