The arrival of Iban Mayo helps bolster Saunier Duval-Prodir as a major player going into the 2007 season and gives the Spanish team more options in the grand tours. With Gilberto Simoni focusing on the Giro d’Italia and rising star José Ángel Goméz Marchante the man for the Vuelta a España, team management can only hope the troubled Basque climber can return to the same heights he enjoyed when winning Alpe d’Huez at the 2003 Tour and the overall at the 2004 Dauphiné Libéré. “Mayo is a major ‘star’ but we have 28 riders on this team who will be able to achieve goals,” said Saunier

Unibet sprinter Baden Cooke underlined his early season ambitions by claiming a well-deserved victory onthe rain-soaked third stage of the Tour Down Under Friday. Cooke, a former Tour de France green jersey winner, flew first over the finish line of the 128km stage, drenched but happy having stayed true to his morning pledge to claim a win in the early part of the season. Five seconds further back was Australian Chris Jongewaard (UniSA), one of six riders contending the finale, who was initially part of a 19-man breakaway but whose powerful riding left the peloton trailing 14 minutes

Young Belgian Steven Caethoven swept past two-time race winner Stuart O'Grady less than 300 meters from the finish line to claim victory in stage two of the Tour Down Under Thursday. A textbook team tactic by Caethoven's Chocolade Jacques riders stunned the Australian after he had led a brave attack to close out the day's racing. CSC team leader O'Grady had worked hard throughout the day in pursuit of a stage win, a consolation of sorts after he finished Wednesday’s stage more than 26 minutes in arrears. However, O’Grady’s hopes were scuppered when Pieter Ghyllebert, one

A successful early breakaway effort blew a hole in the hopes of many race favorites at Australia’s Tour Down Under on Wednesday as powerful Tasmanian rider Karl Menzies claimed one of the biggest wins of his career. The UniSA rider held off Swiss ace Martin Elmiger (Ag2r) in a sprint for the line and then exploded with joy after picking up the race leader's ochre jersey. "This is as big as it gets for me, this is the best result for a long way," beamed the big 29-year-old, who finished more than 26 minutes ahead of 93 of the race's 111 riders. “That was everything I had on Sunday at

Saul Raisin - the 25-year-old American climber who nearly died from a brain hemorrhage after a high-speed crash last April – continues to defy expectations. This week, Raisin joined his Crédit Agricole teammates for the team’s preseason camp along France’s Cote d’Azur and is laying plans for a comeback to racing this season. “I’ve just been surprising everyone, including myself on how well I am doing,” Raisin told VeloNews. “The doctors can’t believe it. Statistically, I should be dead or in a wheelchair. At first I just wanted to be able to live a normal life again. Now I think I can race

Australian sprinter Mark Renshaw announced his aims for the five-day Tour Down Under stage race by winning a 50km inner-city criterium in Adelaide, Australia on Tuesday. The on-form Credit Agricole rider got the better of sprint heavyweight Robbie McEwen in a tight bunch finish to continue his sizzling early season form. The criterium is classified as the TDU’s “prelude,” and does not count toward the Tour’s overall classification. Hilton Clarke, of Navigators, finished second just ahead of SouthAustralia.com rider Simon Clarke, a promising 20-year-old who is no relation. Early in the race

LOS ANGELES, January 16, 2007 – Joining previously announced DiscoveryChannel Pro Cycling Team, Team CSC, Predictor-Lotto and Health Net ProCycling Team, 14 additional teams, including U.S. teams Toyota-United ProCycling Team, Jelly Belly Cycling Team and Colavita/Sutter Home Presentedby Cooking Light Team, have been confirmed for the 2007 Amgen Tour of Californiaby AEG, promoter and operator of the professional cycling race.  The650-mile, eight-day stage race, modeled after the Tour de France, willfeature 18 of the world’s top professional teams racing from San Franciscoto Long Beach

Veterans Robbie McEwen and Stuart O'Grady are among the favorites whenthey saddle up for Australia's Tour Down Under on Wednesday. Sprint king McEwen is well known for his exploits at the Giro d'Italiaand his three points jersey wins at the Tour de France. But McEwen, whowill debut his Predictor-Lotto team's new pink and black jersey this week,has big obstacles to overcome if he hopes to extend his record tally of11 stage wins at this five-day home race. The Belgium-based Australianfailed to win any stages last year, when the speed of Allan Davis, ridinghere for the UniSA

Twenty-three-year-old Darren Lapthorne claimed the biggest success of his career to win the 163km men's elite road race at the 2007 Australian Open Road Championships in Bunninyong, near Ballarat, Victoria, on Sunday. "It's the happiest day of my life," said Lapthorne who is studying a Bachelor of Business at RMIT in tandem with pursuing his cycling career. "It is an unbelievable moment for me and I'll never forget it." Lapthorne crossed the line well clear at the end of 16 laps in a time of 4hr16min18sec with his Drapac Porsche teammate and Barcelona Olympian, Robert McLachlan,

Olympic and Commonwealth Games track star, Katie Mactier and Wesley Sulzberger claimed top honors in the women’s and U23 men’s races at the Australian Open Road Championships in Bunninyong, near Ballarat, Victoria on Saturday. The 31-year-old Mactier, the 2001 road champion, out gunned eleven rivals, including the reigning Olympic and reigning Commonwealth Games road Champions, to win the title in a time of 3hr10min35sec ahead of 2003 U23 Olympic Distance Triathlon World Champion, Nikki Egyed, 24, with Mactier's Victorian teammate Emma Rickards third. "When you come out and take a win

European countries held their national championship events for elite men’s cyclo-cross on Sunday. In the most closely watched contest of the weekend, Bart Wellens (Fidea) earned his third national championship, winning the prestigious Belgian title ahead of teammate Klaas Vantornout and Rabobank’s Sven Nys. Wellens win denied Nys the chance to earn a rare cyclo-cross hat trick, winning the Belgian, world and World Cup titles in a single season. Nys, who crashed early in the race on Sunday, has a solid lead in the World Cup series and is considered one of the favorites for the world

AEG, HEALTH NET ANNOUNCE CYCLING TEAM'S ADDITION TO 2007 AMGEN TOUROF CALIFORNIAFounding Partner Health Net Will Also Present Free-to-the-PublicLifestyle Festival at the Finish Line in Each Host CityLOS ANGELES, January 4, 2007 – The Health Net Pro Cycling TeamPresented by Maxxis will again be one of the professional cycling teamsracing in the Amgen Tour of California, it was announced by Health Netof California and AEG, presenters of the 8-day, 650-mile road race.Health Net also will return as one of the event’s "founding partners,"which will include sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of

TWO WORLD CHAMPIONS HEADLINE U.S. ROSTER FOR LOS ANGELES WORLD CUPSeven Southern California Residents to Compete in Third Round of International Track SeriesColorado Springs, Colo. (January 2, 2007)—Two reigning worldchampions highlight the U.S. roster as USA Cycling confirmed today the18 Americans that will compete at the third round of the 2006-07 UCI TrackWorld Cup Classics series at the ADT Event Center in Carson, Calif. January19-21.Current individual pursuit world champion and American record holder,Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif.), will compete for her OUCH Pro Cyclingsquad and reigning

Until recently, Graeme Brown was considered to be something of an underachiever as a top-level road sprinter. At least that was the thinking of the managers at his Dutch Rabobank team, as Brown revealed in an interview with former VeloNews European correspondent Rupert Guinness in December. Brown and Rabobank were set to part ways at the end of the ’06 season, when the man from New South Wales befuddled his bosses by stepping up to the plate and pulling off three impressive end-of-season wins in Europe. Suddenly there was renewed interest at Rabobank and the team inked a new road contract

The end of the year always provides us with the opportunity to look backover the past season and choose those people and events that stand outin our own minds. What follows is more of what we, as editors of VeloNews,saw as the highlights of the domestic road scene in 2006. See if you agreeand take the time to read our complete 2006 awards in the latest issueof VeloNews. BEST WEEK OF RACING: From the prologue finishing atop San Francisco’sCoit Tower to the final circuits in Redondo Beach a week later, the inauguralAmgen Tour of California set the bar high for American racing. ProTourstars

The end of the year always provides us with the opportunity to look back over the past season and choose those people and events that stand out in our own minds. What follows is a list of what we, as editors of VeloNews, saw as the highlights of the domestic road scene in 2006. See if you agree and take the time to read our complete 2006 awards in the latest issue of VeloNews. COMEBACK OF THE YEAR: Health Net-Maxxis rider Greg Henderson broke his hip at the McClane Pacific Criterium on March 4, but initial x-rays missed the fracture. Henderson continued racing until an MRI revealed the

How do you choose a North American Female Cyclist of the Year in a season when Kristin Armstrong, Sarah Hammer and Jill Kintner all won world championships? The answer is, we didn’t. Instead, VeloNews chose to honor all three for their remarkable accomplishments and brought them together in November for a photo shoot. During a few hours together on a warm, sunny day in Dana Point, California, the women discussed, among other things, cycling’s most fashionable accessory: the rainbow jersey. Armstrong, the world time-trial champ, and Hammer, the world individual pursuit champion, rode together

These days, the alleged humorist Patrick O’Grady is generally confined to soiling the virtual sandbox here at VeloNews.com, where subscriptions are not at risk. His "contribution" to VeloNews the magazine normally consists of an editorial cartoon so severely downsized over the years that its mostly masters-age, easily enraged audience can’t read it without an electron microscope. Nevertheless, once a year the belligerent bog-trotter is freed from his digital dungeon to present the O’Grady Awards, and for this we are heartily sorry. — The Editors Just How Many Fools Are There On This Hill?

Talking with Colorado-based Irishman Alan McCormack at the recent Coors Classic reunion, it was as if the stage in which he had a brush with death was only yesterday instead of 18 years ago. McCormack, who raced for the Killian’s Red team, recalled his fall on the final turn of the 1988 Reno Criterium where he was shooting for the stage win with Davis Phinney and Steve Bauer. “I was out the saddle, sprinting through the corner, when my Campag gear got stuck between cogs,” he said in his still broad Irish brogue. “Someone stole my helmet right before the start, and I landed on my head, got a

Katie Compton took her third successive national cyclo-cross title Sunday, after riding in a solo breakaway for most of the day and the U.S. championships in Providence, Rhode Island.

Dutch track cycling star Theo Bos on Saturday set a new world record for the 200 metres flying start in a time of 9.772 seconds. Bos set the new benchmark during the second leg of the track cycling World Cup here, smashing the 11-year record of Canadian Curt Harnett, who clocked 9.865 seconds at altitude in Bogota, Colombia, on September 28, 1995. Bos, the 23-year-old world champion in the men's coveted speed events of the sprint and keirin, came close to topping Harnett's record in the morning heats for Saturday's race, in a time of 9.892. That time was the fastest ever

As he has done all season, Ryan Trebon wasted little time in laying waste to the elite men’s field at the 2006 cyclo-cross national championship in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday. Along with his Kona teammate Barry Wicks and New Englander Mark McCormack (Clif Bar), the 6-foot-5 Trebon sprinted to the head of the men’s field from the gun. But midway around the first loop through Roger Williams Park, Trebon displayed the power output of his long legs, and sped away in a gear owned by no other man in the 114-strong field had.

National Champions Sign to 2007 Roster for Kelly Benefit StrategiesPro Cycling TeamNew Co-Title Sponsor Announced; Team Name ChangeMinneapolis, Min., December 15, 2006 – The Kelly Benefit Strategiespro cycling team, one of the newest pro teams on the national racing circuit,today announces finalization of the 2007 roster – including two marqueeformer pro national champions – and the name-changing addition of a co-titlesponsor.Maryland-based Medifast, the country’s leading manufacturer of clinicallyproven meal replacement programs, joins Kelly Benefit Strategies as co-titlesponsor creating the

The bowl-shaped heart of Roger Williams park in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, turned into something of a one-ringed circus of ’cross Friday, as 692 masters, competing in 15 age-grouped races, kicked off the 2006 cyclo-cross national championships. Indeed, the master’s men 30-34, 40-45 and 45-49 age-group races bore the appearance of real circus processions, as all three boasted swollen 100-plus fields that could stretch halfway around the course if uninterrupted.

South Korea's Jang Sun Jae on Thursday became only the third cyclist in Asian Games history, and the first in 36 years, to win three or more golds at the same games. Jang went into the record books — and celebrated his 22nd birthday in style — when he won the Madison on the last day of action at the ASPIRE velodrome. He was already a gold medalist in the individual and the team pursuit and on Thursday teamed up with Park Sung Baek to win the Madison with 35 points. Kazakhstan took silver with Ilya Chernyshov claiming his third medal of the games following his team road race time-trial

SAN FRANCISCO -- Former elite cyclist Tammy Thomas was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges of hindering the government's steroid probe. Thomas, 36, is accused of three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury investigating a steroid ring that spanned across many sports. The indictment adds cycling, a sport often associated with doping, to a probe that has exposed steroid use in professional baseball, football and track and field. Thomas was banned for life in August 2002 after testing positive for the

Organizers unveiled the 2007 Vuelta a España route on Wednesday, with three mountaintop finishes among the highlights, including the return of the punishing Lagos de Covadonga ascent. The three-week race gets under way September 1 in the port city of Vigo, in the northwest province of Galicia. The finale to the 21-stage race will be the traditional finish in Madrid on September 23. But it's the first week of the 3,241km race, and the return of the Lagos de Covadonga as part of the arduous 182km fourth stage, that has next year's challengers excited. ''It will be great for

China's Guo Shuang outraced compatriot Gong Jinjie in the finals of the women’s sprint at the 15th Asian Games in Qatar on Wednesday. The 20-year-old Guo took the gold in two straight races, winning the second in 11.986 seconds. South Korea's You Jin A took the bronze. It was Guo’s second gold of this year’s games. She won the 500-meter time trial on Saturday, setting an Asian Games record of 35.175 seconds. In the men’s sprint, Japan's Tsubasa Kitatsuru took the gold ahead of South Korea's Choi Lae-seon. China's Tang Qi collected the bronze. Meanwhile, Cheung King

2007 USA CYCLING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR ANNOUNCEDMore than 650 National Titles in Road, Track, Mountain Bike, BMXand Cyclo-cross on the LineColorado Springs, Colo. (December 11, 2006)— More than 650 nationaltitles will be on the line next year as USA Cycling announced its 2007National Championship Calendar Monday.The 13-race calendar offers an opportunity for competitive cyclistsof all ages, abilities and disciplines to compete for a coveted stars-and-stripesjersey that signifies a national champion.  In 2007, USA Cycling willfeature national championship events in the five recognized

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside

Tour de France sprint champion Robbie McEwen has been confirmed to spearhead his team's bid for stage victories at the Tour Down Under, to be held over a week of sun-soaked racing in January. McEwen won the Tour de France green jersey, the sprinters' top prize, for the third time this year, along with three stages and three stages at the Giro d'Italia. The 34-year-old could appear as one of the big names at the Tour Down Under, held around Adelaide on January 16-21, wearing a re-designed team jersey. Lotto, McEwen's team for the past few seasons, has a new main sponsor in

VeloNews Chosen to Produce Official Amgen Tour of California GuideFor immediate release:December 6, 2006 Boulder, CO – The Amgen Tour of California, North America’spremier professional stage race, has chosen VeloNews to produce its officialevent guide. Hitting the roads from February 18-25, the 2007 event willbe even bigger than the 2006 inaugural race, which saw an estimated 1.3million spectators watch the eight-day stage race. The 2007 Amgen Tourof California will again host 16 professional teams, headed by the world’stop UCI ProTour teams CSC and Discovery Channel, which are making the

Six new cities, an increase in difficulty, a reshuffling of stages and a new, elaborate network television contract were unveiled Wednesday for the second Amgen Tour of California. Veteran pro Mike Sayers (BMC Cycling) was the only pending race competitor present among a dozen city officials and sponsor representatives as the route was detailed in the new City Hall chambers in Sacramento, where the second stage will conclude. Sacramento, Stockton, Seaside, Solvang, Santa Clarita and Long Beach are new venues. San Francisco, Sausalito, Santa Rosa, San Jose, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara

Few of the hundreds of journalists and cycling dignitaries who attended the unveiling of the 2007 Giro d’Italia in Milan on Saturday would disagree with the view that there’s likely to be a repeat winner. The past seven editions of the Giro d’Italia have been won by five Italian racers — Ivan Basso (2006), Paolo Savoldelli (2005 and 2002), Damiano Cunego (2004), Gilberto Simoni (2003 and 2001) and Stefano Garzelli (2000) — all of whom posed for the paparazzi in the futuristic Teatro degli Arciboldi on December 2. Those five men were the headliners at the glitzy gathering — particularly

The Spike professional cycling team has lost its title sponsor, according to director Bill Ramsay. Ramsay’s Cody Racing Inc. and Biotest Laboratories, both of Colorado Springs, Colorado, had a three-year contract to support the pro track-racing team, according to Ramsay. But Biotest chose to exercise its dissolution option on November 30, and Ramsay is scrambling to find a new title sponsor to rescue his program, which has signed secondary sponsors and athletes for the 2007 season. “This decision has left the best sprint athletes in America without the professional team and commitment they

Mayuko Hagiwara won Japan's first Asian Games gold medal in women's road cycling on Monday in Doha, Qatar, when a solo attack with 10km left allowed her to upstage her more fancied rivals. The 2004 Asian junior champion covered the 113.1km course in 3:06:10. China's Zhao Na took silver at 1:25 back while a photo-finish decided that South Korea's Han Song Hee had pipped Japan's Miho Oki for bronze. Kazakhstan's Zulfiya Zabirova, the pre-race favorite, was sixth. "I received a lot of support from my team, my partner and supervisor," said Hagiwara, a 20-year-old

When Steve Tilford crashed his bike into an icy lake on the second lap of Sunday’s KLM Marketing UCI Cyclocross Race, his first instinct was to get back on and start racing. A warm blanket and some dry clothing would have to wait. The Trek-Volkswagen rider from Topeka, Kansas, had another epic chapter to write in his already-storied career, which includes five world mountain-bike and four national cyclo-cross titles. Tilford tossed his waterlogged bike out of the lake and after just one lap on the 2.5km course had chased down and passed Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific-Salsa) en route to

Things to consider on a descentDear Lennard,What speed can a standard road bike achieve? I know there are a lotof factors. I am a 125 lb. rider and my max is 56.8 mph on a long downhill.I am talking standard road-race bike and attire. At what speed will a standard bike and rider's drag keep him from going any faster?It's hard to word this but I think you know what I mean.Chris Dear Chris,Yes, I can figure out what you are asking.When cycling, you must consider the forces of rolling resistance, airresistance and gravity, which when added together, give the power the riderputs out to

While the sunny skies and high temperatures made it feel more like an early-season race, Saturday’s Gear Works Bay State Cyclocross packed all the punch of a classic East Coast ‘cross throwdown. Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com), won their respective races in round 5 of the 2006 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series, though under very different circumstances. The flowing Chocksett School course offered few technical challenges, instead rewarding flat-out strength and speed. Those requirements fit perfectly into Bessette’s skill

Sven Nys (Rabobank) displayed his dominance once again in round six of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup on Saturday, riding away from an elite lead group to a solo victory in Koksijde, Belgium. The World Cup leader and Belgian national champion had been at the head of a lead group containing teammates Gerben De Knegt and Sven Vanthourenhout, Bart Wellens (Fidea), and John Gadret (Ag2r Prevoyance). With five laps to go, Nys had begun chipping away at the group, and a lap later it was three Rabobank riders off the front through the start-finish area. Then Nys stepped on the gas, leaving his

Australia finished the top nation in this weekend's opening round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics in Sydney, propelled by its women riders. Australia's women won four gold medals and their consistent performances across the board lifted the team to 103 points to finish four points clear of defending series champion the Netherlands after 16 events over three days. Russia finished third with 90 points ahead of Germany (75), France (54) and Great Britain (50). The highlight of the round was the world record ride by Australian Anna Meares, whose time of 33.944 seconds for

At the final race of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross series, held Sunday near Portland, Oregon, race organizers finally got the muddy conditions ’cross is known for. The series final, the Scion Stumptown Cup, held on the grounds of the Hillsboro Stadium, provided the wet, slippery conditions mechanics dread and photographers embrace. "If every day is a fair-weather day, these guys can’t go to Belgium and expect to be ready to race," said series director Bruce Fina. "To be honest with you, if I could race any single day of the series, I would race on this day, because of the

Anna Meares, Australia's Olympic and Commonwealth Games track cycling champion, set a world record for the women's 500-meter time trial on Saturday. Meares clocked a time of 33.944 seconds to break her own world record by eight one-thousandths of a second in the final of the event at the UCI World Cup track meet in Sydney. The 23-year-old Queenslander set her last world record when she won gold at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Meares beat reigning world champion Natalia Tsylinskaya of Belarus in the final, and her achievement was all the more welcome after a back injury last

It takes a lot to keep Kona’s Ryan Trebon from winning a cyclo-cross race in the U.S in 2006. Thus far it’s happened twice this season: at the UCI-sanctioned Whitmore's Super Cross Cup in Southampton, New York, on October 1, when a week spent at Interbike and a hard-charging Tim Johnson got the better of him; and at the November 5 Boulder Cup, round four of the 2006 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, when mechanical problems sent Trebon into the pits five times. The latest attempt to derail Trebon’s nearly spotless domestic ’cross campaign was a bad sushi roll eaten for dinner

The national Crank Brothers U.S.Gran Prix of Cyclocross heads to the Pacific Northwest this weekend,and to no one’s surprise, rain and muddy conditions are expected. Whilethe forecast for Saturday’s RadCup Presented by Seasoned Skewers in Tacoma, Washington, is mostlycloudy with a high of 50 degrees, rain is expected at Sunday’s ScionStumptown Cup in Hillsboro near Portland, Oregon. With 11 inches ofrainwater in the past 16 days soaking up both courses, conditions are expectedto favor riders with a taste for mud. On a weekend that favors those with superior handling and running skills, riders

World champion Theo Bos of the Netherlands won the keirin, beating close rival and Olympic champion Ryan Bayley on the opening night of the UCI World Cup track cycling leg in Sydney on Friday. Bayley was awarded the silver medal despite fellow Australian rider Mark French crossing the line in second place behind Bos. French was relegated from second to sixth place after he was ruled to have caused interference two laps from the finish of the final, with former world champion Rene Wolff taking the bronze medal. Bos made his move two laps from home and proved to strong, holding off strong

Australia's Olympic champion Ryan Bayley and Dutch world champion Theo Bos will highlight the opening round of the four-leg UCI World Cup track cycling in the keirin and team sprint events in Sydney on Friday. The pair's sprint match-ups have been some of the closest fought in the track cycling with Bayley upstaging the then reigning world champion Bos at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Bos is the current world champion for the sprint and the keirin but missed a medal in the teams sprint at this year's world championships in Bordeaux when the Australians defeated the Netherlands in

An associate of Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who tested positive on his way to victory in this year's race, was reported Tuesday to be under suspicion of hacking into the computer system at the French national doping testing laboratory (LNDD) of Chatenay-Malabry near Paris. Laboratory director Jacques de Ceaurriz confirmed to AFP that an investigation had begun after the discovery that their computer system had been accessed from outside. The affair is being handled by OCLCTIC, the main national investigating body in the fight against cybercrime incidents. "An inquiry is under

When a mid-November cyclocross in Pennsylvania has a forecast calling for clear skies and 70-degree temperatures, it has the potential to be a special day. When that same event has a pre-registration list that includes riders from two continents, five UCI cyclo-cross winners, the winner of one of the richest criteriums in the world and a Pro Tour team leader — it’s pretty clear that the race is a cut above the ordinary. But when the announcers at Saturday’s Verge MAC powered by Hammer Nutrition Lower Allen Classic started the race day by paying homage to VeloNews editor at large Patrick

Dickey, White triumph at Cycle-SmartA new generation of New England cyclo-crossers broke through at round four of the 2006 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series, the 16th Annual Cycle-Smart International in Northampton, Massachusetts, Mackenzie Dickey (Verge) and Matt White (FiordiFrutta), both under 25, turned in dominant performances on the Look Park course, which featured endless twists and turns. Dickey rode a nearly flawless race, pushing the pace from the first lap and forcing her rivals into mistakes along the way. Amy Wallace (RGM Watches-Richards Sachs-Rex Chiu) looked

This past weekend, Colorado's Front Range hosted rounds three and four of the 2006 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, the first time national-caliber ’cross had visited the state since the 2000 SuperCup kicked off in Boulder. More than 100 men and 50 women contested the elite races, including virtually all of the top U.S. ’crossers. And with all this talent descending into VeloNews territory, most of the staff had a chance to report on some aspect of the events. Today, we'll highlight some of the top riders' equipment. While elite racers showed up with two or even

Hector Leonardo Paez (Full Dynamix) easily held off a concerted effort by local Costa Rican teams in the final day of La Ruta de los Conquistadors to win the overall title. Locals managed to salvage a modicum of pride when second-placed GC rider Andrei Amador (BCR-Pizza Hut) broke away in the final kilometers to win the final stage. Marga Fedyna (bungalowboys.com) took her third consecutive stage win to dominate the women's competition. The 122 kilometer final stage is the longest, but generally slopes downhill to the finish at the Caribbean beach resort of Playa Bonita after an

Katie Compton (Spike-Primus Mootry) had to dig a little deeper in Sunday’s Boulder Cup to shell a gritty Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com), intent on avenging her loss on Saturday at Longmont’s Xilinx Cup. Team Kona repeated its victory of the previous day, too. But it was not the white-clad U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross series leader, Ryan Trebon, crossing the line first at Boulder’s Harlow Platts Park — it was teammate Barry Wicks, collecting his first win in the 2006 USGP. After simply riding away from the field on Saturday, U.S. national champion Compton was clearly the woman to beat

One can forgive the thick crowds at the third round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross if they were hoping for more competitive battles in the elite men’s and women’s races Saturday at the Xilinx Cup in Longmont, Colorado. Instead, spectators bore witness to a pair of dominating performances by two of the strongest Americans perhaps to ever race cyclo-cross. The day’s winners, series leader Ryan Trebon (Kona) and U.S. women’s national champion Katie Compton (Spike-Primus Mootry), took wins in similar fashion, riding away from their respective fields early to finish alone by

National-level cyclo-cross racing returns to Colorado’s Front Range this weekend as the second round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross lands in Longmont and Boulder, 30 minutes north of Denver. Round 3 of the USGP, the Xilinx Cup, will be held Saturday in Longmont, with round 4, the Boulder Cup, slated Sunday in the talent-rich racing community of Boulder. This weekend marks the first national-level cyclo-cross event held in Boulder, home of VeloNews, since the November 2000 round of the former SuperCup, when then-national champion Marc Gullickson defeated Tim Johnson.

Edmonton, Alberta (AP) — Olympic champion cyclist Lori-Ann Muenzer has decided she won't try to defy the odds one more time. Muenzer, who won the sprint gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games at the age of 38, announced on Monday she is retiring from cycling. She plans to concentrate on her company Pure Momentum Inc., which promotes Canadian female motivational speakers, and devote time to a program she's established to develop young cyclists. “I really thought long and hard about it,” Muenzer said. “To be able to have the ultimate performance you have to have so many things in

U.S. champs rule Boulder CyclocrossA pair of U.S. national champions took top honors on Sunday at the Boulder Cyclocross race at the Boulder Reservoir. Todd Wells (GT) won the open men’s race, attacking halfway through the hourlong race to finish solo. A minute later, Danish ’cross champion Joachim Parbo edged Boulder’s Jonathan Baker (Harshman Wealth Management) for second in the sprint to the finish. Wells was the only guy bunny-hopping the boat-dock obstacle, and it paid off. "[The barrier] was the only place to really open up a gap, because there were so many straight, paved sections

Next year’s Tour de France doesn’t include any of the rumored features. No Paris-Roubaix cobbles. No team time trial. No Puy-de-Dôme. No climb over the unpaved Colle della Finestre in Italy. No Mont Ventoux. Even so, the 2007 Tour route announced last Thursday in Paris does include a host of unexpected challenges that could produce a race as tumultuous as any Tour in the past decade. But the bigger questions, particularly for American fans, are: (1) can the 2006 Tour-champion-in-limbo Floyd Landis win his appeal against a drugs violation, fully recover from his hip surgery, and find a team

Twenty-three-year-old Radomir Simunek Jr. (Palmans-Collstrop) won the third round of the UCI World Cup cyclo-cross series held Saturday in the Czech Republic. Simunek celebrated his first World Cup win in front of a Czech crowd at the site of the 2001 World Championships in Tabor. Simunek joined an early attack by Bart Wellens (Fidea)and rode with the former world champion for the bulk of the hour-long event. Simunek, however, proved to be the stronger of the two on Saturday and he powered away from the Belgian on the final lap. "I tried a little acceleration," Simunek said, "and I found I

A bright, vibrant light has gone out in the cycling community as well asin the community of cancer survivors.Karen Hornbostel, a four-time master’s national road champion and recipientof the 2003 Lance Armstrong Spirit of Survivorship award passed away peacefullyat home in Littleton, Colorado, surrounded by family and friends on Tuesday,October 24, eight days past her 54th birthday. She had battled metastaticbreast cancer for over 13 years. Hornbostel made a difference in the cyclingcommunity with her devotion to improving opportunities for women in cyclingas well as with her infectious wit

Given the doubts surrounding 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, thestill uncertain fallout from the Operación Puerto dopinginvestigation and the grand tours continuing power struggle with the UCIProTour, this Thursday’s 2007 Tour de France presentation in  Pariscan only be contentious. It’s rumored that Landis won’t even get a mention in this year’s Tourvideo produced by race organizer ASO, while a big asterisk will replacehis name in the official list of winners. And, like last year, new racedirector Christian Prudhomme will no doubt have some strong words to sayabout the sport’s

Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Katie Compton (Spike Professional-Primus Mootry) did it again on Sunday as the Verge MAC Cyclocross Series moved north for round two of its 2006 campaign. The Wissahickon Cyclocross, held at Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show and Country Fair Ground, offered a course that was more windswept and less steep than the one the two ruled on Saturday at Granouge Estate near Wilmington, Delaware. And the racing proved different, too — in the women’s race, at least. Canadian champ Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Compton quickly gapped U.S. mountain-bike champion Georgia Gould

Final standings are in from the 2006 Women’s Prestige Cycling Series (www.womencyclists.com),and showing the parity in domestic women’s road racing, four differentteams took category titles. At September’s Hurricane Florence-shortenedCD&P Bermuda Grand Prix, Webcor-Platinum came from behind to claimthe team title, while an absent world time-trial champion Kristin Armstrong(Lipton) retained her individual lead. The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series began at the Nature Valley GrandFinal 2007 NRC RankingIndividual Women1. Tina Pic, Colavita-Cooking Light, 2106 points2. Kristin Armstrong, Lipton,

Remembering Jon Jonathan Dechau was a friend of mine. Like many, I was shocked tohear of hispassing. I hadn’t talked to him a couple of years and it was a shockfor me to come across it on all the cycling websites. It was almost surreal.Jon and I had both started out racing in New England and had gotten toknow each other. I got to thinking about Jon again after recent developments.Years ago Jon and I were both chasing the dream. We were bothracing the better part of the NRC schedule that year and seeing each otherat all the events. In that same year the Olympic trials were held in

Tom Boonen has signed up to take part in a 10-hour endurance race at the wheel of a Porsche 996, the former world cycling champion reported on Thursday. The 25-year-old Quick Step rider is normally known for his prowess in one-day cycling classics and can count the prestigious Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders and world road race crowns among his list of honors. Now with the season drawing to a close Boonen will team up with Belgian pair Bert Longin and Anthony Kumpen, the national touring endurance champion,for the race which will be held at the Zolder race track - which coincidentally

CLIF BAR’s Development Cyclo-Cross Team Starts Global Cooling, Starts Season Boulder, Colorado October, 2006—When the members of the TIAACREF/CLIF BAR Cyclo-Cross Team rolled to the start line in Gloucester, MA for the opening round of the 2006 Crank Brothers US Gran Prix of Cyclo-Cross Series, they not only began the third season for the national-level development program, but also set off on a pioneering environmental sustainability mission. The American Cycling Association’s Junior and Under-23 cyclo-cross development program took inspiration from CLIF BAR’s exemplary sustainability

Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Tim Johnson (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com) doubled up in Maine on Sunday, winning day two of the Downeast Cyclocross in New Gloucester, Maine, the second round of the Verge New England Championship Cyclo-cross Series. Bessette was well warmed and ready to go for the women's race, having competed in the men's B race just beforehand. After the start and the first tour in the woods, she and Katerina Nash (Luna) reprised Saturday’s battle at the front, leaving the rest of the riders to chase. Unlike Saturday, however, Bessette could not get rid

Passions were running high in Mendrisio, Switzerland on Friday 24 hours before the UCI ProTour comes to its climax in the 100th edition of the Tour of Lombardy. First, a “reprieved” Ivan Basso said he wasn’t going to make a dramatic return to racing at the Italian classic. ProTour leader Alejandro Valverde then scratched from the list of starters to protest the organizers’ decision not to present the ProTour champion’s jersey on the winners’ podium. And defending champion Paolo Bettini gave an emotional press conference following the death last week of his older brother. Basso looks like

It’s only been six months since Steve Johnson took over the reins at USA Cycling, but already the new CEO is dreaming big. Among the items on his wish list: a nation where obesity and an over-dependence on gas guzzling cars are wiped out by the new dawn of the bicycle. Johnson believes “the time of the automobile is rapidly drawing to a close, and I see the bike as a wonderful vehicle for transportation, health and fitness, and everything else that is wrong with America.” That might be just a tad overly optimistic, but some of Johnson’s other visions seem very attainable. He’s looking to

Day two of the Crank Brothers Grand Prix of Cyclocross once again saw sunny skies and a wide-open speedway of a course in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In the women’s race, Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) charged to the front just as she had the day before — only this time, both Wendy Simms (Kona) and Georgia Gould (Luna) managed to find her wheel. While the rest of the field shattered, Gould and Simms surprised spectators as they shadowed the hard-charging Bessette despite multiple attacks and accelerations throughout the course.

A who's who of cycling's fastest sprinters will assemble in Paris on Sunday hoping to claim a prestigious victory in what will be the 100th edition of the Paris-Tours one-day classic. From Belgian starlet Tom Boonen to aging German Erik Zabel, almost the entire European sprint squadron will turn up to pay their respects in the254.5 km race that was first won by Eugene Prevost, as an amateur, in 1896. Quick Step sprinter Boonen recently failed to defend his world champion's rainbow jersey in Salzburg, and will be motivated to make amends on a luscious and seemingly endless

The 2006 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships concluded Saturdayafter Jennie Reed (Spike) and Sarah Hammer (Ouch) added more stars-and-stripesjerseys to their closets.  Reed claimed two more national titles tosweep the women's sprint events with four victories and Hammer won thewomen's 15-kilometer scratch race to score a hat trick in the enduranceevents.After successfully defending her sprint and 500-meter time trial victoriesearlier in the week, Reed won the keirin and teamed up with Liz Carlson(East Coast Velo) to win the women's team sprint Saturday.Hammer, already

The 2006 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships continued Fridaynight as both Sarah Hammer (Ouch) and Jennie Reed (Spike) each rode totheir second national title of the week. After setting a new nationalrecord in the women's three-kilometer individual pursuit Wednesday, Hammertook a convincing win in the 25-kilometer points race while Reed addeda women's 500-meter time trial title to her sprint jersey. Giddeon Massie (Spike) also captured his first-career men's sprint titleand the TIAA-CREF foursome of Mike Creed , Mike Friedman, Will Frischkornand Brad Huff bested a

Carson, California - Three more national champions were crowned in Southern California Thursday night as the 2006 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships closed the books on day two of the four-day event. In the men's kilometer time trial, Stephen Hill (East Point Track Club) clocked a winning time of 1 minute, 6.239 seconds to claim the national title ahead of silver medalist Steve Beardsley (Rubicon-Chinook Cycling) and third-place finisher David Espinoza (JC Investors). With none of the top-three finishers from 2005 returning, there was no clear-cut favorite in the 26-rider

Each Monday, throughout the season, VeloNews.com will happily post race promoters' news releases regarding cyclo-cross races from around theU.S. and Canada. Please send releases and results to "Weekend 'Cross Wrap"in care of VNInteractive@InsideInc.com.Promoters are responsible for the content of those releases.2006 BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series “Ed Sander Memorial CyclocrossBuckeystown, Maryland - Lilypons Water Gardens inBuckeystown, Maryland, is renowned for its expertise in water gardeningand the wide variety of water lilies it grows. It also a beautifulgarden in its own right,

– Scott Peterson designed the $499 Rock and Roll Kinetic trainer, which allows the bike to tilt side to side, imitating road riding conditions like climbing or sprinting.

The miracle comeback of Saul Raisin took another step forward as he returned to Europe this week for the first time since nearly dying in a crash last April in France. Raisin, 23, hasn’t ruled out a return to the professional peloton next year if he continues to make positive steps in his recovery. He’s back in Europe this week for a month-long visit and he’s already climbed some of the big cols near his home in Monaco. “My goal is to move back to Europe in January and do some intense training and see how far I can go,” Raisin told VeloNews. “There’s no guarantee I can race again, but

The second and final day of Interbike’s Outdoor Demo began has it has for the past few years, the annual 8 a.m. “Hangover Road Ride” sponsored by the trade show and by Scott USA. A hearty group of 100 riders showed up, heading immediately downhill for a good quarter of the 24-mile out-and-back loop, with the remaining half of the out leg being rolling, yet continuing to lose altitude. We rode into the park at Lake Mead and turned around at the point where the Colorado River first flows into the huge reservoir. Nice and cool relative to the heat of the day, once that truly settled in, and

Cycling’s history is full of racers who wilted under the curse of the rainbow jersey after winning the world championships. Perennial pre-race favorite Paolo Bettini seemed fated to never win cycling’s most prized tunic, but after several close calls – including second in 2001 at Lisbon – the Italian pocket rocket bolted past Erik Zabel and Alejandro Valverde on Sunday in Salzburg, Austria, to erase any hint of a jinx. “It’s so satisfying to win after coming close so many times. It was almost an obsession for me,” Bettini gushed. “I’ve won the world’s and the Olympics, the classics and some

Britain's David Millar said he could have done more to boost a doomed Australian bid for an historic first world crown here at the world road championships on Sunday. Italy's Paolo Bettini kept to his pre-race promise by adding the world crown to his Olympic title on the final day after a tactical finale in which he out-sprinted German veteran Erik Zabel. Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Spain finished third, with Robbie McEwen and Stuart O'Grady finishing fifth and sixth having been outfoxed by the sly Spanish outfit after 265.9 km of racing. Going into the final bend, Spaniard