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The focus of First Union Week shifts today from the strong to the fast, as the series moves from Lancaster to Trenton on its way to the final showdown at the USPRO Championships in Philadelphia. While Tuesday’s opener in Lancaster came down to a two-man battle between Chris Wherry (Mercury) and David Clinger (U.S. Postal Service) on the final lap, if things go according to form at the First Union Classic in Trenton, the race should see a large group fighting it out for a sprint finish at the end. The race is 13 laps on a 7-mile circuit for a total of 91 miles, but that’s about all it has in

Features: The Koski Stronghold Deluxe is a forged hollow stemof 6061-T6 aluminum with a four-bolt polished silver front plate. The shaftis matte black.The Stronghold Deluxe stem is available in two finishes, called “shotpeened black” and “polished silver,” two angles, namely 7 and 15 degrees,and five lengths: 60, 75, 95, 110 and 130mm.All of the bolts take a 5mm hex key.Likes: This is a handsome and lightweight stem available in lotsof finishes, angles and lengths. It is plenty stiff, and it has a largeclamping area with the bar (these two features are probably interrelated).Dislikes:

Features: The Mag00 is a superlight magnesium stem for an oversized31.7mm handlebar diameter. It is machined from AZ 80 A, T5 temper magnesium,under a controlled inert-gas atmosphere and immediately coated afterwardsto prevent the oxidation and consequent weakening of the magnesium.The four-bolt front cap is made of carbon fiber with, according to Deda,the fibers oriented along the lines of force. All bolts are 6/4 titaniumfor a 4mm hex key.The Mag 00 comes in an 80-degree angle with lengths of 90, 100, 110,120, 130 and 140mm.Likes: The stem is extremely light while being adequately stiff.I

Features: The matte-black Deda Newton is machined from 2024 T6aluminum. The silver front cap is held on with four titanium bolts, which,like the fork-steerer clamp, accept a 4mm hex key.The Newton comes in 90- and 95-degree angles in lengths of 105, 115and 125mm. The Deda N’Bar matches it in graphics and quality.Likes: Like the Newton road stem, this is a strong, superlightstem, and I find it to be adequately stiff.Dislikes: Not a one.Other: You have to very careful not to over-torque the smallbolts.The Deda single-bend bars, namely the N’Bar and BarOne, come only inthe relatively short 560mm

When a carbon fiber handlebar breaks, it makes a sound like a snapped twig.There’s a sharp “crack!” followed by a hollow splintering sound, just asif you’d broken a dry stick over your knee. Then, silence.The similarity in sound is due to the similarity in structure. Carbonfiber, like wood, is made of long strands of high-strength material surroundedby a resin matrix. Trees do it with cellulose and sap. Engineers do itwith synthetic polymers and glue.The difference, of course, is that carbon fiber is considerably strongerthan wood; in fact, carbon’s raw tensile strength figures typically

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 thisaddress, you are consenting to the publication of your letter.Spin control and a commercial appeal?Dear VeloNews,I am writing in response to the letter sent to you from Cannondale withregards to the Gilberto Simoni fiasco (see "Itreally isn't about the bike").I am glad that Cannondale claims to be committed to clean/drug-freecycling, but the

Gord Fraser has had bad luck at the First Union Classic in Trenton, New Jersey before, but on a day when it seemed that anything possible could go wrong, everything went right for the Canadian Mercury rider. Fraser held off a charging pack at the end of a wet, treacherous race on Thursday evening to give his Mercury team its first Trenton win. The race got off to a rocky start, when, just minutes after the 164 riders rolled off the line in front of the New Jersey State Art Museum, they were called back to the start. A fatal automobile-pedestrian accident had occurred on the downtown end of

Clinger: Can Postal make it 2-for-2?

Freddy's Forte'? Trenton could suit the tastes of the man from Domo

Ignore Fraser at your own risk.

It's Fraser at the line

Saturn's Eric Wohlberg hits the pavement in bad conditions

Fighting for position on the last lap

VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across something in the pages 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 tothis address, you are consenting to the publication of your letter.It really isn't about the bikeTo the bicycle racing community;Gilberto Simoni of the Saeco/Cannondale team, to which we are the officialbicycle and clothing sponsor, tested positive on two recent occasions fortraces of cocaine.  The first test was administered on April 24, andthe

Anger mounted in Latvia on Wednesday over neighboring Lithuania's jailing of Latvian Olympic cyclist Juris Silovs, with a national newspaper calling for a boycott of Lithuanian goods. The Latvian government has also moved quickly to assist the former member of the French team Cofidis, with the spokesman of Prime Minister Andris Berzins telling the Baltic News Service that "in the future every possible chance will be use to assist Silovs." Silovs has been sentenced to five and a half years in a maximum security Lithuanian prison for failing to declare 86,300 euros (81,430 dollars)

Once again, this so-called investigation by the French Judicial System baffles me.It was with great disappointment that I read Saturday's Le Monde article (June 1) regarding the "US Postal Affair." I am still confused as to why it has taken nearly two years to validate what I said after first learning of this investigation: the investigators will find nothing because there is nothing to find.I do not condone the use of banned substances and certainly understandhow problematic this issue has become in sport. In my case, it's unfortunatethat some people, including a few in the French

Spend any time around the European pro road scene, and chances are, it’ll get into your system. The parade of team cars crowding into a town center for the race, the blaring voice of the announcer at sign-in, the wild crowds along the sides of the roads, the media crush at the finish of a big race: This is big-time sport, with the huge buzz that goes along with it. Euro’ bike racing gets in the blood, and right now, it is coursing through the veins of Kirk O’Bee. Sitting in a Danbury, Connecticut, hotel room on the morning of theHousatonic Valley Classic in late May, the 25-year-old O’Bee is

The U.S. Postal Service squad drew first blood at the First Union Cycling week on Tuesday night, as David Clinger rode away from breakaway partner Chris Wherry (Mercury) on the final lap of the First Union Invitational in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Clinger and Wherry were the two survivors of a typical Lancaster race -– fast, difficult and hard-fought. Coming off his spring European campaign, including a strong support ride for Lance Armstrong at the Midi Libre, Clinger took his first win of the season in the streets of Lancaster. "Everybody wants to win, and everybody’s here to win," he

From the start, the Tour of Greater Montreal was a battle of seconds– or tenths of seconds -- decided by intermediate sprints, timebonuses and tie breakers. That’s why the overall standings of Canada’snewest stage race for women has the top three riders listed has havingthe same time. But having won two of the event’s three stages gave LauraVan Gilder (Trek Plus VW) the edge in the final break down.Van Gilder, U.S. criterium champion for 2000, won Tuesday’s closingstage, a relatively flat 113 km road race, edging out Clara Hughes (ÉquipeQuébec) and Anna Millward (Saturn) in a sprint.The stage

Wherry, Clinger, Leaper

'Everybody wants to win,' said Clinger, who actually did.

'What could I do?' shrugged Wherry, 16 seconds behind Clinger

Clinger and Wherry

Not your average stroll in the park.

The Italian Saeco-Longoni Sport team has been officially dis-invited fromthe Tour de France after the team’s top GC contender, Gilberto Simoni wastwice found positive for cocaine. Organizers of the Tour issued a statement on Monday saying that thecontroversy precluded Saeco's invitation to the Tour. Instead, the French Jean Delatour team would be invited to fill the slot left open. Simoni, last year's winner of the Giro d'Italia, was ejected from thisyear's edition of the Italian tour after officials released results ofan out-of-competition drug test conducted in April.

Sorry for the delay in getting this final journal entry out. The lastthree days have been pretty hectic. The Giro ended on a high note withall nine CSC-Tiscali riders finishing in fine form yesterday afternoon.That's quite an accomplishment considering three of our riders were experiencingtheir first grand tour. This race was a special time for our team.A miraculous ride was not in the cards on Saturday. Although I went"full gas" as they say over here, my best wasn't enough to pull off a miracleagainst Savoldelli. He was flying during the last week of this race soI have to tip my hat to him.

Statement from Team Saeco Longoni Sport, following decision by the Sociétédu Tour de France to exclude the team from this year's Tour -- June 2,2002After the misadventure at the Giro d'Italia regarding the positiveanti-doping test involving Gilberto Simoni and his consequent decisionby the team for him to leave the race, the Saeco-Longoni Sport team isvery saddened by the decision of the organizers of the Tour de France torevoke their invitation to the team to the benefit of the Jean Delatourteam."I spoke with Jean Marie Leblanc for a long time," Saeco-Longoni Sportteam manager Claudio Corti

The biggest week in U.S. cycling kicks off on Tuesday afternoon in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when 20 teams line up for the First Union Invitational, the first event leading up to Sunday’s First Union USPRO Championships in Philadelphia. Contested on a difficult 7-mile circuit in Lancaster, the 13-lap, 91-mile race will give the first hint of which teams have arrived at First Union week prepared to challenge for the USPRO title at the end of the week. Last year, Mercury took the win in Lancaster behind its European import Leon Van Bon. However, when the team’s Division 1 ambitions stalled out

It was a day when seconds mattered in Montreal on Monday and Dede Demet-Barrymade those seconds count as she moved into the overall lead of the Tourof Greater Montreal. Fresh off of her win at this past weekend’s WorldCup event in Montreal, the Talgo America.com rider played her cards wellto pocket bonus seconds and take over the yellow jersey after the secondof three stages, a criterium held in Montreal’s Little Italy. Laura VanGilder (Trek Plus VW), who climbed to the seventh spot the overall standings,took the top spot in the final sprint.Entering the third and last stage tomorrow, Demet

Simoni's win at Campitello Matese was just a day before he was thrown out of the Giro

USPRO champion Fred Rodriguez

What a long, strange race it’s been.Starting in Holland on May 11 and ending 20 stages and 3363 km later,the 2002 Giro d’Italia ended pretty in pink Sunday in Milan. From doping scandals to inspirational racing, there was never a dullmoment in the 85th Giro. American Tyler Hamilton made history, scoring an historic podium finishand winning a Giro stage. Bolstered by the support of CSC-Tiscali teammanager Bjarne Riis, the 31-year-old Bostonian emerged from Lance Armstrong’sshadow. "Bjarne and I worked so hard to get here, so it was a special momentafter yesterday’s time trial. I had to

It’s been a long time since the French haven’t owned at least one of the World Cup downhill leader’s jerseys, but that’s just what happened in Scotland Sunday after a pair of Commonwealth riders stormed away with wins at round one in Fort William. Aussie Chris Kovarik and Great Britain’s Tracy Moseley are now on top of the series standings, after each took dramatic victories on the steep slopes of the Nevis Range Ski Resort. For Kovarik it was his second straight World Cup win. The Intense rider closed the 2001 season on top of the podium at the finals in Mont-Ste-Anne. "I’ve managed to

Tyler Hamilton might not be going up against former teammate Lance Armstrong at next month’s Tour de France after all. Hamilton said moments after finishing second overall at the 2002 Giro d’Italia that a nagging shoulder injury caused in a horrific crash in stage 5 might keep him out of the Tour. “It’s possible, it depends how serious it is,” Hamilton said. “For sure I have a problem in there. It’s bothering me every day.” Hamilton will stay in Milan on Monday so doctors can X-ray his left shoulder. If the injury is serious enough, Hamilton said he would return to the United States to

When temperatures in Arlington, Virginia had reached 80 degrees at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning, the professional cyclists gathered for the fifth edition of the Clarendon Cup knew they were in for a tough day. Undaunted, racers made a hot, windy summer day even harder on themselves as strong fields in the men’s and women’s events came out punching. German Ina Teutenburg (Saturn) and Russian Vassili Davidenko (Navigators) emerged from the fray to take the top podium spots. Few of the locals had forgotten last year’s spectacle in the women's race, when Teutenberg went away early and lapped the

Who Else? Cipo' makes it six for this Giro and 40 for his career.

Survivors: Hamilton, Savoldelli and Caucchioli made it a great race, despite all of the troubles of the past three weeks.

Moseley celebrates her win.

Kovarik heads for home.

The aftermath of Peat's run.

Gracia and Rennie shared the hotseat momentarily.

The Saeco team suspended Gilberto Simoni and froze his salary Saturday as team officials responded to news that the 2001 Giro d'Italia winner had again tested positive for cocaine. Simoni, who was pulled from the Giro by his Saeco-Longoni Sport teamon May 24, after news was released that he had failed an out-of-competiondope test on April 24. Simoni claimed that the positive was the resultof negligence on his part, saying that he had simply failed to report thathe had visited the dentist the same day drug testers from the World Anti-Doping Agency showed up at his apartment. Upon learning of

Tyler Hamilton needed a super time trial Saturday to win the 2002 Girod’Italia. Instead, the CSC-Tiscali captain was “OK” in the race againstthe clock – 4th place at 1:31 slower than stage-winner Aitor Gonzalez -- but he still bounced to second-place overall going into the Giro’s finaleSunday in Milan. That was more than OK for Hamilton, however, who endured three crashesto win a stage and will become only the third American to finish on thefinal podium when the 85th Giro concludes Sunday. “I knew ahead of time it was going to be difficult. I knew I would haveto have a super, super day,”

Following the revelation of Gilberto Simoni's second positive test forthe presence of cocaine (see "Simonitests positive again"), the Saeco team has issued a statement announcinghis suspension  from its roster.SAECO TEAM STATEMENT ON THE MATTER OF GILBERTO SIMONIFollowing the new case of non-negativity of rider Gilberto Simoni inthe anti-doping test carried out after the stage of the Giro d'Italia toCaserta, the Saeco-Longoni Sport team expresses their deep concern aboutwhat has happened, knowing that this feeling is also largely felt by publicopinion.This substantially modifies the situation

The names may have been the same and the riders still had their usual course complaints, but when Saturday’s racing at World Cup No. 1 in Fort William, Scotland was done, the debut of four-cross had to be considered a big success. The day’s biggest winner was Volvo-Cannondale, which swept the top of the podium after French riders Anne-Caroline Chausson and Cédric Gracia took wins on the short course near the base area of the Nevis Range Ski Resort. But the huge gathering of fans (3500 tickets were sold) also fared well, getting to watch an hour of exciting back-and-forth racing that included

Dede Demet-Barry has come up with a new training strategy for winning races:1. Retire for 20 months and go to school full-time.2. Race a total of two races in the lead-up to the big event.3. Get a new bike, with the wheels arriving on the morning of the race.4. Get dropped at the start of the final lap. Demet-Barry did all of these things, but still managed to win what some consider the hardest race on the women’s World Cup circuit. The Montreal race is the sixth round of the season-long World Cupseries. The riders cover 99 kilometers in 12 laps, and must climb the slopes of Mont Royal

Simoni showed positive for cocaine in May, too

Savoldelli gets a boost from the maglia rosa

Hamilton: Third American on Giro podium

Lopes led here, but Gracia won.

The view Chausson's competitors had.

Fans came out in force for the first 4X.

Gonzales makes up for the mountains

Live Updates1:15 p.m. -- Good morning to our U.S. readers. Welcome to VeloNews.com's live coverage of Stage 18 of the 2002 Giro d'Italia. Start time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Rovereto. Today's 18th stage from Rovereto to Brescia offers something of a breather between yesterday's seven-and-a-half-hour stage in the mountains and tomorrow's time trial. Only 143 km, it features just one ranked climb, the Category II 638-meter Molina di Ledro at 32 km and finishes with three laps on a 6-km circuit in Brescia. 1:35 p.m. -- The peloton is leaving Rovereto. There are 141 riders remaining in

Taconi Sport's Stefan Ruttimann is facing another ban after the Swiss Olympic Committe announced Friday that a second B sample from a previous control had tested positive. The 24-year-old Swiss rider tested positive for banned steroid testosterone on May 5 during the Tour of Romandy in Switzerland. Ruttimann first tested positive last May 1 (2001) and received a seven-month suspension from the Swiss Olympic Committee. That ban was later reduced to six months by the UCI.

After two weekends of cross-country racing it’s the downhillers turn, as stop No. 1 of their World Cup season is set to kick off Saturday outside Fort William, in the Scottish Highlands. The venue is the Nevis Range Ski Area, a remote resort 2.5 hours north of Glasgow. When the rain stops — which hasn’t happened much in the last two days — it’s one of the most beautiful places you’ll ever see, with huge panoramic views that recall Braveheart, the Mel Gibson movie that was filmed near here. The area is dominated by the formidable shadow of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the United Kingdom

“This has been a very strange Giro.” — Phil Liggett It’s been such fun, watching dopers, has-beens and thugs pile out of the Giro like clowns out of a Volkswagen, or maybe a Fiat, in some David Lynch remake of a Marx Brothers flick with Chico playing all the parts. A conspiracy buff might have seen Marco Pantani’s fine Italian hand behind all of this, sprinkling a little Peruvian marching powder over Gilberto Simoni’s müesli, squirting a touch of Probenecid into Stefano Garzelli’s water bottle, and telling Francesco Casagrande some whopper about John Freddy Garcia calling his momma a ho’.

After 3178 kilometers, the 85th Giro d’Italia will really come downto 43.9 km of pavement. After 18 stages and at least 84 hours, 49 minutesand 55 seconds of racing, this Giro will likely be decided by just a handfulof seconds. It’s Tyler Hamilton vs. Paolo Savoldelli. The Bostonian vs. the Bergamasco. It’s sure to be an exciting finish to an already emotional and drama-filled Giro. Savoldelli has two advantages going into Saturday’s 43.9-km decisiveindividual time trial; one with the clock and another with emotion. Savoldelli has a 1 minute, 28 second lead on third-place Hamilton andwears

The finishing circuits of today's stage were incredibly dangerous. Wedid three laps around the city of Brescia through streets full of switchbacks paved largely with cobblestones. You hear guys talking about wet cobblestones being slippery all thetime - but even dry, they can be pretty treacherous. Years worth of trafficon the stone's surfaces can make them as smooth as ice. With the sprinter'steams setting up their men, it felt like the peloton was rocketing throughthe circuits at certain points. It was pretty hairy. The lead out trainsguided us through the sharp turns by slowing way down

USA Cycling's search for a new chief executive officer to replace the recently departed Lisa Voight has narrowed down to six finalists, according to USAC board president Jim Ochowicz. The short list includes interim USAC CEO Steve Johnson; Gerard Bisceglia, a food-industry veteran and former USPRO board member; Nigel Blair-Johns, National Bicycle League secretary and a USAC board member; Tom Schuler, director of Team Sports; and an unnamed sixth candidate. USAC’s board reportedly has been divided on whether to go outside the organization to fill its top staff position. But after

Peat is one of the favorites in the downhill.

It was a muddy day on Friday.

Final touches on the four-cross course.

Will Savoldelli crack?

The view from the top of downhill course.

Cipo' made it five today

Savoldelli

Hamilton and Evans before Friday's start

That last climb

Everyone here keeps calling Tyler Hamilton a Xerox copy of Lance Armstrong, but more than anyone else, the CSC-Tiscali team captain seems to have borrowed from the Miguel Indurain school of tactics: stay close in the mountains and then kill ‘em in the time trial. Hamilton stayed close in Thursday’s final big day in the mountains,but maybe not close enough. If he wants to become only the secondAmerican to win the Giro d’Italia, he’s going to have put down a super time trial this coming Saturday. Dario Frigo (Tacconi Sport), the man who began the day in second placein the overall standings,

12:42 p.m.-- Good Morning to our U.S. readers. Welcome to our coverage of Stage 17 of the 2002 Giro d'Italia.Racing started just about 2.5 hours ago. The peloton is intact and the average speed for the opening two hours is right at 27.4kph, but remember this is a difficult race from the start.Today's 222-km stage features five rated climbs, with four coming as pairs bunched together before the difficult 19.3-km summit finish to Passo Coe.The stage opens with a 590-meter climb right off the bat to the 2121-meterPasso Gardena with an average grade of 6.6 percent at 9 km. After a quick descent,

A day after he pulled out of the 2002 Giro d’Italia as the race hit the mountains, one-time climbing sensation Marco Pantani said he wants to build his own team for next season. The 1998 Giro winner, who won the Tour de France the same year, blamed a lack of mental fitness for his latest abandon from a major stage race. "I can't understand what has happened during the Giro," said Pantani who started Wednesday's stage race in 76th position over an hour off the leaders' pace. "I've trained much harder for this race than I had for other Giros and tests showed that physically I was in good

The first VeloNews Bro Tour criterium standings are out aftertwo events, the Athens Twilight and the Tour of Somerville, with PrimeAlliance’s Jonas Carney and Diet Rite’s Tina Mayolo-Pic leading the way.The winner in Somerville, New Jersey, and third in Athens, Georgia, Carneyleads a trio of Mercury riders: Derek Bouchard-Hall, Gord Fraser and GraemeMiller, with his Prime Alliance teammate Dave McCook in fifth place. Inthe women’s standings, Mayolo-Pic’s pair of second-place finishes was enoughto put her ahead of Somerville winner Laura Van Gilder (Trek Plus) andAthens champion Ina Teutenberg

Before the fall: Evans begins to show signs of fatigue before Hamilton's first attack.

Passo Gardena, the day's first climb

How long in Pink? Will Savoldelli keep the jersey after Saturday's time trial?

The winning move. Perez, however, didn't have it today.

He's Baaaack. Gragus will be in Philly

Cadel Evans came to the Giro d’Italia to help Mapei teammate StefanoGarzelli, but the 2000 Giro champion got the boot for failing a dopingtest. Now Evans is the first Australian to wear the maglia rosa and isAmerican Tyler Hamilton’s most dangerous rival for overall victory. The former mountain biker jumped into the race lead in an exciting stagethrough the jagged, snow-covered Dolomites, finishing seventh, 58 secondsbehind stage-winner Julio Perez Cuapio. Hamilton hung with the Giro’s bestclimbers over four punishing climbs to remain in third-place overall, nowjust 18 seconds behind