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Arnaud Tournant

Editor's note: Michael Scherer is an American who has been living and racing in Oostende, Belgium, for the past month. Originally from Casper, Wyoming, Scherer spent last season riding for Prime Alliance while living in Boulder, Colorado. He moved to Belgium this year to take the next step and "to prove that I have what it takes to be a bike racer." Scherer will be sending back regular updates throughout the season. This past weekend my ABC-Aitos teammates and I raced the G.P. de La Ville de Nogent Sur Oise, a UCI 1.6 race in France. The race organizers took exceptional care of us, yet

There´s still an awful lot going on in Europe, and we´re noteven talking about the Belgian Classics here.First off, Lance Armstrong will test his form at the 54th DauphineLibere, June 9-16, according to race organizers in France. Armstrong alreadyconfirmed he will race at Midi Libre as he hones his form for a run ata fourth straight Tour de France. Also expected to start among 14 teamsare Christophe Moreau, last year´s winning now racing withCredit Agricole, and Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali).The race features a climb up Mont Ventoux, which will be part of thisyear´s Tour. "We have made

The 2002 track World Cup season kicks off in Monterrey, Mexico, Friday, with preliminary and final-round competition in the individual pursuit, keirin, 30km points race and Olympic sprint. The U.S. — with its 12-rider delegation — is among 23 countries that have sent teams to Mexico’s third largest city in the northeastern state of Nuevo León. Monterrey is also one of Mexico’s biggest industrial centers and one of its most Americanized regions. The racing venue — known as Velodromo Nuevo León — is a 333-meter outdoor concrete track located next door to two of the city’s other major sports

News from the gutter: An American in Europe

Final touches are made at the Velodromo.

The Mexican team gets in some practice.

Monterrey at sunset.

11:15 a.m. Charleroi, Belgium Good Morning.We are just about readyfor the full start of this year's edition of Fleche Wallonne. Thepeloton -- 192riders from 25 teams -- is making its way through the neutral startin Charleroi to the edge of town and then on to Huy where they will docover two loops -- a large figure 8-- around that town. All for atotal of 198km. The weather is nice -- about 9 degrees Centigrade -- and thus far thereis no wind. This is a nice contrast to the weather on Sunday for Paris-Roubaix. The Women's race -- a World Cup event -- will begin in about anhour, covering

EDILSAVINO001 -LUPERINI Fabiana (I);002 -BOUBNENKOVA Svetlana (Rus);003 -CHUZHYNOVA Iryna (Ukr);004 -KHODTCHENKOVA Marina (Rus);005 -PARENTE Simona (I);006 -VERONESI Daniela (SMR);SATURN CYCLING TEAM011 -ARNDT Judith (G);012 -BESSETTE Lyne (Can);013 -BRUCKNER Kimberly (USA);014 -MARSAL Catherine (F);015 -PHILLIPS Jessica (USA);016 -ROSSNER Petra (G);ACCA DUE021 -POLIKEVICIUTE Rasa (Lit);022 -BELTMAN Chantal (Nl);023 -BRÄNDLI Nicole (Swi);024 -CANTELE Noemi (I);021 -POLIKEVICIUTE Rasa (Lit);026 -ZILIUTE Diana (Lit);VLAANDEREN - T-INTERIM LADIES031 -LJUNGSKOG Susanne (S);032 -PIETERS Cindy

At first it’s odd not to see Tyler Hamilton in the blue and white uniform of U.S. Postal Service. The 31-year-old had spent his entire career with the team since turning pro in 1995. But Hamilton finally had the chance to ride for himself when CSC-Tiscali came calling last year with a two-year deal to lead the team through 2003. The team was looking for a rider to complement Laurent Jalabert in the grand tours. More specifically, they were looking for someone to ride for GC. It was a perfect fit for both CSC-Tiscali and Hamilton. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with

Italian cyclist Marco Pantani has been summoned to appear before the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) anti-doping panel in one week, a CONI spokesman announced Wednesday. Pantani will be called to account for evidence seized by Florence prosecutors during last year's police raids on the San Remo hotel rooms of teams competing in the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) - the documents pertaining to the case have since been transmitted to CONI. Pantani, dubbed 'il pirata' (the pirate), remains hugely popular in Italy after winning the 1998 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France

When the final selection of riders hit the base of the Mur de Huyfor the third time and final time in the 66th edition of the Fleche Wallonneon Wednesday, the Belgian fans, tipping back beers and basking in the hazyspring sunshine, saw decent odds. After 197km of racing, including twoprevious trips over the steep, snaking Mur climb, the trademark obstacleof this Belgian spring race, it had come down to an impressive group ofsurvivors. Two were Belgian. First, there was Axel Merckx. Approaching the base of the climb, whichhas pitches surpassing 20 percent in places, Merckx attacked. A roar

Joe Friel is author of the successful "Training Bible" series ofbooks, a regular columnist for VeloNews and Inside Triathlonand the founder of www.ultrafit.com.Friel also offers answers to a selection of questions in this weekly column here on VeloNews.com. Readers can send questions to Friel in care of VeloNews.com at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.(Be sure to include "Friel" in the subject line.)Question - My name is Juan and I'm a fan of your web site. I'm amountain and a road biker. I really love the bikes. For that reason I tryto do my best when I'm training, so please I want (if you can do it)

Hamilton on the attack

New uniform, new responsibilities

Aerts survives the Mur to take Fleche

Luperini earns her third win at Fleche'

Heppner and Zulle try their luck

Cheering on the home team.

Meet The Press

Up the Mur de Huy

Aerts supporters

Training Bible Studies with Joe Friel

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC),the U.S. distributor of LOOK cycling products, Veltec Sports, Inc. of SandCity, California, is voluntarily recalling LOOK Ergopost 3 bicycle seatposts.  One Hundred Twenty Four (124) of these products were soldin the United States.  No injuries have been reported, but Veltechas received reports that the aluminum crown of the seatpost can fail asa result of metal fatigue, which may cause the bicycle seat to dislodgeand result in a rider losing control or falling.  This recall is beingconducted to prevent the possibility of

CSC-Tiscali captain Laurent Jalabert is expected to return to racing in late April for the first time since he abandoned Milan-San Remo witha virus.Jalabert, who won a stage and finished third overall at Paris-Nice,will also race at GP Midi Libre, May 22-26. Lance Armstrong confirmedhe will start the race as well as part of preparations for a run at a fourthconsecutive Tour de France. It will be Armstrong's debut at Midi Libreand continues his efforts this season to add variety to his pre-Tour racingschedule.The stages:May 22: Salses-le-Chateau-CarcassoneMay 23:

Tune in Wednesday morning for live updates throughout 198km classic, Fleche-Wallonne.Men's Start list (as of 9:00 p.m. Tuesday)LOTTO - ADECCO001 - VERBRUGGHE Rik (B)002 - AERTS Mario (B)003 - BAGUET Serge (B)004 - BRANDT Christophe (B)005 - DETILLOUX Christophe (B)006 - MIKHAILOV Guennadi (Rus)007 - VAN DE WOUWER Kurt (B)008 - VAN LANCKER Kurt (B)MAPEI - QUICK STEP011 - FREIRE Oscar (Sp)012 - BETTINI Paolo (I)014 - DE WAELE Fabien (B)015 - EVANS Cadel (Aus)016 - NOE Andrea (I)017 - PAOLINI Luca (I)020 - FORNACIARI Paolo (I)COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE021 - KIVILEV Andrei (Kz)022 - CUESTA

The Belgian Classics continue to dominate European cycling this week, withthe semi-Classic Fleche Wallone on Wednesday and Liege-Bastogne-Liege onSunday.Johan Museeuw's dramatic victory Sunday at Paris-Roubaix wasthe biggest news on this side of the pond. The Lion of Flanders is oneof Europe's biggest stars and the race was broadcast live throughout thecontinent.This week's other highlight is the Vuelta Ciclista a Aragon in Spain.The U.S. Postal Service will be among the 16 teams starting Wednesday.In other racing, ibanesto.com's Aitor Osa won the Vuelta al PaisVasco in Spain

The failure of organizers to set up a drug testing facility at the end of the Paris-Roubaix classic race was condemned as "unacceptable" by the French sports ministry on Monday. Worryingly for a sport that has been dogged by drug controversies, it was revealed that the absence of the facility was due to local medical staff believing the event was a cross-country race and not a prestigious round of the World Cup. Although the race was organized by the company which runs the Tour de France and the French cycling federation, the responsibility for dope testing was with the regional

Got results? Send them to POGrady@7Dogs.comby Monday morning and we’ll post them here on Monday afternoon. Word, RFTor plain-text attachments only, please, or paste the info into the bodyof your e-mail. You are welcome to include results as far as you got 'emand we'll post pictures, too (as long as you send them in JPG format andcredit the photographer).Herzig, Parsley triumph in “Montana Roubaix”By Geoff ProctorWith the 100th edition of the Paris-Roubaix cycling classic half a worldaway, the Montana Velo Road Race offered up an epic parallel April 14 inHelena. The hardy peloton braved heavy

Nothing, it seems, can stop Johan Museeuw. Four years ago, a crash on the wicked cobblestones of the Arenberg Forest in northern France threatened to end his career when gangrene almost took over a gash in his leg, nearly leading to amputation. The "Lion of Flanders" overcame that setback to win Roubaix in 2000, only to go down to injury again when he crashed on his motorcycle.

Johan Museeuw is one of the most modest men you could ever meet. There's nothing flashy about this 36-year-old Belgian, who still lives modestly in the little town of Gistel, in deepest Flanders, despite his fame and continued success. By winning the epic 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, Museeuw won the 10th World Cup classic in a career that already spans 15 years -- and total adulation from his bike-crazy country. His latest victory placed him alongside three other cycling legends — Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Francesco Moser — who also won this Queen of the Classics three

Paris-Roubaix director Jean-Marie Leblanc said he will be protesting at the lack of medical personnel to carry out doping tests following one of professional cycling's great classics on Sunday. In an ironic twist to a sport which has had its reputation tarnished by doping controversy’s, Paris-Roubaix race director Leblanc, said he would be complaining to the French sports ministry, the country's cycling federation and the sport's world governing body the UCI after no tests were carried out following Sunday's race which was won by Belgian Johan Museeuw. The lack of medical

Good Morning. The 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix is underway. All190 starters listed on the startlist left Compiègne at 10:50 this morning.11:07 a.m. The weather is chilly (7 degrees Centigrade) and thereis a brisk wind coming from the Northwest, which translates into a head/crosswindcoming across the left side of the course.There was an early attack at kilometer 10 this morning from rider 177- Steffen WEIGOLD (Gerolsteiner) who was soon joined by 222 - StéphaneAUGE (Jean Delatour) . They were quickly caught and the peloton is intact.It should be fairly quiet for the opening kilometers. The

Museuuw (left) outdueled Hincapie and U.S. Postal

Museeuw waits to make his move

Museeuw attacked with 41km to go.

Museeuw earns his third cobblestone

Wesemann outsprinted Boonen for second place

VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across something inthe pages of VeloNews magazine or see something on VeloNews.comthat causes you to want to write us, drop us a line at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mail to thisaddress, you are consenting to the publication of your letter.Zebra in waitingOn the cover of your most recent issue you show a jubilant Cipolliniwinning at San Remo.His jersey interests me and I wondered if you might know where ( andif) anyone offers it for sale? All of the places I know only offer onlythe old Acqua &

U.S. criterium champion Kirk O’Bee (Navigators) augmented his European palmares on Friday with a victory in Belgium’s G.P. Pino Cerami. As team director Ed Beamon described it, the 192km course featured a tough opening circuit of 128km with several sections of pavé, some climbing, “and more wind than Thor could muster on a bad hair day.” It then segued into four laps on a 16km circuit that included two climbs, the second a 15 percent grade on pavé. An early break of nearly 30 riders moved forward in the strong cross winds, but never gained more than a minute, and was reabsorbed as the

Team mechanics were busy in Compiègne Saturday as they prepared each of their squad's bikes for Sunday's 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix. The most common modifications for tackling the French classic's giant cobblestones are a bigger inner chainring than normal (a 44 or 45 in lieu of a 39); wider, tougher tires (up to 25mm, and the majority appear to be clinchers); and slightly padded handlebar tape instead of the normal thinner variety. Other similarities aimed at making the bike less rigid are the use of titanium or aluminum tubing (with narrower gauges and thicker wall thicknesses than

DOMO-FARM FRITES001 KNAVEN Servais (Nl)002 CASSANI Enrico (I)003 CRETSKENS Wilfried (B)004 KOERTS Jans (Nl)005 MILESI Marco (I)006 MUSEEUW Johan (B)007 RODRIGUEZ Fred (USA)008 VAN HEESWIJK Max (Nl)MAPEI -QUICK STEP011 TAFI Andrea (I)012 BODROGI Laszlo (Hun)013 DE WAELE Fabien (B)014 FORNACIARI Paolo (I)015 HORILLO Pedro (Sp)016 HUNTER Robert (SA)017 NARDELLO Daniele (I)018 ZANINI Stefano (I)LAMPRE-DAIKIN 021 DIERCKXSENS Ludo (B)022 BERTOGLIATI Rubens (Swi)023 LODDO Alberto (I)024 PAGLIARNI Luciano (Bra)025 SCIANDRI Maximilian (GB)026 SERPELLINI Marco (I)027 SPRUCH Zbigniew (Pol)028 VERSTREPEN

After trying in every stage, Euskaltel finally scored a victory for the home team when David Etxebarria won a five-up sprint in the morning sector of Friday's two-part finale of the 42nd Vuelta al Pais Vasco. Etxebarria's victory lifts him into second-place overall going into the afternoon's 15.2-km time trial. Aitor Osa of ibanesto.com finished with the lead group to all but guarantee overall victory. "I'm very glad to win this stage because we've been working hard all week to secure a victory," Etxebarria said after winning the six-climb, 96-km stage. "Now all I will think about is

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. — Mark Twain, “Pudd’nhead Wilson” Frank Vandenbroucke plans to appeal his suspension for dope, I hear. The sap apparently misread the paperwork. He’s being suspended for being a dope. This guy puts the “loon” in “Walloon.” The badges find everything from EPO to morphine in his crib, his homey Bernie Sainz gets popped with a car full of crank and spikes, and Frankie’s bitching about six months off and a four-figure fine. If he were black and from Watts,

North 55th Street Circuit RacePatrick O’Grady (Dogs at Large Velo) claimed a controversial victoryin Sunday’s North 55th Street Circuit Race in Boulder, Colorado, afterrunner-up Charles Pelkey (VeloNews Interactive) claimed the portly Irishspeedster tried to shoulder him into an open manhole in the final cornerof the three-mile industrial-park circuit.Two minutes later, Twining’s John Wilcockson outsprinted Mike Blair(Pixel Twiddlers) for third.

Hey, local race promoters - after you get done folding up the registrationtable, taking down the sponsors’ banners and picking up all those orangecones, peel the race results off the car window you taped them to and e-mailthem to us here at VeloNews.com. There’s more to bike racing than the Tour, and we’d like to tell our readers about how you’re mixing it up, from Maine to Spokane.Weekend race reports e-mailed by Monday morning to veloresults@maddogmedia.comwill appear on the VeloNews.com Web site later that day as part of ournew Finish Line column. Tell us where and when the race took place

The final time trial in the 42nd Vuelta al Pais Vasco turned out to be a 15-km victory parade for home boy Aitor Osa, who sealed a dramatic victory Friday just down the road from his home in Elgoibar. The Basque cycling fans came out in their best orange to bring homethe first local overall victory at this race since Inigo Cuesta in 1998. Long riding in the shadow of his younger brother, Osa tore apart therace in a shattering attack in the cold, wet third stage. Osa's iBanesto.com squad protected his lead through the final climbing stages and the 27-year-old withstood an aggressive attack

A cold north wind was howling across the open fields of northernFrance Friday afternoon; but there was no sign of rain. That probably meansthat riders in Sunday's 100th edition of Paris-Roubaix will most likelyhave to face stinging dust blown in their faces rather than the gooey mudthrown up by the wheels in front of them. Either way, the infamous Hellof the North classic is bound to create its usual toll of terror and destruction.In fact, the course that the 190-or-so starters will face is probablythe hardest that the organizers have ever mapped out. Last year, they "discovered" three nasty

(Exchange rate as of April 12, 2002:  1€ =  $0.87)1st - 30000 €2nd - 22000 €3rd - 15000 €4th - 7500 €5th - 3000 €6th - 1600 €7th - 1320 €8th - 1250 €9th - 1120 €10th - 1050 €11th - 920 €12th - 785 €13th - 650 €14th - 585 €15th - 385 €16th - 335 €17th - 335 €18th - 335 €19th - 335 €20th - 335 €21st - 270 €22nd - 270 €23rd - 270 €24th - 270 €25th - 270 € 

Km 99.8 - TROISVILLES | rue de la Sucrerie - 2200 metersKm 106.3 - VIESLY | rue de la Chapelle - 1800 metersKm 108.5 - QUIEVY | rue de Valenciennes - 3700 metersKm 113.7 - QUIEVY à SAINT-PYTHON - 1500 metersKm 121.9 - HAUSSY - 900 metersKm 128.6 - SAULZOIR - 1200 metersKm 132.9 - VERCHAIN-MAUGRE à QUERENAING - 1600metersKm 136.0 - MAING - 2500 metersKm 139.2 - MONCHAUX SUR ECAILLON - 1600 metersKm 145.8 - HASPRES - 1700 metersKm 158.3 - HAVELUY - 2500 metersKm 166.5 - FORET D'ARENBERG | Drèves des Boules d'Herin- 2400 metersKm 173.2 - WALLERS - 1000 metersKm 179.5 - HORNAING à

1896   J. FISCHER (GER) 1897   M. GARIN (FRA) 1898   M. GARIN (FRA) 1899   A. CHAMPION (FRA) 1900   E. BOUHOURS (FRA) 1901   L. LESNA (FRA) 1902   L. LESNA (FRA) 1903   H. AUCOUTURIER (FRA) 1904   H. AUCOUTURIER (FRA) 1905   L. TROUSSELIER (FRA) 1906   H. CORNET (FRA) 1907   G. PASSERIEU (FRA) 1908   C. VAN HAUWAERT (BEL) 1909   O. LAPIZE (FRA) 1910   O. LAPIZE (FRA) 1911   O. LAPIZE (FRA) 1912   C. CRUPELANDT (FRA) 1913   F. FABER (LUX) 1914   C. CRUPELANDT (FRA)Cancelled due to World War I 1919   H. PELISSIER (FRA) 1920   P. DEMAN (BEL) 1921   H. PELISSIER (FRA) 1922   A. DEJONGHE

Friday’s foaming rant: Putting the “loon” in “Walloon”

Osa

Etxebarria was a double winner Friday

Hincapie in '01

Former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani was on Thursday interviewed by officers from Florence's anti-doping unit that carried out a blitz on team hotels at San Remo during last year's Tour of Italy. Pantani, who won both the Tour and the Giro in 1998, was giving evidence as part of an inquiry into doping during last year’s Tour of Italy. In May of last year police officers discovered, among a host of other substances collected, traces of insulin in a syringe at the hotel where Pantani and his team were staying. However the Mercatone Uno team leader on Thursday played down the

It seems Cadel Evans is making friends quickly in his first season with the Mapei powerhouse. During the Vuelta Ciclista a Pais Vasco the 25-year-old Australian is roommates with fellow mountain biker-turned-roadie Dario Cioni. Evans says he earns a different nickname every race he starts from the Italians on the team. His nickname this week? Gianni, as in Gianni Bugno. "They say I have a head like Bugno, who isn't a bad guy to be compared to," Evans said. Evans continues on his impressive trajectory, riding strong at the Basque race where he comes with illusions of overall victory.

Franco Pellizotti won Thursday's fourth stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco that was shortened due to cold weather while Aitor Osa widened his overall lead. Several inches of snow fell overnight on the high peaks surrounding the start of the stage at Alsasua, prompting officials to shorten it by 64 kilometers and taking out climbs over the category-two Alto de Zuarrarrate (780 meters) and the category-three Alto de Huitzi (792 meters). A major descent to the coastal plain of northern Spain was also eliminated after several riders suffered minor hypothermia in Wednesday's frigid stage,

Good morning. The 64th edition of Gent-Wevelgem is underway. At the start Defending champion George Hincapie is in the field along with seven of U.S. Postal teammates, including Lance Armstrong. The wind is a steady and brisk breeze from the north and the day is still quite sunny. The official start time is now listed as 11:43 a.m. Almost from the start Lotto’s Nico Eeckhout made an attack. Now by kilometer 35, he has about a 4:20 lead. Behind the escapee, the wind is forcing the field into echelons. VeloNews editorial director John Wilcockson remarks that the day is already somewhat

Outrageous. That's the only way to describe the "new" Mario Cipollini. Dressed in his zebra-stripe tights, he engaged the media in a light-hearted post-race press conference Wednesday evening, discussing his, yes, outrageous, victory in the 64th edition of Ghent-Wevelgem. He has won this Belgian classic twice before, in 1992 and ’93, beating out first Johan Capiot and then Eric Vanderaerden, both in massive field sprints. Wednesday was different.

Aitor Osa was about the only guy smiling at the finish line of Wednesday's brutally cold third stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a Pais Vasco. After all, he won the stage and took the overall lead. But even the iBanesto.com rider was shivering as he slipped across the line ahead of Cofidis' Bingen Fernandez. "I've never been so cold on the bike," said a disappointed Fernandez, shivering from the front seat of the team car after Osa held him off for the stage-win and the leader's jersey. "I had no strength at the end to fight Aitor. I simply wanted the stage to be over." Don't believe those

Giro d'Italia champion Gilberto Simoni is hoping to arrive at the May 11 start of the Italian tour in top form, but the 30-year-old is nursing a sore knee he suffered during a fall at Setmana Catalana on March 26. Simoni returned to racing this week for the climb-riddled Vuelta a Pais Vasco which the Saeco rider is hoping to use as a spring-board back to winning form in time for the Giro, his top goal of the season. "I have to be very careful now. I have to watch how I prepare and be very careful how I race. The Vuelta Ciclista a Pais Vasco is very important for my preparation,"

Joe Friel is author of the successful "Training Bible" series ofbooks, a regular columnist for VeloNews and Inside Triathlonand the founder of www.ultrafit.com.Friel also offers answers to a selection of questions in this weekly column here on VeloNews.com. Readers can send questions to Friel in care of VeloNews.com at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.(Be sure to include "Friel" in the subject line.) Question: I have recently (1 year) been cycling more seriously. I did an Aids Ride in Alaska (500 miles in 6 days) and every day I feltstronger. In the past 6 years I was more of a runner and I did a

Bicycles and skateboards are barred from most sidewalks, and mopeds are no-no’s on bike/pedestrian paths, but we could soon see Segway Human Transporters on both. On Thursday (April 11), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is scheduled to vote on a measure that would permit “electric personal assistive mobility devices” to use sidewalks and paths built or maintained with federal funds “when state and local regulations permit,” according to the Bikes Belong Coalition, a group that lobbies for bicycle-friendly policies in Washington, D.C. The group says Segway has spent $741,000

The peloton early in Wednesday's third stage of the 42nd Vuelta a Pais Vasco.

Kelme riders bundle up before the start of Wednesday's cold third stage, when temperatures hovered around 7-degrees celsius.

Cipollini made it to the winning break.

Coming down the Kemmelberg

Training Bible Studies with Joe Friel

ONCE's Joseba Beloki is hoping that his troubles are behind him. The 27-year-oldhas finished third overall in the past two Tours de France (2000-2001)and hopes to do at least as well this year. Beloki has had a rocky startto the 2002 season, however. He's only recently returned to racing afterpain in his Achilles tendon kept him off the bike for much of March. Sofar this year, he's only competed in the Mallorca Challenge early in theseason before his comeback in Saturday's GP Miguel Indurain. Beloki finallyhad to resort to seeing an acupuncturist to ease the pain in his

The strongest man at the Vuelta a Pais Vasco (Tour of the Basque Country)is out of the race. Francesco Casagrande, who blew apart Monday'sopening stage of the Spanish race, crashed on a railroad crossing as severalriders went down just 12 kilometers into Tuesday's second stage and abandonedsome 40 kilometers later.The Fassa Bortolo strongman, one of the favorites for the 2002 Girod'Italia, was banged up but early reports indicate he did not break anybones."I tried to continue but it hurt too much to breathe," Casagrande saiden route to a local hospital for a checkup. "I continued

Despite a profile that looks like a roller coaster, a stage into Vitoriatypically finishes in a field sprint. That's because area's major climb- the Category I Alto de la Herrera - is nearly 40 km from the finish,giving the peloton plenty of time to set up their sprinters.Mapei's Stefano Zanini has been victorious here before, but the pelotonwas just 6 seconds late in pulling off the tried and true recipe in Tuesday'scold, windy stage of the 42nd Vuelta a Pais Vasco.Relax Fuenlabrada's Cesar Garcia Calvo outmaneuvered Euskaltel's UnaiEtxebarria to snatch the stage win after the pair

It's time to surf the web, place a bid and spend some cash to help out a friend.The friends of Kelli Turcotte -- UCI Technical Delegate, former employee of Castelli, GaleForce and the Alt Bike and Board in Minneapolis -- are currently conducting several eBay auctions of items of interest to cyclists (all of which are linked below) to help pay for costly cancer treatment therapy that Kelli's insurance does not cover.Turcotte, who most recently was the Technical Delegate at the Downhilland Dual World Championships in Vail, has been fighting ovarian cancerwhich has now spread to her

The dust is settling following Sunday's Tour of Flanders, whichsaw Andrea Tafi (Mapei) score a huge upset over local favoritesJohan Museeuw (Domo) and Peter Van Petegem (Lotto). AmericanGeorge Hincapie proved he's a Classics power, finishing an impressivefourth after making the final five-man selection.Lance Armstrong was a big help in the middle of the race, butHincapie could only watch as Mapei's Daniele Nardello neutralizedlate-race attacks to secure the victory for his teammate Tafi. Hincapiegoes into Wednesday's Ghent-Wevelgem as the defending champion and looksstrong for

Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke is to launch an appeal over his six-month drugs ban at the Sports Arbitration Tribunal (TAS) in Lausanne, the Belgian news agency reported on Monday. The ban was handed down by the country's cycling federation after a police raid in February on the 27-year-old's home discovered banned substances such as blood-boosting EPO, anabolic steroid Clenbuterol and morphine. That raid came a day after his French physiotherapist Bernard Sainz was also charged with possession of illegal substances after a large quantity of amphetamines and syringes were