The trouble with a short prologue is that there is no room for error. After the 2003 Tour de France prologue, the top 20 riders are within 13 seconds of the leader, Bradley McGee, and 96 are within 30 seconds. For Lance Armstrong, his tendency to start time trials slowly proved to be his undoing, as he conceded more time in the first half of the prologue than he could retake in the second half. Lance is sitting in seventh place, five seconds behind principal rival Jan Ullrich and one second behind CSC team leader Tyler Hamilton. It is his lowest placing in a Tour de France prologue since

Although this opening stage of 168km around the Paris suburbs will likely be run at lightning speed, it will be a long day. Things begin at 11:40 a.m. outside the Stade de France (where France won soccer’s World Cup in 1998). There follows a formal 20km procession across the city center to Montgeron, where the actual stage will start at 1:15 p.m. outside the Auberge au Réveil- Matin, a small inn from which the original Tour began in 1903. The actual race loops south through the Forest of Fontainebleau, then north and east to the finish in Meaux. Three Cat. 4 climbs punctuate the middle part

This 204.5km route across rolling terrain northeast of Paris ends on similar roads as those raced every March on the opening stage of the Critérium International — which usually ends in a field sprint. After a flat opening alongside the Marne River, most of the action will take place at the time-bonus sprints in Jaulgonne (43km), Avançon (128km) and Amagne (149km), and the Cat. 4 hills at La Charmel (46km) and Longwé (169.5km). 7/7/2003 Start Time: 12:15:00PM7/7/2003 Estimated Finish Time: 5:24:00PM HISTORYThis is the first time a Tour stage has ended in Sedan, but neighboring Charleville

At 167.5km, this is the shortest stage of the opening week. The rolling terrain may encourage attacks, but with a fast, straight run in to St. Dizier, it will almost certainly end in a mass sprint— and perhaps in a Tour road stage record speed to top the 50.355 kph (31.289 mph) set by Mario Cipollini at Blois in 1999. 7/8/2003 Start Time: 1:17:00pm7/8/2003 Estimated Finish Time: 5:22:00pm HISTORYThis is the first time that St. Dizier, a town of 35,000, has been included on the Tour route. Besides the novelty of seeing the world’s biggest bike race, the crowds will be rooting for one of the

Judging by the results of Saturday’s prologue time trial, this centennial Tour de France is going to be full of surprises. And a race of surprises is a race of excitement. That should be the case on Sunday, when half-a-dozen sprinters have a great chance of taking over the yellow jersey from prologue winner Brad McGee. With time bonuses of 20, 12 and eight seconds at the Stage 1 finish in Meaux, and six, four and two seconds on offer at the day’s three intermediate sprints, the stage winner could pick up a minimum of 20 seconds and a maximum of 38 seconds. The chief candidates to take the

Dear VeloNews;If the Olympic Games hadn't developed at the beginning of the 20th century - during the heyday of bicycle racing - track events probably wouldn't have been included at their current level, ayway. At this point in history, outside of Europe, track cycling remains a marginal sport, at best. What gets cut isn't too tough to call. The IOC defers to the UCI, and we all know Hein Verbruggen's devotion to the almighty TV audience. Events have to be short, exciting and easily comprehensible to the non-cyclist. The five women's events (match sprint, 500-meter time trial, Keirin,

It is hard to believe that it’s been ten years since consummate professional Sally Zack suddenly left cycling at the zenith of her career to take on a a completely new challenge by becoming a cross-country ski racer. Of course, when one becomes acquainted with all of her achievements in so many cycling disciplines and reads of her passion to continue to “live, love and learn” from the back of her 1992 Shaklee cycling card you begin to understand the restless nature of this woman. You may also understand why it took us a few weeks of serious looking to track her down. We found her and the

U.S. Postal's George Hincapie is back and says he feels "better than ever" in time for Saturday's start of the 2003 Tour de France. Sidelined with health problems that derailed his spring classics campaign, Hincapie turned to non-traditional medicine to help find a cure for sinus problems and parasites that impaired his breathing and recovery. Now he's back in time to help Lance Armstrong make a run for a possible record-tying fifth Tour. "I feel great, I feel really fresh and have a lot of enthusiasm to be on the bike," Hincapie told VeloNews from his home base in Girona, Spain. "Every

While American pros have Philly in earlier in the month, the bulk of the professional peloton holds its national championships on the last Sunday of June. The UCI holds this weekend open for national championship races and those were held throughout Europe on Sunday. (The American race is granted the dual status of an invitational, allowing foreign riders the chance to participate and promoters to shift the date to accommodate that.) France: Rous wins ahead of VirenqueVeteran Didier Rous (Brioches) won ahead of Richard Virenque (Quick Step) in the hotly contested French national road race.

presented by A lot can happen over the course of 23 days in July, especially if you're talking about France and the world's biggest bike race. If you want to stay informed about the events surrounding the centenary edition of the Tour de France, check in with VeloNews.com and be sure to sign up to have our Tour Daily e-mailed to you every day from the evening before the prologue all the way to that final sprint down the Champs-Elysées. As always, we'll keep your name and address private and send you only the newsletter you're requesting.

The Hamiltonroad World's course has been tested, and passed with flying colors at theCanadian Road Nationals, grinding down a field of 121 men to just 17 finishers.Genevieve Jeanson (Rona-Esker) finally won the senior national road titlethat has eluded her, while Dominique Perras (Equipe Quebec) scooped themen's title despite Saturn and Navigator's sending up foreign riders tohelp their Canadian pros.Asexpected, the women's race came down to two riders - Genevieve Jeanson(Rona-Esker) and Lyne Bessette (Saturn). What wasn't expected was sprintfinish after nine laps and 18 trips up the Niagara

Spain's Miguel Indurain, the only rider to have won the Tour de France five times in a row (1991-95) believes Germany's Jan Ullrich has it in him to beat four-time winner Lance Armstrong. The 32-year-old Armstrong (U.S. Postal) will equal Indurain's achievement if he wins this year's centenary race, which is being held July 5-27. Ullrich has only recently returned to competition after a difficult year in which he sat out a ban for taking recreational drugs, left his long-time Telekom team, then joined Team Coast only to see the outfit collapse after a suspension because of its financial

Chris Carmichael is predicting Lance Armstrong will win his fifth consecutive Tour de France if the Texan arrives in the same form as years past. Carmichael – Armstrong’s longtime coach and trainer – said the four-time winner is on track to arrive in top condition. The Texan is currently training at altitude in Switzerland to hone his form and will leave Thursday for Paris for the start of the 2003 Tour. “I think if Lance is at the same condition as last year, barring incident, injury or illness, I believe he’ll win,” Carmichael told VeloNews. “I think if he’s back at that same level as

In its 100 years, the Tour has created countless pages of sports history. Some are astonishing (the first ascent of the Pyrénées in 1910) and some banal (first TV coverage, 1952). Here are some significant firsts of the Tour.1903 (July 1) – The first stageof the inaugural Tour de France, sponsored by the sports newspaper L’Auto,leaves Montgeron, just outside the Paris city limits, at precisely 3:16p.m. with Maurice Garin taking the monumental 467km opening stage to Lyonin 17:45:44. Note that this is an estimate, as Garin crossed the line beforeGéo Lefèvre, the race director, and the time

Last week’s column about the USPRO Championship drew a flood of e-mails. Sorry I couldn’t respond to everyone, but here’s a dip into the mailbag for some of the best, along with my take. It feels very unfulfilling to me to award the USPRO champ jersey to a guy who doesn't win the race. I am in favor of an all-U.S.-citizen race -- perhaps somewhere else than Philly, or just on another day. Your point about attracting riders like Fred Rodriguez is a good one. How do they do it in Europe? Surely there are similar cases. What about talented riders like Allan Davis or Jorg Jaksche, who are the

World champion Mario Cipollini's hopes of joining this year's Tour de France peloton were dashed Friday after an international arbitration body rejected an appeal by the Italian's Domina Vacanze team. Tour bosses did not award Cipollini's Italian outfit one of the four remaining wild-card invitations for this year's centenary race (July 5-27), causing uproar in Italian cycling. Domina Vacanze appealed, with lawyers saying that as world champion he should have been given an automatic entry. But a body set up by the Professional Cycling Council (CCP) to rule on the decision said Friday in

YELLOW JERSEYThe yellow jersey — or maillot jaune — is worn by the overall race leader, the rider who has covered the overall distance in the least amount of cumulative time. Time bonuses (12 seconds for winning a road stage, six seconds for winning an intermediate sprint) are deducted, and time penalties (for infractions like dangerous riding or accepting pushes from spectators on the climbs) are added to riders’ stage times before calculating their GC (general classification) times. 2002 winner: Lance Armstrong, U.S. Postal Service   POINTS LEADERThe green points-leader’s jersey is awarded

After being overlooked for the Tour de France by his Telekom team, American Bobby Julich will now prepare for September’s Vuelta a España and October’s world championships. “Bobby’s plan now is to come back to the U.S. to do some high altitude training during July, then have a great Vuelta and world championships at the end of the season,” read an entry on Julich’s official web page. Telekom will be anchored by sprinting ace Erik Zabel and three riders with eyes on the final podium: Santiago Botero, Alexandre Vinokourov and Paolo Savoldelli. Rounding out the team are Rolf Aldag, Matthias

It's been a long time coming but the Aussie presence at this year's Tour de France is going to reach record levels. A potential seven Australian professionals, riding for four teams, are being lined up for this year's centenary race and although that's no mean feat, just wait till the race itself gets underway next Saturday, July 5. No-nonsense Queenslander Robbie McEwen, who rides for the Belgian Lotto outfit, pulled off a coup of sorts when he ended Erik Zabel's bid to win a seventh straight green points jersey. However McEwen, who goes into the race a little less primed than at this

Three-straight Tour de France podium appearances gives Joseba Beloki quiet confidence going into the 2003 Tour. Often criticized for simply following rather than attacking, Beloki believes his time has come. The ONCE rider says he’s feeling better than ever and promises to give reigning champion Lance Armstrong a run for his money. “I feel better than other years,” Beloki told the Spanish sports daily AS in an interview. “I will go to win. I believe it’s time. You have to try to force Armstrong’s decline instead of just waiting for it and I believe this is a good year for that to

Alexander Vinokourov just couldn't help himself. Leading the Tour of Switzerland since regaining the overall lead in Tuesday's time trial, the Kazakh jumped with less than a kilometer to go in Wednesday's 152km final stage into Aarau and was caught 300 meters from the line. It's not that he really needed the stage win. Second-place rider Francesco Casagrande (Lampre) didn't start the ninth and final stage due to high fever and a urinary infection and all Vinokourov had to do was finish safely in the main bunch to claim final victory. "I tried to win the stage but I'm not disappointed at

Rogers sews up Route du Sud Quick Step's Michael Rogers held off challengers in Tuesday's 156km climb-riddled finale to clinch the overall title of the 27th Route du Sud. Cofidis' David Moncoutie jumped ahead of Alessio's Pietro Caucchioli to win the final stage, which included climbs up the Col de Peyresourde and finished on a steep climb up the on the Port de Balès summit. "It has been a difficult day, but today my teammates were fantastic," Rogers said, a winner of five races this season. "The last up hill section was really very hard. When Moncoutie and Caucchioli launched themselves

Paternia’s Jose Antonio Pecharroman held off the best efforts of U.S. Postal's Roberto Heras to claim overall victory in the Tour of Catalunya after Sunday's seventh and final stage in Barcelona. The 25-year-old Pecharroman beat Heras by 43 seconds with two more Spaniards Koldo Gil and Rafael Casero coming third and fourth in the overall standings. Angel Vicioso (ONCE) won the final stage after holding off Postal’s George Hincapie in the sprint. Both Heras and Hincapie will be key elements in the American team in the next fortnight as Lance Armstrong gets his record-equalling bid for a

John Lieswyn and his 7UP-Maxxis squad successfully defended the yellow jersey in the final stage of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce, Lubor Tesar (Ed's Systeme-ZVVZ) just holding off Charles Dionne (Canadian National) to take the final stage victory. Lieswyn had held the jersey from stage one, and started the final stage47 seconds in front of Chris Baldwin (Navigators). Tomas Konecny (Ed'sSystem-ZVVZ) and Danny Pate (Prime Alliance) were also less than a minute behind, so 7 Up could not afford to rest, despite having spent a week at the front of the peloton. The final stage of Beauce is no

Harreither-VAV Versicherung won the 2003 Insight Race Across America team competition Sunday night when the four men crossed the finish line on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey at 10:13 p.m.(EST). The four Austrian cyclists rode a relay from San Diego over the course of six days, six hours and 13 minutes. After initial head-to-head battles with Team Vail-Go Fast in the deserts of Southern California, Harreither has led the race since Vail withdrew after one of its riders was killed in a tragic accident in New Mexico. (see "RAAM rider killed in New Mexico") The members of the

USA Cycling has announced its automatic selections for the U.S. team attending the 2003 World Track Championships July 30-August 3 in Stuttgart, Germany. Many of the automatic selections earned their world's-team selections by winning their respective events at the 2003 Pan Am and World Championship Qualifier last weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The U.S. team includes: Giddeon Massie (Colorado Springs) - team sprint, sprint,keirinJames Carney (Boulder, Colorado) - scratch raceColby Pearce (Boulder) - points raceStephen Alfred (Santa Cruz, California) - team sprint and keirinAnton

Lotto-Domo's Robbie McEwen has claimed his first-ever stage win in the Tour de Suisse on Wednesday. The 31-year-old Aussie topped a Southern Hemispheric podium he beat CSC’s New Zealander Julian Dean and fellow Australian Stuart O'Grady (Crédit Agricole). Telekom’s Alexandre Vinokourov retained the overall lead. Another Australian Bradley McGee saw his hopes of playing a part in the finish ruined as he had his route blocked by a Lotto team-mate of McEwen's in the final 500 meters - it also prevented him from gaining enough bonus time to replace Vinokourov as overall leader. However McEwen

Dear Lennard;I'm building a front wheel for my new FSR, and I am concerned about the torsional rigidity of the front wheel. The spare parts I have can allow me to do radial lacing or standard three-cross. I'm running a Fox Float RL 80mm fork, a standard non-disc XT front hub, and a Bontrager Valiant 32-hole rim. I have run both wheels (three-cross and radial laced) on my old bike with a 75mm Marzocchi bomber Z3, and the three-cross wheel seemed to steer much better. I would prefer to do the radial because it looks cool and I have nice butted spokes for that wheel. By the way I weigh 180, am

The Grande Prix Cycliste de Beauce kicked off Tuesday with a hard 125-kilometer stage around the environs of Quebec City. John Lieswyn (7Up-Maxxis) took the stage and the first leader's jersey in a two-up finish with Chris Baldwin (Navigators). The opening stage was a wake up call to the riders: you will be climbing; A lot. After four circuits of an 8-kilometer loop with a significant climb on the south side of the St Lawrence River, in the town of Levis, the peloton headed north across the river to Quebec, where they did another eight circuits, with a tough 14-percent climb each lap. The

Fassa Bortolo’s Fabian Cancellara was the fastest Monday in the opening prologue of the 67th Tour de Suisse on a 7.1km course in Egerkingen. The 22-year-old Swiss rider won the opening prologue of the Tour of Romandie last month and pipped Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) just one second. Aussie Brad McGee (Fdjeux.com) came across third at two seconds slower. “The course was very hard, but the crowd carried me along,” Cancellara said. “I think my team can win this race, but maybe not me. I still have time.” Defending champion Alex Zülle finished fourth at four seconds back. It was

After riding Saturday’s cross-country in leftover mud from Friday’s drenching rain, riders were treated to a batch of fresh mud during the NORBA NCS #2 short track cross-country at Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia. The skies opened up at 10 a.m. Sunday, and a steady downpour created slick conditions on the short, fast track, but Subaru-Gary Fisher’ Chrissy Redden and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (RLX-Ralph Lauren) stayed upright and at the front to take the STXC titles. For Redden, it was a sixth NORBA short track win, and perhaps her hardest fought. Midway through the race, a strong front group

It was another stellar day for the men and women of Saturn Cycling, as they swept the closing stage — and overall — of Minnesota’s Nature Valley Grand Prix, with Trent Klasna and Katie Mactier taking top honors. Saturn dominated the podium all week long; both the men and women won four of their respective five stages. Coming into Sunday’s Stillwater criterium, Mactier’s podium-top finish was all but assured, but then again, it was so thought of Saturn’s powerful Viktor Rapinski, who started the stage with a 1:02 lead over defending race champion John Lieswyn (7UP-Maxxis). But it was not

Editor's note: Vincent Gee is mechanic for the U.S. Postal ServiceCycling Team, largely responsible for the domestic circuit. Gee will bereporting back to VeloNews.com throughout the season.June 5 - Tuesday’s race in Lancaster was raining all day long but today (Thursday), it was dry. Nonetheless, it was bike wash, followed by bike wash, followed by yet another bike wash yesterday and this morning. The Lancaster race ended really late Tuesday so we put the dirty bikes away for the night and set off to a late dinner. Wednesday morning Julien (head mechanic) Allen Buttler and I pulled them

Lance Armstrong’s spill in Friday’s fifth stage of the Dauphiné Libéré race was one of the Texans rare crashes during competition. Armstrong went down on a descent after leaving Morzine after his wheel apparently locked up and sent the four-time Tour de France champion sprawling to the pavement. Armstrong wasn’t seriously injured and finished the race with cuts to his right elbow and rips in his cycling shorts. He later received two stitches and was expected to start Saturday’s climbing stage. Typically, Armstrong stays out of trouble by staying near the front of the bunch, the safest place

On a muddy day in the West Virginia mountains that claimed a couple of prominent victims, Jimena Florit and Ryder Hesjedal slipped and slid to cross-country glory, and Jill Kintner and Mike King navigated the brackets to mountain-cross wins on day one of NORBA NCS 2 at Snowshoe Mountain. Alison Dunlap, Luna’s former world champion and World Cup winner, was transported to a nearby hospital with a possibly dislocated shoulder following a crash in the cross country. Meanwhile, Trek-Volkswagen’s Wade Bootes went down hard in the evening mountain-cross competition and required several minutes to

A well-managed, properly officiated and expertly driven road-race caravan can be a beautiful thing. It is a choreographed vehicular ballet, balancing cars, drivers, riders, roads and the climatic elements in a colorful montage moving along at 40kph to sometimes 80kph. On the other hand, a poorly organized and badly handled one can be a dangerous cluster … er… flick. At the Hamilton World Road Championships we’re hoping for the former. If we get the latter, I will have really screwed up. But I won’t be alone, and indeed I will be in very esteemed company, as the other guy – the guy with the

Newly crowned U.S. national champ Mark McCormack’s first defense of his new stars-and-stripes jersey fell short at the opening stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix Thursday. McCormack’s Saturn squad rode wisely, making the key breaks and setting up for the final sprint, but could not hold off a tough Navigators squad determined to show its strength. Riding a three-man break into Virginia, Minnesota, in the inaugural Iron Range Road Race, Navigators’ Irishman Ciaran Power found his legs in the final sprint to beat McCormack, who finished third behind new professional Adam Bergman (Jelly

Health Net’s Gord Fraser will no longer be barred from some ofNorth America's most prestigious road races, after a legal settlement reached on Tuesday. Fraser, long regarded as one of the top road racers in North America, had been relegated to the sidelines by Threshold Sports because of a mounting legal argument with the company. (See "Why Gord Fraser and Health Net won't be in Philly" - June 2, 2003) "I'm just glad it's finished," Fraser said yesterday in a telephone interview from Ottawa, where he is visiting his mother. "I'm looking forward to racing in Threshold events again." Fraser

Congratulations are in order to Saturn’s Lyne Bessette and Mark McCormackon their performances in Philly last weekend — Bessette for her LibertyClassic win ahead of former teammates Petra Rossner and Judith Arndt (bothnow with Nürnberger) and McCormack for his fourth-place at the USPROChampionships, good enough for a year in the stars-and-stripes jersey. In addition to being long-time Saturn athletes, both are down-to-earth,hard-working riders from the Northeast deserving of their successes. 2002wasn’t an easy year for either of them: On April 1st of last year, McCormackwas struck by a car

With Philly week behind us, all eyes — well, okay, at least those focused on domestic road racing — now turn to the four-day, five-stage Nature Valley Grand Prix. The premiere component of the twin cities’ Great River Energy Bicycle Festival, Nature Valley begins Thursday, June 12, in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Last year’s event, a three-day omnium — scored on cumulative finishing positions, rather than overall time — was won by John Lieswyn (7UP-Maxxis) and Laura Van Gilder, who rode for Trek Plus but now rides for Saturn. For 2003, the event sees several important changes: the event has been

Strong winds moved riders up the Rhone Valley in a hot and toasty stage Tuesday, with Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) winning the bunch sprint into Vienne. The brisk tailwinds pushed the peloton into Vienne nearly a half-hour faster than expected and Hushovd held off Alexandre Usov (Phonak) and Baden Cooke (Fdjeux.com) to grab the victory. A familiar moveJacky Durand (Fdjeux.com) just couldn't help himself and went on the attack in the opening kilometers, quickly followed by U.S. Postal's Victor Hugo Pena and three others, but the move was just as quickly snuffed. But Durand

TUESDAY: Stages one and two of the Dauphine-Libere were fairly similar. Both featured rolling terrain, and ended with field sprints. There was a nasty crash inside one kilometer to go yesterday. I was lucky to stay out of trouble. Overall, the day went better than I expected, mainly because I felt better than I thought I was going to. I’m still not firing on all cylinders, but at least I’m starting to come around. Today we had a nice tail wind all day, which was good, considering it’s been ridiculously hot here in France. I finished yesterday’s stage feeling, and probably looking like a

Bulgarian Plamen Stoianov (Big Mat) endured the heat, a crash and a string of attacks to win the mass gallop in Monday’s 198km first stage of the 55th Criterium du Dauphine Libere. Temperatures soared into the 90s as the peloton drove south out of the mountains near Grenoble into Vaison La Romaine, a quaint Provencal village nestled at the base of Mont Ventoux. Riders went down on a sharp corner just 300 meters from the finish line, cutting the peloton as the bunch came in for the sprint. “I came through clear from the crash and was in good position,” said Stoianov, who raced with Mercury

An in-form Australian, Michael Rogers, wrapped up the Tour of Germany in Sarrebruck on Monday, adding to his victory in the Tour of Belgium two weeks ago. The 23-year-old finished in the peloton at the end of the seventh stage, the 173.2km ride from Bad Durkheim being taken in a mass sprint finish by Germany's Olympic track champion Olaf Pollack. Rogers ended with a one-minute and 19-second advantage over Portugal's Jose Azevedo while Telekom’s Alexander Vinokourov was third, a further 33 seconds adrift. Vinokourov’s former Telekom team-mate, the 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich

On the biggest single day of racing in the U.S., the Europeans may have slowed the Saturn train a bit, with Saeco’s Stefano Zanini winning the Wachovia USPRO Championship in a field sprint, but Saturn still took home the stars-and-stripes jersey, with 10-year Saturn veteran Mark McCormack earning the right to wear the American champion’s jersey for the next year. It was a somewhat unexpected ending to a day in Philadelphia that early on began to unfold like recent editions of the race. Of the European teams, CSC was pegged as the favorite, after Jakob Piil and Julian Dean winning Lancaster

Like all streaks, it had to come to an end sometime. Since 1997, German Petra Rossner has held a virtual monopoly on the Wachovia Liberty Classic, the 56 mile former World Cup run concurrently with the USPRO men’s championship in Philadelphia. This year, it was not to be, as Rossner, riding for Equipe Nürnberger this year after five years with Saturn, faced stiff competition from her former team as well as the all-American T-Mobile squad. After a year away from the Saturn squad, Lynne Bessette returned home to end her former teammate’s reign and continued Saturn’s, jumping away from three

Rain poured down on Philadelphia on Saturday, putting a damper on the pre-race festivities at the Wachovia USPRO Championship, but rain or shine, Sunday’s race promises to be just as much of a classic as any of the previous 18 editions. As always, the U.S. professional teams have brought out their "A" squads, and they will be tested by six European teams intent on winning the most prestigious race in America. Heading the list of contenders will be the Danish CSC team, which won both of the lead-up events to USPRO, with Jakob Piil winning in Lancaster on Tuesday and Julian Dean taking a

The Tour de Montréal, a three-day, four-stage event, started in Lachine, the hometown of Geneviève Jeanson, with a short, windy prologue. As we all finished, we all received cheers, but the crowd was by far the loudest when she came through with the winning time. She smoked us all, but we were not too worried, as the time gaps were small. After the prologue, the race moved to “Little Italy” in the evening, where we pedaled past the Madonna Della Defesa (Our Lady of Protection) cathedral. This church was built and named to commemorate a miracle said to have occurred in 1898 in Casacalenda,

Two cycling team managers, one of whom works with the team of Yaroslav Popovych, third in this year's Giro d'Italia, were being held under house arrest Thursday as police continue a widespread doping investigation in Brescia, Italy. Olivano Locatelli and William Dazzani are suspected of buying and selling illicit substances for riders, according to Brescia magistrates at a press conference. Locatelli, 47, has resigned his position as manager with the Belgian outfit Landbouwkrediet, while Dazzani runs the women's squad Team 2002. The revelations will prove damaging for the Belgian team,

It struck me as I sat on top of the world. Well, at least the top of the world according to San Bernardino, California. You see, I had positioned myself at the top of the cross-country course at Big Bear a few weeks ago on a technological mission. I wanted to take count of exactly how many riders would actually use their fork lock-out. A nit-picky mission at best, but with all the talk of suspension efficiency, I wanted to see which riders cared enough to take the time to "flip the switch." My very informal results were very surprising, to say the least. As the lead breakaway pack crested

For the second week running, Australian Andy Graham absolutely owned theWednesday Worlds circuit race in downtown Denver, Colorado. Over 100 riderslined up on a drizzly, cold evening to decide who would be the championfor this, the second edition of the 2003 Wednesday Worlds.The women’s turnout was dismal, but a few brave souls jumped in themen’s races, getting some valuable mid-week training around the enormousInvesco Field at Mile High. T-Mobile’s Lara Kroepsch stayed in the men’smasters race, then lasted a few laps in the pro-I-II race.“It’s gonna be a hard,” she said just before the start

In a last-minute compromise in the ongoing legal battle between the promoters of Sunday’s Wachovia USPRO Championship and Health Net’s Canadian sprint ace, Gord Fraser, Threshold Sports has extended an invitation to the team’s American riders. The Health Net squad had been formally uninvited to the Philadelphia race, as well as to other races promoted by Threshold Sport, six weeks ago when team officials objected to a request that they not bring Fraser to any of the Threshold races. Fraser is currently embroiled in a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Threshold resulting from a canceled

The CSC squad made it two-for-two at the Wachovia Cycling Series on Thursday, setting up the race for Julian Dean to take a sprint finish ahead of Navigators’ Oleg Grichkine and Saturn’s Viktor Rapinski, and now the Danish squad will have its sights set on Philadelphia’s USPRO Championship and a Wachovia sweep on Sunday. CSC had set the tone for the week with a strong performance in the opener in Lancaster, and the tune kept playing on the fast streets of Trenton. After Jakob Piil’s win at Lancaster, other teams were tipping their hats to CSC, which had both the strength and the numbers in

Telekom's Erik Zabel won the opening stage of the Tour of Germany on a day overshadowed by the death of 23-year-old French rider Fabrice Salanson, who was found dead in his hotel room before the start (see story below). Salanson's Brioches la Boulangere team opted not to start Tuesday's 184km stage, but the race continued as planned. Zabel won ahead of Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole) and Gerrit Glomser (Saeco) to grab the bunch sprint and take the overall lead. Jan Ullrich finished 23rd safely in the main bunch. The German tour continues Wednesday with the 183km second stage from Altenburg

The 2003 Wachovia Cycling Series kicked off Tuesday on a rainy evening in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the Danish CSC squad quickly served notice that it would be a force to be reckoned with at the three-race East Coast series. After dominating the numbers game in the main breakaway of the day, CSC sprung team leader Jakob Piil to a solo victory in downtown Lancaster. Piil, the winner of both Lancaster and the Philadelphia USPRO Championship in 1999, was just part of an all-out assault by the CSC squad, which squashed the hopes of the major American teams in Lancaster. One American teams

The 2003 Wachovia Cycling Series kicks off on Tuesday in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. And while there are few certainties in bike racing, one thing you can be pretty sure of is that no matter how the race develops, Gord Fraser will not be winning it in a sprint - or in any other fashion, for that matter. Fraser also won't repeat his win from last year at the Wachovia event in Trenton, New Jersey, two days later. Nor will he - or any other member of the Health Net squad - be contesting the finish in Sunday's USPRO Championship in Philadelphia. No, Gord Fraser hasn't lost his finishing kick, and

For nearly two weeks now, there has been little doubt who has been in charge of this Giro d’Italia. On Sunday, the man poised to ride into Milan to claim the final maglia rosa of this race would leave no one on the side of the road wondering just who the race leader might be. Wearing his pink jersey, astride a pink Cannondale, with pink Mavic wheels, Gilberto Simoni had plenty of room to spare as he left the starting gate of Sunday’s 33km time trial through the streets of Milan. By the time he arrived at the finish, the Saeco man had lost a bit of his eight-minute buffer, but easily took the

Team Bianchi said Marco Pantani won't be racing with them during July's Tour de France. The Pirate had hoped to join Bianchi to get into the Tour, but team officials shot down the notion this weekend. "There was never a meeting between the directors of Bianchi and the directors of Mercatone Uno to plan for the next Tour," Bianchi associate Felice Gimondi told Reuters. "There was only a meeting in view of a reunification in 2004-2005." The words come as a blow to Pantani, who desperately wants to get back to the Tour de France. Pantani's Mercatone Uno team is buried deep in the Division II

On a sunny, but windy, day, Prime Alliance’s Jonas Carney and Saturn’s Laura Van Gilder overcame 30-mile-per-hour gusts and formidable competition to claim the Clarendon Cup, the latest round of the National Racing Calendar. Van Gilder, known for her speed in bunch sprints, drew on some lesser known time trialing skills to solo away from the field early in the women’s race, despite strong and constantly shifting winds on the .6 mile course. Though Van Gilder is no breakaway artist, she could be comfortable knowing that if she faltered, Saturn had its bases covered with 2001 and 2002

With the 86th Giro d’Italia essentially a foregone conclusion, and most of the sprinters having been eliminated in Thursday’s giant mountain stage, stage 20 was a chance for the domestiques to shine. And at the finish, it was Giovanni Lombardi who outkicked three breakaway companions to seize another victory of opportunity, further distinguishing himself as one of the world’s shrewdest, fastest, and consequently most dangerous riders to have in a breakaway. The Italian with the broad, smiling face is normally the final leadout man in the Domina Vacanze train, charged with delivering Mario

Gunn-Rita Dahle (Merida) solidified her lead and Filip Meirhaeghe (Specialized) put himself back into contention at the Fort William UCI World Cup race Saturday in Scotland. Both riders took extremely hard-fought victories in front of nearly 6,000 spectators, under the most perfect conditions imaginable. Fort William, in the Scottish Highlands, held its first World Cup – a downhill/four cross – just last year. This year, the organizers added a cross country in the shadow of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the United Kingdom. The 8.5km course, built by the Scottish Forestry Service at a

Memo to: Maynard HershonFrom: Geneviève JeansonSubject: “The New Cannibal” Hi, Maynard! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re about as shy as I am. Otherwise you’d have come up to me and at least said hello at some point. It would have been great to chew the fat and clear a few things up. As things stand now we’ve never even exchanged the time of day, which is kind of a shame, I think. I mean, it must make it real tough for you to write a whole page about me without ever having said boo, even once. In light of what you wrote about me (see "The New Cannibal," by Maynard Hershon, in

This is one of those days that they will be talking about for years to come. Sure, the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia had many of the elements in place before the start: the mountains, among them the Cima Coppi, marking the Giro's highest spot; the weather, with touches of wet snow marking the highest climbs and a contest that, despite the apparent dominance of a single rider, could still be altered on the 174 mountainous kilometers between Santuario DiVicoforte and Valle Varaita. But when you take the human element and throw it into the mix, well... suddenly you see why Thursday at the

Alessandro Petacchi showed once again that he is the man to beat in sprint stages at this Giro, even if he’s bruised, battered and bandaged from that fall in Sunday’s time trial. The big man from La Spezia got a great leadout by his Fassa Bortolo team and held off Lampre’s Jan Svorada for a tire-width win after the short, 117km run westward through the level Po valley. Despite the short, relatively flat stage, “Peta’” said it was far from easy for him. “It was another hard victory, because I am still in so much pain on my left side and it was so hot,” Petacchi said. “I am very fatigued

Tuesday is a rest day at the Giro d’Italia, a time for riders to recuperateas well as jawbone with each other and the media. VeloNews's Lennard Zinnis making the rounds and seeing what riders and teams have planned forthe final push to Milan, where the 86th edition of the Giro ends with anindividual time trial on Sunday.Simoni’s eating pizza, feeling good and thinking of FranceTo celebrate his good form and excellent positioning to take this Giroback home with him, Gilberto Simoni plans to go and eat a pizza."I have a strong desire to change the menu today," he says.Pizza is a variation from

Navigator's Burke Swindlehurst and Becky Broeder (Intermountain) both held on through the final stage to take the overall titles in Montana's Ecology Center Classic on Monday. Ryan Guay and Joy Shaffer (Los Gatos) took the race's finale, a miss-and-out through the streets of Missoula. While a miss-and-out might be unusual in a stage race, organizers said the format has a lot of crowd appeal. The Navigators squad was at the head of the field throughout most of the men's race Monday, setting tempo for Swindlehurst, who had a 54-second lead going into the final stage over Colby Pearce

Petacchi took full advantage of the Domina Vacanze train to launch his own sprint

This was supposed to be one of those days where we found out whether the 86th Giro d’Italia would continue to be a race or not, depending largely on whether Stefano Garzelli could take a minute or so out of the guy in the pink jersey. But rather than nip away at the lead of Gilberto Simoni, Garzelli – regarded as the superior time trialist of the two – actually lost to the Saeco rider in a 42.5km time trial from Merano to Bolzano. No, the Giro d’Italia is far from over, but it sure took a big step in that direction Sunday. Unlike a Tour de France contest between, say, Lance Armstrong and

Nurnberger's Judith Arndt wrapped up the Tour de l'Aude, Sunday as Saturn’s Ina Teutenberg put a strong exclamation point on the race after taking the final stage in Limoux on Sunday. Six riders chugged away from the main bunch early in the race and held the lead until three other riders bridged out on the final lap. There were several attacks in a frenetic charge to the line, Saturn's Teutenberg snuck ahead to win her second stage win of the race and the fourth for Team Saturn. It was a positive ending for the team, which also won the overall team competition and saw Lyne Bessette take

Saeco’s Gilberto Simoni started Saturday’s decisive 14th stage decked out head to toe in pink, his helmet, socks and cycling shorts matching the maglia rosa he obviously has no intention of giving up. Simoni attacked with 5km to go on the steep, 8.8km climb to Alpe de Pampeago high in the Italian mountains to win his second stage in three days and extend his overall lead to 1:19 over second-placed Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola-Sidermec). Simoni once again dropped his rivals on the steepest roads of the Giro d’Italia, and only Garzelli remains close enough to be a threat. Going into

Laurent Brochard (Ag2r) outsprinted Colombian Felix Cardenas (Orbitel) to win the final stage of the Tour of Castilla y Leon on Saturday in a difficult mountain stage in Avila. Francisco Mancebo (iBanesto.com) scored his first victory of the season after finishing seventh at just three seconds back of the winning pair. Mancebo finished tied with teammate Denis Menchov, but gets the win based on stage placements after the pair won as part of the team time trial earlier in the week. The 182km stage featured three Category 1 and one Category 2 climbs, and Kelme’s Oscar Sevilla, still

Editor:In reference to Jed Schneider’s article regarding USA Cycling and possible porn magazine sponsorship, I really don't think it's realistic to think that the porn industry is going to lower itself to that point. Joe Erwin San Fernando is porn's hideawayEditor:Jed Schneider may hold a master's degree in geography from the University of Kansas, which keeps him from getting lost in Flanders, but he's way off on where his porn comes from (see "Tales from the gutter: Mark gets the win!"). San Fernando Valley is the porn capital of the world, not Orange County. Orange County is a

Liza Rachetto (Intermountain) and the Navigators’ Jeff Louder won the second stage of the Montana Ecology Classic Saturday near Missoula, Montana on the demanding and tricky Perma road course. Rachetto’s teammate Becky Broeder and Louder’s fellow Navgator, Burke Swindlehurst, retained their overall leaders’ jerseys. The Perma course is demanding, due in great part to the two Category 3 climbs that are on this 89-kilometer circuit. The course offers a tricky run-in to the finish, which has in years past played a role in breaking the hearts of many would-be stage winners and general

Friday’s calm after the storm at Monte Zoncolan served up another chance for Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) to strut his stuff. And strut he did in the 149km 13th stage from Pordenone to Marostica. With Mario Cipollini out of the Giro d’Italia with injuries after setting a new record with 42 career stage victories, it was up to Cipo’s heir apparent, Daniele Bennati, to make a run at derailing Petacchi. At just 22, Bennati is going to be very good someday. But Petacchi is already very good, and he proved it by outsprinting the young protégé to win for the fourth time in this year’s

The UCI has cleared the way for Jan Ullrich to race in July’s Tour de France. On Friday, the UCI officially approved the registration of Ullrich’s new team, Bianchi, and awarded the team Top Club status, essentially guaranteeing it a spot in the Tour. Bianchi stepped in after Team Coast was suspended May 9 after not paying riders' salaries. “As a result of this decision, Team Bianchi retains, as of today, all rights of participation to races on the international calendar, and rights in general linked to a Top Club status,” a UCI statement said. A decision on Bianchi’s status wasn’t

Gilberto Simoni delivered on his promise to be the main protagonist up Monte Zoncolan, winning Thursday’s 12th stage in the epic shootout between the stars to tighten his grip on the overall lead. The Saeco rider attacked with 3km to go from the menacing summit. The Giro’s strongest men were trading shots on the steepest road in Italy and the tifosi were eating it up. Simoni hoped for more, but he finished 34 seconds ahead of pesky Stefano Garzelli (Caldirola-Sidermec) and Francesco Casagrande, who came across third at 39 seconds in arrears. The win consolidates Simoni’s hold on the

Dutch rider Jans Koerts won Thursday's second stage of the Tour of Belgium, but the headlines tomorrow will be Axel Merckx taking the leader's jersey. Landbouwkrediet seemed to have the stage under control, in order to protect the lead of stage 1 winner Tom Steels. But once the race hit a finishing circuit in Knokke, riders began counter-attacking, including runs by Johan Museeuw (Quick Step), Geer Verheyen (Marlux) and Max Van Heeswijk (USPS). Merckx and Koerts finally escaped the grip of the peloton with 8km to go and quickly opened up a 20-second gap. Koerts gets the win, Merckx gets the

Editor:Last year I went to France to follow the Tour. I was well aware of the history of Mario Cipollini in the Tour, good and bad - but my feeling was that the Tour de France went beyond what was reasonable and into the realm of personal vendetta when spots for additional teams opened up after the 2002 Giro and Cipollini's team was not selected. I enjoyed my trip to the Tour immensely, but in every sprint, I knew that the best was not there, though Cipollini had done what the Tour had demanded, reinventing himself with breakaway wins, courageously traversing mountains, a grand-tour finish

“Life is what happens when you’re making other plans,” John Lennon once said. Words of wisdom, Lennon’s fortune-cookie philosophy, and lately it seems I’ve been experiencing plenty of life - which, I suppose, beats the alternative. Maybe I should stop making other plans. For starters, with mortgage rates dipping to a 40-year low last week, I’ve been actively looking into buying my first place, which means applying for my first home loan - a procedure that has thus far involved countless conversations with various real-estate agents, lenders, sellers, and my mother - who, in my case,

Domina Vacanze team owner Ernesto Preatori says he's trying to convince Tour de France organizer Jean-Marie Leblanc to include Mario Cipollini in July's race by adding a 23rd team to the peloton. "I think we've got less than a 50 percent chance of getting a place but I'm optimistic and think our chances are increasing," he told Eurosport. "I'm doing everything I can." UCI president Hein Verbruggen and Leblanc are reportedly set to meet to Friday to discuss several issues, including the international outcry at Domina Vacanze's exclusion from four wild-card bids that were announced