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The management of the Mercury cycling team issued a brief press release late Wednesday evening announcing the dismissal of Alain Gallopin, the team’s assistant director in Europe. The release gave no reason for the dismissal except to say that he had somehow “violated long-standing team policy and procedures.” Gallopin’s duties have been assumed by Eddie Borysewicz, who had held a similar position with the team’s U.S.-based program. The team is currently experiencing financial difficulties following the bankruptcy of its one-time co-sponsor Viatel, a communications infrastructure company.

Alison Sydor and Roland Green confirmed their status as Canada's top mountain bike racers when they won the Canadian National Mountain Bike Championships cross-country titles Sunday. At the Sun Peaks ski resort in Kamloops, British Columbia, the two Victoria-based professionals, teammates on the U.S.-based Trek-Volkswagen squad, convincingly beat the strongest fields ever assembled for a Canadian championship. Green took the lead early in the 5 lap, 32.5km men's event, with only Seamus McGrath (Haro-Lee Dungarees) able to hold his wheel on the steep climbs. The duo gradually opened a gap on

Green topped a tough Canadian field to take his third national title.

Sydor completed the Trek-Volkswagen sweep.

Marco Pantani was so devastated by missing this year's Tour de France that he couldn't bear to watch as Lance Armstrong cycled to his history-making triumph, he told an Italian newspaper. "I didn't see any of the stages of the Tour," Pantani, who won the Tour de France in 1998 when the race was devastated by allegations of drug taking, said. "Being excluded from the Tour was the worst thing to happen. We found out just before the start of the Giro and it was a terrible feeling," said the Italian rider, known as the Pirate, who is currently riding in the Tour of Castille in

It has to be categorized as mountain biking’s most difficult paycheck, but endurance specialists Tinker Juarez and Cristina Begy finally got their payoff at noon Sunday, when each was crowned as 24-hour U.S. solo champion at Winter Park, Colorado. For Juarez, that term endurance specialist is something new, and if you think it sounds like a rough career switch for a 40-year-old, well it is. But the veteran Volvo-Cannondale pro has always been known to train with superhuman volume, so going around the clock isn’t that much of a stretch. The final numbers posted by Juarez were staggering: 27

Geneviève Jeanson (Rona) locked up her win at the six-day Tour de 'Toona by joining a two-woman break 8km from the finish of Sunday's 48-kilometer Coca Cola Downtown Criterium in Altoona, Pennsylvania, while Saturn’s Harm Jansen battled down to the wire with Navigator’s ace sprinter Vassili Davidenko to take the overall men’s title. Jeanson and stage winner Kimberly Davidge (Saturn) finished 37 seconds ahead of the peloton after launching a breakaway with 8 km of racing left, right after Jeanson's teammate Meshy Holt (Rona) was caught by the field after her own solitary effort off the

The cross-country course in Leysin, Switzerland — site of this week's Tissot-UCI Mountain Bike World Cup — is steep. At 6.3km in length, each lap begins with 2km of fast descending, first through bumpy cow-trodden grass and then down a wooded single-track plunge. Then, for the next four kilometers (60 percent of the total lap), the course points straight back up toward the finish line. It's brutal on even the most seasoned riders, as they discovered Sunday in round six of the series. First victim was the seemingly unbeatable Spaniard Marga Fullana (Specialized), who succumbed to a resurgent

On another hot, muggy day in central Florida, eight more stars-and-stripes jerseys -- plus a little cash -- were handed out at the USCF Espoir/Junior National Road Cycling Championships. Most of the cash -- $150 of $500 -- went to Nathan Rogut (Plano Cycling), who was the winner of the non-national championship espoir criterium. Rogut was part of a four-rider break that escaped during the early going of the 44-lap race around a pancake-flat, 1.5-mile course at the Gainesville Raceway. That group, which also included Friday’s espoir road race national champion Mike Friedman (Mike Frasse’s

Tinker came off his bike only for transitions and short breaks.

Cristina Begy, national champion

Tinker came off the bike only for transitions and short breaks.

Four riders broke away, then lapped the field in the espoir criterium.

Zak Grabowski took the 15-16 race.

Hammer won the sprint in the 17-18s.

Chris Stockburger (right) took the 13-14s sprint by the width of a tire.

Leboucher dropped Fullana in the closing meters for the win.

Martinez is on track to score another World Cup globe.

The first European triple of the Tissot-UCI World Cup mountain-bike season kicked off Saturday in the mountains of Switzerland, featuring the gravity crew for the first half of the weekend. And in varying stages of sun, clouds and rain, four riders took the wins in downhill and dual, making the picture for the overall championships a bit clearer. Frenchman Mickael Pascal of the Dutch-based Be One team won his second downhill of the year, while GT’s Katja Repo captured her first World Cup downhill win after coming close several times. Then, hours later in the dual, American Brian Lopes

Cross-country veteran Tinker Juarez came to Winter Park, Colorado, on Saturday to chase his fourth national championship, and this time it’s a new title he’s after. At the first-ever national championship for the off-road 24-hour solo competitors, the Volvo-Cannondale rider, who already owns three cross-country championships, made his intentions clear early when he posted the fastest first lap time of anyone -- including the riders racing in team categories. The 24 Hours of Adrenalin NORBA National Championship race started at noon Saturday, and on his first circuit of the 8-mile course,

Dane Jankowiak has never been to Europe and Sara McLarty doesn’t consider herself a bike racer. But after both rode to surprise victories in the 17-18-year-old division road races at the junior national championships on a hot, drippy Saturday in muggy Florida, a trip to October’s road world’s in Portugal coutesy of an automatic berth on the U.S. national team has become reality. Jankowiak, who says his primary sponsor is his parents, got away from the pack on the eighth of 10 laps, then barley held off the late charge of Rigo Meza to win the 102km race with a time of 2:27:26. The course was

Repo scored her first World Cup win.

Lopes rebounded from a loss in Japan last week to take the dual.

Juarez blazes through the transition tent after completing two laps in 1:14:40.

Jankowiak celebrates his win.

McLarty is a triathlete by trade.

Peters wins the 15-16 race.

Staley sprints to victory.

Lance Armstrong, fresh off his third consecutive Tour de France triumph and beginning a U.S. tour in New York said Thursday he was disappointed by critical comments from past Tour king Greg LeMond. "It was disappointing," Armstrong said. "I want to talk to Greg about it." LeMond told Sports Illustrated and the Sunday Times of London that he was "deeply saddened to hear about Lance's relationship with Dr. Michele Ferrari." Ferrari is awaiting trial in Italy on charges of providing several athletes with performance-enhancing drugs, including EPO, a banned substance that boosts red

The most telling moment at Friday’s espoir national road race championship didn’t happen on the road, but afterwards during the awards ceremony. With medals handed out and the champion’s jersey awarded, the five top finishers raised nine of their combined 10 hands in triumph. The lone exception was the left hand of second-place finisher Ian Dille, who refused to acknowledge the man to his left, race winner Mike Friedman. According to Dille, Friedman had broken the code, cutting a deal out on the course, then reneging as the pair came to the finish line. "After we got away, he told me not to

Dillie expresses himself on the podium.

Friedman crosses the line with Dillie just behind.

Friedman made no apologizes for his win.

If you are planning on attending the 2001 World Mountain-bike Championships in Vail, Colorado (September 8 –16), you might consider setting aside a little time (and cash) for dinner with the members of the U.S. national team on the evening of Saturday September 15. It's all part of a fund raiser to benefit the Junior Development Cycling Fund. The fund, now a part of the USA Cycling Development Foundation, was established to offer travel and training grants to young riders across the U.S. The Vail dinner with members of the U.S. national team will kick off at 6:00 p.m. at Pepe's in

The hours leading up to Thursday’s national espoir time trial championship were not the most settling for Michael Creed. First, the 20-year-old Prime Alliance rider was awaken at 3 a.m. but what he called "a guy going crazy" at the liquor store nearby his room at the Comfort Inn in Gainesville, Florida. Later that morning, Creed stood by while team manager Kirk Willett had to smash a window on the team’s van after the keys got locked inside. "It wasn’t the best way to start the day," Creed admitted. But none of that seemed to matter a few hours later when Creed out-dueled teammate Danny

Vassili Davidenko (Navigators) and Saturn's Anke Erlank took the third stage of Pennsylvania's Tour de 'Toona on Thursday, a circuit race contested on a 20.1-mile loop near Holidaysburg. With her win, Erlank has moved into the overall lead in the six-day stage race. Meanwhile Saturn's Harm Jansen holds a narrow three-second lead over his teammate Eric Wohlberg in the overall standings. The women's race was peppered with attacks from the start. But Genevieve Jeanson and her Rona team was intent on keeping a tight reign on the field and most of the efforts were quickly reeled back in. One

Creed was the last racer away in the Espoir time trial.

Creed flying to the finish.

Mercury team director John Wordin confirmed Wednesday that the U.S.-based team may be on the brink of a merger with the French division II La Française des Jeux squad for the 2002 season. "LFJ has made an offer," Wordin told VeloNews, "but it's still way too early to comment on how all of this may or may not work out." Wordin traveled to France in the closing week of the Tour de France in an effort to secure a co-sponsor for next year. Wordin said the discussions did produce a formal offer from the team, one of several French Division II squads participating in the Tour. Earlier

Here's the complete 2001 Tour de France site, written by VeloNews editors -- plus the race diaries by Tyler Hamilton, Fred Rodriguez, and Kevin Livingston. Check it out right here.

PROPOSITION A Submitted by: Mick Hellman, John Kelly, Frankie Andreu, Thomas Doughty, Charles Collins, Kevin Metcalfe, Jerry Malone, Mari Holden, Nancy McCauley, Leonard Nitz, David Mortin, Bonnie Rider-Martin Proposition A (Hellman et al.): In a remarkably short time, the USA Cycling Development Foundation has had a profound impact on USA Cycling and the future of our sport. Foundation funded programs include new junior and U23 development programs, new travel/training grant programs, new directions in coaching development, the new European Resident Training Center, and a soon to be

PROPOSITION BSubmitted by members Les Earnest, Colin Allen, Charles Howe, Brian Lafferty, Bret Wade, Mike Whitman.Proposition B (Earnest et al.):USA Cycling is at a crossroads. It was formed in 1995 with a grossly undemocratic structure in that two-thirdsof the board of directors are elected by special interests that constitute less than 1% of the licensees.Unless a more democratic and decentralized structure is adopted, the recent breaking away of regional racingassociations will likely continue.In 1999, after extensive public discussions of reorganization alternatives via the Internet,

Mercury-Française des Jeux offer 'on the table'

Alessio’s Alessandro Bertolini won the the 56th Getxo Circuit race Tuesday, which has been renamed the Ricardo Otxoa Memorial race in honor of the Basque cyclist who was killed in an accident last year. Bertolini won a sprint finish to pip fellow breakaway rider Spaniard Francisco Caballo of the Kelme team in 3:58:59 following the 175km race, over 12 laps of a 14.6km circuit. ONCE’s Joseba Beloki, who finished third in the Tour de France on Sunday, crossed the line in fourth some nine seconds behind the leading duo.Copyright AFP2001

As the workmen traveling with the Tour de France for the past three weeks were happily breaking down the press room for the final time, we pulled a few good shots off the 64meg chip on Lennard Zinn’s digital camera. As Lennard flies home after a year in Europe, we thought we’d share a few of those shots from the last days of the 2001 Tour de France.

What would a modern Tour be without Il Diablo, a.k.a. Didi Senft?

Chris Carmichael and a chopless-cleaned-up-for-TV Bobke.

Former Olympic sprinter, Lance's chiropractor, Jeff Spencer who accompanied the Posties for the past three years. Maybe Spence’ is the one who’s three-for-three.

Checking the UCI while they check Lance's bike.

Andy Hood and Rupert Guinness showing us why the Tour is considering its first-ever dress code for reporters next year.

Three Tours, three flags and three hungry derailleurs. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

5:25 p.m. It's official. The band is playing the Star Spangled Banner. Lance Armstrong has been awarded the Tour's final yellow jersey by the mayor of Paris and the 2001 Tour de France is over! Thanks for tuning in folks. We've enjoyed doing the updates and hope you've found them to be at least a little helpful as you scanned the net while you were supposed to be working. See ya next year! 5:17 p.m. Here are the preliminary results of the 20th and final stage of the 2001 Tour de France. 1. Jan Svoarda (Lampre-Daikin); 2. Erik Zabel (Deutsche Telekom); 3. Stuart O'Grady (Crédit

On the final day of the Tour de France this year, many of the images were the same as the past two years. The U.S. Postal Service team led the peloton onto the Champs-Elysées in Paris under sunny skies, the lead guard for a yellow-jersey-clad Lance Armstrong. Armstrong donned the final yellow jersey of the race, and was joined on the podium by the same runner-up and third place riders, Jan Ullrich and Joseba Beloki. It was a near-perfect day in Paris, but at least one rider was hoping to change things a bit from last year. Stuart O'Grady entered the day with a two-point lead in the points

Volvo-Cannondale’s Anne-Caroline Chausson demonstrated her continuing mastery of downhill racing in Japan Sunday, when the champion made it five-for-five for the season and three-for-three at the Arai ski resort. France also came out on top in the men’s competition, as Nicolas Vouilloz (Vouilloz Racing Team), finally uncorked one in the 2001 World Cup season, and uncork one he did, winning by a huge margin of nearly seven seconds. Arai Mountain & Snow Park celebrated the return of World Cup downhill mountain-biking for the third time since 1998, bringing out crowds by the tens of thousands

Stage Winner: Jan Svorada (Slovakia), Lampre-Daikin---------------------------------- Overall Lead: Lance Armstrong (USA) U.S. Postal Service Sprinter: Erik Zabel (G), Deutsche Telekom Climber: Laurent Jalabert (F) CSC-Tiscali Under 25: Oscar Sevilla (Sp) Kelme-Costa Blanca Click below for full results and overall.

On Sunday, under sunny skies on a hot, humid day in Paris, Lance Armstrong rolled along the finishing circuit on the Champs-Elysées 10 times along with the other 144 survivors of this year's Tour de France. The American clinched his third consecutive victory in the world's biggest bike race after 23 grueling days. It began with difficult cross-winds and dangerous roads during Week 1, followed by a week going up and over the massive mountains of the Alps and Pyrénées, and finally concluding with six days of heat and humidity over undulating roads as the race cut up through the mid-section of

Everyone wants to know what Lance Armstrong is doing to make him so much faster than Jan Ullrich and the rest. In this day and age, you cannot be that much better than the cream of cycling’s crop and not attract suspicions of doping, and Lance has certainly faced innumerable questions about that. The assumption that these questions are based on is that most of the riders are doping, so he must really have found something strong to take. Not being privy to the private lives of any of the riders, I have no basis to comment one way or another. Being married to a cancer survivor, however, I

Stage 20 July 29, 2001 Corbeil Essones - Paris (Champs Elysées) 150 km As of Paris: 3,462 kilometers ridden. 20 stages completed. 10 flat stages weathered. 3 medium mountain stages ascended. 4 high mountain stages behind us. 2 individual time trials endured. 1 team time trial survived. 5 mountain top finishes achieved. 2 rest days appreciated. 3-peat checked off. The fat lady is singing. And I've never been so happy to hear her voice. Thanks for reading

A photo diary by Casey B. Gibson from the final stage of the 2001 Tour de France.

Pennsylvania rider Sarah Uhl won the women's match sprint against defending champion Christin Muche (Germany) on Saturday to earn the first gold medal for the U.S. at a world junior championship since 1991. Uhl won the event in two straight rides on July 28, at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome, in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. The 17-year-old took the first ride after holding her lead position going in to the third turn of the final lap. With the second ride, Muche pulled close in the second turn of the last lap, but didn't have the speed to pass. Jessica Grieco -- now an Outdoor Life Network

Before Ironman USA, NORBA pro Steve Larsen said that he would play to his strength, the bike, and he made good on his word. In just his third triathlon, the Davis, California, native powered to the front after overcoming an 11-minute deficit out of the swim in Mirror Lake to hold off fast-closing runner-up Olympian Ryan Bolton, also making his Ironman debut, and defending Lake Placid champ Cam Widoff. Among the women, Canadian Heather Fuhr came from behind on the run to catch a hammering Joanna Zeiger just past the halfway point of the marathon. Larsen languished far behind the leaders

Vouilloz is back on track with his first World Cup win of the season.

Chausson remained perfect in the World Cup downhill series.

Svorada enjoyed a final sprint in what is traditionally one of the Tour's most prestigious stages

On to the Champs Elysees

Americans in Paris -- Lots of 'em.

The Arc d'Triumph at the end of the Champs Elysses.

The stars and stripes and the Texas flag were all over the Champs Elysses.

The flag man, Dan Osipow, waits to hand out flags to the Postal riders for the post race team parade.

George Hincapie and Lance Armstrong ride past the Postal fans at the finish line.

Jalabert and the CSC Tiscali team ride in the parade.

Photographers fight for position to shoot the final podium. It gets quite ugly at the end.

Telecom fans show their support for Jan and Erik.

Students from the Summer in Paris program cheer for Lance.

Tom Weisel, the man behind the Postal program, and his family and friends wait for the yellow jersey.

Steve Larsen takes the win and the course record.

As the Tour de France edges closer to Paris, the sprinters get more nervous with every kilometer that passes under their wheels. Five-time sprint points winner Erik Zabel is one of those men, as for the first time in his reign he is not wearing the green jersey entering the final weekend. He trails 11 points behind Stuart O’Grady, whose consistency over the first 18 stages has given him the lead despite his not winning any stages. Zabel won two stages in the first week, and the German may have to win one of the last two stages if he is to get the better of his Australian rival. If Zabel is

Quite a few of you have asked that we not reveal the winner in the headline or first paragraph, so if you don't want be surprised as you work your way through our now-not-so-live updates click HERE to work up from the bottom and follow the race from the start. Here is a provisional top-ten list for the day. 1. ZABEL Erik GER TEL In 3:12:27; 2. O'GRADY Stuart AUS C.A; 3. VAINSTEINS Romans LAT DFF; 4. TEUTENBERG Sven GER FES; 5. SVORADA Jan SLO LAM; 6. PETACCHI Alessandro ITA FAS; 7. NAZON Damien FRA BJR; 8. SIVAKOV Alexei RUS BIG; 9. CAPELLE Christophe FRA BIG; 10. CASPER