Always the crowd pleaser, Canadian Genevieve Jeanson surprised a few people and turned a few heads when she pulled off another World Cup win in Montreal this weekend. She won Saturday's race in similar style to her 2004 victory, taking the win with an uphill sprint finish in the final 300 meters of the race. The international women's field of just under 100 riders found the 12 lap, 99.6km event to be something of a race of attrition. The field stayed together for the first 10 laps of the race, despite a series of early attempts to break away. The attacks that did happen were futile

Ivan Basso won’t win this year’s Giro d’Italia, but a stage victory high in the Italian Alps sent a warning shot to anyone thinks the 27-year-old Team CSC leader gives up easy. Basso doggedly refused to quit despite ceding 40 minutes to what were his fellow overall contenders up the mighty Stelvio last weekend and then roared back to the winner’s circle Thursday with an emphatic solo win in the 194km 17th stage. “I never considered quitting the Giro. I came here to win and when my physical problems wouldn’t allow that to happen, I had to change my focus to winning a stage,” said Basso, who

Third brake lever on CSC’s TT bikesDear Lennard,From the UK - watching the TT at the Giro on Eurosport the other day I noticed CSC were running what seemed to be a third brake lever on the aero’ extension. Can you give any insight to this, as there is nothing on the team website - i.e., would it be wired up like a 'cross lever? Why hasn't anyone done it before and so on?Stuart Dear Stuart,A number of people wrote me about this. A lot of people with sharp eyes out there! Yes, David Zabriskie and Ivan Basso placed 1-2 using Cervelo P3s (one aluminum, one carbon) with a second

After the second Giro d’Italia rest day, the competitors were eager to race in stage 16. From the start, the pace was very high and groups of riders were flying off the front. Race leader Paolo Savoldelli’s Discovery Channel teammates had their work cut out for them, as they could only afford to let riders go up the road if they posed no threat to the maglia rosa. The team was forced to chase, and with the help of Fasso Bortolo, which preferred to keep the bunch together for sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, they managed to keep the riders in check until Discovery allowed a group with the right

It’s amazing to think a Frenchman hasn’t won a stage in the Giro d’Italia since Laurent Jalabert did so in in Lumezzane in 1999. That’s a sign that,France isn’t the cycling powerhouse it used to be.That the Giro had truly become a national tour that attracted little attention beyond the Alps.Some combination of the twoIt may be the third choice, since both factors are probably a little true, but the Giro is growing in stature and French cycling seems to be slowly on the rebound. A whole new crop of young French riders are making their presence felt in the peloton. Wednesday’s 210km

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.Photo contest recalls love of cyclingEditor:After reading countless letters about this doping scandal and that, my feelings for cycling have become twisted. Seeing all the beautiful photographs sent in as part of your contest reminded me why I love cycling. It’s not about Lance, Tyler,

Collegiate racing does its best to ensure that a wide number of racers have shots at coming home a winner. With eight individual races, four team time trials, an individual omnium title and a team omnium title at stake, the collegiate national road championships –held this year in Lawrence, Kansas (the cultural capital of the state, I’m told) – provided chance after chance for racers to stand atop a podium. Still, at the race banquet, I watched as the same individuals were called up to claim their respected team and individual titles. Now cycling, by its nature, is a sport that offers its

It's good to sit down and count your blessings every now and then. Well, starting with yesterday, the real blessing came in the form of the first 50km of the stage being bagged. That decision definitely had a good impact on moral, especially after what happened on Sunday. On Monday morning, we woke up to pouring rain and, at 7000 feet, the prospect of riding downhill for 40k, after an 11-kilometer climb, was just depressing. We were preparing for the worst, but God bless the peloton's Italian Mafia. The Italians just made it clear: “Hell no, we won't go!” It would have been

Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi took his third win in the weather-shortened 15th stage as the Giro d’Italia trudged into its final week. Poor weather prompted officials to move the start to the bottom of day’s big climb, making it a relatively easy, if soggy day in the saddle for the 159 remaining riders. After a long breakaway by Roy Sentjens (Rabobank), Fassa’s silver train was back on track and catapulted Petacchi to an easy win ahead of the sprinter-depleted field. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) came through second while Olympic champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) took third. “Today the

Torrington, CT, May 22—Defending champion Mark McCormack, (Colavita-Sutter home), took both the final stage and the overall victory in the 137-mile Litchfield Hills stage of the Tour of Connecticut. With 14 miles remaining, it looked like the Navigators team had the win sewn up for race leader Vasili Davidenko, as the team was setting tempo on the finishing circuit. It was at this point, McCormack realized, “I had nothing to lose.” McCormack and Todd Wells (Capital Velo) attacked and rode away from both the field and the entire Navigators team. With the gap at over a minute, the time

Two days, two dramatically different courses - same result. Vassili Davidenko (Navigators Insurance) took the second stage of the Tour of Connecticut almost as easily as he took the first. The “almost” is because on Saturday, he had to climb nearly 8000 feet in 60 miles to win. Still, while he conceded that his form “is good,” Davidenko added that the victory “was about my team.” After a flurry of early attacks, the race found its rhythm - steady-hard at the front, attrition at the back. TIAA-CREF’s Timmy Duggan took off on his own on the third of 15 laps and stayed away for eight.

Alessandro Petacchi catapulted to his second stage win of the 88th Giro d’Italia in what turned out to be a slow 178km roll between giants. Following the sparks in Thursday’s stage to Zoldo Alto and the epic climbs lying in wait in the Dolomites this weekend, the peloton seemed content to enjoy Friday’s sunny passeggiata from Alleghe to Rovereto. “These sprints after the mountains are always difficult, but the team was motivated to win. I could still feel yesterday’s stage in my legs,” said Petacchi, who won easily ahead of Paride Grillo (Panaria). “This year it’s been harder to win stages,

If you’re not racing mountain bikes in Europe during May, you’re not doing any big races. I’m not heading over until the third round of the World Cup May 29 in Houffalize, Belgium, so that means some serious down time. You might think I’d take some time off, maybe go to a warm beach somewhere, or even just hang out in Durango. But I can’t seem to sit still for a single weekend, so I’ve been hitting the road circuit. It’s a good thing I’m a bike racer. I already got in some good road racing this past February with a six-day race in Mexico. Then, after Sea Otter, I headed to New Mexico for the

After Thursday’s mountainous throw-down, it looks as though the Giro d’Italia is coming down to a two-man battle, eh? Funny, for all the hype built up around the double-pronged danger of Lampre’s Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni, the winners of the past two years, it’s now CSC’s Ivan Basso, a rider who has never won a grand tour, wearing the maglia rosa. While the Giro is far from over, it appears Basso is the strongest man in the race, with only Discovery Channel’s Paolo Savoldelli, the 2002 Giro winner, able to hang with him in the mountains. And while no one wins a grand tour by luck,

Davitamon-Lotto’s Australian sprint ace Robbie McEwen, winner of three stages of this year's Giro d’Italia, announced Friday that he was quitting the race after the day's 12th stage. "I'm going home," said McEwen, who is wearing the points leader's jersey. "The plains are behind us now. I'm sorry to leave but after the Giro I've still got the Tour de France and the world championship. To race everything would be too much. It's a big and beautiful Giro. Goodbye to the tifosi!" During his three previous appearances in the Giro McEwen, 32, also quit before the

McEwen and friends in a happier moment, before the sprint was lost, the law called and his ticket for home punched

And then there were two. After months of hype and 10 exciting stages of pyrotechnics, 150 kilometers of pavement up the grinding Passo Duran and to the summit finish to Zoldo Alto turned the 88th Giro into a two-man race. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, but Ivan Basso’s piston-shot legs spun a tale of destruction in his wake. Only the inspired Paolo Savoldelli, the 2002 Giro winner wracked by two seasons of injury and frustration, could hang on. Team CSC’s Basso surged into the maglia rosa after a string of vicious accelerations left his rivals withered on the steep roads in the

Robbie McEwen is a puckish little scrapper who’s made a career of knocking the crown off the big dogs. But pulling a hat-trick against the formidable Fassa Bortolo train in the opening 10 days of the 88th Giro d’Italia is something else. McEwen might as well be called the giant killer of the corsa rosa and the Davitamon-Lotto rider played his David card yet again in Wednesday’s 212km snoozer that started slow, got wet and ended hot across the flats of the Po Valley. With the ominous Dolomites brooding to the north, the peloton was in no hurry to go anywhere until it charged onto three laps

With two selective stages over the weekend, the strengths and weaknesses of the Giro favorites were displayed. Ivan Basso (CSC) lost a little in stage 7 to Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni (Lampre), while the reverse occurred in stage 8, and Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) was consistent and showed his form is only getting better as the race progresses. Dave Zabriskie (CSC) surprised some by winning the stage-8 time trial, but in my mind, he was one of the favorites going into it. Dave has been knocking at the door of a major international TT win for quite some time. His fifth-place

Backstedt carries Gasparotto to win in CataluynaThere’s no better wheel to be on than one belonging to the big Swede with speed, Magnus Backstedt. The 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner blocked the wind and a lot more in the perfect set-up for young Liquigas-Bianchi teammate Enrico Gasparotto, who shot to victory in Tuesday’s second stage of the Volta a Cataluyna. “Backstedt was decisive in my victory today,” said the 23-year-old after scoring his first win in the pro ranks. “He brought me to the front in the last kilometer and accelerated very fast. It was like following a race horse.” Thanks to

Wow - what a Giro we're seen so far. After two individual time trials, eight road stages, and 1592 kilometers, the top 10 riders overall are separated by two minutes and 11 seconds, the top 20 by 3:48, and the top 50 by 8:29. That last figure alone can be lost on one bad day in the mountains. Heck - it can be lost on one ’Big Bird’ turns pink flamingo. It all started when that character known as “Big Bird” – a.k.a., 25-year-old Australian Brett Lancaster (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) - decided to ditch Sesame Street that evening and ride down the Lungomare Italo Falcomata in Reggio

If at first you don't succeed... Try, try again. That's the motto being adopted by Fassa Bortolo, who, after several failed attempts, finally got their Silver Train in motion, sending Alessandro Petacchi to the line for his first stage victory of the 2005 Giro. It would have been a travesty if he didn't win. With wide-open streets and generous corners, the stage was tailor-made for his team to deliver their man in fine form to the line. And that's exactly what the team managed to do on Monday, at the close of a 139km race from Firenze to Ravenna. With his lead-out men

A new technical criterium at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, Arkansas, proved the undoing of Jelly Belly-PoolGel as the 28th annual stage race concluded on Sunday. Scott Moninger (Health Net) leapt into first place on general classification after finishing a close second to Garrett Peltonin (Advantage-Endeavor), who won the fourth and final stage. Health Net sent Chris Wherry and John Lieswyn out to an early lead in the 90-minute race, building a 40-second gap on the main field. Teammate Greg Henderson bridged up as Jelly Belly led a furious chase, decimating the peloton. About

When Greg LeMond and Jonathan Boyer became teammates on Renault-Gitane at the start of 1981, there were expectations that America’s top two riders would form a winning alliance. But their contrasting personalities and different styles of racing saw them grow apart rather than connect. Although Boyer was the first American to ride the Tour with Renault that year, he soon moved with another American, John Eustice, to Sem-France Loire, a French team led by Irish star Sean Kelly. At the same time, LeMond established himself as the heir apparent to Bernard Hinault at Renault. After winning the

Andy Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage) and Ann Trombley (Excel Sports) stood atop the final podium at the Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Sunday, a double-stage day that began with a brutal hill climb and ended in a furiously contested criterium. Racing began with the morning’s Sunshine Canyon Hill Climb, a 9-mile stage that climbed 3300 feet. In the men’s race, Chris Baldwin (Navigators Insurance) initiated the winning move early on the first steep pitch. “There were six guys left, and I’m like, ‘God, this is the race,’” said. Andy Bajadali (Vitamin Cottage), who took second in front of Mitch

Day two of the 2005 NCCA Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships saw riders tackle the 23.2-mile loop around Perry Lake, roughly 20 miles outside of downtown Lawrence, Kansas. The relatively flat course featured a handful of rolling hills, and the varied terrain matched with gusty winds made for a variety of results at the finish line. The women’s Division I road race managed to stay clumped together throughout the entire two-lap, 56.4-mile ordeal. Early in the race they were packed tightly enough to send several riders to the tarmac, including last year’s road-race winner, Stephane

Anderson, Eposti take stage 2 in BoulderKim Anderson (Colavita-Cooking Light) outsprinted Mari Holden (T-Mobile) to win stage 2 of the Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Saturday, while Paul Eposti (Haul n’ Ass) caught a lead trio napping and slipped past for the victory in the men’s race. The 8.5-mile Boulder-Roubaix circuit, which was mostly dirt, wrought a fair amount of havoc among the peloton. No follow vehicles were allowed, though three pits were set up along the circuit, so when Ann Trombley (Excel Sports) flatted in the early going of the 42.5-mile women’s race, teammate Maatje

After two days of rain swamped the streets of Lawrence, Kansas, the NCCA Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships opener on Friday was a seminar in crash avoidance, and not everyone passed. “It was pretty crazy for the entire race. I just tried to stay at the front and stay out of trouble,” said Stanford’s Amber Rais, who won the 60-minute women’s Division I race in Friday’s Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Criteriums, run on a rain-slick, L-shaped, mile-long course in downtown Lawrence. After local hero Steve Tilford started the day off with a victory in the 45-minute open crit, the hourlong

Baldwin, Holden win Boulder Stage Race kickoffChris Baldwin (Navigators) and Mari Holden (T-Mobile) won the opening stage of the 2005 Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race on Friday, a short individual time trial that took in the hardest sections of the old Morgul Bismarck course outside Superior, Colorado. Baldwin was the only rider to post a time under 16 minutes for the hilly TT, which climbed 1100 feet in seven miles, ascending the fabled Wall, Hump and feed-zone hills. Baldwin covered the course in 15:42, besting teammate Phil Zajicek by 29 seconds, with Tim Duggan (TIAA-CREF) third at 34

When the sprint is rough, tough, tight and twisty, there's only one person you should bank on. Despite missing the entire spring due to a virus, speed demon Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) is just about back to his best form, winning today's crash-filled finale in Marina di Grosseto with apparent ease. In fact, in a rare show of generosity, the 32-year-old Queenslander tried to give the stage to his fellow Aussie and loyal lead-out man, Henk Vogels, soft-pedaling in second wheel with a kilometer to go, and allowing Vogels to surreptitiously sail off the front. It was a great move,

I am officially out of touch with the outside world. I had no idea that they evacuated the capitol and the White House the other day because of what they thought might be some kind of terrorist attack. I don't even know what day that was... heck I don't even know what day this is. My daily concerns tend to focus on just a few things: eating, sleeping and spending the stage helping to keep Ivan out of trouble here and there. We've already done one week of racing and when we're not on the bike, we're often looking for something – anything – to do. That's especially

With a few of the tifosi a little disheartened by what they saw on Wednesday, some may have been hoping to see another of their guys in pink. Well today, Danilo Di Luca gave them their wish. After his performance in L'Aquila, the 29-year-old darling of Italian cycling has surely won all the hearts of his countrymen. As they did at Pais Vasco, Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne and two days ago in Giffoni Valle Piana, his Liquigas-Bianchi team rode their hearts out, setting Di Luca up perfectly for the final kilometer and in a finale like Thursday’s, the speedster from Spoltore proved

Another unpredictable day in Italia. It's the only way to describe this first week of the 2005 Giro d'Italia, where, yet again, on a stage seemingly set for the pure sprinter, things went horribly wrong. Just as he did three days ago in Tropea, Paolo Bettini (QuickStep) foiled the fast guys' plans, attacking with vengeance on a not-so-straightforward finale, then burying the hatchet with a punchy sprint finish. Or so he thought... Only Baden Cooke (La Française des Jeux) had the legs and the audacity to challenge Bettini, but suspect sprinting tactics from the Olympic road champ

The common thread we've seen running through the last two stages of the Giro has involved an early breakaway of riders hoping to stay away for the stage win, but falling just short. In the final kilometers of stage 3, the riders passed over a category-2 climb, and indications of who's on form were provided. All the favorites fared well, but a few stood out, like Damiano Cunego and stage winner Danilo Di Luca. Di Luca has had a spectacular start to the season, with two World Cup victories in April. We could see him in the maglia rosa in the next few days, as he is a climber and can

Wednesday, May 11As I mentioned before, this is my first Giro d’Italia. I’ve ridden the Tour de France before, but this is different. On the surface, the racing is much more relaxed. You have the attacks at the start, then maybe a break forms… and then everything is pretty much controlled until the end, when they pull the guys back and then you see this rush to the line. While it is more relaxed on one level, that changes things down the road, so you end up with some moments when you’re totally bored and others when it’s complete panic. Take Tuesday for example. We were pretty relaxed and

It was a battle of the bumping elbows on the mean streets of Santa Maria del Cedro in southern Italy, but fearless Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) slipped through unscathed to claim both the win and the maglia rosa. The first 181 kilometers of the 182km second stage along the absolutely stunning Calabrian coast unfolded pretty much as can be expected, but then things got downright ornery as the peloton bore down on the final 1000 meters. There was an outright rebellion as Crédit Agricole and Davitamon-Lotto refused to step aside for Fassa Bortolo and undisputed sprint king Alessandro

Jackson Stewart (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada) and Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders) won their respective races in the 32nd Testarossa Vineyards Cat's Hill Classic on Saturday in Los Gatos, California. Los Gatos native Stewart outsprinted his longtime friend, former teammate, and 1998 Los Gatos High School classmate Zach Walker (McGuire-Langdale) for the win. Stewart and Walker, with Ben Haldeman (Webcor Builders) and Glen Mitchell (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada), had broken away with 15 laps remaining. Mitchell lost contact with four laps remaining and drifted back to a chasing trio -

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.Lance talks the talk and walks the walkEditor:Come on, people, whether you like him or not, you have to realize talking trash and backing it up is what has made Lance Armstrong who he is today, way before cancer came along. Think back over the last few years: When Italy's Gilberto

I have to say the Giro is really cool. It’s my first time in this race … in fact, it’s the first time for a bunch of guys, everyone from 20-year-old kids, in their first year, up to Erik Zabel, who is making his first appearance at the Giro at the age of 34. He’s done something like 12 Tours de France, but never the Giro, until this year. The ProTour is part of the reason. Every top team has to be here and riders are looking at the season a little bit differently. Instead of spending May training, they come here to help the team, spin the legs and get some nice weather to boot. I figure

Finishing on the podium Saturday night and just two seconds behind Australian maglia rosa Brett Lancaster, the smart money was on Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) to earn a stage win and take over the leader's jersey at the end of Sunday's 208 kilometer stage from from Reggio Calabria to Tropea. But a short, but steep, final rise to the finish seemed to nearly derail the Silver Train of Fassa Bortolo, opening the door for a well-timed final kilometer attack from QuickStep's Paolo Bettini. Timing his jump to perfection, and reminiscent of the attack that led to his Olympic

Fedrigo claims Dunkirk; Rodriguez third in finaleFred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) finished third in Sunday's final stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk in northern France. Adam Wadecki (Intel Action) won the mass gallop to wrap up the five-stage race, with Tomas Vaitkus (Ag2r) second. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) finished safely in the main bunch to sew up the overall title. Stage 5 results1. Adam Wadecki (Pol) Intel Action, 165.5km in 3:43:192. Tomas Vaitkus (Lit), Ag2r Prevoyance, same time3. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Davitamon-Lotto, s.t.4. Crescenzo D'Amore (I), Acqua & Sapone,

Aussie Brett Lancaster (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) put his gold-medal track skills to good use Saturday evening, winning the short prologue to kick-start the 88th Giro d'Italia and grab the first maglia rosa. The 25-year-old from Victoria posted a time of 1 minute, 20 seconds for the 1.15km prologue, run under brilliant spring skies in Reggio Calabria, with Sicily and the brooding Mt. Etna in the backdrop. The course was peculiar for a grand-tour prologue; long and straight, with nary a curve, it was a drag strip for the start of what should be an exciting corsa rosa. But it suited

A long sprint to third place for Petacchi

From this Saturday’s prologue in REGGIO CALABRIA all the way through to the final sprint in Milan on Sunday, May 29, VeloNews.com is pleased once again to offer live up-to-the-minute coverage of the 88th edition of the Giro d’Italia. With commentary from VeloNews reporters, photos and even contests, viewers can be kept abreast of developments in Italy’s national tour, the first major three-week race to be conducted under the auspices of the UCI’s new ProTour.

Voeckler wins in Dunkirk, Gerdemann takes overFrench champion Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Télécom) won Wednesday’s third stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk, but the real story was new overall leader Linus Gerdemann. The 22-year-old German moved into the yellow jersey (as well as the best climber’s jersey and the young rider’s jersey) in his first race with Team CSC. Talk about some serious podium time. “I have three jerseys, I have three jerseys,” was all Gerdemann could muster after leaving the podium, trying to convince himself what had just happened was real. Gerdemann wisely followed an

I love the tropics. Before Sea Otter, Meg and I took a trip to Rincon, Puerto Rico, for the Ultimate Dirt Challenge mountain bike race. Rincon is a small town on the northwest side of the island that is legendary for its incredible waves, but for a week it was taken over by mountain bikers. I was lucky enough to find out about this race last year while chasing points for the Olympics and looking for races that were warm and dry as opposed to the wet and dreary Euro races. I can’t say enough good things about the promoters, Doel and Jorge. These guys put on the best race I go to all year. The

Remember the adage, “Start drinking before you get thirsty?” Perhaps this is a medical truism that isn’t. A surprising article about a study of hyponatremia among marathon runners in the April 14 New England Journal of Medicine may inspire Velonews.com readers to rethink how they drink. Thirteen percent of Boston Marathon finishers who participated in the study by Dr. Christopher Almond et al suffered hyponatremia (abnormally low blood sodium), mostly caused by overhydrating. 1 Three participants had dangerously low levels of blood sodium. The early symptoms of hyponatremia - confusion,

Cunego 'ready' for Giro defenseDamiano Cunego said he’s arriving in peak form just in time to defend his Giro d’Italia title. Like arch-rival Ivan Basso, Cunego is also planning on racing in the Tour de France, so both riders are arriving to the Giro a little off peak fitness with the idea of being able to hit their stride for the decisive second half of the Giro. “The victory at Romandie lifted the pressure from me for not having a win so far this season,” Cunego told Datasport. “I had some good feelings in the time trial in Lausanne, but obviously my condition wasn’t at the top. I

With 12 Aussies, five Americans, two Canadians, a Brit and a New Zealander, there may be a record number of English-speakers starting the 2005 Giro d’Italia on Saturday. The teams arrived on Wednesday evening for UCI medical testing and the team presentation. The race itself gets under way with a 1.5km prologue Saturday evening in Reggio Calabria. After three days of relaxation in their hotels, facing a course whose end you can see from the beginning, riders will be exploding out of the start gate. Discovery Channel’s Michael Barry said everyone is “very eager to get started.” The Discovery

There’s no stopping Belgian phenom Philippe Gilbert in France. After taking a pass on the Giro d’Italia because he felt he wasn’t in top form to compete in the season’s grand tour debut, the Française Des Jeux rider scored an impressive victory in Thursday’s 204km second stage to grab the overall lead at the Four Days of Dunkirk. Overnight leader Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) slipped to second after finishing eight seconds back in fifth place. Gilbert charged away from a 19-man breakaway with just three kilometers to go on the course that pounded over two sections of pavé featured in

Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) drew first blood in the opening stageof the Four Days of Dunkirk in northern France on Wednesday. The Norwegian national champion held off Jimmy Casper (Cofidis) in the153km stage from Dunkirk to Marcq-en-Baroeul to take the opener and jumpinto the leader's jersey. Jaroslaw Zarebski (Intel-Action) came throughthird. Americans Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) and Kirk O'Bee (Navigators)finished safely in the front group, but weren't in the finale to disputefor the stage victory. Amerrican Saul Raisin (Credit Agricole) and ColombianCesar Grajales

Gerolsteiner’s Davide Rebellin has ruled himself out of the Giro d'Italia only a few days before the prologue in Reggio Calabria, it was reported by the ANSA news agency on Tuesday. The 33-year-old all-rounder had been one of his team's main hopes for the race but Rebellin said he is suffering from fatigue following the three Ardennes Classics. The Ardennes classics include the Amstel Gold Race, the Fleche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège - all of which are raced over distances of over 250km and held within the space of a week. Rebellin became the first rider to win all three of

Erik Zabel won for the first time this season after taking Sunday’s Rund um den Henninger Turm in Frankfurt for the third time of his career. The 34-year-old German ace has been stuck a cold spell this season, unable to score a victory despite some close calls. The T-Mobile rider slipped away with a group of 20 riders with 35km to go in what proved to be the winning move of the 211km race. Zabel broke free with a 300-meter sprint to the line and was timed in 5 hours, 10 minutes, 34 seconds in a ride through Frankfurt's streets to score his 149th career victory. Alejandro Borrajo

As if the torrents of rain that soaked last week’s Tour of Georgia weren’t enough to dampen the state’s bicycle racing fan base, the clouds once again offered up soggy conditions for the 25th running of the Athens Twilight Criterium, in downtown Athens, on Saturday. The estimated crowd of 15,000 was noticeably smaller for this race – in past years it had swelled to more than 40,0000. “It’s a little smaller this year, but Twilight night is still the biggest non-football event in this town,” said race director Gene Dixon, who has organized the race every year since it’s inception in 1980.

Silver City, N.M. - Silver City residents handed over the streets of their historic downtown for the fourth stage of The Outside Magazine Tour of the Gila Saturday. In return, they got the chance to see something special, both Todd Wells and Cat Malone winning their first National Race Calendar stage victories. Wells sprinted across the finish line, leading a peloton of 83, to finish the race at 1:34:33 in the men’s pro. A former national mountain bike champion, Wells said this win gave him a little vindication as a road racer. “I do a lot of cyclo-cross racing, which is similar to

It seems international politics can even trickle down to stymie bicycle racers. Yaroslav Popovych, the promising grand tour rider in his first season with Discovery Channel, has been having problems getting the proper visa following the recent political upheaval in his native Ukraine that made headlines worldwide. After some early season racing, Popovych had returned to the Ukraine to settle some paperwork issues, an ordeal that won’t keep him from starting this summer’s Tour de France. “It’s been difficult for him to obtain the necessary visa due to the change in governments but I talked

Attorneys representing the U.S. Olympic Committee’s former medical director have subpoenaed a series of documents they allege contain the names of hundreds of athletes whose positive dope tests have been covered up by Olympic officials. Doctor Wade Exum, who until his “forced resignation” in 2000 served as the USOC’s director of drug control administration, filed an employment discrimination suit against his former employers in federal court that summer. A federal appeals court has since ruled that the case was not one that fell within the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary and so the

Oscar Pereiro kept the yellow jersey in Wednesday’s first stage of the Tour de Romandie despite Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) moving into a tie with the Spanish prologue winner. Pereiro won the opening prologue in Geneva by less than a half-second over the surprising Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel), but to Pereiro, it was no surprise at all that he won. “I told the team and also my wife that I'd celebrate my first win of the season in Geneva. I'm in good shape. Also, the course, which is very demanding technically, is ideal for me. The fact that I was the last rider to

If there was any doubt that Alessandro Petacchi wouldn’t be ready for the Giro d’Italia, he’s erasing those at alarming rate in the Tour de Romandie. The Italian won his second stage in a row and pulled on the yellow jersey in Thursday’s second stage. Italians Daniele Colli (Liquigas-Bianchi) and Mirco Lorenzetto (Domina Vacanze) were second and third, respectively. Overnight leader Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) lost his lead on time bonuses. “I’m feeling good,” Petacchi said. “I still don’t have the form I did at Tirreno or San Remo, but I have good rhythm for this time of year. I need to work on

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.Keeping the faithDear Editor,I am responding to the article about Tyler's innocence or guilt by Fred Dreier (see "AFred's Eye View: Questions, questions, questions"). Why is it thata guy who finishes the 2003 Tour with broken collarbone all of a suddenthinks, “Geez, I think

An anonymous e-mail sent Tuesday afternoon quietly marked the end of an era in modern cycling. At 38, and definitely a pedal stroke or two past his prime, Mario Cipollini – the Lion King, Ruler of the Sprints and the Master of Kitsch – said it was time to hang up the cleats. “Announcing my withdrawal less than two weeks before the Giro d'Italia is a painful but honest decision. The public will understand," said Cipollini in a statement released by his team, Liquigas. "Maybe, an ‘old man’ like me, who has given a lot to cycling and has also received a lot, has to recognize when is the

Michele Scarponi won’t be among the starters for Tuesday’s prologue at the Tour de Romandie, the Italian rider who will lead Liberty Seguros in the upcoming Giro d’Italia. For many riders, the Romandie tour is the ideal warm-up before the season’s first grand tour, but that’s not the thinking of Liberty Seguros boss Manolo Saiz. Only Joseba Beloki will be racing this week in Switzerland among the Liberty riders heading to the Giro start May 7. “I believe the Giro will be decided between the second and third weeks, so I preferred (the Giro leaders) to come slightly short of form and they

This time he means it. One-time super sprinter Mario Cipollini announced plans to retire from cycling on Tuesday, exiting the peloton before this year’s edition of the Giro d'Italia. The 38-year old, whose 42 stage wins in the Giro is a record, retired two years ago before coming back and breaking the Giro stage-win mark established by Alfredo Binda. However, this time, the flamboyant Italian, known as the “Lion King,” to many of his fans, appears to be serious about his decision. "Announcing my withdrawal less than two weeks before the Giro d'Italia is a painful but honest

Many of the top contenders for next month’s Giro d’Italia will be looking to hone their form in the mountainous Tour de Romandie, the next stop on the ProTour series. With five stages and a prologue, the 656-kilometer Romandie race zips around Switzerland on a challenging course that provides a perfect setting for Giro-bound riders to test their legs. The race opens Tuesday with a short prologue in the narrow streets of Geneva before rolling over scenic farm roads on circuit courses in west-central Switzerland in stages one and two. Stage three is the most difficult day, with three Cat. 1s,

Jan Ullrich will be back to defend his title at the Tour de Suisse (June 11-19), meaning his first chance in a showdown with Lance Armstrong won’t come until the Tour de France. The 1997 Tour winner was debating between racing the Swiss tour or the Dauphiné Libéré (June 5-12), but finally opted to return to the friendly mountains of Switzerland, which he now calls home. Ullrich recently raced in the Vuelta a Aragon, where team officials said he looks buff, motivated and confident, the best since 1997. Up next he’ll return to Spain to race in the Volta a Cataluyna (May 16-22). Alexandre

Tom Danielson isn't all that interested in hearing the talk, but it is the inevitability that every great up and coming athlete must face. Following his overall victory at the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia, the young American cyclist who can climb and time trial with the best of them, must endure the reality that will come with riding for a Discovery Channel team that is about to lose its No. 1 rider. Whether Danielson likes it or not, the comparisons to Lance Armstrong begin now.

Alex Vinokourov’s exciting victory over Jens Voigt in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège not only ended the T-Mobile’s season-long losing streak, but also laid to rest the assumption that a long-range breakaway couldn’t succeed in this super-hilly classic. Vinokourov was not among the top favorites to win this 10th race of the UCI ProTour, but his rising form and savvy racing brain allowed him to take advantage of a race that was in flux after the trilogy of climbs that were restored to the 260km course.

One-Two punch: Fraser and Henderson take the sprint for Health Net

[nid:30845]On a day of high drama, riveting plot twists and an outcome that was literally undecided until the last second, the most telling moment may well have come during the ascent of the category 1 Hogpen Gap climb, 96 miles into stage 5 of the Dodge Tour de Georgia. It was there that the world’s most famous bike racer went to the front of a four-rider break and started hammering away for one of his teammates, American Tom Danielson.

A steady rain that started in Liège Saturday afternoon is forecast to return Sunday, which - combined with a 20-kph wind from the south - should make the Belgian super-classic even tougher than it already promises to be. The new 260km course has 10 major hills compared with eight last year, and the restoration of the Wanne-Stockeu-Haute-Levée trilogy of climbs has added meat to what was becoming a less demanding race. Even the hot race favorite, Italy’s Danilo Di Luca, seems to agree. The Italian, who is hoping to increase his UCI ProTour lead in this 10th race of the series, said Saturday:

Astarloa patched up, but not packing it itIgor Astarloa is all screwed up – literally. The 2003 world champion is trying to kick-start his season after crashing hard at the Haribo Classic in February, leaving him with a fractured arm. To keep things all in one piece, he’s racing with five screws and a metal plate in his left arm. “Things are going better, but it still hurts,” Astarloa told the Spanish daily MARCA. “I was with the lead group going up the Cauberg (at Amstel Gold), but I wasn’t in good enough shape to challenge for the win. I was upset, because there are going to be few

The results sheet for stage 4 of the Dodge Tour de Georgia showed CSC’s Brian Vandborg as the day’s winner. And indeed the Dane did win the wicked 133.4-mile test from Dalton to Dahlonega, finishing in 5:33:02. But the bigger victor on a Friday afternoon where racers were brutalized by wind, rain and hail, was American Floyd Landis.

There were two definite declarations to be made following the third stage of the Dodge Tour de Georgia in Rome on Thursday. First, if it wasn’t already, American Floyd Landis made it clear that with or without the services of the now-suspended Tyler Hamilton, the future of the Phonak team is in solid hands as it heads into the important months of the 2005 season.

For the hopeless romantics among us, a victory by Andrea Tafi in the second stage of the Dodge Tour de Georgia would have been a fairy tale with the classic happy-ending. Tafi, the 38-year-old one-time Paris-Roubaix champion and always one of the sport’s most compelling characters, rolling off the front and soloing home for the win in what will be one of his last events as a professional. It was almost too good to be true — and it turns out it was.

The Dodge Tour de Georgia, the biggest stage race of the 2005 domestic road-racing season — with what is arguably the most competitive field in North American history — is set to begin Tuesday morning in Augusta, Georgia. Marked by appearances from American ProTour team leaders Bobby Julich (CSC), Floyd Landis (Phonak), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and defending champion Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel), the race will again serve as an early season stage racing test, with the state of Georgia as the backdrop. It’s no overstatement to describe Lance Armstrong’s decision to return to

After what was more leisurely stroll than bike race, it was Phonak's Robbie Hunter taking the first stage of the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia on Tuesday. Hunter charged to the front at the end of the 128.9-mile stage that started in Augusta, taking the win in downtown Macon. Jelly Belly's Ben Brooks took second, with Italian Michele Maccanti (LPR) in third.

American racer Chris Horner (Saunier Duval-Prodir) will be forced to sit out the upcoming Dodge Tour de Georgia, as well as next month’s Giro d’Italia, due to a broken hip. The hairline fracture on Horner’s left hipbone occurred at stage 2 of Tirreno Adriatico on March 10th. After returning to the U.S. following Setmana Catalana, where Horner finished 16th overall, an initial MRI revealed the fracture. At that time, he was told he could continue training on the painful injury, and that it should be healed in time for next week’s Tour de Georgia. But soon after, a panel of experts reviewed

After sucking on the fumes of Alessandro Petacchi all week, Aussie sprinter Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros) finally got a stage victory in a hard-fought battle in the final day of the 42nd Vuelta a Aragon in Spain. Petacchi, a winner of two stages in the five-day Aragon race in his return to racing since Milan-San Remo, faded out of contention in the heated final sprint more than a minute back on a gradually climbing finish to Illueca at the end of the 139km stage. Davis, who finished second twice to Petacchi earlier this week, showed off some strong finishing skills on the deceptively steep

On Saturday, Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) followed up his pre-race promise to ignite a mid-race afterburner by flaming out feet from the finish line of the short track. Sunday, few thought the 28-year old Canadian would be brash enough to make a another pre-race promise, but before the 36-mile long cross country, Kabush announced that he had a similar battle plan. “I’ve come in third and second this week. I’m going to take risks and either win it or go down trying,” said Kabush, who decided to run an unconventionally skinny pair of tires, weighing only110 grams, on the course. “It’s a risk, but

You can’t help but feel the anguish of Michael Boogerd. Although he did win the Amstel Gold Race in 1999, by narrowly outsprinting Lance Armstrong, Rabobank’s lanky Dutchman has since been the runner-up no less than four times. The cruelest of those second places came on Sunday, when the latest man to beat him to the line was Danilo Di Luca, the revitalized Liquigas-Bianchi team leader who last week won the Tour of the Basque Country.