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George Hincapie is ready for Sunday's Tour of Flanders after his strongshowing at Three Days of De Panne, where he finished third overall. A stomach virus forced Hincapie to skip Tirenno-Adriatico the week before the World Cup opener at Milan-San Remo on March 23, something that he said helpedin De Panne. "This was a good race for me. The first day I didn't feel super but the second day I felt better and today I felt much better.  I feel fresh having missed all of those races and now I'm here amped and excitedto race," "I think that has been the difference over the past years,"

One of the newest members of the U.S. Postal team is among 13 riders beingtargeted with lengthy bans for doping by the Italian cycling federation,sources in Rome said Friday. Gianpaolo Mondini, a 29-year-old former Tour de France stage winnerwho joined Armstrong's American team in the off-season, is threatened withup to a four-and-a-half-year ban following a request by the anti-dopingcommission of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). On Friday, CONI handed the files of the 13 accused riders, who fellvictim to a policeraid on team hotel rooms at San Remo during last year's Giro

"A leader who is charismatic, competitive, enthusiastic about thesport of cycling, competitions, athlete development, in addition to beingable to motivate everyone toward excellence and pride in his/her work,including one’s own, is a must."—From the convoluted help-wanted ad on USACycling's Web site, part of its search for a new CEO, which also said the ideal candidate should be “a successful communicator.” With fewer paying members than the Ramallah chapter of the Ariel Sharon Fan Club, and fewer sponsors than Pacifica Radio’s “Democracy Now!” USA Cycling has finally begun looking for a

Peter Van Petegem won a huge victory just three days before the Tour of Flanders, taking the overall title at the Three Days of De Panne in Thursday´s double-stage. Italian Fabio Baldato (Fassa Bortolo) won the morning road stage, but Van Petegem won the final time trial through the streets of De Panne to score the stage-win and the overall title. With Lotto teammate Andrei Tchmil out of Sunday´s second round of the World Cup, Van Petegem goes into Flanders as the top favorite. U.S. Postal´s George Hincapie put down the fastest time early in the time trial until Van Petegem came across and

Cycling's world governing body the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) on Thursday gave the thumbs-up to requests from teams and riders to increase out-of-competition testing for the banned endurance booster EPO (erythropoietin). "We were approached by riders, either directly or through their teams," Hein Verbruggen, the UCI president, told AFP. "And that request has officially been adopted by the organization which represents all the teams." The tests will be carried out in collaboration with the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) between April and August, meaning most of the one-day

Lithuanian Saulius Ruskys (Gerolsteiner) won Wednesday´s 232 km second stage of the Three Days of De Panne, but the big news was the crash by Belgian Andrei Tchmil Ruskys won a sprint over Belgians Tom Steels and Nico Eeckhout while Stefano Zanini, the winner of the first stage, retained the overall lead. The 39-year-old Tchmil -- a favorite for Sunday´s Tour of Flanders -- went down with six other racers – Belgians Chris Peers, Kritof Found, Italians Dario Pieri, Paolo Bossoni and Daniele Bennati as well as French racer Robert Sassone. Tchmil was the most seriously injured, with a double

Tchmil

Training Bible Studies with Joe Friel

Stefano Zanini (Mapei) narrowly defeated Lotto´s Peter Van Petegemin the opening stage of Threes Days of De Panne in Belgium on Tuesday.With the victory, Zanini joins a growing list of favorites for Sunday´sTour of Flanders. Van Petegem attacked hard with 10 kilometers to go in the 181-km stage between Moeskroen to Zottegem and only Zanini could follow, dropping a break that also included Andrei Tchmil (Lotto), Christophe Mengin (Française des Jeux) et du Slovène Andrej Hauptman (Tacconi),who crossed the line third. Van Petegem and Zanini worked together to holdoff the riders coming into the

Although she admits that “no one is going to clear me,” oft-concussed downhiller Missy Giove says she’s planning to race a full World Cup and NORBA schedule this year. “I don’t want to go out like I did last year,” said the 30-year-old, who crashed in sight of the finish line at the 2001 world championships. “Right now I’m riding better than ever.” Over the years, Giove has suffered multiple injuries, including three concussions at last year’s world’s alone. During the offseason she underwent a battery of tests on her brain, which have left her doctors concerned about her continued

Who had the best run in March?Well, after three events of VeloNews's virtual season series,the Bro Tour, Saturn's Lyne Bessette and Prime Alliance's Chris Hornerlead the stage race rankings.No surprise there, as Horner swept the three California stage races,Redlands, Sea Otter and Solano. Sea Otter winner Bessette, meanwhile, isin a tight race with teammate Judith Arndt, who won both Redlands and Solano.The Bro Tour is three race series in one: road race, criterium and stagerace. Based on carefully selected races, the Bro series is VeloNews's unofficialtracker for the domestic

Editor's note: Michael Scherer is an American who has beenliving and racing in Oostede, Belgium, for the past month. Originally from Casper, Wyoming, Scherer spent last season riding for Prime Alliance while living in Boulder, Colorado. He moved to Belgium this year to take the next step and "to prove that I have what it takes to be a bike racer." Schererwill be sending back regular updates throughout the season.Why I'm hereAmerican racing is great, but in Europe we will get to race muchfaster races, more often with a lot less travel in between. Hopefully,we will see the benefits.

There was plenty of racing action throughout Europe, headlined by LanceArmstrong's second-place finish in the Criterium International,March 30-31. Spanish rider Alberto Martinez (Euskaltel) beat thethree-time Tour champ by just one second."I felt good in the race," Armstrong said Sunday.  "Yesterday'sstage was not too difficult, therefore it was hard to judge my form, butthis morning's stage was a tough one and I was happy with what I felt. The time trial was a bit of a disappointment, as it's tough to lose byhalf a second, but if you asked me before if I thought I would be

We're pretty sure that by now you've heard that USA Cycling is searchingfor a new chief executive officer to replace Lisa Voight beginning in mid-June.In a posting on USACycling's Web site, the organization says the successful candidatewill face a wide range of tasks, including: working with the USAC boardto continue American successes in elite international competition whilesimultaneously growing the sport here at home; increasing the numbers ofboth members and sponsors; and “building the athlete-development pipeline”from grass-roots juniors to elite international competition.OK,

Your top two.

Armstrong says he's feeling fit.

Voight won the time trial.

Moncoutié won the morning stage.

“Down is to hell.” — Hattie, in “Nobody’s Fool,” by Richard Russo Before I hit the road for the 2002 Sea Otter Classic, my annual respitefrom the ravages of winter in Custer County, Colorado, the boys at VeloNews gave me a jingle. They were a man short of total coverage, and asked whether I’d bang out a quick 500-worder on the Otter’s mountain-cross competition, the latest and greatest entrant in the gravity grand prix.(See "Lopes,Chausson repeat in Sea Otter mountain cross") “Have some fun with it,” they urged. Well, with all respect to the Otter, the athletes and VeloNews,I suspect the

Going down, down, down...

Berges escapes

Carney takes the win.

Arndt and Tuetenberg.

Carney moving to the front.

The spoils of victory.

Tuetenberg sports the latest in aero' wear.

The kids get in on the action, too.

VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across something inthe pages of VeloNews magazine or see something on VeloNews.comthat causes you to want to write us, drop us a line at WebLetters@7Dogs.com.Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mail to thisaddress, you are consenting to the publication of your letter.A question of balanceEditor;I would like to respond to the remarks made by Gianna Roberge of Saturnin the Thursday piece about the Solano Bicycle Classic Women's race (See"Who else?Horner and Bessette atop podium at Solano.")Gianna claims that my actions in

Forced to take 15 days off the bike following his spill Tuesday in Setmana Catalana, Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) says he will certainly be at the May 11 start of the Giro d'Italia, but he's not sure how fit he'll be. "The big races for April are now a question mark. I don't like it but there's nothing I can do about it," Simoni told La Gazzetta dello Sport on Saturday. "All I can do is wait. I will try to pedal the bike on Monday, but if there's pain, I will stop right away. I just want to see how it feels. It's not worth risking further injury." The Giro

A number of top riders, including Kazakh title contenders Andrei Kivilev and Alexandre Vinokourov, have pulled out of this weekend's Criterium international race. Kivilev, who came in fourth overall in last year's Tour de France, is suffering from a virus according to his Cofidis team while Paris-Nice winner Vinokourov, who rides for Telekom, has an achilles problem. Also out are Swiss pair Oscar Camenzind (Phonak) and Alex Zulle (Team Coast). Camenzind reportedly has a cold while Zulle is suffering from a sore knee after a fall in training. Spaniard Abraham Olano (ONCE) has also

To say that Chris Horner is on a roll this spring is something of anunderstatement. A week after winning the Redlands Classic, he and his PrimeAlliance team stormed through the road events at Sea Otter. Now, Hornerseems in complete command of the Solano Classic. VeloNews’s NealRogers caught up with Horner both before the start and after the finishof Thursday’s road race at Solano.Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 8:30 a.m.VN: You’re off to an amazing start, winning the overall at Redlandsand the Sea Otter. What’s the secret to your early season success?Horner: [smiling]Totally relaxed…VN: Yeah? You

Lance Armstrong heads the lineup at the Criterium International, theso-called "mini-Tour de France" because the race features a flat stage,a climbing stage and an individual time trial, all the features of a majorstage-race.After a virus postponed his season debut until Milan-San Remo last weekend,it will be Armstrong's second appearance this season. Held this year near the French-Luxembourg border, Criterium International's climbing section the through the French Ardennes will be good preparation for the upcoming Classics. Saturday opens with a 192-km rolling stage starting and

Wohlberg

Tina Mayolo-Pic got a boost from the wind and then got to fight it back to the finish.

A slipped seatpost slowed Horner\'s progress.

World\'s number one, Judith Arndt

Wohlberg managed a strong start

A member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame who spent nearly 30 years on the lam from a drug-smuggling rap has pleaded guilty to federal charges of trafficking cocaine and failure to appear. Richard Gordon Bannister, 61, - better known to mountain-bike historians as Neil Murdoch, renowned for adding knobby tires and low gears to old coaster-brake bikes during the 1970s in Crested Butte, Colorado – entered his plea March 13 in federal court in Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to The Taos News, Bannister was charged in 1973 with smuggling 26 pounds of cocaine after U.S. Customs agents seized

Fraser and Sayers were convinced their teammates' break would stick

In fourth place, Palmer-Komar (left) earned the top non-Saturn spot on the results sheet.

Defending Giro d'Italia champion, Gilberto Simoni will be out of competition for at least two weeks, because of injuries sustained in a crash at Setmana Catalana, his team reported Thursday. Results of a medical exam earlier in the week suggest that the Saeco rider apparently suffered a small fracture in his leg as a result of the crash that forced his withdrawal from the early season stage race. “After carefully studying the scan (of the injury) we've discovered a micro fracture of the inside of the end of the thigh bone of the right knee," according to Simoni’s doctor Flavio

When all was said and done, only Mario Cipollini was faster than reigning U.S. champion Fred Rodriguez in the hotly contested 93rd Milan-San Remo on March 23. It was a dazzling result for the multi-lingual American now in his second season with Domo-Farm Frites. VeloNews's Andrew Hood spoke with Rodriguez from his home in Girona, Spain, on Monday about the race and his expectations for the 2002 season. Here are some excerpts from that conversation: How did you celebrate your ride at Milan-San Remo? "We drove back to Spain, not very exciting. My wife and Floyd Landis's wife came

Defending Giro d'Italia champion Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) didn'tstart Wednesday's stage of the 39th Setmana Catalana following his spillin the morning stage of Tuesday's two-part stage. Simoni crashed hard onhis right knee in the first sector and his knee didn't respond well toanti-inflammatories overnight.Saeco officials said it was better that Simoni not start than risk furtherinjury to the knee … With Simoni out, the SetmanaCatalana is with one less star in a race that many top riders choseto avoid, something that grates Vuelta a Espana director Enrique

Reigning World Cup and world mountain bike champion Roland Greenwas named Canadian Male Athlete of the Year on March 26th at the 29th AnnualCanadian Sports Awards sponsored by the Spirit of Sport Foundation. The 27-year-old native of Victoria, British Columbia, received the awardafter completing a year that included winning the World Mountain Bike Championship and the overall World Cup.The formal gala in Toronto featured a “who’s who” of Canada’s top athletes.The other nominees for Male Athlete of the Year included Olympians JeremyWotherspoon and Jasey-Jay Anderson. The Canadian Sports Awards

Training Bible Studies with Joe Friel

A conversation with Fred Rodriguez

Rodriguez likes the outfit and wants to keep it for another year.

Guerini held off Mercado up the Col de Pal.

Mercado holds the jersey

According to German television reports, Jan Ullrich’s knee injuryis more serious than originally thought. Ullrich didn’t start at Milan-San Remo after over-training caused pain in his knee. Team Telekom officialshad hoped Ullrich would be able to return to competition in April, butGerman TV reports that the 1997 Tour de France champion still has not trainedseriously on the bicycle and has been limited to working out in a swimmingpool. Mapei pushed to victory in the morning team time trial at the opening day of the five-day Coppi-Bartali in Italy on Tuesday. The five-man team, powered by none

Juan Carlos Dominguez

Simoni remounted and was able to finish the stage

Still basking in the afterglow of his dramatic victory at the93rd Milan-San Remo on Saturday, Mario Cipollini now says he willcertainly compete in the world championships in Zolder, Belgium in October."The worlds will be my Milan-San Remo of the autumn," Cipollini toldLa Gazzetta dello Sport. "It's a course well-suited for a sprinterand I will prepare 100 percent for it."Now that Super Mario is overall leader of the 2002 World Cup, Cipollinisaid he will race at Tour of Flanders (April 7) and possibly Paris-Roubaix(April 14). He said he will also race Ghent-Wevelgem, a race he's won

Rabobank's Erik Dekker, who broke his femur during last week's Milan-SanRemo Classic, took the number one spot in the world cycling rankings for the first time in his career Monday.The 31-year-old Rabobank rider pushes Germany's Erik Zabel out of thespot he has held since last year into second thanks to his win in the Tirreno-Adriatico race last Wednesday.Dekker, who turned professional ten years ago, is the current World Cup leader, but could lose ground as he will miss all the spring classicsnotably the Amstel Gold Race which he won last year and the Tour of Flanders,where he

Chausson chases down Miller.

The lead group in the men's race.

Chausson won her second-straight Sea Otter slalom.

Gracia made it a VC sweep.

King is examined after his crash.

King's loaded onto an ambulance.

Hesjedal leads the short track.

Brentjens remains the overall leader.

The final six in the women's race.

Besssette

Rings around Genevieve. Everywhere Jeanson looked there would be a Saturn jersey.

Chausson wins again.

Rennie earned his second Sea Otter win.

What happens when you land on your face.

Green leads early.

Alexander leads the ladies, with Dunlap right on her wheel.

O'Bee

And the winner is....

Mari Holden, Sue Palmer-Komar and Kimberly Bruckner

Jeanson gambled and lost.