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While some may consider Redlands to be the unofficial “season opener” to the U.S. road-racing calendar, it’s not like there’s really an Opening Day when everybody gets under way. Health Net-Maxxis has been racing for a week now in Malaysia, Navigators has the Tour Down Under and an Italian one-day race under its belt, and a number of pros have probably tested the waters in some warm-weather locales across the southern part of the U.S. But there’s no “pre-season” races in cycling, no exhibition games – once you start racing, everything counts. With that in mind, this weekend’s Valley of the

Captain America: USPRO National Champion Mark McCormack

Australian National Time Trial champion Nathan O\'Neill

Time for a bike throw...

... a matter of inches

A happy reminder that this is not the Tour de France

Bettini edges Astarloa for the win

Manitou has the upper hand... for now.

A federal grand jury charged four people on Thursday linked to the top names in international sport with 42 counts of distributing illegal steroids and human growth hormones. Following a six-month probe behind closed doors of the global sport doping scandal, U.S. officials charged Victor Conte, owner of Burlingame, California-based BALCO Laboratories, his vice-president Jim Valente, famous track coach Remi Korchemny and Greg Anderson, a personal trainer to U.S. baseball legend Barry Bonds. The four men are expected to appear in court on Friday. "While operating BALCO, Conte and others

Leipheimer and Julich fared well

Stage 7 map

Stage 6 map

Quaranta timed it perfectly

Good roads and....

Quaranta put on the charm before the start

Gert Vanderaerden is working with TV crews to provide an in-the-peloton perspective

Lots of horsepower and plenty of motivation

Astarloa in this season's ensemble.

Cooke in yellow

Stage 5 map

Perez back in yellow

Lieswyn takes third

Saying 'I do' on the podium

Stage 4 map

Fraser holds the points jersey

Dancers provide a send-off

Stage 3 map

Before the storm: Lancaster led from km36.

Health Net leads the chase

Gord' gets the points jersey

Perez loses lead

Stage 2 map

Page 2 news in my local paper yesterday was the story of the 11 Cubans who tried to sail to the U.S. in a 1959 Buick. They had sealed shut the car’s doors and added a double bottom, bow and propeller. However, they were intercepted on their 90-mile journey to Florida by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, and it was unclear whether they would be allowed to stay in the U.S. or be returned to Cuba. This wasn’t the first attempt for some of them. Some members of the group were intercepted by the Coast Guard last July, trying to make the journey in a 1951 Chevy pickup converted into a boat with

Stage 1 map

Health Net takes the front ... only to find traffic on the circuit

The peloton wrapped up the first stage in parade fashion

Division 3 squad Pagcor-Casino Filipino has Merculio Ramos in the leader's jersey ... sort of

Saturn was tops last year

Organizers of California’s annual spring bike bash, the Sea Otter Classic, have announced that they have signed a title sponsorship agreement with Hyundai Motor America. This year’s Hyundai Sea Otter Classic Cycling Festival is scheduled for April 15-18 at Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey, California. Hyundai has long been an active sports-related sponsor. Its recent partnership with the Mongoose mountain bike team marked the brand's entry into the cycling category. “Hyundai Motor America’s sports related sponsorships have proved an effective medium to promote the Hyundai Santa

Tuesday's EuroFile: Cooke at GP Marseillaise; Valverde in Mallorca; Boonen in Qatar

If bikes are outlawed...Editors,Bravo to Selz and Magas for seeing the case in Trotwood to the end(see "LegallySpeaking - with Bob Mionske: You gotta fight for your right to slooooowdown"). I've long since lost track of how many times I've explainedto non-cycling friends that it is not illegal for me to rideon the road at a slower pace than cars, as long as I don't break the lawsregarding impeding traffic (such as by holding up a line of five or morecars unnecessarily).Darcy AdamsCovington, Washington...only (really slow) outlaws will have bikesDear VeloNewsThank you for publishing Steve

Jean-François Lamour outside of Interpol Headquarters on Monday

Zülle

Monday's EuroFile: Freire in Mallorca; Ventoso in Qatar; Zülle keen on Hamilton

Pontoni leads Dlask. The Italian was the only non-Belgian to break into the top six

Page and Jacques-Maynes (front)

A familiar sight

Kupfernagel sure wasn't getting any help from Salvetat

Leboucher wanted to win at home

Knapp turned in a strong performance

French women go 1-2 at ’cross world’s

UCI president Hein Verbruggen, road committee chief Pat McQuaid and cyclo-cross committee chair Sylvia Schenk emerged from an all-day session of the UCI management committee on Friday evening to reveal large-scale changes to both the world road-racing and cyclo-cross calendars, while Verbruggen made a scathing appraisal of the current doping situation in cycling. The most far-reaching proposals concern the much-trumpeted UCI Pro Tour that will start in 2005. McQuaid confirmed that only 20 teams will compete on this circuit, which replaces both the UCI World Cup and UCI world rankings system.

Gil, Pauwels and Zlamanik (l-r) took a rough and tumble U23 race.

The U23 men's race got off to a rough start

Minard

Pauwels

Powers

Niels Albert

Lhotellerie

Driscoll, tops for U.S. in 22nd

Alison Dunlap is ready to race, come rain or shine