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Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo)edged out Domo’s Fred Rodriguez at the end of the second stage of the Settimana Lombarda. Petacchi finished at the head of a mass sprint after a 174-kilometer race near the city of Alzate Brianza in Lombardy. Petacchi, recently injured in the Tour of the Mediterranean, also narrowly beat Serguei Yakovlev (Cantina Tollo) and Liquigas's Daniele Contrini. With three stages of the five-stage Italian tour remaining, Tacconi Sport’s Stefan Rutimann moved into the overall lead. Copyright AFP2001

Organizers of the classic Amstel Gold Race have been forced to alter the event's course due to fears of foot-and-mouth disease, the Dutch news agency said Tuesday. New sections had to be added as roads along the border between Belgium and the Netherlands have been closed. In particular, the Pietersberg climb, the final difficulty in the race, has been eliminated as the road is closed to traffic. All bicycles and accompanying vehicles will be disinfected before the race gets underway in Maastricht on April 28. The Amstel is the fifth event in the UCI World Cup and one of the

On a day that started in the rain, passed through driving hail, and finished in bright sunshine, Fabiana Luperini confirmed that she is indeed on form this season with a dominating victory on the Mur de Huy in the women’s fourth World Cup of the season, Belgium’s Fleche Wallone, held April 18. The diminutive climber waited until the final climb to unleash a devastating attack that left her closest challengers, Anna Millward (neé Wilson) of Saturn and Trixi Worrack (German National) nine seconds back. Throughout the 93.5km race over six steep hills in the Ardennes region of Belgium, the

When Rik Verbrugghe won the Criterium International, he said he would improve on his placing in the Flèche Wallonne from last year, when he finished second to Francesco Casagrande. The lean Lotto rider kept his word, chasing down an early breakaway of eight riders alone, dropping all but three by the final climb, and finishing alone on the steep ascent of the Mur de Huy. The eight riders in the initial break were Ivan Basso (Fassa Bortolo), Grischa Niermann (Rabobank), Luca Paolini (Mapei), Koos Moerenhout (Domo), Jörg Jaksche (ONCE), Marcelino Garcia Alonso (CSC), Constantino Zaballa

With four riders in the final top-10, Saturn men appeared to have had a stranglehold on the six-stage Tour of Willamette -- but the placings didn't come without a battle. At the top of the it was Eric Wohlberg, with Matt DeCanio in third, Soren Petersen sixth and Tim Johnson, 10th. Prime Alliance's Danny Pate, and Jelly Belly's Damon Kluck squeezed in for second and fourth, respectively. And on the women's side, GT's Alison Dunlap out-rode the other squads in Sunday's snow-accented stage to take back the leader's jersey for the overall title. Hail, rain, wind and 5-foot high snow banks were

For all the exposure they receive in July, Tour de France contenders rarely cross each other's paths in the preceding months — particularly in a competitive situation. That's why the French classic Paris-Camembert on Tuesday was so unusual. Americans Lance Armstrong and Bobby Julich, along with British standout David Millar, all came to the start line with something to prove. Armstrong is nearing the end of his phase-one race preparations for this year's Tour, and wanted to improve on the second place he took in Paris-Camembert last year. Julich, too, was after a win — “This and

USA Cycling announced Monday that the organization has "released" NORBA managing director Leslie Klein. NORBA competition director Eric Moore has been named as acting managing director. In a release issued Monday night, USA Cycling CEO Lisa Voight cited declining NORBA membership numbers as part of the decision. NORBA membership has fallen 39 percent since 1997. "We are taking proactive steps to be responsible to our constituency and provide the customer service needed to succeed," Voight was quoted as saying. "Since USA Cycling's reorganization in early 2001, all staff members are now

Lotto’s Andreï Tchmil crashed in a training accident on Tuesday and is now questionable for Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege race in his home country, according to team sources in Belgium. Tchmil sustained bruises to his elbow when he collided with a camper van. He had also fallen in Sunday's Paris-Roubaix race although he remounted to finish eighth. Copyright AFP2001

Saturn's Eric Wohlberg

GT's Alison Dunlap

Just a few hours after finishing Paris-Roubaix, George and I met for dinner. We talked about the day, about the season, and about the future. All in all, George is happy. He knows he can win Paris-Roubaix, and that the best years are still to come. Everything was going great up until the Arenberg Forest. George made a good move and said he was having no real problems finding a good line. He was leaving people behind and making it look easy. When the front tire punctured, controlling the bike was almost impossible. Johan Bruyneel told him on the radio that there were wheels waiting at the

All week long the reports from northern France promised epic conditions for the 99th edition of Paris-Roubaix, and the race on Easter Sunday lived up to all the hype. This year’s race served up 24 sections of cobblestones in absolutely awful condition, turning the race into total chaos from the beginning. Although the heavy rain at the start diminished throughout the day, and the sun finally popped out late, it truly was an epic race all day long. And once the race hit the cobbles in the second half of the race, the Belgian Domo-Farm Frites team showed that it is ready to assume the title of

This report filed at 12:06 p.m. Eastern: Domo-Farm Frites finshed 1-2-3 at today’s Paris-Roubaix. Servais Knaven won, then teammate Johan Museeuw jumped away with one kilometer to go and finished second, and then Romans Vainsteins, the world champion, outsprinted U.S. Postal’s George Hincapie for third place. Hincapie’s fourth place is the same spot he earned here two years ago. Vainsteins now has taken the lead of the UCI men’s World Cup. Domo’s Wilfried Peeters finished fifth, and Telekom’s Steffen Wesemann finished sixth. After the finish, Hincapie said: "There was nothing I

When the Crédit Agricole team’s Jérome Neuville crashed on the cobblestones at Quievy, 110km into the Hell of the North, he could not have known how close he was to becoming a human pancake. But as the bright yellow Mavic neutral service car slid toward the Frenchman’s prostrate body, the fear in his eyes registered the danger. That was the last we saw of him from inside the car, as driver Antonio Pacheco swerved to the right to avoid Neuville’s legs sprawled across the road. We hit something, and hard, but we could not tell if it was only his bike or if we had hit him as well. We jumped

Postal's Hincapie was in all the right spots today, but couldn't pass the Domo brigade.

Lampre's Dierckxsens (right) faced the same troubles as Hincapie -- too many Domo jerseys.

Knaven adds his name to the list of tough men to win Paris-Roubaix.

Remember, this is a closed course with professional drivers. Don't try this at home.

Can't you hear the warranty claim now: 'I was just riding along...'

Wednesday morning, a spring snow storm hit Colorado Springs. I managed to get to the airport, but soon learned that my departure for France would be delayed until Thursday. When I arrived back at the office, the entire staff was silently huddled around one computer. I peered over their shoulders to see live images of the final kilometer of Ghent-Wevelgem. Thank you, Mother Nature, for closing the airport George Hincapie is the strongest I have ever seen him. His power outputs are the highest they have ever been and his ability to maintain intense efforts is great. His strong performances

Saturday’s Paris forecast called for early rain and gradual clearing. It seems the French weather experts can’t guess any better than their North American counterparts. The day was dry – until about 7 p.m. (local time) when a steady rain began to fall, with temperatures hanging around 50 degrees. Riders will likely go to sleep tonight listening to the rain, and roll to tomorrow’s start line of the 99th Paris-Roubaix with temperatures in the 30s. Sunday’s start, slated for 11 a.m. (5 a.m. Eastern), will see 248 riders from 25 squads contest the 254-kilometer route. Check back tomorrow,

Going in to Friday's third stage of the Tour of Willamette, Jelly Belly's Damon Kluck wears the men's leaders jersey, while Intersports Sandy Expeseth holds the same distinction in the women's field. Both hold only slim leads (4 and 2 seconds respectively) with another tough climbing day slated for both fields on April 13. The men face 5000 vertical feet in its 109-mile route, with the women getting 3200 vertical in 88 miles. Kluck earned the men's lead with two second-place finishes in Tuesday's Skinner's Butte prologue (finishing 2 seconds behind Saturn’s Eric Wohlberg), and Wednesday's

George Hincapie scored a huge victory on Wednesday, becoming the first American to win Ghent-Wevelgem and the first American to win a European classic since Lance Armstrong won Fleche Wallonne in 1996. But now Hincapie turns his attention to his biggest personal objective of the season, Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix. "It gives me good confidence," Hincapie said about his win in Wevelgem. "I knew I was riding well. Obviously I’m going to be more marked now, because I’ll be one of the favorites. But it’s a good confidence booster for Sunday." And despite the hoopla surrounding his win, Hincapie

The organizers of Paris-Roubaix are constantly looking for ways of making their cobblestone classic a little more challenging. And the course for the 99th edition this Sunday looks to be the most challenging yet -- both from the perspective of its rugged route and the expected weather conditions: cold, wet and windy. From the start outside Napoleon's former palace in the town of Compiëgne -- 80km northeast of Paris -- the opening two hours of the race are on smooth, straight, rolling roads through Noyon, Ham and St. Quentin. With a forecast for west wind, the field of 190-or-so riders

Hincapie first raced Paris-Roubaix as a 20-year-old.

Prologue: Alison Dunlap zips up Skinner's Butte

Prologue: Hey, it's Eugene. What did you expect from that crowd?

Stage 1: This wasn't the only climb of the stage, or the only stage with a climb.

Stage 1: Lysle Wilhelm of 800.com

Stage 2: Mari Holden, loving life and just waiting for the TT on Saturday.

Stage 2: Pate, riding his road bike where there really isn't a road.

Stage 3: Why do people think it always rains in Oregon?

Stage 3: And more rainjackets.

Stage 3: The long and lonely road.

Britain's David Millar (Cofidis) won the nine kilometer individual time-trial to take the overall lead at the Sarthe-Loire cycle race on April 12, at Angers, France. Estonian Jaan Kirsipuu won the 94km third stage between Tierce and Angers earlier in the day after Laurent Brochard, leader since the first stage, fell. He managed to remount and continue but was evidently hurt. Millar put in a blistering time in the afternoon's time-trial, taking just 10 minutes and 41 seconds to complette the course. The Scot, who famously won the first leg of The Tour de France 2000, finished 46 seconds ahead

The Giro d'Italia remains the top priority for Italian cyclist Marco Pantani despite his withdrawal from the Tour of the Basque Country this week. Pantani met his Mercatone Uno team president Felice Gimondi and team manager Giuseppe Martinelli Wednesday to discuss his preparation for the Giro, but is yet to define a clearcut program. Martinelli said. "Before long we will define a specific list of races he will take part in April and May that will be suited to his technical characteristics and his state of health at the moment." Martinelli hinted that the rider would next enter the

Texan Lance Armstrong has denied that strong-arm tactics with his team-mates has turned him into some kind of team despot as he aims for a third yellow jersey at this year's Tour. However the 29-year-old (who is participating in the Sarthe-Loire stage race this week), readily admits to forcing "excessive demands" on his US Postal team as a way of pushing his deputies beyond their perceived limits. "To start with, I'm hard on myself. I make a lot of sacrifices, so it's just as important that the other team members be just as professional, which is logical," said Armstrong,

American George Hincapie of the U.S. Postal Service joined a prestigious list of winners that includes Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault on Wednesday. Hincapie outsprinted Leon Van Bon (Mercury Viatel) to win the 63rd edition of Ghent-Wevelgem in Belgium. Hincapie was part of a five-man group that escaped without about 30km to go in the 214km race. A complete report will be posted shortly.

At last! American George Hincapie can finally breathe a big sigh of relief, after taking home a major classics win for the first time in his career. The U.S. Postal Service rider made it look almost easy as he won the 63rd edition of Ghent-Wevelgem on Wednesday afternoon in Wevelgem, Belgium. And while it was close at the finish -- the tall New York native just barely edged Mercury-Viatel's Leon Van Bon at the line -- Hincapie had all the right moves throughout the 215km ride through western Belgium.

A classic smile from George!

The break that worked.

Hincapie was easily on the wheel of Telekom's Steffen Wesemann on the second climb of the Kemmelberg.

The Tour of Flanders produced an unexpected winner on Sunday, and it proved to be a nice surprise for the Italians, as Taconni-Vini Caldirola’s Gianluca Bortolami edged Erik Dekker (Rabobank) in a photofinish, while the pre-race favorites had to settle for a ninth-place sprint. Bortolami turned up as the top survivor on a day that began with a big crash, and ended with an eight-man sprint that contained the remnants of a once-20-man breakaway.

The Tour of Flanders produced an unexpected winner on Sunday, and it proved to be a nice surprise for the Italians, as Taconni-Vini Caldirola’s Gianluca Bortolami edged Erik Dekker (Rabobank) in a photofinish, while the pre-race favorites had to settle for a ninth-place sprint. Bortolami turned up as the top survivor on a day that began with a big crash, and ended with an eight-man sprint that contained the remnants of a once-20-man breakaway. The race began in the historic town center in Brugge, which was packed with Belgian fans under a cloudy, sometimes drizzly sky. Despite some early

The British Cycling Federation (BCF) has appointed Canadian Peg Hill as its national women's endurance coach. Hill will start her new job on April 20. She will be working for the lottery-funded World Class Performance Plan, which steered British riders to their best ever total of Olympic and worlds medals last year. Hill's charges will include world pursuit champion Yvonne McGregor, Ceris Gilfillan, who won Canada's GP Feminin last year, and Sarah Symington who placed sixth in the world’s road race. U.S.-born Hill represented the U.S. at three world championships in the 1980s,

Specialized continued its roll on Saturday as defending World Cup champion Barbara Blatter won the opening race of the 2001 Tissot-UCI World Cup series at the Domaine Chandon winery, near Napa, California. Blatter took control of the 22-mile race midway through the third of five laps. She never really attacked, but on one of the steep climbs, Blatter left Alison Dunlap (GT) and Alison Sydor (Trek-Volkswagen) behind, and quickly gained a 30-second lead. "I just [sped] it up a little from lap to lap, and that was enough," said the 30-year-old Swiss, who has been living with her sister in

Recent moves to stamp out doping from the peloton claimed its first statistic Sunday, as Italian rider Fabiano Fontanelli was ruled out of the Tour of Flanders following a suspect blood test, according to a race official. Fontanelli, who rides for Mercatone Uno, was excluded after a the "traditional" race-morning blood test showed a suspect hematocrit level. Because his red blood cell count exceeded 50 percent, Fontanelli was declared unfit to take part and excluded from racing for a minimum of 15 days. While the morning test has been used since 1997, Fontanelli will be the first pro rider

You couldn’t ask for a more exciting start to the men’s World Cup cross-country season. Spectators at the Domaine Chandon winery in Yountville, California, were treated to a thrilling opener Sunday that featured seesaw battles for the lead, a touch of weather drama and a first-time winner in Spanish sensation Jose Antonio Hermida. The 22-year-old Hermida, riding for Bianchi Motorex, experienced a career high last year in Spain when he won the world title in the under-23 category. But even that, said an emotional Hermida after completing the 25.2-mile course in 2:02:06, doesn’t compare to

Blatter's sensational climbing ability won her another race.

Say who? Hermida, Bui and Hanisch lead at Napa.

An estimated crowd of 30,000 fans lined the streets of the entertainment district in Austin, Texas, to watch the Navigator’s Cycling Team take control with 10 minutes to go and never look back at the opening event of the BMC Software Cycling Grand Prix, the Lance Armstrong Criterium. Russian rider Vassili Davidenko was on the receiving end of a near perfect leadout from the Navigators Squad. Mercury-Viatel rider Baden Cooke took second, while Charles Dionne rounded out the podium spots. Several breaks managed to escape with only the final break attempt gaining significant time. With 20

A cold rain fell on the cobbled streets of Brugge on Saturday, possibly a sign of things to come for Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, which traverses the famed cobblestone climbs of northern Belgian. The 269km World Cup classic includes 16 sharp hills, almost half of them on steep, narrow pitches of cobblestone roads through the countryside of Flanders. If conditions are wet, the slick, treacherous climbs become even more of a challenge as the race favorites slug it out. Wet or dry, there will be plenty of contenders to choose from, including the past five Tour of Flanders winners — Andrei Tchmil

According to a report in the Sunday edition of the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich thinks the end of his career may be in sight. Ullrich says he believes he is not up to the challenge of competing at the top level "as long as other riders." "I think I already took my body to the limit of physical extremes when I was 22 and 23," the Telekom rider said. "But I can't keep that (kind of effort) up as long as other riders. This year I'm going to try to beat Lance Armstrong in the Tour. But maybe near the end of my career I'll no longer

Everyone knows that in World Cup cross-country racing, nothing is more important than the start. On Saturday, for the first time since 1993, a time trial was held to determine starting positions for the Tissot-UCI World Cup opener, scheduled for Sunday at Domaine Chandon winery near Napa, California. There were winners and there were losers, and at the end of the day Italian Marco Bui and Canadian Chrissy Redden had earned the pole positions. Bui, riding for AS Marin-Helly Hansen, is best known for being the rider who collided with Cadel Evans before the final descent at the 1999 world

Former winners head list of favorites for Flanders

Canada's Chrissy Redden rode the Gary Fisher Sugar to a TT win.

Marco Bui slipped on the new Tissot-UCI World Cup yellow leader's jersey.

Italian rider Andrea Tafi will take part in this Sunday's Tour of Flanders, the second event in the World Cup season, alongside Mapei teammates Michele Bartoli and Paolo Bettini. The 34-year-old Tafi, who had been doubtful for the race due to intestinal problems, was finally declared good to go by his Mapei team Friday. The Tuscany rider, who already has four World Cup victories to his name, pulled out of this week's Trois jours de Panne last Tuesday. Copyright AFP 2001

One of the staples of the summer racing season is no more. The Killington Stage Race, which was first run in 1987, has been cancelled due to financial problems. "It was just costing to much to do the race," said Tom Vinson, USA Cycling’s North Atlantic regional coordinator, who added that he was informed of the news by race organizers on Thursday. "I didn’t know it was coming, but it wasn’t a surprise either. It’s been a financial battle every year." The race, which was held over Labor Day weekend, made its debut 14 years ago as a two-day event. In its heyday it ballooned to a four-day,

Following the bankruptcy of its European division, the owners of the Schwinn/GT Corporation announced plans to sell the company, retaining Credit Suisse First Boston as an advisor in discussions with several potential buyers of both the cycling and fitness businesses. Last month, Schwinn/GT's European division ceased operation and went into receivership, leaving several retailers and suppliers uncertain as to the entire company's future. In particular, the European difficulties put into doubt the firm's relationship with bike suppliers in Taiwan. Schwinn has faced financial

José "Chepe" Gonzalez has been fired by his team, Selle-Italia-Pacific, after Italian authorities charged him with doping offenses, his team announced Friday. The 32-year-old Colombian, a mountains specialist, was found in possession of a range of doping products at his team hotel last week. Team officials also fired Colombian doctor Nino Alberto Beltran, who was also found with a number of illegal growth hormones and anabolic steroids when police carried out a routine search of his car on March 23. Following the discovery in Beltran's car, police, acting on a recently-passed law making

If the spring storm parked over the San Francisco Bay area doesn’t move out soon, it could be a gloomy start, weather-wise, to the 2001 Tissot-UCI World Cup series, which kicks off in Napa, California, this weekend. The amateur riders will slog it out in the rain on Friday, before the pro action — featuring all but one of the six medallists from the 2000 Olympic Games — starts Saturday. A little rain — or in this case, a lot — won’t put much of a damper on an event held at the most elegant of World Cup venues, the Domaine Chandon winery. This year marks the fifth year that the series will

Cofidis’s Nico Mattan won the closing time trial at the Three Days of De Panne to overtake Lotto’s Hans de Clercq for the overall title in the three-day race in the western part of Belgium. Mattan jumped from ninth place to first on the strength of his time trial. The Belgian covered the 14km time trial course in 17:41, four seconds faster than runner-up Levi Leipheimer (U.S. Postal Service) and six seconds faster than third place Erik Dekker (Rabobank). In the overall standings, Mattan finished ahead of Dekker and Postal’s Viatcheslav Ekimov. Ekimov led a trio of Postals in the top five,

Tour de France organizers unveiled their version of cycling's Ten Commandments in Paris Thursday — a plan of action aimed at stamping out doping in the peloton this year and setting a precedent for the future. The 10-point plan, costing over 10 million francs ($1.4 million) over the next three years, focuses on banning riders who are caught doping from the start of the race, maintaining vigilance throughout the three-week event, and promoting "clean" sports practices in the future. The measures are aimed at assuring the skeptical, and preventing a fiasco similar to that which nearly

Gabriela Gonzalez de Ferrat, a 28-year-old native of Mexico who now lives near San Diego, will don the colors of Team RONA and join Geneviève Jeanson and Manon Jutras in the three-day Tucson Bicycle Classic this weekend. At the Mexican national championships in 2000, Ferrat was second in the time trial and fourth in the road race. As a member of the national team, she wore her country’s colors at the 1999 world championships in Verona, Italy. This year Ferrat was 39th overall at the Redlands Bicycle Classic. At the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California, she was 18th out of 68

The HP Women's Challenge cycling race will return to network television when CBS Sports broadcasts the 2001 race on Saturday, July 14. The one-hour telecast will highlight all 13 stages of the 12-day race, including the grueling mountain climbs. Organized by Women's Challenge, Inc. and sponsored by Hewlett-Packard Company through 2002, the event is one of the world's toughest races both for the caliber of competitors and the demanding nature of the courses. The 2001 race will be run from June 13-24 and will cover over 688 miles of tough Idaho terrain. The 2001 HP Women's

The Italian city of Verona on Tuesday officially launched its bid to stage the 2004 world road championships, ANSA news agency reported. Former cyclist Francesco Moser and bid committee co-presidents Teofilo Sanson and Giovanni Rana handed over the formal application documents to Dominique Raymond and Agostino Omini of the UCI. Sanson, president of the 1999 World Championships organizing committee, said: "No-one can beat the splendor of Verona and its lake (Lake Garda)." Verona faces competition from both home and abroad. Three other Italian cities, Cuneo, Imola and Caneva are all in the

Three cyclists with the Italian-Colombian cycling team Selle Italia have been placed under formal investigation by Modena magistrates after doping products were discovered in the team's car, judicial sources said Tuesday. The riders are José Gonzalez, Freddy Gonzalez, and Ruber Marin. Team manager Gianni Savio, sporting directors Fabio Becherini and Enzo Erluison, and team doctor Nino Alberto Beltran, who was driving the car, have also been charged. On March 22 the car was stopped for a routine police check but the officers found chemical products including anabolic steroids, corticoids

Former U.S. Junior national team coach René Wenzel has formally denied charges that he doped his riders 11 years ago in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado, in response to a lawsuit filed against him by Greg Strock, a one-time member of the team. Wenzel is also seeking damages from Strock and a U.S. Olympic Committee official for public statements they made in connection with the case. In a lawsuit filed late last year against Wenzel and USA Cycling, Strock outlined a series of charges, including allegations that Wenzel and another coach had on several occasions in 1990 injected

Continuing their tour of the Golden State, Specialized teammates Barbara Blatter and Bas Van Dooren dominated the 13th Annual Sizzler Mountain Bike Classic, April 1, in San Jose, California. After finishing second in the overall at Sea Otter in Monterey a week earlier, Blatter dominated the Sizzler, winning by 3:05. "It was like a fast training session," said Blatter, who is now getting ready for the World Cup opener this weekend at Napa. "I had a flat tire, but it was good practice. My coach said I shouldn’t go 100 percent." Mary McConneloug was second, while Willow Koerber (Cane Creek)

Wenzel says Strock's illness wasn't serious enough to end career.

The American Velodrome Challenge kicked off the season this past weekend in San Diego. Throughout the year riders will compete for ranking points that will assist USA Cycling coaches in determining future U.S. national cycling teams and athletes for upcoming international races. In addition to the San Diego stop, the American Velodrome Challenge will travel to eight other velodromes. For more information on the series check out www.americantrackracing.com Here’s the rest of the year’s schedule: April 19-April 20: San Jose, California;May 4-May 5: Frisco, Texas;June 1-June 2: Houston,

The boys from Mercury-Viatel finally broke through, as Chris Horner barely edged out Saturn’s Eric Wohlberg to win the overall title at the Solano Bicycle Classic. On the women’s side it was Intersport’s Ann Samplonious winning the GC crown ahead of Susy Pryde (AutoTrader.com) and Katrina Berger (800.com). Horner earned his victory during the race’s third stage, the 90-minute GeniSoy Criterium, where he picked up a crucial intermediate time bonus. That gave him a scant 2-second lead over Wohlberg going into the race’s final day, and with the help of some hard working teammates, Horner was

Belgian Rik Verbrugghe won the third and final stage of the Criterium International stage race in France on Sunday. Verbrugghe covered the 8.5km time trial from Charleville to Mézières with a time of 10:19, one second faster than German Jens Voigt (Credit Agricole), who was second. Riding for the Lotto-Adecco team, Verbrugghe, who also won the stage 1 road race, took the overall win, 16 seconds ahead of Spaniard Alberto Martinez. He is the first Belgian to win Criterium International. American Floyd Landis of Mercury-Viatel finished third in the stage 3 time trial, just two seconds off

Verbrugghe won two of three stages to take the win

Belgian Rik Verbrugghe of the Lotto team won the first stage of the Criterium International in France on Saturday. Verbrugghe was one of 12 riders to escape with less than 15km left in the 190km stage. On a day that included three category 4 climbs, the breakaway occurred on the last climb and despite chase efforts by Saeco and ONCE, the group gained 18 seconds on the rest of the field.

The field passes the Meuse River