Louder takes the three-up sprint

Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) is a step closer to tying a Giro d’Italia stage-win record after claiming his sixth victory on Friday. The Italian speedster once again held off Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo), who finished second to the seemingly unstoppable Italian, with Alexandre Usov (Phonak) finishing third. "I'm really happy to have won for the sixth time here, which equals my record here last year," said Petacchi after coming a step closer to becoming the fourth rider of the modern era to claim seven stages in a single edition of the race. "I don't know what the

Swiss rider Martin Elmiger handed his Phonak team a welcome victory in the 162km third stage of the Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon in Aigues-Mortes on Friday. Elmiger, a 25-year-old mountain-bike specialist who also plays golf and skis cross country, welcomed the win with open arms after believing he had been pipped at the line. Ukrainian Yuryi Krivtsov (AG2r Prevoyance) threw everyone, including the race announcer, into disarray when he raised his arms in victory after crossing the finish line. But Elmiger was given the decision after a photo finish indicated he had won by three

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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.Single-speeding and simplificationEditor:With the increase in both complexity and cost of equipment to the recreational user, is it any wonder there's been some grass-roots backlash evident in the increasing popularity of single-speed racing?

Stage races are like a crash course in tactics and Racing 101. If you really want to learn fast, sign up for some stage races. Depending on the length of the race, you can learn three or four months’ worth of lessons in just one event. Today’s Giro d'Italia stage finished in another beautiful lead-out by Fassa Bortolo, sending Alessandro Pettachi off to his sixth stage win this year. But there are other lessons to be learned, aside from the picture-perfect lead-out. What do you do if you are on a team that does not have a powerful sprinter or isn’t strong enough to provide the 10km

With the laps counting down on Friday night's New Haven criterium and the peloton breathing down the necks of a seven-man breakaway, overall race leader Mark McCormack took it upon himself to keep the lead group out front, and in the process delivered teammate Ivan Dominguez to Colavita Olive Oil's second win in three stages of the Tour of Connecticut. The Friday night festivities in Connecticut featured 60 laps of a pancake-flat, four-corner, half-mile circuit around the New Haven Green, starting and finishing at the steps of the state courthouse. From the gun, the pack set a blistering

Ivan Dominguez (Colavita Olive Oil) powered to the win in the third stage of the Tour of Connecticut in Friday in New Haven, Connecticut, beating Charles Dionne (Webcor) by less than a wheel in a spectacular hour of racing. Mike Sayers (Health Net) crossed third. The victory, Colavita's second, kept team leader Mark McCormack in the leader's yellow jersey going into stage four Saturday in Waterbury. The race was fast and furious from the first lap as the 87 cyclists fought for position on the technical circuit. On the final laps a break of eight finally stuck, and race leader McCormack saw

This was not a very good day for me. The frustrating thing was that I had great legs. I felt great. I thought I’d put myself into just the right spot coming into the finish and help up there and then it just didn’t happen. The finish today was just chaotic. I almost killed myself coming in. The day was pretty much under the control of Fassa Bortolo all the way from the start. They allowed a small break to get away, mostly just to keep things under control in the field, and then they just held a very moderate pace. Actually, it really slowed down toward the last 30km today. It was more like

With a coveted spot on the TIAA-CREF Cycling team on the line for the overall men’s and women’s individual champions, the 2004 collegiate national road cycling championships kicked off Friday afternoon with a round of criteriums on the streets of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Early morning thunderstorms threatened to stop the races before they started, but the weather was only the beginning in what would be one of the most dramatic days in all of collegiate racing. After a heart-breaking second-place finish at last year’s collegiate national championship road race, the University

It was a long day in the saddle. A long day, a hot day and a day with a lot of climbing. It was a lot harder than I expected. We built our strategy for the day on the assumption that the race would be won in a breakaway today. Most of our guys were working hard to get into anything that went and we were always represented when something did go. Before the start my teammate, Rinaldo Nocentini, came up and said “I’ve already made the deal. There are four or five of us going to go right at the start!” Of course, our strategy was the pretty much the same as everyone else’s and the speed was

Alessandro Petacchi applauded as he crossed the line a victor for the fifth time of the 2004 Giro d’Italia. He wasn’t clapping for his fast legwork, but rather for his teammates in the trenches. The gentleman sprinter was full of praise of his Fassa Bortolo “Silver Train,” who pushed the Italian to a relatively easy sprint victory in the hilly 146km 10th stage from Porto Sant' Elpidio to Ascoli Piceno. “I clapped my hands in praise of my teammates. I really want to thank them for the work they did today,” said Petacchi, who finished ahead of compatriot Marco Zanotti (Vini Caldirola) and

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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.Single-speeding offers a challengeEditor: I am writing in response to Andrew Juskaitis’s single-speed article. I race a single speed in the Wisconsin WORS series . Personally speaking, if I had to race my age group (40 plus) rather than in a

It’s been a long time since I competed in a 10-day tour. The approach is a little different from the shorter tours – in a race this long, it’s important to conserve one’s energy for the critical moments. So at the start of the Tour de L’Aude, I took a good look at the race bible, which contains all of the stage distances and course profiles. With my team, we determined what we thought would be the most significant stages based on the difficulty of the mountain passes and the time trials. We have broken the race up into segments. The first stage did not look too difficult, so we agreed that

The Koppenberg Circuit Race lived up to its namesake on Sunday, dishing out rough dirt roads, wind and a leg-breaking climb that shattered fields and crowned two new champions in the elite men's and women's events: Will Frischkorn (Colavita-Bolla) and Ann Trombley (Excel Sports). The women's race didn't stay together long, as Trombley, a former Olympic mountain-bike racer, Shannon Tupa (Tokyo Joe's) and Erin Huck (Denver Spoke) surged up the rutted Koppenberg on the first lap and found themselves away early on. Huck eventually dropped back, but even with the second group chasing hard,

“Fast” Freddy Rodriguez was fast enough Monday to score the biggest win of the 30-year-old Californian’s career after snatching victory in the ninth stage of the 87th Giro d’Italia. Rodriguez surprised sprint master Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) by jumping with 300 meters to go. The two-time U.S. champion buried his pedals to open up a two-bike gap and had enough in the tank to hold Petacchi by a wheel. “It’s the best day of my career,” Rodriguez beamed in Italian to TV interviewers. “I tried to take Petacchi by surprise, rushing from behind, and it paid off.” Petacchi, a winner of

Well now, this is a nice note to start these Giro diaries on. Even though I won in the last couple hundred meters of today’s stage, this really began yesterday. For the last 24 hours, I’ve been very upset. Because of that, I’ve been totally focused on winning today. Yesterday was a very disappointing day for me. Coming into the finale yesterday I felt really good – better even than I felt today – and as we hit the last corner, McEwen hooked me really hard and I had to shut down my sprint. Last night, after that, we had a big discussion on the team, trying to decide how we were going to

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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.Who was that Phonak rider on Highway 36?Editor:Any reason Tyler Hamilton would be back on U.S. soil? I saw him riding north on Highway 36 on May 11. I would be surprised if anyone not only had full cold-weather Phonak gear, but also a BMC team

Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi once again dominated a sprint finish at the Giro d’Italia to win the eighth stage of Italy’s national tour, a 210km race from Giffoni Valle Piana to Policoro. It was Petacchi's fourth victory of this year's race, which was still being led by 22-year-old Saeco team rider Damiano Cunego. Petacchi, who last year became the first rider in history to win at least three stages in the three major Tours of Italy, France and Spain in same year, proved simply too fast for Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen as he surged towards his tenth-ever Giro stage victory.

Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) scored his second win of the month after snatching the overall title Sunday in the final stage of the Vuelta a Asturias in northern Spain after a remarkable demonstration of attacking style. A winner last weekend at the Clasica Alcobendas, Mayo erased a 46-second deficit to Colombian Felix Cárdenas (Cafés Baqué) in an attack-filled final stage over steep hills from Cangas del Narcea to Oviedo. Mayo made a surprise attack on a steep climb out of the seaside fishing village at Cudillero with 50km to go. Cárdenas was unable to follow the explosive move and could only

Reigning USPRO champion Mark McCormack (Colavita Olive Oil) put in a strong performance Sunday to win the 137-mile opening stage of the Tour of Connecticut. The stage began with a 117-mile opening loop around scenic Litchfield County, with the start and finish in Torrington. The day threatened rain, but instead provided beautiful sunshine for the 120 cyclists at the start. After just five miles, a nine-man break went away and forged a 4.5-mile lead on the field by mile 20. Olympic champion Marty Nothstein (Navigators) won the first and second sprints of the day just before the break was

Adding a short track win to her cross-country victory one day earlier, 2001 world cross-country champion Alison Dunlap (Luna) made a clean sweep of the weekend at the second round of the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series, held Sunday in Sonoma, California. Giant-Pearl Izumi’s Carl Decker took the men’s event, his biggest win to date, taking a tight bunch sprint aboard a borrowed road bike. The short track was but one component of the two-day California Outdoor Sports Championships at Sonoma's Infineon Raceway, which also saw the return of a NORBA dual slalom race, won by Sabrina Jonnier

A rare 10-man sprint at a mountain-bike race

Dunlap comes around Barnholdt to take the women's short track sprint

Saturday was a day of out with the old, in with the new at the 87th Giro d’Italia. A banged-up Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze) didn’t take the start, still smarting from his dramatic crash in stage 4, while young gun Damiano Cunego (Saeco) snatched his second stage victory in a week and slipped on the maglia rosa after winning atop the climbing finish to Montevergine di Mercogliano near Naples. The 37-year-old Cipollini’s early exit left the proud Lion King without a Giro stage win for the first time since 1989 and some were wondering if he’d be back next year for another shot at the

American Jennie Reed claimed the 200 World Cup keirin title on Saturday after finishing second to China's Shuang Guo during the fourth and final round of the series in Sydney, Australia. Germany’s Katrin Meinke was third. Meanwhile, another American, Colby Pearce, lapped the field not once, but twice to win the men's 30km points race in the Dunc Gray Velodrome. Pearce ended rwith 50 points, 14 ahead of 2002 world champion Chris Newton of Great Britain (36 points plus1 lap). Two-time world champ Juan Llaneras Rosello, last year’s silver medalist in Stuttgart, was third (35 points plus1 lap),

Lance Armstrong wasted no time upon his return to Europe on Monday – he’s already been on a scouting mission to L’Alpe d’Huez. The five-time Tour de France winner said the 15km climbing time trial will be a decisive stage in the upcoming Tour, when Armstrong will try to win an historic sixth victory. L’Equipe reported Armstrong rode the legendary climb several times solo on Wednesday before being joined Thursday by teammates Manuel Beltran, Chechu Ruiera and Jose Azevedo. Armstrong will return to racing next week for the Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon (May 19-23) in southern France with

Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) overcame rain-soaked roads and a fast downhill finish to win the 164km sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia from Spoleto to Valmontone on Friday. Petacchi beat Olaf Pollack (Gerolsteiner) and Alejandro Borrajo (Ceramiche Panaria) to the line in a bunch sprint for his third stage win of this year's race. Last year's winner, Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) retained the overall race lead after finishing in the same time as Petacchi. Teammate Damiano Cunego is second, 13 seconds behind, and Yaroslav Popovych (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) is third, a further eight seconds

Italian police on Friday arrested four alleged drug dealers suspected of supplying cocaine to Italian cycling great Marco Pantani, who died of an overdose in February. Police sources had said they were pursuing one person they believed supplied the deadly dose to the 1998 Tour de France winner. Pantani was found dead in a hotel room in the coastal resort town of Rimini on February 14. "Searches are still under way," a Rimini police official told Reuters. He added there would be a news conference later in the day. Pantani won the Giro d'Italia in 1998 but was disqualified while leading

Robbie McEwen couldn’t have asked for a better finish than the one that was handed to him at the end of stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday. For sure, the 177-kilometer ride from Civitella in Val di Chiana to Spoleto, featured one of the flattest courses of this year's Giro, but the peloton was treated to a challenging finishing circuit that seemed to suit the Lotto-Domo rider’s talents more than anyone else’s in the peloton. By the time riders had completed three trips around the 7.3km loop through Spoleto, the steep 1.4km hill had taken its toll on some of the field’s better

As luck would have it, a few members of the VeloNews staff and I were able to sneak away two weeks ago to Moab for a little product testing/vacation mountain bike riding. But before we hit hit the legendary slickrock, I wanted to make sure to bring along a fair share of mountain bike product to test in the harsh desert environment. Coincidentally, RockShox is nearing final production of its 2005 Pike and Reba suspension forks, which provided me the perfect opportunity to beg to borrow one for a bit of test riding. A quick call to one of the RockShox product managers resulted in a

A few members of the VeloNews staff and I were able to sneak away two weeks ago to Moab for a little mountain-bike product testing that was part work, part vacation. Coincidentally, RockShox is nearing final production of its 2005 Pike and Reba suspension forks. And as luck would have it, a quick call to a RockShox product manager resulted in a freshly-built, long-travel Pike being delivered just in time for our departure. I planned to install the Pike on my 2004 Specialized S-Works in the classy digs of Moab’s Apache Motel, then head for the trails. Silly me – I forgot that Pike is a

It’s been a bit of an eventful day. First off, I really twisted my ankle last night. The thing is, I was just walking down the stairs to dinner. So I had to have that taped up and it’s a bit swollen and a bit sore to walk around on. I spent the early part of the day trying to test that out a bit. In fact, it was my ankle that really made me try a shot at that break today. I really wanted to do the sprint today, but early on I tried a couple of times to do a couple of good accelerations. It hurt my foot a little too much when I really accelerated, so I figured I should try something else… if

What’s the difference between a fall and a crash? Ask Alessandro Petacchi and Mario Cipollini. The former suffered a fall midway through the rainy 184km fourth stage of the 87th Giro d’Italia, but rebounded to win his second stage in four days. The latter crashed 200 meters from the line, landing hard on his left side before getting hit by another rider in the hard-charging bunch. Cipollini finished the stage – 150th at 1:35 back -- and didn’t suffer any broken bones, but the cycling world will have to wait until Thursday to see if Cipollini’s spirit was crushed in the horrific high-speed

I’m relieved… I think my heart has finally started to beat again. As you might recall, the other day I said that I was not feeling up to contesting the sprint, figuring that it was not my day and I wanted to stay out of it, mostly out of respect for the guys who were in a position to contest it. Well, today I was feeling up for it, got myself into the mix and had a very, very, very close call when Cipo’ went down. I even had his bike clipping my foot as he went down, so I just missed it. I stopped breathing there and my heart is just now starting up again. Some times it is just so, so close

One thing you have to keep in mind about tactics is that they have to change to suit the circumstances. All teams start the day with a general plan, but then everyone has to be ready at a drop of a pedal stroke to change that plan and improvise. This is certainly what happened in today’s stage at the Giro. I can fully imagine the Fassa Bortolo team meeting this morning before the start of the stage. “This should be an easy day. All we have to do is keep the group together and set up Alessandro for the sprint with 10 kilometers to go. Every one knows their job on the lead out, so let’s get

Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) sent another shot across the bow with a dramatic win in Tuesday’s Subida al Naranca one-day climbing race in northern Spain’s rugged Asturias region. Just days after sweeping to victory in the Clasica Alcobendas in the mountains north of Madrid last weekend, the Basque rider punched the accelerator with 2km to go to drop the bunch on the short, but steep climb. In further proof that the Alpe d’Huez stage-winner from last year’s Tour de France is hitting some fine early season form, Mayo set a new record up the 5.2km climb to the Naranco summit, covering the distance

Well, a guy can’t be too disappointed with that. Today worked out nicely for the team. It was actually a bit better than we might have expected for the first mountain-top finish. Despite all of that heavy Saeco firepower driving at the front of the field, our little Alessio team got two of our guys - Franco Pellizotti and Andrea Noe' – into the top ten. Franco crossed in third, 16 seconds behind Simoni and Andrea took tenth at 34 seconds. Not bad. I’m sure that if you’ve seen any of this on television, you can tell that it’s really hard going up against Saeco right now. As far as I am

The Saeco team knew it had a real talent on its hands this spring when Damiano Cunego scored a string of wins - five over the course of just 10 days - leading up to the Giro d'Italia. Last Friday, just before the start of Italy's national tour, the team added another two years to the young rider's contract and just in time, too. The 22-year-old from Verona scored on Monday what will surely be the first of a string of grand tour stage wins in coming years, as he edged Brad McGee in a sprint into Pontremoli. The day's 184-kilometer stage began in Novi Liguri, not far from Castellania, the

Alessandro Petacchi picked up right where he left off last season, winning the first grand tour sprint finish of the year and setting himself up for a repeat of his spectacular record-setting 2003 season when he earned at least three stage victories in each of the three grand tours. The first road stage of the Giro d’Italia covered 143 stunningly beautiful kilometers between Genoa and the truffle capital of Alba. While the peloton took a moderate approach to the opening kilometers of the stage, a great deal of intensity was reserved for a hard-fought touch-and-go sprint battle between

It was a chaotic day… pretty much like every first stage in a big tour. You’ve probably already read about the way today’s stage went and, as you know, the day started out at a very easy pace and just got faster and faster and faster as we got closer to Alba. At least for me, it wasn’t exactly the best course on which to start a three-week tour. I mean I do feel good – actually really good – on the road right now. It’s just that on a three-week tour it always takes me at least a day or two to get into the rhythm of it. In the big tours, the final 10 or 15km are just so much faster than

Well, here we go. This is the first big race I’ve done after Paris-Roubaix, and despite the fact that I’ve done the Giro d’Italia before, this time it’s all new to me. It’s just been a pretty strange time, these last few weeks, leading up to the Giro. Winning something like Paris-Roubaix really does a job on your life (see "Backstedt a big surprise at Paris-Roubaix"). For one thing, people are actually paying attention to me when I’m just doing little things like warming up for the prologue. That never really happened before. Today, media were constantly coming by to ask questions, others

This story appears in the current issue of VeloNewsAFTER A COUPLE of rough-and-tumble years that included doping scandals, challenges from the Vuelta a España and snubs from Tour de France stars, the Giro d’Italia seems poised toreclaim its rightful position as one of cycling’s legendary events.Following an exciting 2003 edition that saw Gilberto Simoni return todominance over a strong field, the 87th Giro will cover a balanced 20-stage,3435km route that has only three summit finishes during its May 8-30 run,yet contains more climbing than last year’s race (61,000 feet versus 57,000).And with

GILBERTO SIMONI (I)SAECO: WINNER 2001, 2003The two-time Giro champion took his time finding his racing legs goinginto May. Typically firing on all cylinders by early April at the Tourof the Basque Country, “Gibi” was still pack fodder at the Tour of Aragon, just three weeks before the Giro’s start. Simoni blamed rain andcold weather for his sluggish start, but that’s all part of his plan. Afterstorming to victory in the Giro last year, Simoni suffered an equally dramaticmeltdown in the Tour de France, despite his confident declarations thathe would derail Lance Armstrong. “This year we are

This story appears in the current issue of VeloNews MARIO CIPOLLINI AND ALESSANDRO PETACCHI are a study in contrasts. Cipollini is the flamboyant showman who brings kitschy glam to cycling,while Petacchi is the hardworking pupil, anxious to fulfill his potential.Super Mario is cycling’s extroverted showman, the man who showed up atthe start of a stage in the 1999 Tour de France dressed in a toga and waspulled around by his similarly clad teammates in a rigged-up chariot. “Veni,vidi, vici [I came, I saw, I conquered],” Cipollini boasted after scoringfour stage wins, then promptly abandoning

Belgian rider Marc Streel (Landbouwkrediet) pulled a “DuDu” in Thursday’s 183km second stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk, holding off an epic solo breakaway typical of teammate Jackie Durand to grab the stage and take the overall lead. Streel opened up a 12-minute lead in the stage before the peloton woke out of its slumber, but it was too late. Streel nursed a 1:37 gap coming into the finish ahead of sprinting Jean Patrick Nazon (Ag2r), second for second consecutive day. U.S. Postal’s Max Van Heeswijk came through fourth while overnight race leader Jimmy Casper (Cofidis) drops to second at

Ah, Georgia, still on my mind.I know in the age of the Internet that the Dodge Tour de Georgia is sooo last month, but besides being the highest profile race I’ve covered in my two years here at VeloNews, I’d have to say it was probably the best bike racing I’ve had a chance to see up close. I think what was most gratifying to see was the chance for domestic racers to show to Lance, Mario and the gang from CSC that North American racing is no joke. Domestic veterans like Eric Wohlberg (Sierra Nevada) and John Lieswyn (Health Net-Maxxis) were putting up a fight day after day against the man,

Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 4, 2004)--USA Cycling announcedtoday the athletes that will represent the United States at the final roundof the UCI Track World Cup in Sydney, Australia May 14-16, 2004. The final selection was made following USA Cycling’s World Cup Qualifierin Frisco, Texas this past weekend.Athletes receiving a start based upon their victories in Frisco includeMike Tillman (Santa Monica, Calif.) in the men’s individual pursuit, JameCarney (Boulder, Colo.) in the men’s scratch race and Andy Lakatosh (Trexlertown,Pa.) in the men’s keirin.Completing the men’s squad based upon

Tim Johnson (Saunier Duval) said illness in March destroyed his chances of making the team selection for the Giro d’Italia (May 8-30). The 26-year-old American was hoping to earn a spot on the Saunier Duval line-up in his first season racing based in Europe, but he missed nearly a month of racing after becoming sick during a cold and wet introduction to Europe. “I was so sick, I missed a month and I just couldn’t race,” Johnson said during last week’s Vuelta a Castilla y León in northern Spain. “I’m feeling good now. I’m finally racing, getting in the action.” Johnson was among 24 riders

LTHR testDear Joe and Dirk,I have read how you suggest testing for Lactate Threshold Heart Rate for either running or biking, but I have not yet have the chance to fit such a test into my training. I did recently run a half marathon, at a relatively even pace, with a fast last 2.1 miles. I can calculate a reasonably accurate average heart rate for the last 20 minutes of this race. Will this average be a good measure of my LTHR? Does it matter if the last three-fourths of a mile was fairly hilly (at least by southeastern Michigan standards)?C. Thomas LuddenBloomfield Hills, MichiganDear Mr.

The teams of overall race leaders Amber Neben and Scott Moninger showed their depth Saturday as former Olympic silver medalist and world time trial champion Mari Holden (T-Mobile) and Healthnet/Maxxis strongman Mike Sayers dominated the finishes of the Silver City Downtown Criterium to win stage 4 of the Tour of the Gila. Held on a 1.08-mile course that included an elevation change of 110 feet per lap, Sayers went off the front with five laps to go, followed only by Arizona-based regional pro Jacob Rubelt (Landis Trek/VW), and kicked the final sprint to put a stamp on the men’s race.

Alejandro Valverde (CV-Kelme) just can't help himself. The 23-year-old Spanish sensation sped to his third victory of the week in Sunday's fifth stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon (SPA 2.3) in northern Spain, pipping Martin Perdiguero (Saunier Duval) in a bunch sprint. Angel Edo (Milaneza) came through to take third in the 155km stage from Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo. Koldo Gil (Liberty Seguros) finished safely in the main bunch to conserve his grip on the overall leader's jersey and deliver his team's first stage-race victory of the season. Illes Balears, which won the team time

Scott Moninger (Health Net-Maxxis) won his second straight stage in the Tour of the Gila Friday, taking a bunch sprint by five bike lengths. Teammates Mike Sayers and Mike Jones took second and third. The win adds precious bonus time to Moninger’s GC lead over Drew Miller (Landis-Trek-VW), who finished safely in the field but 13 seconds down. Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders) was awarded first place in the women’s race after Lynn Gaggioli (T-Mobile) – who was working to protect teammate Amber Neben’s GC lead by taking away any possible sprint time bonuses – was called by officials for

Alejandro Valverde (CV-Kelme) is the quintessential todo terreno, capable of victories in any conditions. Just a day after winning a sprint, Valverde took yet another win, this time up a twisting steep mountain road in the barren mountains of northern Spain. The 23-year-old fought to his ninth victory of the season, enduring snow and fog up the steep climb to the Category 1 Alto de Morredero in the 133km fourth stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y León (SPA 2.3). Koldo Gil (Liberty Seguros) finished three seconds back, but slipped into the overall lead after overnight leader David Navas (Illes

Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) withstood a double-barreled attack in Saturday’s short but challenging three-climb 127km fourth stage to ease into the overall lead of the 58th Tour de Romandie with Sunday’s decisive time trial on tap. Saunier Duval sent Fabian Jeker and Leonardo Piepoli on the march on the day’s third Category 1 climb at Crans Montana high in the Swiss Alps. Hamilton found a new faithful ally in Slovenian national champion Tadej Valjavec, who helped his captain mark the pair’s every move. Former mountain biker Dario Cioni (Fassa Bortolo) bridged out from a chase group in the 27km

Al Stiller, a leader in U.S. road and track racing from the late 1940s to the early 1960s and who had witnessed one of the Tour de France’s epic finishes, died April 20 in Boulder, Colorado. He was 80 and suffered from heart problems. Chicago born and bred, Stiller recalled in a 1991 interview that he became intrigued with cycling as a youngster in the late 1920s after watching six-day racers whirling around a steeply banked wooden velodrome in Chicago Stadium. “I joined a local club in 1939, and won my first race—a 400-yard event on the grass in a park. I was 16. There was no holding

Scott Moninger (Health Net-Maxxis) won the 92-mile Silver City to Mogollon stage of the Tour of the Gila Thursday, leading a strung-out peloton up the final 5.5-mile Category 1 finshing climb and finishing 20 seconds ahead defending winner Drew Miller (Landis-Trek-VW). With his effort, Moninger overtook time-trial winner Ryan Blickem (Aida's Bail Bonds) for the lead on the general classification. And although Blickem’s full-minute advantage after yesterday’s time trial was enough to keep him in the GC hunt after finishing 2:24 down on Thursday, it looks like the Tour of the Gila will live

The knives were out in what was expected to be an innocuous second stage of the 58th Tour de Romandie in Switzerland on Thursday With some serious mountain stages on the menu Friday and Saturday, Thursday’s 156km circuit stage into Romont served up a nice appetizer for what awaits this weekend. Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola) confirmed he’s on rising form just in time for the Giro d’Italia with an impressive stage-win on the rising finish near the historic chateau at Romont. A winner two weeks ago at the Tour of Aragon in Spain, Garzelli led home a group of 27 riders fractured by Phonak’s

The peloton ripped apart over a Category 2 climb midway through the opening stage of the five-day Vuelta a Castilla y León in northern Spain. Strong winds finished off the job as José Ivan Gutierrez (Illes Balears) drove home a seven-man group. Pre-race favorites Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme missed the move, which Liberty Seguros had leader Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano safely tucked into the seven-rider group that came through 29 seconds ahead of the chasing Alejandro Valverde (Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme). Joining Gutierrez in the lead break were Galdeano, teammate David Navas, Gorka Beloki (La

Veteran sprinter Jan Svorada (Lampre) proved he still has it in the sprint, taking victory Wednesday in the opening road stage of the 58th Tour de Romandie against a field of young guns nipping at his heels. The 35-year-old Czech sprinter has racked up 70 wins since turning pro in 1991, including stage victories in all three grand tours. He won his second race as a pro at Romandie in 1992, but seemed happier in 2004. “I’ve arrived here in good condition and I really wanted to win a stage,” said Svorada, who barely held off a late-charge by Marco Zanotti (Vini Caldirola). “The team worked

Dario Frigo, plagued by a viral infection since Paris-Nice, won’t start next month’s Giro d’Italia. Instead, Fassa Bortolo has tapped the in-form Frank Vandenbroucke to take his place as team captain. Frigo became sick during Paris-Nice and has been unable to effectively train since then. Frigo -- kicked out of the 2001 Giro by his team after being found with banned substances during the San Remo raids -- scored victories last year at Paris-Nice and won a Giro stage, but has yet to win this year. Vandenbroucke, meanwhile, has been riding strong throughout the spring despite not scoring a

Norristown, PA – The first five juniors qualified for the JuniorPro Cycling Tour to be held Sunday, June 6, as part of the Wachovia USPROChampionship, now celebrating its 20th year in Philadelphia.  MichaelChauner, 17, West Chester, PA high school senior and a member of the Colorado-based,Team Rio Grande, blistered to a solo finish, followed by Chad Young, 18,from Lancaster, PA, Main Line Cycling, both over a minute ahead of thefield of 24.Colton Valentine, 16, Philadelphia, Quaker City Wheelmen, Elliot Gaunt,17, Williamsport, Main Line Cycling and Chris Ruhl, 17, Quakertown andalso on

There’s now little doubt that Gerolsteiner’s Italian wonder man Davide Rebellin is the man of the week, the man of the month, maybe even the man of the year. That seven-year gap between World Cup victories after the two he scored in August 1997 was more like a blockage than a drought. Suddenly, last Sunday in the Netherlands, the dam broke and in eight days Rebellin has simply swept away his opposition in a torrent of victories: Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

There was plenty of racing in Europe beyond the Ardennes. Here’s a round-up of all of Sunday’s other action: Cunego takes another winRising Italian star Damiano Cunego (Saeco) took another big victory Sunday in the 65th Giro dello Appennino (ITA 1.2), an important one-day race coming just days following his breakthrough victory at the Giro di Trentino earlier this week. 65th Giro dello Appennino (ITA 1.2)1. Damiano Cunego (I), Saeco 5h13:372. Giuliano Figueras (I), Ceramiche Panaria3. Rinaldo Nocentini (I), Acqua & Sapone4. Luis Jimenez (Col), Formaggi Pinzolo5. Gilberto Simoni (I),

Gord Fraser of Health Net-Maxxis took the final stage of the Dodge Tour de Georgia Sunday, beating out Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita Olive Oil) and 2002 world champion Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze) in a high-speed 65kph dash to the line. There were no significant changes to the general classification, sealing the final overall victory for U.S. Postal-Berry Floor's Lance Armstrong.

The sunshine that enveloped the green hills of the Ardennes Saturday evening augers well for the Italians who have arrived in force for Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Not only do they have the highest number of starters (44) and teams (six) for this World Cup race, but they have also delivered the race winner four times in the past seven years. Last year, of course, Tyler Hamilton broke their stranglehold with a brilliant solo victory ahead of two other non-Italians, Spaniard Iban Mayo of Euskaltel-Euskadi and Dutchman Michael Boogerd of Rabobank. Both Hamilton (race No. 1) and Boogerd (No.

Kate Sherwin (Team Kenda Tire) and Scott Blanchard (Eclipse Racing) won the first of two stages on Saturday during the 26th annual La Vuelta de Bisbee in Arizona. The morning’s stage also shook up the overall, with Lynn Gaggioli (T-Mobile) and Davide Frattini (Team Monex) taking over the lead on GC. Come the afternoon’s 8.3-mile Warren Time Trial, Gaggioli padded her overall lead by winning the stage, while Frattini surrendered a bit of time to defending LVDB champion Drew Miller (Landis-Trek-VW), who took the men’s win. The Sulphur Springs Road Race course rolled out of the old mining town

Colombian climber Cesar Grajales of the Athens, Georgia-based Jittery Joe’s team took the biggest victory of his career Saturday at the Dodge Tour de Georgia, escaping from a select group to solo away atop the hors categorie Brasstown Bald Mountain ascent.

A couple of weeks ago I ran into Boulder racer and former 7UP pro Chuck Coyle at Redlands. Besides racing his bike, Coyle is also the proprietor these days of theprosstuff.com, and we got to talking about ... socks. Seems that in addition to the pro equipment up for sale on the site – bikes, frames, wheels, components - TheProsStuff also has on hand several pair of team-issue socks. Used. I recently followed up with him, to find out if people are actually buying used cycling socks on the Web. Yes, he told me. "They're not going so fast. It's more of a specialty item," he joked. "I've

Jason McCartney shot out of a six-man breakaway with more than 32km remaining to win the epic 137.5-mile fifth stage of the Dodge Tour de Georgia on Friday. The Health Net-Maxxis rider made his move on the fourth of five classified climbs as the break's lead over a U.S. Postal-driven chase began to dwindle, from six minutes to four.

Spanish climber Juan Miguel Mercardo (Quick Step) went on the attack in the third stage of the Giro di Trentino and was rewarded with a stage victory for his efforts. Mercado attacked the lead group at the Passo Uldarico climb and held on to win, 25 seconds ahead of Giuseppe Muraglia (Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave). The new father quickly dedicated the victory to his daughter. “It is a great satisfaction to have won today. During the last climb I made another attack and I arrived at the finish line alone,” Mercado said. “I want to dedicate this victory to my daughter, Aiñoa, who was born three

On the same day that Jan Ullrich announced that he had opted out of Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège World Cup, Dodge Tour de Georgia crowd favorite Lance Armstrong fired a warning shot to his Tour de France rival when he won the stage 3 field sprint into Rome, finishing ahead of Ivan Dominguez (Colavita Olive Oil) and Ben Brooks (Jelly Belly).

Drew Miller (Landis-Trek-VW) will be on hand to defend his title at the 26th La Vuelta de Bisbee this weekend, beginning with Friday’s Mule Pass Individual Time Trial. The 36-year-old Flagstaff racer says both he and his team are somewhat weaker than they’d like to be going into the four-stage National Race Calendar event – Miller is recovering from a bout of flu, while teammate Scott Price had a nasty crash at the Redlands Bicycle Classic. “My form and fitness were good earlier this spring,” Miller said. “Redlands started well, but I ended it with the flu. I've taken a couple steps back

It really hasn’t been all that long since an elite cyclist won two UCI-sanctioned races on the same day: seven weeks, to be precise. The rider was CSC’s Jens Voigt, and the event was the two-day, three stage French Critérium International. Voigt took the overall on March 28 by winning the 98.5km morning climbing stage in a three-up sprint, and followed up with a win in the final 8.3km time trial, besting U.S. Postal-Berry Floor’s Lance Armstrong by four seconds on the stage and 14 seconds overall.

When Italian superstar “Super Mario” Cipollini failed to contest the opening sprint stage of the Dodge Tour de Georgia on Monday, the sport’s cognoscenti immediately questioned what might be amiss with 2002 world champion. Was it the criterium-style finishing circuits that slowed down his Domina Vacanze lead-out train? Was he out of sorts in the near 90-degree heat? Perhaps he had simply arrived in the U.S. out of shape, or maybe, some supposed, the realities of age had finally caught up with the 37-year-old sprinter.

20 April  – Pozzoleone, Italy – Fi’zi:k, the elite hand-madeItalian saddle manufacturer is releasing limited edition Team Replica Arionesaddles.  In honor of Italian fi’zi:k sponsored teams participatingin the 2004 Giro d’Italia, the company is producing a limited number ofcustom team replica Saeco Macchine per Café, Alessio-Bianchi andVini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie Arione saddles.The limited edition Arione team replica saddles retailing for $139,will be available in late May and will be distributed in the US throughfi’zi:k’s exclusive US distributor, BikeMine (www.bikemine.com –

Canadian veteran Gord Fraser (Health Net-Maxxis) took the opening stage of the 2004 Dodge Tour de Georgia Tuesday, beating sprint specialist Ivan Dominguez (Colavita Olive Oil) and last month’s Criterium International winner Jens Voigt (CSC) to the finish line in front of an enthusiastic downtown Macon crowd. Fraser’s lead-out man Greg Henderson finished fourth, with Landbouwkredit-Colnago’s Ukrainian sprinter Yuri Metlushenko in fifth.

Gilberto Simoni admitted he’s not on the same form as he was this time last year after stumbling through a lackluster string of performances in Spain. The defending Giro d’Italia champion said cold, rainy weather during the Tour of the Basque Country and the Tour of Aragon were not to his liking. He abandoned both races while arch-rival Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola) took victory in Aragon on final-day time bonuses. "I know I’m not in the same form as I was last year and I know that Garzelli is definitely riding better than me at the moment,” Simoni said on the team’s web page. “However,

Pro racers from across the U.S. and Europe trickled in to the town of Macon,Georgia, over the weekend as organizers of the country’s richest stagerace, the Dodge Tour de Georgia, made final preparations to commence racingTuesday, April 20. In only its second year, the event received a huge boost with the Januaryannouncement that five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong wouldbring his U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor team to the event and use therace as preparation for a sixth consecutive Tour win. Shortly thereafter,2003 title-sponsor Dodge renewed its commitment for 2004, and a more

It had been seven years since Gerolsteiner’s Davide Rebellin had taken back-to-back World Cup victories at the Clasica San Sebastian and Championship of Zürich. And despite having won 30 races since then, he was desperate to regain the prestige that had been grabbed in recent years by his fellow Italians Paolo Bettini and Danilo Di Luca.

Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola) outfoxed – and outsprinted – Denis Menchov (Illes Balears) to snatch overall victory in the 49th Tour of Aragon in Spain. Garzelli finished third behind stage-winner Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) to earn a four-second time bonus to put him in a tie with Menchov, who held the lead since winning the opening stage Wednesday to the ski area at Valdelinares. Based on stage placements, however, Garzelli earned the tie-breaker and the overall title in an important victory as he prepares for next month’s Giro d’Italia. “The objective was to arrive in good