News

D'OH!Editors,Tell Mr. Roger he should get his facts straight, especially where it concerns the best cycling movie ever made, before he starts reminiscing in his column (see "Mr.Rogers' Neighborhood: 'Breaking Away' with Bart Simpson"). NealRogers talks about the main character (Dave Stoller) in the movie “Breaking Away” being out on a training ride when he runs into the fabled (but fictional) “Team Cinzano.” Point of fact is that it was a race that he ran into them on, and he had been training hard for that race so he could see how he measured up against his heroes, that is until they

Dear Bob,I work on the floor of a large retail bicycle shop. I love my job,but have a problem with one of the managers. Since I began here, over ayear ago, he has been making sexual comments. I used to simply laugh athim, but recently, he tried to kiss me and I need this to stop.What should I do?Mashed in MinneapolisDear M in M,This is a sensitive area with most people having a canned responsesrunning the gambit from “ he should be strung up” to “political correctnessis ruining America.” My view is somewhere in the middle and depends onthe facts and circumstances. For instance, I believe this

Thursday's mail bag: Breaking Away; Bye bye Marco

Remember that scene in the classic 1979 film "Breaking Away" when the main character — Dave, the naïve young cyclist — was racing against the Italian Cinzano squad he so admired? Remember how, at first, Dave was thrilled to be riding with them, even challenging them, until one of the Italians put a frame pump through Dave's wheel and the young blond-headed kid ended up in a ditch while the darker-haired "pros" rode away laughing? Well anyone who knows that scene well and also watched "The Simpsons" on Sunday night probably recognized a quick parody of "Breaking Away" featuring Bart and the

Damn, this guy is pretty good

Cesar Grajales

Marco no more?

Is Germany's pursuit team back on track?

Editor's Note: This is the second of what we hope will becomea steady stream of letters this season from Navigators Insurance pro cyclistBurke Swindlehurst.Hey folks in VeloNews land.Well, the New Year truly is upon us and I'm hoping that all of you enjoyedthe Holiday season as much as I did. All that good (bad) food anddrink and of course, friends and family. I don't know about all of you,but I even took the time to take in a few flicks, despite being deathlyafraid of sitting in a theater with the possibly "infected" carriers ofthe epidemic flu for up to three hours and 40 minutes... yes, I

Pacific Cycle – the parent company of Schwinn, GT and Mongoose –announced Wednesday that the firm will be acquired by Montreal-based Dorel Industries, a global supplier of juvenile and home furnishing products. Dorel has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the Madison, Wisconsin-based Pacific Cycle. Dorel’s purchase of Pacific Cycle is expected to be completed by the end of the month. Chris Hornung, founder and CEO of Pacific Cycle, will remain at the head of Pacific and will run the company as a standalone Dorel division. “This acquisition provides numerous opportunities to

The board of the German Cycling Federation (BDR) has revoked the suspensions of Jens Lehmann andDaniel Becke, allowing the two star pursuiters to try for this year’s OlympicGames in Athens. The two were suspended in August of last year after they became embroiledin a team selection battle that ultimately resulted in the withdrawal ofthe once-powerful German team pursuit squad from the world championshipsin Stuttgart (see “Germanpursuit squad collapses before it hits track”). BDR president Sylvia Schenk, who had initially taken a hard line against the riders, asked the organization's board

Rutkiewicz in 2002

T-Bird's Roost: From blizzards to Oz

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - Funky Disco Drop-out

It's now up to Lehmann (seen here in 2002)

A former Marine who was attacked by a mountain lion while mountain-bikeriding in a wilderness area in Southern California has been upgraded to fair condition, hospital officials said Sunday. "Her recovery is truly miraculous," said the victim's husband, JamesHjelle. Anne Hjelle, 30, was rescued Thursday from the mountain lion's jawsby her cycling companion, Debbie Nichols. The big cat had pounced on Hjelleand tried to drag her away, but Nichols grabbed her friend's leg and heldon as other cyclists threw rocks at the mountain lion until it let go. Authorities believe the same mountain lion

Alison will prevailEditors;I was appalled, at first, when I saw the  article detailing thepossibility of Alison perhaps losing the chance to go to Athens becauseof a mess up at USA cycling (see "Dunlapa long shot for Athens?") and weirder even still rules from theUCI. Then I thought about it a bit and realized Alison willbe at the Olympics. I'm sure of that, her strength of character and incredibledetermination will see her through, and if that slips a bit raw talentwill take some of the load. I am still upset the the people who shouldbe watching out for the athletes from a

What a season this has been for Bart.

The mountain biker killed by a mountain lion Thursday in in the Orange County foothills was a former employee of Carmichael Training Systems in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mark Reynolds, 35, worked for CTS from May 2001 through August 2002 before moving to California to work as an account executive with OMS Sports in Anaheim, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. In interviews with the Gazette and the Los Angeles Times, friends and co-workers described Reynolds as a committed athlete who raced both bicycles and motocross, and Chris Carmichael was no exception. Recalling spotting bike

Editor's note: Plenty of you wrote in with advice for Erik Voldengen, who craves a new bike and wondered how to maximize the Spouse Acceptance Factor, while others were only too eager to abuse Jordan Bishko, who was critical of an Think about a trade-inErik,I just thought I would let you know that Cannondale is once again offering its yearly trade-in program. Cannondale will give you a large discount on its new CAAD 7 (Optimo) frame. It will also come along with a very nice full carbon fork and integrated headset. You will only need a new stem and perhaps a few cables to make the swap. I

A rack of rainbows: Gane, Millar and Astarloa

O'Grady's ready to rock

Don't expect Mario to be celebrating this news...

Let the games begin (and not the good ones, either)Editor:The article about Alison Dunlap is just the start of a long hot summer before the Olympics. Every Olympic year deserving cyclists are not selected for the team. There is always going to be someone left out in the cold, and cold people usually employ lawyers to heat things up. Just wait – as the selection process gets closer there will be other stories to tell. On a similar note, it has been rumored for more than a year that the USA may not qualify a sprint "team" for the Olympics. Now that doesn't sound good for the country with the

A threat to drivers?

Like many Mac addicts out there, I sacrificed a few hours of my Tuesday morning to watch the live Web cast of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’s keynote address at the annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Each year, the biggest geeks in the industry come together for several days in a large showroom to meet with designers and engineers and drool over the latest technological advances. Fluorescent lights hum, camera flashes sparkle, and schwag is freely distributed while people discuss issues of speed and performance. Right — just like Interbike, only nerdier, if you can imagine that. But Jobs’s

So what is a good use of their time?!?!?Editors;I just want to know what is in the water in Colorado Springs. Maybesome of the cost of licensing should go to higher education for such "nuances." (see "Dunlapa long shot for Athens?") That line from USA Cycling's Matt Cramer- "To translate every nuance of the UCI rule book is not the best use ofour time..." says it all.What? To be continually embarrassed is a good use of their time!?! Whatin the world are you doing that is more important than the Olympics? Iknow as riders we have to look out for ourselves, but you'd think thatour "Director of

A look at the newly updated U.S. Postal Service team roster reveals a surprise: the as of yet unannounced addition of American Michael Creed to the squad. In a phone conversation from Tucson, Arizona, the Colorado Springs resident — who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Thursday with a 200km training ride — discussed his progression from the now-defunct Division 3 Prime Alliance squad to Postal with VeloNews. When informed of his appearance on the team’s Web site, the always-amusing rider was somewhat surprised, explaining that although his agent has been in discussions with the team, all the

Now that is brand loyalty

Plusher than ever in deepest, darkest Baja

Okay, we get it. You are officially a 'geek.'

Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Mike Creed, U.S. Postal's newest recruit

Casero after winning the Vuelta in 2001

Dunlap may not get the chance for Olympic gold in '04

American pro Christian Vande Velde confirmed Tuesday that he is close to reaching an agreement with Roberto Heras’s Liberty Seguros team. The U.S. Postal team rider told VeloNews that he has been negotiating with the Liberty squad since late last year and that the two parties are close to finalizing a deal, “although nothing has been signed at this point.” Vande Velde, who spends much of his season based in Gerona, Spain, said that he still has a year remaining on his current contract, “and some of those details need to be worked out,” before he can formally make the switch to the team now

Vande Velde

Ballerini in 2002

Geneviève Jeanson spent a good deal of time in the spotlight during 2003, and she wasn't always celebrating

Geneviève Jeanson was in the news a lot during 2003 - first, because she is one of Canada's biggest cycling stars, and second, because of the high hematocrit result she posted at the road world championships in Hamilton, which led to her withdrawal from the women's road race mere hours before its start. Although Jeanson tested negative in a subsequent doping control, the frenzy, particularly among the Quebec media, has taken a long time to die down. Jeanson has been sparing in her media contacts since, in part because of the Quebec College of Physicians' investigation of Maurice Duquette on

Tour of the Gila race director Jack Brennan has notified VeloNews that the Tour of the Gila will have a new title sponsor for the 2004 edition of the race. National Geographic Adventure magazine has signed on, replacing the Silver City Holiday Inn Express as title sponsor, with the motel remaining on board as a co-sponsor. Brennan explained that in a very unusual development, Mike Trumbull of the local Holiday Inn Express - the previous title sponsor - did the work to find the new one. Trumbull, who is chairman of the Silver City/Grant County Chamber of Commerce tourism committee, worked

Hi, Bob,I signed a contract with a cycling-related manufacturer to endorse their product. I believe in the product and have used it successfully for several years. At the end of the nine-page agreement there was a clause called Force Majeure. This clause contains language about fires, floods, wars, etc. What’s up with this, and how does it apply to the contract? Thanks in advance,B.D. Dear B.D.,I suspect the Force Majeure was included as simply as boilerplate. In law, the term “boilerplate” refers to standard language contained in a legal document that is identical to language used in

Who else could win the GP Sven Nijs?

Wellens was back on top Tuesday at the Azencross in Loenhout, Belgium

Berden, who won the last World Cup, settled for third

Why is this man smiling? Groenendaal finished 22nd

Page, meanwhile, scored another top-20 finish

Kovac charges up the hill to victory

Adham Sbeih tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) at the U.S. Elite Track National Championships August 26 in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee. The USOC announced Tuesday that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's review board had found that "sufficient evidence of doping exists to proceed further in seven cases," including Sbeih's. The 30-year-old Sacramento resident, who raced for Sierra Nevada-Clif Bar in 2003, won the individual pursuit at this year's nationals and rode on the championship-winning team-pursuit squad. He and the six others, all

Adham Sbeih racing at the 2003 track nationals

The bunch rolls through the start-finish

Ciaran Power (Navigators) was the emphatic winner of Rás Turcaí in Carraroe, Ireland, on Sunday. On a 10km circuit, Power took control over the 89-man field when he attacked on each climb of the six laps and comfortably set himself into a 20-second lead just after the halfway point. Power was reproducing the sort of form that saw him take two stages in last year's Milk Rás as he powered away to increase his lead to more than a minute at the finish. The former Ofoto Lombardia rider David O'Loughlin came second after taking the first prime of the day, but he couldn't match Power, who was a

Grishkin and Aitken – and a few of their closest friends - have at it in stage five

Erwin Vervecken, meanwhile, copped the last step on the podium

And Jonathan Page flew the stars and stripes to 19th place

Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) has been named cyclist of the year for 2003 by a panel of readers of the sporting newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. The Italian sprinter was favored by 31.7 percent of the 5527 people consulted on the Milanese daily newspaper’s website. Petacchi beat out compatriot Paolo Bettini, who garnered 23 percent of the votes, and American Lance Armstrong, who drew 19.3 percent. German Jan Ullrich got only 6.2 percent, while Italian Gilberto Simoni polled just 5.1 percent. Petacchi, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on January 3, won 24 times this

Wellens has been winning everything this season – until now

Today was Berden's day to shine

Richard Groenendaal shot away from the gun on Sunday

But he was shadowed by a host of Belgians, including the eventual winner, Ben Berden

Bart Wellens was having an off day, and could only manage fourth

The Health Net Pro Cycling Team, presented by Maxxis, announced on Thursday the signing of former Prime Alliance rider Danny Pate. The announcement came from Gregory Raifman, Chairman & CEO of Momentum Sports Group, LLC, a Piedmont, California, based company that owns and operates the Health Net cycling team. A resident of Colorado Springs, Pate, 24, has shown great promise as a professional, riding in Europe for Saeco in 2000 and returning to the U.S. to take the No. 2 ranking in the NRC Standings in 2002 while riding for Prime Alliance. To date, Pate is perhaps best known for his win at

Wellens claimed his fourth Superprestige race of the season

Vervecken found himself settling for the lowest step on the podium ...

... while Nijs missed the podium altogether

Vannoppen was right behind Nijs in fifth

U.S. champ Page wore his Santa hat for the Christmas Day race

De Clercq doesn't look overjoyed to finish second again

American cyclist David Clinger has sealed a ride with Mario Cipollini's Domina Vacanze team for next season, the Italian team announced Wednesday. The 26-year-old from California, a former member of U.S. Postal, has been a professional for six years and rode with the Festina team before moving to Postal in 2002. He left Postal to race for Prime Alliance during 2003. –Copyright 2003/AFP

Quark will pick up where Saturn is leaving off – Team Sports Inc. announced today that it has signed the shoe company to a three-year deal as the title sponsor of a women's pro cycling team. Canadian Lyne Bessette will captain the team, which has also signed 2003 national champion Sarah Uhl. Quark is negotiating with three other athletes and looking for two additional riders. The Quark team will kick off the 2004 season with a March training camp in California, and make its racing debut on March 13 at McClane Pacific, in Merced, California. Team Sports will manage the team; former Saturn

Armstrong: Looking for No. 6

Wellens did it again on Saturday

De Clercq had to settle for second

Groenendaal still can't get a break

And U.S. champ Page wasn't having a banner day, either

In fact, everyone had that look on his face ...

... even Wellens, who was winning

Although he signed with the domestic Health Net squad just six weeks ago, 26-year-old David Clinger is now rumored to be in negotiations with Mario Cipollini’s Domina Vacanze squad for the 2004 season. Health Net team management would neither confirm nor deny the rumor. “We can’t completely comment on that,” said Thierry Attias, President and COO of Momentum Sports Group, the organization that owns and runs the Health Net cycling team. “I’d say it’s half true. We have a completely valid and enforced contract with David. He does now have an opportunity to ride with Cipollini, and we’ve been

Clinger