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A Lithuanian appeals court on Thursday released Latvian Olympic cyclist Juris Silovson on bail pending further hearings into charges that he tried to smuggle nearly 80,000 undeclared Euros across the border. Silovs had been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail for failing to declare cash he carried across the border. "You have to be there. You have to see the food there. Pigs get better feed," Silovs was quoted as saying by the Baltic News Service of the maximum-security prison where he was held. Silovs had been found guilty for failing to declare 76,750 euros (75,660 dollars) hidden

The French retail chain BigMat became the second high profile sponsor to turn its back on cycling this week, the decision taken at a shareholders meeting in Paris on Thursday. The news is a blow to the sport, coming as it does 24 hours after Italian firm Mapei announced the end of its near-decade involvement in cycling. BigMat partly blamed the pull-out on the decision by the Tour de France organisers not to grant them an invitation for next month's race. "It's the second time that we haven't taken part in the Tour," BigMat's director general Jean-Luc Leroy told

Belgium cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke appeared before a disciplinary commission in Brussels on Thursday as part of his campaign to return to the saddle after an appeals court overturned his recent ban for possession of doping products. Vandenbroucke was suspended for six months by the Belgium cycling federation after prohibited substances were found at his home at the start of the season. The ban was overturned on a legal technicality by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday, but it is the Belgium authorities who have the final say on whether to accept

Swiss veteran Alex Zülle (Coast), won the Tour of Switzerland which ended with a time trial in Bienne on Thursday. Zülle finished third in the stage – behind Tobias Steinhauser (Gerolsteiner) and American Bobby Julich (Telekom) – which was good enough to give him a lock on the overall title. The 1995 Tour of Switzerland runner-up had shrugged off a six month ban imposed in 1998 as a result of the Festina doping scandal when taking second to Lance Armstrong in the 1999 Tour de France. But Zülle had a less than satisfactory season last, with just one win all season, a stage in Paris-Nice.

Mercury’s Phil Zajicek and Quebec’s Lyne Bessette took the wins in the opening time trial on Thursday night at the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, to take the leaders’ jerseys heading into Friday’s Aubuchon-Glidden Circuit Race. Defending champion Bessette (Quebec Selection Team) narrowly edged out her former Saturn teammate Kimberly Bruckner, covering the 7-mile time trial in 17:49.53, just over a second faster than Bruckner. Rona’s Genevieve Jeanson was third, 44 seconds behind Bessette. In the men’s race, Zajicek beat out defending champion Eric Wohlberg (Saturn)

Zülle wraps up Swiss Tour; Julich second in TT

The Italian building materials company Mapei has announced plans to end its sponsorship of cycling at the end of the current season, bringing to a close nearly a decade of successful involvement with the professional peloton. "The Mapei group have decided to end their sponsorship of (the) sports team at the end of the current season," a statement released from the team said Wednesday three weeks after the drug-tainted Giro d'Italia. Mapei chief Girogio Squinzi said the sport was finally beginning to get its house in order but not enough was being done to convince him that Mapei's

Telkom’s Erik Zabel won the eighth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, a 235km stretch from Vevey to Lyss on Wednesday, continuing a pattern of wins that the German sprinter vowed to carry into next week’s Tour de France. Alex Zülle (Coast) retained the leader's yellow jersey, holding only a three-second advantage over Laurent Dufaux (Alessio) and 19 over Domo's Piotr Wadecki. Considered a strong strong time trialist, Zülle holds the advantage going into Thursday’s final stage a 34.5 km between Lyss and Bienne. Zabel said win on Wednesday gives him confidence going into the Tour de France,

Zabel beatsTeutenburg and Hauptman to take his second stage win.

The on-again-off-again career of Belgian Frank Vandenbroucke may be on again after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) annulled a six-month ban from the sport for doping offences. Vandenbroucke had been suspended by the Belgian cycling federation following the discovery of a cache of drugs at his home at the start of the season. The panel, to whom Vandenbroucke had appealed, annulled the ban because of a legal technicality. "... CAS came to the conclusion that the body who banned the rider in the first place did not have the legal status to do so," CAS said in a statement.

A day after dominating the mountain time trial and taking the overall race lead, American Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) sealed the overall victory at the Route du Sud with another strong climbing performance on Tuesday as he readied for the upcoming Tour de France. Leipheimer finished ninth on the final stage, but more importantly conceded just six seconds to his closest rivals in the general classification, Andrei Kivilev (Cofidis) and Aitor Kintana Zarate (BigMat-Auber 93). Tuesday's 189.5km stage 4 began in Luzenac and finished with the Cat. 1 climb of the Plateau de Bonascre, above the town

Spaniard Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) took the seventh stage of the Tour of Switzerland Tafter Italian Gianluca Bortolami (Tacconi) was stripped of victory. Bortolami was ruled to have swayed from his line as he sprinted towards the finish and pushed back to 18th spot, handing victory to Garate, of team Lampre. Swiss star Alex Zülle of Coast maintains his lead at the top of the standings but the real talking point on Tuesday was Bortolami's demotion to back of the finishing group. The panel, chaired by Belgian Marc Vandevyvere, decided to punish Bortolami for coming out of the final bend

More solutions to mystery noises.

Bortolami (center) thought he had won, but the jury ruled for Garate (left).

Turns out all is not lost for the gravity racers that had planned on attending the downhill events at the Grouse Mountain World Cup in British Columbia. Following some last minute scrambling, Whistler-Blackcomb Resort has announced that it will be hosting two days of pro racing during the week leading up to the Grouse Mountain event, effectively replacing the World Cup downhill events that were cancelled because of too much snow. Grouse will still be hosting junior and elite cross-country races. Racing in Whistler will start Wednesday, July 3, with the Joyride Biker X, a four-rider gated

A day after the 2002 HP Women’s Challenge wrapped-up in Boise, Idaho, on Sunday, the promoters of the race announced that they are seeking a new title sponsor after Hewlett-Packard ended a six-year run as the event’s largest financial supporter. “We found out just before the beginning of this year’s race,” Women’s Challenge director operations Robyn Browne told VeloNews. “We just were not going to make the announcement until it was over and detract from this year’s mood.” Browne attributed the HP pullout to the company’s recent merger with Compaq, which “has put the entire company’s sports

The U.S. track team continued to add to its string of strong performances this year, taking the team title at the latest round of the World Cup in Cali, Colombia, June 21-23. It’s been a remarkable season for the Americans, starting with a team title at the opening World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico in April. The success continued in Sydney and Moscow, and, most recently, Cali, where the U.S. squad claimed their second World Cup title at the series’ fourth stop. With one World Cup competition remaining in Kunming, China (August 9-11)—the United States squad sits unofficially atop the World Cup

Phonak’s Alexandre Moos beat turned the tables on Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo), reversing the results from the day before to take the 176.9km sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland as it finished in Verbier on Monday. Casagrande had beat Moos to the line at the end of Sunday’s stage and looked set to the same as he and Tacconi Sport’s Peter Luttenberger reeled Moos in as he neared the finish. Mooos had been active in the closing kilometers of the race, attacking with Telekom’s Giuseppe Guerini and Gerolsteiner’s Davide Rebellin on the day’s final climb, just 9 km from the finish. But

Rabobank's American co-captain for the TOur de France, Levi Leipheimer, appears to be coming into form at just the right time as he took over control of the 2002 Route du Sud on Monday. With one stage remaining, Leipheimer assumed the overall lead by 50 seconds after winning a short but tough mountainous time trial from Aston to the Plateau de Beille. Leipheimer beat second-placed Aitor Kintana (BigMat) by 48 seconds as he averaged 23 kph over the 18 km course that ended with the 1200 meter climb to the top of the Plateau. Cofidis’s David Millar finished the day in third place at 55 seconds

The U.S. Postal team released its roster for the Tour de France on Monday, naming a mix of veterans and newcomers to defend the Tour championship of three-time winner Lance Armstrong. Joining Armstrong at the start line of the Tour de France in Luxembourg on July 6 will be Americans George Hincapie and Floyd Landis, Spain's Roberto Heras and Jose Luis Rubiera, Colombia's Victor Hugo Pena, Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov, Czech Pavel Padrnos and Luxembourger Benoit Joachim. "It was a tough decision to select the nine riders because we have 12 riders that are ready to ride the Tour,"

This time it's Moos

Gord Fraser and his Mercury team finally got the win at the Grand PrixCycliste de Beauce that they have been searching for all week, however, to do it he had to hold off Charles Dionne (7Up-Nutra Fig). Michael Rogers (Mapei-Quick Step) finished safely in the pack, and the stage produced no significant changes to the general classification. After being robbed of the chance for victory in the morning stage, when a mix up sent the enter peloton off course in the final 300 meters, the sprinters were anxious for a last chance to claim a stage before tomorrow's concluding road race. Therefore,

Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo), snatched victory in the fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland from the hands Phonak’s Alex Moos just 150 meters from the finish in Meiringen on Sunday. The two had broken away from the rest of the field on the descent of the day’s toughest climbm the Susten, just 10km from the finish. Casagrande outsprinted the Phonak rider at the end of the 147.7km race to beat Moos by a matter of inches, for a winning time of 4:37:35. Domo’s Piotr Wadecki took the field sprint 15 seconds later to finish third. Coast’s Alex Zülle maintains his grip on the

Under a hot midday sun, the nine-stage 2002 H.P. Women’s Challenge wrapped up Sunday, with Saturn’s Judith Arndt maintaining her 1:20 overall lead over Rona’s 20-year-old Genevieve Jeanson. Both teams raced the final stage conservatively, with Rona intent on preserving Jeanson’s three leader’s jerseys – overall points, mountain points, and best young rider – while Saturn looked after Arndt. During Sunday’s road race - a 56.5-mile sojourn from Emmett to Boise’s historic Hyde Park district – several attempts were made early on, but Rona swiftly shut them down. The real racing began after the

John Kirkcaldie (Maxxis) finally broke through "a lot of second places" to snag his first career NORBA downhill win on a rocky, rooted, but dry Snowshoe Mountain course. Meanwhile, French dominance continued on the women’s circuit, as Sabrina Jonnier (Intense) won her second consecutive NORBA race in the wake of Anne-Caroline Chausson’s first round win. After qualifying fourth, New Zealander Kircaldie finally broke Chris Kovarik’s (Intense) stranglehold on the downhill series posting a time of 4:02:39 over the 2.25-mile, 1400-vertical foot course. Kovarik suffered a flat tire in the bottom

As expected, Michael Rogers (Mapei-Quick Step) successfully hung onto the yellow jersey through the final stage of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce. Lubor Tesar (Nurnberger) racked up his third stage win, ahead of Phil Zajicek (Navigators) and Matt Decanio (Prime Alliance). The final 144 kilometer stage was a tough course, offering other teams the opportunity to attack Mapei and try and crack the yellow jersey - which has happened before in this race. The riders did two laps of a 60 kilometer circuit, with three climbs per lap, and two finishing circuits in St-Georges, also with a steep

Casagrande takes it in the sprint

Ziliute and Armstrong head for the line

All the jersey holders were at the front going up the HP's last climb.

Today's podium

Domo’s Leon Van Bon won the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, a mountainous 160-kilometer run between Coire and Ambri on Saturday. Italy's Daniele Nardello came in second ahead of Briton Charles Wegelius. Coast’s Alex Zülle retained the overall leader's yellow jersey. Van Bon and Nardello slipped the peloton, with 80km of the stage remaining, but this pair were caught by a select group including Wegelius, who led the sprint for the line, only to be retaken by a tireless Van Bon.

Up until the final 300 meters, stage 6a of the Grand Prix Cycliste deBeauce was shaping up to be an excellent display of racing, with a long breakaway that was only shut down in the final 4 kilometers. However, a series of events at the end of the stage led to no winner being declared and all riders being given the same finishing time. The 111 kilometer stage was expected to be aggressive, as other teams took the measure of Mapei's determination to protect Michael Roger's lead. Saturn was particularly aggressive in the opening kilometers, but it wasn't until nearly the halfway point that

Under the figure of Boise’s Idaho State Capital building, Saturn’s Anna Millward took stage eight of the H.P. Women’s Challenge Saturday in a two-up sprint against T Mobile’s Katrina Berger. It was Millward’s second win - and Saturn’s seventh - of the nine-stage tour. The annual Saturday event, which circumnavigates downtown government buildings, drew out the local Boise cycling community to cheer on the riders and seek out autographs from the world-class field. With the overall GC more or less decided – Saturn’s Judith Arndt in first, 1:20 ahead of Rona’s Genevieve Jeanson, and Saturn’s

Alison Dunlap (Luna Chix) and Jimena Florit (RLX-Polo Sport), the two dominant women on the NORBA circuit this year, spiced things up by flip flopping Friday’s long course cross country result, with Dunlap taking a commanding victory in the short track cross country. In the men’s race, Ryder Hesjedal (Subaru-Gary Fisher) sprang back from the cramps that plagued him on the long course to reclaim his top spot in the intense short track competition. Dunlap enjoyed an uncluttered view for the majority of the 20-minute-plus 3-lap women’s event, going away on the third lap and riding

The Snowshoe Mountain Mountain cross course did not leave a great deal of room for error. With nothing close to flat and only slightly doglegged corners, it was a matter of getting the holeshot, take the win, plain and simple. That tactic paid off for Brian Lopes (GT) and Katrina Miller (Jamis) both of whom qualified first, won each of their heats, and enjoyed their choice of lane position throughout the competition on the way to the top of the final brackets. In the women’s race, racers were offered an alternate line in order to avoid, if desired, the enormous double jump a scant 70 feet

First rider start: 4 p.m., then at one-minute intervals for 189 riders.

Millward and Saturn in control.

Berger - Millward - Konrad

Stage 1

Luxembourg - Luxembourg

AG2R PrévoyanceFranceProfileIn the peloton since 1996Sponsor: Provident contingency fundBudget: $3.2 millionManager: Vincent LavenuDirecteurs sportif: Laurent Biondi, Gilles MasRidersAGNOLUTTO Christophe  (F) December 6, 1969BERGÈS Stéphane  (F)  January 9, 1975BOTCHAROV Alexandre  (Rus)  February 26, 1975CHAURREAU Iñigo  (Sp)  April 14, 1973FLICKINGER Andy   (F)  November 4, 1978KIRSIPUU Jaan   (Est)  July 17, 1969ORIOL Christophe   (F)  February 28, 1973THIERRY LODER(F)TURPIN Ludovic   (F)  March 22, 1975Something to proveAlthough only selected as a wild-card team, Vincent Lavenu’s

While the world focuses on Lance Armstrong of the U.S. Postal Service teamduring this year’s Tour de France, the team will be looking toward a personwhose work will be seen by few. Jeff Spencer is officially listed as thePostal team’s chiropractor, a job that requires attending to the variousaches, pains and injuries incurred by riders during every stage of theTour. Spencer is the team’s own special sauce, and his work has helpedput Armstrong in yellow for the last three years. "I don’t know what to call myself, because there are so many thingsthat I do that fall into so many disciplines and

Sponsor: maker of wheel rims for carsBudget: $2.8 millionManager: Bruno CenghialtaDirecteurs sportif: Dario Mariuzzo, Valerio TebaldiRidersBROGNARA Andrea (I), May 26, 1971CASAGRANDE Stefano (I), March 23, 1973DUFAUX Laurent (Swi),  May 20, 1969GOTTI Ivan (I), March 28, 1969HVASTIJA Martin (Slo), November 30, 1969IVANOV Ruslan (Mol), December 18, 1973MORENI Christian  (I), November 21, 1972PIERI Dario (I), September 1, 1975SHEFER Alksandr (Kaz), August 26, 1971Ambitious, but limited Thanks to its team victory at the 2001 Giro, this Italian team snaggeda direct ticket to the 2002 Tour. Team

In the peloton since 1997Sponsor: Telephone credit bankerBudget: $4.9 millionManager: Alain BondueDirecteur sportif: Bernard QuilfenAssistants: Alain Delœil, Francis Van LonderseleConsultant: Tony RomingerRidersATIENZA Daniel  (Sp),   September 22, 1974CUESTA Inigo  (Sp),   June 3, 1969FERNANDEZ Bingen (Sp)KIVILEV Andréï  (Kaz),   September 21, 1973LELLI Massimiliano  (I),   December 2, 1967MATTAN Nico  (B),   July 17, 1971MILLAR David  (GB),   January 4, 1977MONCOUTIÉ David   (F),   April 30, 1975VASSEUR Cédric  (F),   August 18, 1970 Raised ambitions This French team will try to

In the peloton since 2000Sponsor: Jewelry store chainBudget: $2.6 millionManager: Serge BarleDirecteur sportif: Michel GrosAssistants: Jean-Luc Jonrond, Patrick PerretRiders (as of June 30)AUGÉ Stéphane  (F),   December 6, 1974BERNARD Jerome (F)BROCHARD Laurent  (F),   March 26, 1968DESSEL Cyril   (F),   November 29, 1974EDALEINE Christophe (F),   November 1, 1979GOUBERT Stéphane  (F),   March 13, 1970HALGAND Patrice  (F),   March 2, 1974LEFèVRE Laurent  (F),   July 2, 1976SEIGNEUR Eddy  (F),   February 15, 1969A sign of destiny?The Jean Delatour team had resigned itself to not riding the

In the peloton since 2000Sponsor: free newspaper chainBudget: $3.4 millionManager: Philippe RaimbaudDirecteur sportif: Jean René BernaudeauAssistants: Thierry Bricaud, Christian Guiberteau, ChristopheFaudotRiders (as of July 1)BÉNÉTEAU Walter   (F),  July 28, 1972BOUYER Franck   (F),  March 17, 1974CHAVANEL Sylvain   (F),  June 30, 1979MAGNIEN Emmanuel  (F),  May 7, 1971NAZON Damien   (F),  June 26, 1974PINEAU Jerome (F)RENIER Franck   (F),  April 11, 1974ROUS Didier   (F),  September 18, 1970SIMON François   (F),  October 28, 1968 IntroductionJean-René Bernaudeau’s team again needed a

In the peloton since August 1998Sponsor: French bankBudget: $5 millionManager and directeur sportif: Roger LegeayAssistant: Michel LaurentTrainer: Denis RouxRidersBESSY Frédéric  (F),  January, 9, 1972HINAULT Sébastien  (F),  February 11, 1974HUSHOVD Thor  (N),  January 18, 1978LANGELLA Anthony (F)MOREAU Christophe (F),  April 12, 1971MORIN Anthony  (F),  June 27, 1974O’GRADY Stuart  (Aus),  August 6, 1973VAUGHTERS Jonathan (USA),  June 10, 1973VOIGT Jens   (G),  September 17, 1971The top French team?Of all the managers of the French team managers, Roger Legeay achievedthe most spectacular

In the peloton since 2001Sponsors: CSC: Internet access provider; Tiscali: informationtechnology companyBudget: $5.6 millionManager: Bjarne RiisDirecteur sportif: Alex PedersenAssistants: Johnny Weltz, Christian AndersenRidersJALABERT Laurent (F), November 30, 1968HAMILTON Tyler (USA), March 1, 1971PERON Andrea (I), August 14, 1971PIIL Jakob (Dk), March 9, 1973PIZIKS Arvis (Lat), September 12, 1969SANDSTÖD Michael (Dk), June 23, 1968SASTRE Carlos (Sp), April 22, 1975SÖRENSEN Nicki (Dk), May 14, 1975VAN HYFTE Paul (B), January 19, 1972 Riis’s piecesDenmark’s love affair with cycling

In the peloton since 1994Sponsors: Telecommunications company, and the Basque Countryregional authorityBudget: $2.8 millionManager: Miguel MadariagaDirecteur sportif: Julian GorospeAssistant: Ruben Gorospe RidersARRIZABALAGA Gorka (Sp),  April 14, 1977ETXEBARRIA David (Sp),  July 23, 1973ETXEBARRIA Unai (Ven), November 21, 1972FLORES Igor (Sp),  December 5, 1973GONZALEZ Gorka (Sp),  September 28, 1977LAISEKA Roberto (Sp),  June 17, 1969MAYO Iban (Sp),  August 19, 1977SANCHEZ Samuel (Sp),  February 5, 1978ZUBELDIA Haimar (Sp) Bigger goals For the first time since its creation two years

“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