Belgium's Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won the third stage of the Tour of Qatar around Doha on Tuesday, beating Italian sprint king Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) for the second consecutive day. Austria's Bernard Eisel (T-Mobile) took third spot behind Boonen who strengthened his grip on the leader's gold jersey. Boonen said afterwards: "I was in about 50th place with three kilometers to go, which was too far back, but Matteo Tosatto helped me get up to the front. I then let the Milram team do the work before waiting for the right moment to start my sprint." Boonen refused to go

Former world champion Tom Boonen won the second stage of the Tour of Qatar over 135km from Al Wakra to Doha on Monday, moving into the overall leader's gold jersey in the process. The Quick Step rider beat Milram's Alessandro Petacchi and Frenchman Jean-Patrick Nazon in a sprint finish to snatch the gold jersey from his Dutch teammate Steven de Jong, who held it after Quick Step's team time trial victory in Sunday's opening stage. The defending Tour of Qatar champion Boonen admitted he had been lucky to win after Pettachi's Milram team launched their leader's sprint

Katie Compton gave the United States its second silver medal in two days at the World Cyclo-cross Championships today in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, as France’s Maryline Salvetat overcame a rough start to battle her way to victory in the women’s race on Sunday. Salvetat’s teammate Laurence Laboucher hung on for third, while pre-race favorite Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) faded to fifth after crashing at the halfway point while in the lead.

Belgians narrowly averted what could have been viewed as a national tragedy at this year’s Cyclo-cross World Championships as defending champion Erwin Vervecken came from behind to win the elite men’s race on Sunday. In an event often swept by the Belgian squad, Vervecken was the only one of his countrymen who managed to step onto the podium in front of a huge home crowd in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, as the efforts of pre-race favorites Sven Nys and Bart Wellens were hampered by crashes and a series of difficulties throughout.

Belgians and Americans got off to a great start at the world cyclo-cross championships in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, Saturday, as host-country prospect Joeri Adams and U.S. rider Danny Summerhill sprinted to a tight finish in the junior men’s event. Summerhill battled back from a crash with two laps to go to earn second, as pre-race favorite Jiri Polnicky (Czech Republic) crossed the line one second later in third.

Danny Summerhill’s explosive second place at Saturday’s 2007 UCI Cyclo-cross Junior World Championships in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, may be best remembered not for the 17-year-old’s raw talent in the four-up sprint but rather for his composure with two laps to go. Sitting in the lead group of four on the penultimate lap, Summerhill washed out his front wheel on one of the course’s three slippery drop-offs. Coming completely off his bike, Summerhill hit his head and twisted his stem. But rather than panic, the two-time U.S. junior national champion showed poise, straightening his bars,

Joeri Adams took the sprint, but Summerhill made a big impression in Belgium, too.

Sporting a modified team logo, a new bike sponsor and four new riders, the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team presented its 2007 roster to the media Thursday in Agoura Hills, California. The team introduced four marquee additions to its roster — Australians Henk Vogels and Caleb Manion, Irishman Mark Scanlon and American Burke Swindlehurst. Both Vogels and Scanlon come from ProTour teams — Vogels from Davitamon-Lotto and Scanlon from Ag2r. Gone are Argentinean sprinter J.J. Haedo, to CSC, and all-rounder Tony Cruz, who returned to Discovery Channel. Returning riders include 2005 USPRO champion

Juan José Haedo is busy packing his bags as he prepares for his big European adventure with Team CSC, but first he has a detour through the United States and some old haunting grounds at the Tour of California. The Argentine ace, who turns 26 on Friday, will be traveling to California for a two-week training camp with his new Team CSC teammates before making his team debut at the Tour of California, where he won two races last year to attract the attention of several European teams to his aggressive, fearless sprinting style. “It’s a big step to take, to come from racing in the USA to

Erwin Vervecken radiates calm as he goes about the business of final preparation for the defense of his world cyclo-cross title. A tall genial man with an overwhelming sense of ease both on and off the bike, Vervecken wore the rainbow stripes for the second time in his career in 2006-07. While his year in the jersey in 2001-02 saw the Belgian win a fair number of big events, including the Belgian GVA Series, this season has been more modest, with Vervecken having the privilege of spraying the winner’s champagne only twice, despite frequent appearances in the top three. Vervecken has taken

Alessandro Petacchi hopes a return to form at the Tour of Qatar will help him erase a disappointing 2006 campaign that saw him riddled with injuries. The Milram sprinter will bring his full train to the desert race (January 28 to February 2) with ambitions of snagging a victory and boosting his confidence ahead of what the “gentleman sprinter" hopes will be a comeback season. “I want to regain the sensations I had at the beginning of last year. I’ve had a good training block and I am motivated for the coming season,” Petacchi said. “I haven’t been able to raise my arms in victory since last

Former Swiss cycling champion Martin Elmiger relaunched his professional career by winning the Tour Down Under after some thrilling final-day drama on Sunday. Australian sprint king Robbie McEwen meanwhile claimed victory in the 81km, 18-lap final stage, extending his record victory tally in the race to 12. McEwen, a three-time winner of the Tour de France green jersey, held off fellow Australian Mark Renshaw, who gestured prior to the finish line about being squeezed into the barriers by the Predictor-Lotto sprinter. McEwen was unapologetic.

American Sarah Hammer’s trophy case could soon need structural reinforcing. The world individual pursuit champion added another gold medal to her stack with a win in her signature event during day two of the track World Cup in Los Angeles. Earlier in the day, Hammer set a new U.S. record of 3:32.058. After the effort Hammer said she would just "put it on cruise" in the evening’s gold-medal match against Germany’s Verena Joos. Sure enough, Hammer quickly made up time against her rival, gaining time with every lap to build such a comfortable lead she sat up well before the line and waved to

Sarah Hammer put to rest any ideas that she’s not a top mass-start racer with a gold medal in the Los Angeles World Cup scratch race, her third win of the three-day event. Hammer won the opening-night points race and followed it up with gold in the individual pursuit. Hammer and American Becky Quinn repeated the tactic that put them one-two at last year’s World Cup scratch race in Los Angeles. Hammer hit the front with a few to go, Quinn battled to get on her wheel, then Hammer dialed up the pace so high no one could come around her. There was no need for the UCI officials to check the photo

and overcame some serious opposition to win the sprint, locking up the overall title in the process.

Menzies' teammates fought to control the pace as they day's first bonus sprint approached.

Bauge and Chiappa dueling in the sprint

Americans Liz Carlson and Jennie Reed in the women's team sprint final

Roberto Chiappa and Hoy in the prelims of the sprint

Chiappa's legs show the veins of multiple sprints

The Brits took the team sprint

Francois Pervis of France in the team-sprint reride after his crash

The US team sprint led by Gideon Massie

Swiss racer Martin Elmiger was rewarded for his persistence with the lead of the Tour Down Under after the fourth and penultimate stage on Saturday. On another rain-soaked day in the hills around Adelaide, Elmiger took the ochre jersey from overnight leader Karl Menzies of UniSA after the Australian managed only to finish 11th in the 147 kilometer stage. The 24-year-old Belgian Pieter Ghyllebert won the stage, picking up his maiden professional win and the second in the five-stage race for his Chocolade Jacques outfit. Teammate Steven Caethoven celebrated a fine win on Thursday. A former

It turns out there is a little something to those rainbow stripes. At the opening night of the Los Angeles Track World Cup, American Sarah Hammer, Brit Chris Hoy and Aussie Anna Meares showed their respective fields just why their biceps are circled with cycling’s most powerful design. Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and his friend, CSC rider Dave Zabriskie, were among the crowd of thousands at the Home Depot Center velodrome. Hammer, a world champion in the individual pursuit, won the January 19 women’s points race with some last-lap assistance from her American teammate Becky Quinn.

Australian cyclist Mark French has been sent home after breaching the national team's code of conduct on Wednesday during a Qantas flight to Los Angeles, where he was to have raced in this weekend's round of the UCI track World Cup series. French, who would not say what happened on the flight, is trying to resurrect his track-racing career, stalled for 18 months following drug allegations that led to a two-year ban in 2004. The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the ban on July 2005. While he successfully fought to prove his innocence then, the former world junior champion is

Brouchard was in the hunt for sprint points

Meares in the sprint

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