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"It’s Kansas … only with hills." On close inspection, Dale Knapp’s description of the world cyclo-cross championship course in Tábor in the Czech Republic is fairly accurate: The world’s course, huddled beneath a collection of Soviet-era concrete apartment blocks, is quite reminiscent of the U.S. national championship loop in Overland Park, Kansas. And, if weather predictions hold true, there may be a few more reminders of that weekend back in December. Knapp and the rest of the U.S. contingent are based at Tábor’s Goldbrick Hotel, just a mile from the course and, for the most part, the

Knapp is relaxed and ready.

Djernis says this may well be his last 'cross race.

Let it snow. The weather gods seem to like cyclo-cross.

Well, Kansas doesn't have these nifty Soviet-style apartment blocs.

Citing notification from the sport's international governing body, officials with the U.S. Postal Service team have given their approval for testing of all riders' blood samples that were gathered during last year's Tour de France. According to a team press release on January 31, the request was made on January 30 by the Union Cycliste Internationale after that organization was contacted by French authorities with a request to turn over the samples. The team has given its approval, and also requested that "an independent expert of our own choosing" be allowed to assist in the

Mapei's Paolo Bettini, who won the prestigious Liege-Bastogne-Liege race last year, was bitten by a female monkey while training in Malaysia, on January 31. The Italian champion was bitten while training in Malaysia for the Tour of Langkawi. Bettini and a group of riders were giving the monkey some sweets when, after a brusque movement by Bettini, it got scared and bit him on the left knee, according to team reports. The Mapei rider was given antibiotics as a precaution after medical advice. Copyright AFP 2001

A press release from the U.S. Postal Service team hit the digital in-box last night, and included a statement from the team's general manager regarding Roberto Heras's status with the team and ongoing negotiations to buy out his Kelme contract. The two-word summary for fans -- and perhaps Kelme management -- is: Sit tight. Here's the full content of the release: STATEMENT FROM U.S. POSTAL SERVICE PRO CYCLING TEAM GENERAL MANAGER MARK GORSKI CONCERNING ROBERTO HERAS There have been some questions raised today in media reports concerning the status of the transfer of Roberto

Team Saeco officials vowed to put their disappointing 2000 season behind them as they unveiled its 2001 team line-up, in San Marino on January 30. "The program for 2001 is to improve on last year," was the blunt assessment of team manager Claudio Corti. Last year was hardly a memorable year for a team that had little to celebrate on track or road, and whose talisman Mario Cipollini saw injury curtail his appearances. But Tuesday's launch served to turn the page and fuel hope for more prosperity in the team's seventh year of competition for the red-shirted outfit. "The year 2000 was

With UCI paperwork due into USA Cycling, the Division III line-up in the U.S. is becoming clear. Among the eight U.S. teams, six are previewed in the Feb. 5 issue of VeloNews -- 7-Up-Colorado Cyclist, Zaxby's, Jelly Belly, NetZero, Prime Alliance and Noble House. Details of the two remaining teams, DeFeet-LeMond and RealityBikes.com, have come out this week. The DeFeet-LeMond team makes the move from the amateur ranks to Division III after several successful seasons. Last year, highlights included third place at the espoir national time trial championship and fourth at the elite

Officials with Team Kelme have complained to the UCI that the U.S. Postal Service had recruited Roberto Heras, but hadn't honored the Spanish rider's termination clause. That clause's deadline -- essentially a contract buy-out, with $1 million (U.S.) paid to Kelme -- passed on January 25, and Kelme considers Heras part of its team. Kelme management claims that Heras remains under contract because his transfer clause remained unpaid as of the January 25 deadline. According to Joan Mas, Kelme's team manager, representatives for the U.S. Postal Service called at 8 p.m. on the 25th,

Team Telekom announced that it is throwing its biggest-ever budget at an assault on the Tour de France, won four years ago by its rider Jan Ullrich. Ullrich told journalists at the team's 2001 season launch, held in Bonn on January 29, that he was hungry for another yellow jersey, and said he was in the sort of shape to challenge reigning champion Lance Armstrong. "Every year that I don't win the Tour is a lost year," said the 27-year-old from Rostock in the former East Germany. "It's been a long time since I've been in such good shape and whatever happens I want to

Heras, earlier this month, riding at the Postie's Arizona training camp.

The Mapei team held its official team launch Saturday, revealing a massive outfit that enters the 2001 season with an emphasis on young talent and internationals. Twenty-four of Mapei’s 41 riders are Italian, but this year’s line-up includes athletes from 12 different nations. Mapei’s youth movement is carried by eight new professionals, including teenagers Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland and Bernhard Eisel of Austria. Other promising young riders making their debut in the professional ranks include under-23 world champion Yevgeny Petrov of Russia and Czech hope Pavel Zerzan. Petrov, 22,

A listing of product sponsors for the newly-formed Global Racing downhill team includes one stand-out surprise: Missy Giove and Co. will ride Orange downhill rigs. Until now, the British bike manufacturer Orange hasn’t had much visibility on the World Cup circuit, though one of its biggest success stories -- South African Greg Minnaar, who was ninth overall in the 2000 World Cup -- is one of the riders on the Global team. "After seeing Greg Minnaar’s excellent performances in 2000, we sent our head mechanic Patrick Griessen to make an evaluation of the Orange program, and he was extremely

U.S. Olympian Erin Mirabella has been added to the Jane Cosmetics cycling team. The 22-year-old track racer has won seven U.S. championships and competed with the U.S. Olympic team in Sydney last September. "With everything that’s happened at USA Cycling, I was a little worried about the 2001 season, but this is just great," Mirabella said in a statement released by the team on Friday. "I rode with Odessa Gunn on Timex last year, and I know Julie Hanson and Jane Quigley really well." With Mirabella added to the team, the Jane Cosmetics line-up is now as follows: Catherine Cardwell,

The Prime Alliance cycling team continued its whirlwind winter dealing on Friday, announcing that it had added Roy Knickman to the team's management group. "He just saw it as an opportunity to come into a rapidly expanding program," said team director Kirk Willett, Knickman's former teammate on the Mercury cycling team. "It gives him a position where he can be really pivotal in the team's development." Knickman, who was named general manager, was unavailable for comment, but in the team press release he stated: "I am very excited to be involved with the Prime Alliance Cycling

Future kingpin Roy Knickman

We received word on Thursday from John Deering, the spokesman for Britain’s Linda McCartney Foods pro cycling team, that the squad has folded after encountering serious financial problems. Deering denied reports that the team’s collapse was related to the alleged embezzlement of funds by a member of the team’s management. Instead, Deering attributed the failure to a combination of factors including "a low level of support” from Linda McCartney Foods, a vegetarian food producer based in Great Britain and owned by former Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney. Despite its relatively small budget, the

The Saturn cycling team unveiled its new look, and it hopes a new attitude, earlier this week as its pre-season training camp began in California. The camp opened with a one-day photo shoot at Universal Studios on Monday, and the following day the team moved to its camp base of Buellton, California, north of Santa Barbara. The men's team underwent a lot of turnover over the off-season, losing Bart Bowen, Brian Walton, Antonio Cruz, Seth Pelusi, Chris Wherry and Robbie Ventura, while adding Matt DeCanio, Eric Wohlberg, Tim Johnson, Chris Fisher, Søren Petersen and last year's

No more checkers: Saturn's new look.

Frank McCormack returns for his seventh season with Saturn.

New color scheme for the bikes, too.

Wilson (l) and Bessette (r) are key returnees.

Day 2: Atop Figueroa Mountain

DeCanio (l) and Johnson (r) join veterans like Michael Barry (c)

Marco Pantani learned Wednesday that he is again the target of a fresh criminal investigation - just weeks after receiving a suspended jail term for using performance-enhancing drugs. Italian prosecutors said the 31-year-old 1998 Tour de France and Giro d’Italia winner, is being investigated over the abnormal red blood cell levels — hematocrit — revealed in a test prior to the penultimate stage of the 1999 Tour of Italy. Those test results forced him out of the race and derailed what appeared to be a certain win and a promising season. Prosecutor Bruno Giardina said on Wednesday that

The Linda McCartney-Jacobs Creek team was in crisis talks Wednesdayafter parting company with its management, OC Racing & Promotions. News of the split with OC Racing came hours after the team postponed itslaunch, which was due to be held in London's Trafalgar Square on Friday,January 26. Press officer John Deering said, "Talks continue between Linda McCartneyand the team's representatives, Max Sciandri and Sean Yates, about forming anew management structure to continue operating the team. "All riders and staff have given their approval and support to Max andSean. There is an

Not a happy camper - Pantani (seen here at the 2000 Tour) is facing still more troubles.

His training clothes sodden, his face flushed from riding in two hours of glacial rain, Lance Armstrong burst into the lobby of Tucson's swank Westin La Paloma hotel, dropped off his Trek with a bellhop and, shivering from the cold, asked for his room key. Welcome to "sunny" southern Arizona, the place chosen for this month’s U.S. Postal Service team get-together and sponsor weekend. "That was as cold as my hands have ever been," the Texan said in response to the first question of an interview he extended to VeloNews. Already, the cold ride was a memory. Now, installed on a comfortable

Mercury's Chris Horner moved to Bend, Oregon, this winter and started on a new look, arriving at training camp with a fledgling "mountain-man" beard. "I admit, it looks terrible right now, but I'm going to keep on growing it," he says. Should he keep going, or nip this problem in the bud? Click "more" to check Horner out, then make the call in the Velo Poll.

The U.S. Postal Service is one of 16 teams that now have an official slot in the 2001 Tour de France, according to an announcement from the Société du Tour de France at a press conference in Paris, on January 23. Look for additional information later today on VeloNews.com. The teams announced today include: Germany: Telekom Belgium: Domo-Farm Frites Spain: IBanesto.com, Kelme, ONCE United States: US Postal France: AG2R, Bonjour, Cofidis, Crédit Agricole, Festina, Jean Delatour Italy: Fassa Bortolo, Lampre, Mapei Netherlands: Rabobank Four additional teams will be included for the

At the sixth round of the cyclo-cross World Cup series in Pontchateau, France, some eerie bunkers from WWII served as powerful memories that I won’t soon forget. Another powerful memory I'll take home from the January 21 event is one of the toughest cyclo-cross courses I’ve ever raced on. The course was set in a river basin, and someone saw to it that we were to traverse up and down the side of the river valley a number of times just to make things interesting. It worked. With a number of power climbs, fast descents, and off-camber, muddy turns, my last Euro’ race of the season was a

The line-up for this year's Tour might be a little thin when it kicks off in Dunkirk on July 7. By favoring three French Division 2 squads in its 16 pre-selections for the 2001 Tour de France on Tuesday, the race organizers left out the teams of Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno-Albacom), Alex Zülle and Fernando Escartin (Team Coast), Laurent Jalabert (CSC-World Online), Pavel Tonkov and Chann McRae (Mercury-Viatel), Mario Cipollini and Laurent Dufaux (Saeco), Jeroen Blijlevens (Lotto-Adecco), David Etxebarria and Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi), and Christophe Mengin (La Française des

Mountain-man look: Keep it or lose it?

When the Mercury camp kicked off in Woodland Hills, California, last Monday, there were some big changes from years past. One big change was the move from team director John Wordin’s old house in West Hills to his spacious new digs. No longer does Wordin’s dining room serve as the team’s office, and gone are the days of the huge semi-trailer parked outside of his house, with mechanics laboring away in his garage. Team mechanics did most of the work in building the new garage-warehouse, and the concrete around the facility was poured just days before the start of training camp last week, but

For the first time since being knocked off his bike in Florida 10 days earlier, Fred Mengoni sat up in his hospital bed to eat a real meal on Sunday evening. A friend at his bedside in St. Mary's Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, said that the 77-year-old president of USPRO was "doing good." In the road accident, Mengoni was knocked unconscious, broke his pelvis and several ribs; and after surgery was placed on a respirator at the hospital's intensive care unit. During his stay, the Italian-born Mengoni has been swamped with get-well messages from friends around the world,

After receiving more than 14,000 comments in 30 days, the Bureau of Land Management chose not to group mountain bikes with motorized vehicles in a controversial management plan known as the National Off-Highway Vehicle Strategy. On December 4, the Bureau of Land Management released a draft of the plan that would ultimately rouse the cycling community to take action against a legislative act that threatened the future of the mountain-biking experience itself. At the heart of the issue was the BLM’s coupling of mountain bikes with other off-highway vehicles, all of which were

The new headquarters

Plenty of work and storage space

Van Bon is one of many European additions

Mercury-Viatel's new LeMond bike (click photo for large image)

Kim Smith models AutoTrader.com's new look

Australian Baden Cooke gets tested

Australian Stuart O'Grady donned the yellow jersey after claiming overall victory just two seconds ahead of German Kai Hundertmark in the close fought final stage of the Tour Down Under cycling race Sunday. "I'm over the moon," said 27-year-old O'Grady who races for the French team Credit Agricole. O'Grady, who also won the event in 1999, and Team Telekom's Hundertmark entered the 90km final stage deadlocked on time with six other riders within eight seconds of the pair. Cheered on by an estimated 100,000-strong home crowd lining the 4.5km Adelaide circuit, O'Grady crossed the line in

Australian Stuart O'Grady celebrates his victory.

Australian David McKenzie crosses the line, winning the final stage of the Tour Down Under.

One of the many fans who lined the Tour Down Under course on Sunday displays her allegiance.

Members of the Telekom team make a move.

David McKenzie gets the obligatory winner’s kiss.

A fifth race leader in as many days was christened at the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under when Germany's Kai Hundertmark took over the yellow jersey in Saturday's gripping stage. The Telekom rider's victory in the 156km leg from Gawler to the German town of Tanunda saw him depose overnight leader Nicolai Bo Larsen (CMS). Hundertmark, a former member of the now-disbanded Motorola team, won the stage by out sprinting 17 breakaway companions who finished two minutes, 47 seconds clear of Larsen's group. In second and third places were Australia's Peter Rogers (Sunsmart) and Allan Davis (United

Germany’s Kai Hundertmark captured the yellow jersey on Saturday.

Australian fans show their colors.

If Stuart O'Grady's fairytale return to winning form is to be, he will have to pull off one of the mightiest coups of his career. His bid to win the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under stumbled Friday when he lost the leader's yellow jersey to Dane Nicolai Bo Larsen (CSC). In the 157km fourth stage from Unley to Strathalbyn, O'Grady (Credit Agricole) looked set to finish with the perfect result until eight kilometers to go. That’s when Bo Larsen attacked. And missing Larsen's move was a mistake that may cost O’Grady dearly unless he can turn the tables on the red headed Dane Saturday. Larsen

Cancer survivor. Texan. Professional cyclist. Look for a one-hour show focusing on the two-time Tour de France winner on A&E cable network Monday, January 22. The segment will air at 8 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific); check local listings or the network's site, www.AandE.com, for broadcast times in other regions.

The UCI released the list of teams that will make up Division II in 2001 on Friday, and only one half of the expected U.S. contingent is on the current UCI list. With key acquisition Kirk O’Bee and returning GC threat Vassiliy Davidenko, the Navigators are the only American team listed. However, Saturn is expected to be added to the list as soon as some paperwork is completed. According to Saturn team director Tom Schuler, the squad didn’t get its team audit completed in time, causing the omission. Schuler assured VeloNews that it was just a formality, and his team would be on the list

Nicolai Bo Larsen has a 13-second lead in the overall standings.

South Australia's Luke Robert's wins the fourth stage of the Tour Down Under.

A bitter two-year spell of misfortune that once threatened Stuart O'Grady's life, let alone his career as a cyclist, may be near its end. The proof for O'Grady’s (Credit Agricole) came yesterday when he took race leadership of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under. The South Australian realizes the 757km race is still a long way from him adding a second victory to the one he claimed in 1999. But the image of O'Grady on the podium and in the yellow jersey after the 165km second stage from McLaren Vale to Victor Harbor, which was won by Italian Alessio Galletti (Saeco), heralded an emphatic

Another castoff from the disbanded Specialized downhill team has landed. Kirt Voreis, 12th in the final World Cup standings last year, has inked a deal with the Haro-Lee Dungarees squad. Besides his strong overall finish in last year's World Cup, Voreis had three top-10 finishes, including a fifth at Maribor, Slovenia, and a sixth at Arai, Japan. The 26-year-old Californian’s first race with his new team will be at this year’s Sea Otter Classic in March.

After four years of mountain-bike stage racing in Steamboat Springs, the Mercury Tour is no more. A press release issued by NORBA on Thursday said that the organization had been "unable to secure sponsorship in time to plan and execute the event in 2001." And that meant the end. The Mercury Tour’s four-year corporate sponsorship contracts had expired last year. The cancellation of the event, which began with hype and hope as the Lincoln Navigator Tour of the Rockies in 1997, leaves a big hole in the U.S. mountain-bike schedule. Many notable stars of the off-road world, including Rishi

The reigning king of downhill is taking a crack at another speed sport. Nicolas Vouilloz, last year’s World Cup champ, has been selected to race in the Rally of Monte Carlo. He’ll be driving a Renault Clio Williams Group N3. This is the most famous car race in France and is part of the World Rally Championships. Each day competitors will start in Monaco, racing multiple stages on the roads in the surrounding area, before returning to Monaco. This is actually the second time Vouilloz has tested his hand at auto racing. He competed in the Rally of Vence two months ago, and performed very

Seven days after crashing his bike while trying to avoid an oncoming car, Fred Mengoni was listed in stable condition at St. Mary's Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida. In the accident, which happened January 11, Mengoni broke his pelvis and several ribs, and suffered a severe concussion. At the time of this report, Mengoni was on a respirator in the intensive care unit. The 77-year-old New York City resident is considered one of American cycling’s greatest patrons. Some of the riders he’s helped develop include Lance Armstrong, Greg Lemond, George Hincapie, Steve Bauer, Mike McCarthy

Stuart O'Grady dons the yellow jersey.

Australian fans show their support during the third stage of the Tour Down Under.

Alessio Galletti wins the third stage of the Tour Down Under.

Nicolas Vouilloz is looking to dominate another speed sport.

With just two weeks left before the polls close on the Readers' Choice Awards, some of our contestants are in big trouble, while others are running away. Here’s a quick look at some of the early returns. In the battle between Phat and Fat relating to the upcoming season of Telekom's Jan Ullrich, Phat holds a commanding lead with 66 percent of the vote, while Fat has just 22 percent. Twelve percent of the voters abstained. On the question of who’s a scarier driver, Marco Pantani or your grandma, it’s no contest. Pantani has garnered nearly 70 percent of the votes, pulling away

Italian rider Fabio Sacchi held off Stuart O'Grady in a thrilling sprint finish to claim the overall lead in the Tour Down Under cycling race here Wednesday. But an investigation involving Australian Olympian Graeme Brown was garnering all the attention. Brown is one of several Australian riders named in an alleged incident with a car at last year's Noumea six-day track race. After losing the race lead in stage two of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, Brown (United Water) denied knowledge of the incident. But Cycling Australia confirmed it has received notice from the New Caledonian

Reigning Olympic champion and 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich's pre-season campaign has hit a bump after a briefcase containing his training plans for this year was stolen. The case was swiped from the German cyclist's trainer, Peter Becker, in Majorca, Spain. Papers detailing Ullrich's training plans for 2001, as well as a gold watch were in the briefcase. "I only hope that the program doesn't fall into the hands of the opposition. I don't care about anything else in the case," Ullrich said.

A new bill introduced by Texas state senator Jeff Wentworth proposes to amend the state transportation code and make life very difficult for groups of cyclists riding on the roads of Texas. SB238 would require cyclists to ride single file on roadways, and would restrict groups of three or more from many small rural roads. The bill would also require cyclists to have a "slow-moving-vehicle emblem" when riding on roadways. The bill has been sent to the Texas senate's State Affairs Committee. The Texas Bicycle Coalition is urging that Texas cyclists write to their own state senators and

Fabio Sacchi nips Stuart O'Grady at the line.

Fabio Sacchi enjoys the spoils of victory.

There's been a lot of celebratory back slapping by organizers of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under for signing up the world's number one team to race. So much so, some joked that they had beaten each other black and blue in the lead up to tonight's start to the 757km event, the stage one criterium in the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg. The 47km stage ended in a popular home win for the estimated 54,000-strong crowd that lined the tight 1.88km circuit. In balmy conditions that saw temperatures in the mid seventies, it was won by NSW's Graeme Brown (United Water). South Australia's Stuart O'Grady

National cyclo-cross championships were held throughout Europe on Sunday, and with the world championships just three weeks away, national teams for the world’s in Tabor, Czech Republic, began to take shape as well. In the Netherlands, Superprestige series winner and World Cup leader Richard Groenendaal easily won the Dutch championship as he prepares for the defense of his world title. In Belgium, two-time world champion Mario De Clercq took his first Belgian title, while the favorite, Sven Nijs crashed twice and could manage only a sixth place finish. Other winners on Sunday included

Australian cyclist Stuart O'Grady rates German rider Steffen Wesemann as the big threat in the Tour Down Under starting in Adelaide Tuesday. Wesemann, who rides for the German Telekom team, has been training in Australia since December 3 to give himself plenty of time to become accustomed to the Australian heat and conditions. And 1999 race winner O'Grady said the 29-year-old German, who won a stage of last year's Tour Down Under and finished third overall, was giving nothing away in the lead-up to the six-stage, 757km race. "As soon as I found out Steffen was coming over this early

Last week Prime Alliance unveiled its roster for a new Division III road team. Included on the roster were some heavy hitters, including Jonas and Jame Carney, Colby Pearce, Danny Pate, Mike Creed and NORBA national champion Steve Larsen. The day after the team was announced, VeloNews spoke with team owner and Prime Alliance CEO Tom Irvine, team director Ian Birlem and rider-manager Kirk Willett about how the team came about and what its outlook is for the coming season. VeloNews (to Tom Irvine): How did you get involved, and what’s the major thrust for Prime Alliance to get into

Birlem (l), Irvine (c) and Willett

Willett

Petr Dlask won the Czech Republic’s national cyclo-cross championship on Saturday in Tabor, at the same venue where the world cyclo-cross championships will take place February 3-4. Saturday’s race was contested on a 2.85km course that was frozen and covered with snow. Fifth in the World Cup standings, Dlask beat out two other members of the Author Expandia team, Jiri Pospisil and Vaclav Jezek.