South African sprinter Robert Hunter (Rabobank) took care of business in the Middle East to win Friday’s final stage and claim the overall title of the third Tour of Qatar. Hunter won his second stage in three days to claim the overall prize, scoring a big win ahead of Italian Francesco Chicchi (Fassa Bortolo) and Wouter van Mechelen (Vlaanderen), who came across third. With only one second separating race leader Hunter and archrival Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) going into Friday’s 163km finale, it was heated battle from the gun. A group of about 40 riders tore away early as Lotto-Domo

The 10-day, 1251km Tour de Langkawi is set to start Friday, February6, on Malaysia’s resort island of Penang. Now in its ninth year, the Tour’s2004 course will follow a clockwise loop along the western coast of PeninsularMalaysia, offering a feast of sprint finishes with just three mountainousstages and two mountain-top finishes. Twenty teams of seven riders will contest the Tour, which boasts thefourth largest prize list in pro cycling. However, missing from the raceis any one overwhelming favorite, generating a consensus that it’s anyone’srace to win. Last year’s winner, American Tom

Belgian Tom Steels (Landbouwkrediet) got his season off to a good start Wednesday, beating compatriot Jo Planckaert (Mr Bookmakers) in a bunch sprint to open the five-day l'Etoile de Bessèges race in France. Stuart O’Grady (Cofidis) and Gorka Gonzalez (Euskaltel) livened things up early with a long breakaway, but the Aussie was reeled in with 15km to go and it came down to a mass gallop coming into Marseille. The race continues Thursday with the 149km second stage into Palavas-les-Flots. l'Etoile de Bessèges, Stage 1, Marseille1. Tom Steels (B), Landbouwkrediet, 139km in 3:34:03 (39.131

Training camp has finished. I am back in Colorado and will soon be heading overseas for the beginning of the season. In the last week the training load increased and that old competitive spirit reappeared in the team. We rode between 4.5 and 6 hours each day with one easy day and one travel day when we left Solvang, California for Scottsdale, Arizona and our "sponsor camp" - which consisted of a weekend of fine meals at a nice hotel, where we could both ride and meet up with our sponsors and friends of the team before heading overseas for the races. The new team jerseys were also unveiled

Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke (Française desJeux) stormed to victory in the Grand Prix La Marseillaise on Tuesday toopen the French racing season. Cooke nipped Jo Planckaert (MR Bookmaker.com) to take the bunch sprintin the 152km race from Gardanne to Aubagne. Italian Fabio Baldato (Alessio-Bianchi) came across the line third. Racing continues Wednesday in France with the five-day l'Etoile de Bessèges.GP La Marseillaise (UCI 1.3)1. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, 152km in 3:38:302. Jo Planckaert (B), Mr Bookmakers3. Fabio Baldato (I), Alessio-Bianchi4. Stefan Van Dijck

Bart Wellens made the right choice, Mario De Clercq didn’t. The younger of Belgium’s past world elite cyclo-cross champions chose to start the final sprint from the front. The older man chose to follow. And though there was only about an inch between their knobby front tires at the line, Wellens just held on. “Eight times out of 10 I would lose the sprint to Mario, so it was a great honor to beat him,” said a jubilant Wellens, 25, who thus kept the title he first earned last year in Monopoli, Italy. “Today was much more special for me than Monopoli.” Perhaps this was De Clercq’s final best

Allan Davis christened the 2004 European road season with a sprint victory in Sunday’s Trofeo Mallorca to give his new Liberty Seguros team the best possible start to the year. The Australian fought hard to get back in position after being boxed out in the final kilometer of Sunday’s 82.5km circuit course along the harbor at Palma de Mallorca to open the five-day Mallorca Challenge. Davis overcame a strong effort by Rabobank to set up former two-time world champion Oscar Freire to grab the victory. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) ill-timed his sprint and came through to take third. Racing was

It was clear that Saturday afternoon’s under-23 men’s race at the cyclo-cross world’s in Pont-Château, France, was going to be dramatic and highly tactical when there was a crash on the first turn. This was not just another of those crashes caused by a traffic jam of riders when they are still grouped together. This crash happened right at the front when the first six riders tangled wheels and fell on a muddy, off-camber slope as they emerged from the long bend. Among the six fallers were the three top favorites: defending champion Enrico Franzoi of Italy; Belgian champion Wesley Van der

The 2004 European bike racing season kicks off Sunday with the five-day Mallorca Challenge, the continent’s first major race of the road season. Many big-hitters are starting the series among the 19 teams and 300 riders, including such big guns as Erik Zabel (T-Mobile), Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Alejandro Valverde (Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme). Held over five stages, the races are held as a string of one-day races rather than accumulative time. Races: Day 1: Palma to Palma, 82.5km; Day 2, Alcudia-Port d’Alcudia, 159km; Day 3: Soller-Port de Sóller, 150,6km; Day 4: Calabona-Manacor,

There’s plenty happening around VeloNews headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, as our editorial crew ramps up for the upcoming season. We’re just midway through production of issue No. 2, a packed preview of the international road season, but already production has begun on issue No. 3, our Buyer’s Guide. Good thing those Buyer’s Guide pages will be glossy, my friends, because you’re guaranteed to be drooling over the gear splashed across the pages. Carbon, titanium, aluminum – oh my! Myself, I’m trying to get all my ducks in a row, finishing up assignments for both issues while preparing for

Former world cycling champion Mario Cipollini wants the Tour de France to grant him a final farewell appearance before the end of his career, Reuters reported Friday. Speaking during the presentation of his Domina Vacanze team on the shores of Lake Como, the 36-year-old Italian said he deserved a place on the Tour because of his 185 victories as a sprinter over the last 15 years. “I'm convinced I can still win stages in the Tour de France and I think I deserve a place in this year's race as a kind of lifetime achievement award," Cipollini said. “I don't know how much chance we've got ...

“This is the strongest I’ve been for a ’cross world’s … ever,” said Alison Dunlap Friday night, “and that’s because this is the first season that I’ve actually raced a full season, starting in September.” The reigning U.S. national cyclo-cross champion was both confident and relaxed when she spoke with VeloNews at the Ibis-St. Nazaire Hotel, where the American team is based for this weekend’s world cyclo-cross championships in Pont-Château, France. “It’s a really fair course,” Dunlap said. “It’s wide-open, not super technical, only two short runs, and so the strongest person will win.

It’s not quite the Champs-Élysées, but for the tens of thousands who turned out for the final stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under on Sunday it was a race finale to rival anything on the world stage. Not only did top sprinters Baden Cooke and Robbie McEwen take the top-two finish spots for the day, one of Adelaide's favorite sons, Patrick Jonker, duly bowed out a winner after a distinguished 14-year career in the pro ranks. Jonker, 34, earmarked this year's event as his last as a professional cyclist, and in a fairytale ending he achieved a dream result.

Spaar Select’s Erwin Vervecken won the sixth round of cyclo-cross’s Superprestigeseries in Hogstraten, Belgium.Vervecken beat a trio of fellow Belgians in this final major event beforenext week’s world championship race in Pont-Château, France.Defending world and Belgian champion Bart Wellens came back from mechanicaldifficulties but was too exhausted to contest a three-up sprint, satisfiedwith third and a victory by his Spaar Select teammate.American Jonathan Page finished 18th, while his U.S. teammate Jackson Stewart trailed in at 40th and Andy Jacques-Maynes did not finish. American Jeremy

Ben Day, Queensland’s time-trial champion, led home an all-Aussie trifecta in the penultimate stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under at Willunga on Saturday. While the Team Australia rider won in style, beating Tour de France sprinters Robbie McEwen (Lotto) and Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com)after attacking 3km from the finish, it will be South Australian Patrick Jonker who will be acclaimed the overall victor when the Tour ends on Sunday. Jonker, 34, riding in his swansong tour after a distinguished career, holds a nearly unassailable 1:34 lead over McEwen with Belgian Philippe Gilbert

Australian Patrick Jonker maintained his overall lead after Friday's 141km fourth stage of the Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under as Lotto’s sprinter Robbie McEwen won his second bunch finish. Jonker finished in the main field in 28th, holding on to a 1:38 advantage in general classification over McEwen, who moved into second place overall. McEwen, who was disappointed to finish third in yesterday’s sprint into Victor Harbor, said today’s win makes up for that loss. “It’s still always going to be the one that got away but it’s good to be able to win today,” he said, adding that he hadn’t planned

FDJeux.com’s Philippe Gilbert was a brilliant winner of Thursday's third stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, but South Australian Patrick Jonker (UniSA )has all but guaranteed he will finish his illustrious career on an high note. Jonker, 34, took over the leader's yellow jersey from David McPartland (Team Australia) and now leads the overall standings by 1:39 at the half-way mark of this six-day stage race. It’s a situation that Jonker, who has earmarked this event as his swansong, would have only dreamed about. And it came about Thursday because he had the legs to ensure he was in

Down, but far from being out, is the theme this week; applicable notjust to Aussie Nathan O’Neill, who proved skeptics wrong last week witha dramatic Australian national time trial championship only six monthsafter a potentially life-threatening spinal injury, but to the mid-AprilHyundai Sea Otter Classic road stage race and to the Tourde Georgia, which goes into 2004 with a renewed commitment from its titlesponsor, Dodge.A smaller, tougher OtterOriginally a mountain bike event, the Sea Otter Classic — a UCI-sanctionedstage race won by O’Neill last year — had well-documented road course

Young New South Wales rider David McPartland (Team Australia) celebrated the signing of a new professional contract by winning the second stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under in emphatic fashion Wednesday. And the victory, over Dutchman Alain Van Katwijk (Bankgiroloterij) and South Australian Patrick Jonker (UniSA), was enough to catapult the 23-year-old from Albury into the leader's yellow jersey. A last-minute replacement for top international Scott Sunderland, McPartland's best domestic performance before yesterday was winning the national under 23 category in the 2002 Australian

Robbie McEwen and arch rival Graeme Brown were involved in another controversial start to the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under Tuesday. But unlike last year when Brown was disqualified for not holding his line, the chaotic finish saw McEwen win clearly from Dutch champion Rudi Kemna and NSW`s Mark Renshaw, with Brown fourth. However, there was utter confusion in the last lap when a breakaway group of 12 riders, led by Victorian David McKenzie (Navigators), caught the main field, and Brown accused McEwen's Lotto-Domo teammates of blocking his run. A fuming Brown labeled the event "an absolute

While his teammates are in Italy, Jose Antonio Pecharromán is hopingfor a “strong start” to his 2004 season at the Tour Down Under. The 25-year-oldwas picked up by Quick Step following his impressive 2003 season, withvictories in the Bicicleta Vasca and the Volta a Catalunya.“I am going to start the season strong, racing in the first competitionsof the season, to be competitive at the Tour of Valencia (Feb. 24-28),”Pecharromán told the Spanish daily MARCA. “Depending on howthings go, I could be on the Tour team, even though my principal goal ofthe season is the Vuelta a

Marco has styleEditors;I agree with those defending Marco Pantani. He has still hadsome respectable results since the big "doping" label was placed on him,and yet, never proven. I read all those responses that bashed ilPirate and said "if not for the drugs," he wouldn't have won.Silly American brashness, popping off our big loud mouths withoutsubstance. In my opinion, Professional Cycling, specifically the Italian pieceof it, did a grave injustice to one of the best cyclists of a generation.So sad the Italians did it to one of their own, too. I say, go Marco!! Get back on the bike, train

Reigning world time trial champion David Millar defended his Cofidis team despite some current and former members being caught up in the latest doping scandal to rock cycling. "We are not cheats," Millar told the English daily The Guardian on Monday. "I'm confident in the team and I hope Cofidis remain in cycling for a long time." Last week, French police began an investigation into team masseur Bogdan Madejak and former Cofidis racer Marek Rutkiewicz. Rutkiewicz is accused of smuggling growth hormones and other drugs into France, but said this week he is innocent of anything involving

Marek Rutkiewicz, the Polish rider who last week was reportedly caught by French police in possession of banned substances, has hit out at being made a scapegoat in an affair which he says has been blown out of proportion. As part of the investigation, Rutkiewicz’s former Cofidis team was under the spotlight last week as he was arrested along with Cofidis soigneur Bogdan Madejak. Madejak is accused of being part of a smuggling ring and has now been suspended by the team, who boast a string of top riders including world champions David Millar (time trial) and Igor Astarloa

Canberra cyclist Oenone Wood won the road race on Saturday at the BMC Software Australian Open Road Championships, two days after claiming victory in the individual time trial. The 23-year-old Wood barely outsprinted Victoria’s Katie Mactier after 10 laps of a 10km course in Buninyong. Sara Carrigan of Queensland crossed third. “It’s pretty amazing, and I don’t think it’s quite registered yet,” said Wood. “To win with such a quality field, I’m amazed.” The race began in wet, cold and windy conditions, and although the rain let up by the third lap, the wind and cold made it tough going. But

After what he admits were five dark years struggling to rediscover the winning formula that shot him to the 1998 Tour de France podium, Bobby Julich says he’s excited about the 2004 racing season. Julich said he’s rediscovered his passion for racing after joining Bjarne Riis at Team CSC in what he admits is his “last chance” to return to glory. “I was very close to retirement and I’m very happy to get this chance to ride with Bjarne,” Julich told VeloNews during the team’s training camp in Lucca, Italy. “I feel like I’ve gotten my last chance.” Since his meteoric rise to third place in

Polish rider Marek Rutkiewicz and Cofidis soigner Bogdan Madejak have been charged with illegally possessing and supplying toxic drugs. Police said Thursday that Madejak, the Polish soigner on the Cofidis staff, was held on remand while Rutkiewicz, who left Cofidis last year, was released on police bail. The 2001 world track champion Robert Sassone, who also left Cofidis last year, and Madejak's wife and pharmacist daughter were due to be brought before an investigating magistrate. The police investigation, which started eight months ago, centers on some elements of the Cofidis team. The

Remember that scene in the classic 1979 film "Breaking Away" when the main character — Dave, the naïve young cyclist — was racing against the Italian Cinzano squad he so admired? Remember how, at first, Dave was thrilled to be riding with them, even challenging them, until one of the Italians put a frame pump through Dave's wheel and the young blond-headed kid ended up in a ditch while the darker-haired "pros" rode away laughing? Well anyone who knows that scene well and also watched "The Simpsons" on Sunday night probably recognized a quick parody of "Breaking Away" featuring Bart and the

Marco Pantani celebrated his 34th birthday Tuesday without much hope of returning to cycling's elite level. The former Giro d'Italia and Tour de France is 15 kilos overweight and isn't expected to race this year, according to a report in La Gazzetta dello Sport. While Pantani won't officially say he's retired, his father, Ferdinando, says it's not likely 'The Pirate' will roam cycling's peloton this season. "Between 1 and 10 for him to comeback to cycling, I see it as a chance of 1," the paper quoted the racer's father. "Marco is a sensitive man and all this has been too much for

Just days after the Cofidis team presentation, the French daily L'Equipe is reporting Tuesday that a current trainer and one its former team members, Marek Rutkiewicz, are suspected of operating a "vast" drug ring between Eastern Europe and the peloton. According to reports, police acted on a tip and stopped Rutkiewicz -- a 23-year-old Polish rider formerly with Cofidis and newly signed with French team RAGT Semences-MG Rover (formerly Jean Delatour) -- at Charles de Gaulle airport Monday night in Paris. Rutkiewicz was taken into custody after police allegedly found doping paraphernalia.

Let the games begin (and not the good ones, either)Editor:The article about Alison Dunlap is just the start of a long hot summer before the Olympics. Every Olympic year deserving cyclists are not selected for the team. There is always going to be someone left out in the cold, and cold people usually employ lawyers to heat things up. Just wait – as the selection process gets closer there will be other stories to tell. On a similar note, it has been rumored for more than a year that the USA may not qualify a sprint "team" for the Olympics. Now that doesn't sound good for the country with the

After two forgettable seasons, 2001 Vuelta a España champion Angel Casero is hoping to rediscover his winning legs for the 2004 season. “I’ve had two difficult seasons. In 2002, I had problems with my knee and I couldn’t race the Tour and it impeded my preparation for the Vuelta, where I finished sixth. And last year the situation with the team was truly chaotic,” Casero told the Spanish daily AS. Casero is set to ride for Kelme, though there’s no signed contract yet. “I have a lot of motivation for this season. After such a hard year that I had, with the disappearance of Coast, the

Reigning Giro d’Italia champion Gilberto Simoni kick-started his season– literally – over the weekend, competing in 7.5km cross-country skiingrace near his hometown of Trento, Italy.Simoni and Saeco teammate Leonardo Bertagnolli participated in the racewhich drew more than 5,000 skiers. For the 32-year-old two-time Giro champion,it marked the transition into formal preparations for the upcoming season.“As with tradition, I’ll start my preparation at home then join my teammatesin Terracina,” Simoni told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Some of myteammates will race in Qatar, but I prefer to stay and

Italian national team cycling coach and former race star Franco Ballerini has been called before a judge in Florence to answer charges of taking doping products in 1998, the year he won Paris-Roubaix for the second time, the Ansa news agency reported Sunday. Ballerini will appear before a judge at Pistoia, just outside Florence on January 14, to answer charges of taking anabolic steroids. His summoning comes following an enquiry opened by a court at Brescia which implicated former national coach Antonio Fusi and nine riders including Ballerini on charges of “sporting fraud,” a crime which

The Moscow City Sports Association team showed that they are the class of the field on Tuesday in the Tour of South China Sea. During the sixth stage at Zhuhai, the team worked like a well-oiled machine to deliver Russian sprinter Oleg Grishkin to his fourth win in this tour. Kam Po Wong (Pocari Sweat Hong Kong) collected six bonus seconds by finishing second, and that may prove important in the final calculations, as he is the favorite in Wednesday’s stage on Coloane Island, which finishes up a steep climb. The stage began with a flurry of attacks. American Chris Baumann (Sierra

Russian sprinter Oleg Grishkin (Moscow City Sports Association) won the fifth stage of the Tour of South China Sea on Monday, taking the bunch sprint just ahead of Aussie Brett Aitken (Bicisport Australia). It was the third victory so far in the eighth annual race for Grishkin, who claimed stages one and four, and holds the overall lead just 13 seconds ahead of Kam Po Wong (Pocari Sweat Hong Kong) and a further second over Aitken. The tour has been a sprinter’s race since stage three, and while Grishkin didn’t look good in the hilly second stage, where he briefly surrendered the jersey to

The Navigators will be heading to Australia after the New Year to make its season debut in the Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under, Jan 20-25. The team will join 11 other squads in what’s the first major race of the 2004 season. Heading to Australia will be Siro Camponogara, Vassili Davidenko, Jeff Louder, David McKenzie, Kirk Obee, Ciaran Power, Burke Swindlehurst, and Phil Zajicek. They will hook up with their Aussie teammate Henk Vogels for a brief training camp prior to the race, the team reported. The official team camp and presentation will follow the JCTDU with a complete team gathering in

More than a dozen Americans will be racing in Europe this season, ranging from five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong to newbies like Tom Danielson, Tim Johnson and Patrick McCarty. U.S. Postal Service remains the engine behind the strong American presence in Europe, with eight riders representing the colors across the pond. But there’s growing diversity in the American expatriate community, with seven teams from Denmark, Italy, Spain, Holland and Switzerland boasting a Yankee rider, and the U.S.-based Navigators planning another springtime assault on the continent. Americans are

Marc Gullickson (Redline) and Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles) made it two for two this weekend, each winning the final weekend’s worth of racing in the Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series. Today, in the Patterson Construction-NEBC Cyclo-Cross, riders were greeted with a course that was shockingly slick with ice, snow, and mud, pushing riders' abilities to the limit. In the men’s series, Mark McCormack (Saturn) held the lead in the overall standings over last year's series winner, Marc Gullickson (Redline), winner of the previous day's race in Rhode Island. Meanwhile, in the

Last year's Verge New England Cyclo-cross Series champions – Marc Gullickson (Redline) and Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles) – returned to the fore on Saturday as the series moves into its final weekend. From the starting whistle in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, the men's elite race was on fire. Series leader Mark McCormack (Saturn) got the hole shot on theuphill sprint start, with newly crowned under-23 national champion JesseAnthony (Hot Tubes) right on his wheel. By the end of the first lap, a leadgroup containing McCormack, Anthony, Gullickson, Ben Turner(7UP-Maxxis), and Zak Grabowski

On Sunday, December 14, one man and woman will be crowned elite national cyclo-cross champions in Portland, Oregon. And while nothing is ever guaranteed in bike racing, there are three near-certainties for the weekend: The race will be contested in wet, muddy conditions; the crowd will be downing plenty of race sponsor Portland Brewing Company’s beer; and the winners of both events will likely have been previously crowned national ‘cross champion. The forecast for the weekend is rain followed by rain and then more rain. Local Cross Crusade promoter Brad Ross is known as a beer-drinking,

After four years with Wisconsin-based Team Sports, Inc., Saturn women’s team director Giana Roberge has announced that on Friday, December 5, she will amicably part ways with the organization that directed the now defunct but highly successful Saturn Cycling and Volvo-Cannondale Cycling programs. “It’s been an extremely difficult decision for me to make,” Roberge said, explaining that while she and Team Sports’ president Tom Schuler have secured a title sponsor for a scaled down women’s team in 2004, there will not be sufficient sponsorship for her employment. An official announcement of

The 2003 Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Serieswrapped up with racing action at Blue Diamond Park 'Cross in New Castle,Delaware. This first time venue scored a big thumbs -up from both Mid-Atlantic'crossers and spectators as it was one of the most interesting and diversecourses this season. The host team, First State Velo Sport, made greatuse of the BMX-moto-cross Park terrain while still keeping the course "cross-friendly". That said, good technical skills were still a must for the day. With the sound of moto-cross bikes in the background, the elite womencharged off the

It’s hard to argue with dominance, and when it came to women’s road racingin North America this year, a palpable air of fear could be felt each timea diminutive 22-year-old from Lachine, Québec, rolled to the startline. In only her fourth year of professional racing, RONA-Esker’s GenevièveJeanson has proven to be one of the world’s preeminent climbers — justask the men’s field from the 2003 Mount Washington Hill Climb, all buttwo of whom she beat. Jeanson started her campaign early, winning all three stages of February’sValley of the Sun stage race, followed by another win at the Pomona

Costa Rica’s Marvin Campos won the latest edition of La Ruta de Los Conquistadores November 14-16, keeping the host country’s record intact – a Costa Rican has won every edition of the 11-year-old mountain-bike race. Campos staved off an unrelenting field in the three-day, 212-mile epic, including Diego Garavito, a top Columbian rider, and Germany TransAlp champion Karl Platt. Campos completed the grueling coast-to-coast race in 15:43:19,12 minutes ahead of Garavito. Fellow Costa Rican Eddy Perez was third in 16:20:38, with Platt fourth in 16:28:24. The women’s race was an intense

If things get any better for Clif Bar riders during their forays to EastCoast cyclo-cross races, they may relocate from their balmy base in SanFrancisco’s Bay Area to the colder, but welcoming air of New England andthe Mid-Atlantic. Clif Bar’s Carmen D’Alusio and Jackson Stewart won theirrespective races at Sunday’s Cycle-Smart International ‘Cross race in Northampton, Mass., the second day running that the NorCal team swept the top spots at an eastern ‘cross event. Fresh off her commanding win in New Jersey, D’Alusio and teammate GinaHall wasted no time making the Northampton race, stop

Team Clif Bar won both elite events in the Highland Park (N.J.) Cyclo-Cross on Saturday, round eight of the Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Championship Cyclo-Cross Series. Clif Bar teammates Carmen D’Aluisio and Gina Hall established the early pace in the women’s race, with Hall on the front. D’Aluisio eventually overtook her teammate and rode the remainder of the race solo, increasing her lead with each lap and cruising in for the victory. Hall crossed a minute behind D’Aluisio for second. Anna Milkowski (Gearworks-SpinArts) who had two strong races in the Mid-Atlantic series last weekend,

Former ONCE star Joseba Beloki's plans for next year are still up in theair, after an intense round of negotiations with the new Stayer team collapsedTuesday.The Spanish sports daily Marca reported Wednesday that Belokiand his attorneys failed to reach final agreement with the new Spanish/Italianroad team after ten days of discussions. The 30-year-old Spaniard and hislawyer Pablo Arregui closed off negotiations with the team and left Italydisappointed after failing to gain assurances on many of his financialand staffing demands.The team was reportedly unable to make salary guarantees that

Northern California cross fans were greeted to a great day of 'cross racing Sunday at the third round of the Bay Area Super Prestige Series. Cyclo-cross powerhouses Travis Brown, Todd Wells, Marc Gullickson, Jackson Stewart and Andy Jacques-Maynes all wore each other down trading for the lead. For most of the race, Brown made concerted efforts to get to that front group and was repeatedly forced to close gaps. With four laps to go, Brown caught the lead group of Gully, Wells and Maynes and attacked in a technical uphill section. The group was back together a lap later and with two laps

The second day of the Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Seriesdouble-header moved to Marysville, Pennsylvania for the Harrisburg City Islanders’ Rockville Bridge ‘Cross Classic. For the second day in a row, the Gearworks/Spin Arts duo of Marianne Stover and Anna Milkowski overpowered the Elite Women’s field to claim their second one-two finish of the weekend. As she did in the previous day’s Saturn Classic, Stover established a sizeable gap on the first lap and hammered on to extend that lead out to approximately one minute over teammate Milkowski. Hanging tough in

There were both new and familiar faces on the podium at Canada’s national cyclo-cross championships in Vancouver on Sunday. Peter Wedge (Kona Factory) took his sixth national title in the men's race, while Wendy Simms (Steed Cycles-Frontrunners) won the women's competition in only her fifth-ever start in a cyclo-cross race. Mountain bike national champion Max Plaxton (Gears Racing) won the junior men's competition, while Kris Sneddon (Kona) took the Under-23 men's title. Wedge dominated the men's race, immediately breaking away from the field. After one lap he was 15 seconds ahead of a

After weeks of racing in unseasonably mild conditions, riders were finally greeted by cold, windy cyclo-cross weather as they arrived in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, for the Saturn Classic, the first day of a double-header weekend in the Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Series. The elite races started with a long road prologue that enabled Marianne Stover (Gearworks-Spin Arts) to establish a small gap by the time the women hit the pits for the first time. Sarah Uhl (Saturn) sat in second, a small gap between her and the rest of the field. While Stover and Uhl worried about

The newly discovered designer steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), the focus of a doping scandal in world sport, is on the list of prohibited substances, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Wednesday. The Olympic and professional sports world was shocked last month when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency reported that a new undetectable steroid – THG – had been created that allowed athletes to pass doping tests. "Following the recent developments regarding the anabolic steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), the International Olympic Committee and the

In the closing lap of Sunday’s Clif Bar/ECV Cyclo-cross race in Gloucester, Mass., round two of the Verge New England ‘Cross series, Ryan Trebon came up a couple corners and a few squirts of tubular glue short of turning in one of the most impressive set of upset wins in American cyclo-cross memory. Having won Saturday’s UCI race in Worcester, Massachusetts, Trebon (Kona East) again made the decisive break in Gloucester, storming off the front with Todd Wells (Mongoose-Hyundai) in what seemed likely to end up as a two-man sprint for the win.

After spending most of Saturday’s Granogue Estate ‘cross race dangling in second place behind winner Todd Wells (Mongoose-Hyundai), Ryan Trebon (Kona-CCA) exacted his revenge on Sunday at the Prophecy Creek ‘Cross in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Trebon took his first elite ‘cross win in the second race of an East Coast UCI double-header, taking the win ahead of Wells. Trebon and Wells comprised half of a four-man break that went away early on the flat, fast course. Clif Bar duo Jackson Stewart and Andy Jacques-Maynes comprised the other half of the break, and looked set to take advantage of the

I spent the road season sending reports across the ocean about a few of us Americans fighting our way through the ranks of the Belgian peloton. I am home now and I can't express how nice that feels. Euro’ road racing has the hype, the excitement and the power to humble the most flippant of riders, but U.S. cycling has its own charms that I truly missed, like racing against riders I grew up with. I didn't have that history in Belgium. It’s good to be back. Sure, like family we may not always get along, but it doesn't mean that it is not enjoyable to see each other again. So, instead of

In another Belgian podium sweep, Sven Nijs drew first blood in the 2003-2004 World Cup with a two-centimeter sprint victory over world and defending World Cup champion Bart Wellens. Fellow Belgian Ben Berden led in the chase group, finishing this World Cup opener in Torino, Italy, ahead of Dutchman Richard Groenendaal and Belgian Sven Vanthourenhout. “I felt very good today, but I knew from the start that I must be tactically perfect and must have great luck," the new World Cup leader told VeloNews. "If I am not the winner, I could easily be 10th.” Wellens told VeloNews that he was not

The official details of the 2004 Tour de France won’t be announced untilThursday morning in Paris, but through a little detective work, some intuitionand a few wild guesses here’s what next year's route could looklike, stage by stage.Saturday, July 3: Liège Prologue Time Trial (6km)The prologue and the following two stages in Belgium were announcedsome time ago. This is a perfectly flat individual time trial startingand finishing on the famed Boulevard de la Sauvinière, where April’sLiège-Bastogne-Liège used to finish until the early 1990s.Should be a perfect

Just like last year, Michele Bartoli (Fassa Bortolo) won Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia, the final major European race of the 2003 racing season. Just like last year, Bartoli was left off the Italian road world’s team and came into the “Race of the Falling Leaves” with something to prove. Unlike last year, this time he won the hilly Lombardia with a forceful solo attack with less than 20km to go. Cofidis rider Angelo Lopeboselli was the only rider who stood up to the challenge, but the cagey Bartoli held off the young gun to sprint to victory. Saturday’s 97th running of Lombardia started with

There’s a brewing storm over speculation that four elite men competitors from last weekend’s road world championships in Canada might have failed anti-doping tests. According to reports in the European press, urine samples from two Spanish, one Belgian and one Italian rider have been shipped to the UCI’s anti-doping lab in Switzerland for tests to detect the presence of EPO, a banned performance-enhancing product. The French sports daily L’Equipe reported that pre-race random blood screenings Friday and Saturday revealed “abnormal parameters” and urine samples were later taken for

I only get nervous for a few races each season and the world championship road races had my heart racing all weekend - although, I am not sure if I was more nervous for Michael’s race or for mine. The races in Hamilton provided a few surprises this past weekend. After previewing the course on Thursday and chatting with many of the men and women about the difficulty of the hills, the expectation was that the races would be much more selective than they were. We encountered two climbs per 12-kilometer lap. The first was 1.5 kilometers and the second was 2 kilometers in length. This did not

Belgian Erwin Vervecken and five-time national champion Alison Dunlap repeated their feats of a day earlier on Sunday, besting their respective fields consecutively during a two-day swing of UCI-sanctioned cyclo-cross events in the northwest. After a difficult day of racing in Tacoma, Washington, on October 11, the country’s top ‘cross racers drove three hours south to Portland, Oregon, for the Saturn Stumptown Classic, an event organized by the promoters of the area’s Cyclo-cross Crusade, one of the world’s most highly attended ‘cross series. As expected, over 400 participants showed up,

Everyone talks of the dominance of the Italians, but since 1995, it’s been the Spanish that have ruled the men’s road world championships. Spain has won seven world championship medals to Italy’s five since 1995, including four world titles to Italy’s one.

Just after completing a training lap around the 12.3km Hamilton roadrace circuit Saturday morning, George Hincapie was asked what he thoughtabout the course. “It’s very hard,” he said. “So I’m very happy to haveFreddy on the team, he’s going well.” Hincapie was referring to his friend Fred Rodriguez, who has replacedChristian Vande Velde in the U.S. team lineup. “The decision was prettymuch made on Sunday after Paris-Tours,” Rodriguez said. “Christian wason the team, and Christian wasn’t feeling up for it. I’d been talking toGeorge, and I didn’t think I’d be up for it, but I said if you

The key moment in Sunday’s magnificent world elite men’s road race championship — watched by an enthusiastic 104,000 fans — came 15 minutes from the finish of the 260.4km race, just after a peloton, still 90-strong, started the last of 21 laps. Igor Astarloa, winner this year of the Flèche Wallonne classic in Belgium, was riding alongside his Spanish team leader Oscar Freire, the two-time world champion. “I spoke with Oscar,” Astarloa said, “and he told me that he wasn’t feeling strong enough to follow [Paolo] Bettini, who was sure to attack on the final lap. So he told me to follow Bettini

What a place!The new Bootleg Canyon venue near Boulder City for the 2003 Interbike On-Dirt Demo made for great mountain-bike riding, no matter what you’re into – unless it’s trials. Where the Blue Diamond Ranch venue west of Las Vegas of the past few years had limited trail mileage, all of which were cross-country trails, this location southeast of Vegas has a vast number of challenging cross-country loops, many of which are many miles long. In addition, it boasts a half-dozen steep downhill trails (with names like Kevorkian, Poopchute and Elevator Shaft) dropping down from the top of a

He had the form at the world championships on Sunday, and he proved that an American-based road pro can mix it up with Euro’ stars like David Millar, Paolo Bettini and Peter Van Petegem. But at the end of a long, successful season Chris Horner still doesn’t know how he’ll pay the bills next year. “I’m looking for a job,” Horner said after an aggressive performance in the elite men’s race in Hamilton that saw him in several breaks, including one with world time trial champion Millar. “I was trying to prove today that I can ride with the big boys.” Few can question that. The end result

The future of Dutch cycling appears to be in capable hands. A strong team effort by the Netherlands helped Kai Reus win the junior men’s road world title on Saturday morning in Hamilton, Ontario. Reus’s win brought the medal total for the Netherlands to six, all captured in junior and under-23 race categories. Anders Lund of Denmark came second after outsprinting others in the chasing group with Lukas Fus of the Czech Republic placing third to take the bronze medal. Reus attacked on the final climb of a hard-fought 124km race to take the first solo road victory of the 2003 road world’s.

Sweden’s Susanne Ljungskog scored her second consecutive world championship on Saturday, winning a physical, bar-to-bar sprint over a group of five other survivors at the end of the 124km elite women’s road race in the streets of Hamilton, Ontario. For the thousands gathered in front of Hamilton City Hall to witness the finish on Main Street, it was an electric ending to the day, but the final sprint was just one part of the most scintillating race seen so far at the 2003 road world’s. The real drama of the day was provided by a very familiar face, one that has been thrilling racing fans

With a powerful finishing kick disguised by her small build, 17-year-old Loes Markerink of the Netherlands won Friday’s junior women’s road race, adding a gold medal to the silver that she collected in Monday’s time trial. Markerink survived several crashes, 12 trips up Hamilton’s steep Niagara Escarpment, and a flurry of last-lap attacks to become the first double medal winner at the 2003 world road championships. “This race was very hard,” Markerink said of the six-lap, 73.8km race through the streets of Hamilton, Ontario. “In Holland there are no hills. For me, this was

No one can know how a world’s road circuit will perform until it is really tested. Although the one at Hamilton was used for the Canadian nationals a couple of months ago — and produced solo winners in both the men’s and women’s races — the world’s are different. Happily, the hilly Hamilton course proved its worth Friday afternoon, when three of the most aggressive riders in the 173.6km under-23 men race took the three medals: gold for Sergey Lagutin of Uzbekistan, silver for Johan Van Summeren of Belgium, and bronze for Thomas Dekker of the Netherlands. Lagutin, the most talented rider to

Michigan got a good taste of international cyclo-cross racing on Saturday with the Michael R. Rabe Midwest Cyclo-Cross Championships. Promoted by Robert Linden of Tailwind Enterprises, the first-time UCI event saw racers come from Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Massachusetts. To make it a true international event, riders even came from as far as Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The junior men's event saw a tightly fought battle among the top three. Konrad Lebas (Richard Sachs) had to take a change early on due to a problem with his rear wheel,

The 12-man Spanish national team left for Hamilton with high hopes ofdelivering Oscar Freire into his third world championships in five years. “We are going with the intention of winning. We know it’s not easy,but we have a team that can do it and we’re going to fight for the gold,”said Spanish national team coach Paco Antequera in the Spanish dailyAS. “If we get another medal, we’ll welcome it.” Freire, without a doubt, will be the Iberians leader. Since the Rabobankrider won his first world title in Verona in 1999, he’s won a second in Lisbon (2001) and took bronze at Plouay (2000). Last

The World Cup stop long hyped as a sprinter’s race finally delivered on its promise after successful breakaways have ruled the undulating Paris-Tours course since 1996. The sprinter teams led by Fassa Bortolo, Telekom and Saeco worked in harmony to keep an eight-man break that included the indefatigable Jacky Durand (Fdjeux.com) at arm’s length until 13km to go when the real fireworks started. Despite two attacks in the final 8km by World Cup leader Paolo Bettini (Quick Step), the 97th running of Paris-Tours came down to a mass gallop on Tours´ wide Avenue de Gammont. Bettini's 11th place,

World champion Mario Cipollini won't defend his title next weekend in Canada, he told reporters Friday in a press conference in Milan. "The course is very difficult for my characteristics," Cipollini told reporters. "I don't want to divert interest from my teammates who prepared for the Canadian race." Cipollini, 36, has hardly raced since crashing out of the Giro d'Italia in May. The popular Italian sprinter was forced into starting last month's Vuelta a España, but was clearly not in shape. His team was forced to wait for him during the opening team time trial and Cipollini didn't start

With the mountain biking season all but done and the “silly” season yetto fully ramp up, things are pretty quiet in the fat-tire world. Of coursethere was last weekend’s Tour de Dewey here in Boulder, Colorado, but forthe most part I’ve been sworn to secrecy on that one, except to say thatwhen they put their minds to it, some of America’s top cross-country proscan sure throw down the beers. Things will get rolling again in earnest in two weeks when the cyclingworld descends on Las Vegas for the Interbike Trade Show. Expect lots ofteam/rider news and look for the unveiling of the 2003 NORBA

Former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani has been cleared of sporting fraud for a case of doping during the 1999 Giro d’Italia, by a court in Trentino on Thursday. Pantani was charged after high hematocrit levels were found in his blood on the penultimate day of the 1999 Giro d’Italia. The hematocrit limit was imposed in 1997 as an indicator that a rider might be using the endurance-enhancing drug EPO. The Italian, winner of both the Giro and Tour de France in 1998, had already served a six-month ban for his failed drugs test but faced prosecution charges as doping in Italy is a criminal

Just where Jan Ullrich will ride next season is still unknown, but his chances of returning to Telekom took a blow this week when peace-making efforts between Rudy Pevenage and Walter Godefroot fell a bit short of the mark. Godefroot has refused to allow Pevenage to return with Ullrich to Telekom (next year to be called T-Mobile), but Ullrich’s manager said Wednesday the door remains open. “Ullrich’s return remains an option,” said Wolfgang Strohband, Ullrich’s manager who’s leading the negotiations. “Maybe we have to find another solution for Pevenage. What that could exactly be, we don’t

After three weeks of racing, thousands of kilometers, climbs and time trials Roberto came out on top and won in the final hours. In an uphill time trial of 11 kilometers, he achieved what most thought was impossible: overcoming what was nearly a two-minute deficit. Hoping against hopeGoing into Saturday’s time trial we thought he had a slim chance of beating Nozal. For Roberto to win the Vuelta, Nozal would have to have a bad day and he would need a great day. All of us on the team were dreaming that it would happen but nobody would say they thought it was possible for the fear they would

Roberto Heras (U.S. Postal Service) delivered the time trial of his life to win Saturday's penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España and vaulted into the overall lead after erasing a seemingly insurmountable gap to Isidro Nozal (ONCE). A year after losing the 2002 edition on a final-day time trial, Heras is about to claim his second career Vuelta title after obliterating Nozal's lead of 1 minute, 55 seconds, in an emotional victory that puts him 28 seconds into the race leader's golden jersey with one stage to go. "I wanted to win the stage but instead we saw a miracle," said Heras, who won