I hate to make light of anything related to the war, but last night, the 9 o'clock local news on Channel 2 here in the Boulder/Denver area opened with the two anchor-people in a map of Iraq. Not with a map of Iraq behind them. Not standing beside a map of Iraq. No, somehow, through the magic of technology, they were actually in the map, walking around on Iraq and showing us what was happening with the war, and where. I couldn't believe my eyes, and I couldn't believe someone actually thought this was a good idea. Of course, I'm sure the local TV newsfolk were exhausted from

The place to be about 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon will be right behind the wheel of Mario Cipollini. The world champion enters the 94th Milan-San Remo race as the favorite to repeat and the only way to beat the Domina Vacanze rider will be to be on his wheel and come around him. Of course, that's assuming the 297km World Cup opener comes down to a sprint... and that most of Cipollini's powerful train makes it with him over the Poggio climb just 5.5 kilometers from the finish on the famed Via Roma in San Remo. And, that's assuming, Cipollini's threat not to start Milan-San Remo

“Where have all the flowers gone?” – Pete SeegerYour mileage may vary, they say. Especially when you’re a cyclist and it’s “springtime” in the Colorado Rockies. As most of the rest of the nation traded its hoodies for Hawaiian shirts and toddled off to get struttin’ drunk in the spring-break sunshine, Coloradans found themselves up to their American-flag lapel pins in real snow for the first time since “Wag the Dog” lit up the silver screen with its utterly fantastic, completely over-the-top tale of a president whose spin doctor whips up a war abroad as a distraction from woes at home. For

My emotions are mixed as I write this latest column from the partly sunny climes of Sedona, Arizona. On one hand I am ecstatic to be here in the desert southwest for the combined Trek-Volkswagen/Subaru-Gary Fisher training/media camp powwow. My two days here have included lots of face time with some of the world’s best mountain-bike racers (Green, Hesjedal, Sydor, Grigson, Redden, Bootes, Ferguson, etc.). And I’ve managed to sneak in a few rides on the labyrinth of sweet single-track trails that wind their way all around the outskirts of this picturesque town, two hours north of

I have been in Belgium for two weeks now, and I can already feel the difference between this year and last. At this time last year, I had not yet finished a race. This year, I have yet to finish a race, but for very different reasons. The difference between this year and last is in the familiarity of the process. I feel like I am reading a novel for a second time and I am able to focus on all the details that escaped my attention on the first read. I also have the benefit of being able to watch the new riders step into this world and share their feelings of awe and enthusiasm. Eric

Germany’s Team Coast announced Thursday that its big Tour de France hope, Jan Ullrich, will make his first appearance in the peloton at the Tour of Sarthe in April. The stage race in central France is scheduled for April 8-11. The 29-year-old German is suspended from competition until March 23 after testing positive last June for amphetamines which he said he took in a nightclub. The positive drug test was just the last chapter in a terrible year for the 1997 Tour winner. Earlier, after undergoing the first of two knee surgeries, Ullrich was convicted of drunk driving charges after running

Rabobank's Oscar Freire won Wednesday's final stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico to send a very strong message to world champion Mario Cipollini. Just days before the World Cup opener at Milan-San Remo, Freire got around Cipo and his formidable train to upset the world champion. “Guess I got lucky and Cipo made a mistake,” Freire said. Cipollini came in second, but won two bunch sprints during TA, Italy's first major stage race of the season. German Erik Zabel came across third, a good sign for the struggling Telekom veteran who's only won once this season on the eve of his major

Quick Step's Paolo Bettini saw his chances for overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico slip away after he got caught up behind the final sprint coming into the finish line of Tuesday's 181km sixth stage from Teramo to Torricella Sicura. Bettini was about eight riders back when two-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) clipped tires with Quick Step's Luca Paolini with about 600 meters to go. Freire went down and both Bettini and Paolini got caught up in the pile-up and fell out of contention. But Bettini's loss was Danilo Di Luca's gain. The Saeco rider was just ahead of Paolini and

Editor:While reading the responses endorsing free choice I found myself agreeingwith the rider's right to choose a helmet. But then I thought back to mydays working in a rehabilitation hospital. Seeing the drooling, babblingeffects of a head injury was a powerful image, but the bills and financialimpact on the family and society made just as big an impact. When making a choice, one should consider one’s commitment to his orher family, and if one really wants to be supported as a gorp by Medicaid. Wes Hunter,Alma, CO Bad timing, bad choiceEditor:I was very shocked to hear about the

Italian Ruggero Marzoli (Alessio) won a sloppy uphill sprint into the scenic hilltop town of Rapagnano Monday as the Tirreno-Adriatico pedaled into sunny skies a day after Sunday’s stage was snowed out. Monday’s 181km fifth stage from Monte San Giusto to Rapagnano brought the “Race of Two Seas” closer to the sea after Sunday’s snowy, cold weather forced race officials to cancel the fourth stage over 800-metre Valico Colfiorito climb. Racers woke up to sunny but cool temperatures for the rolling stage ending with a 3-kilometer climb. Ukraine Sergiy Matveyev (Panaria) made the day’s big move,

An emotionally spent Alexandre Vinokourov was more relieved than happy after wrapping up the 61st Paris-Nice on Sunday. It was a tumultuous week for the quiet Kazakh, who fulfilled his promise to win the race in honor of his fallen compatriot and friend, Andrei Kivilev, who died from injuries in a spill in Tuesday’s third stage. “It’s been a very hard week and I’ve given all my concentration to winning the race for ‘Kivi,’” said Vinokourov, who finished 43 seconds ahead of ONCE’s Mikel Zarrabeitia. Spanish rider David Bernabeu scored a big win for his Portuguese-based Milaneza team to

World champion Mario Cipollini won the third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Saturday, a 175 kilometer run between Tarquinia and Foligno. The Domina Vacanze team's sprint ace, who added to his first stage win in Sabaudia on Thursday, prevailed in a charge to the line over Telekom’s Erik Zabel and Dario Pieri. Quick Step's Paolo Bettini, boosted by a good set of bonus points, snagged the the overall lead away from Filippo Pozzato (Fassa Bortolo). Cipollini set the pace throughout the stage which was marked by several accidents with the going made tougher by the cold and biting wind. The

Alexandre Vinokourov pushed one day closer to delivering victory in the 61st Paris-Nice after surviving a cold, blustery day along France’s Cote d’Azur. CSC’s Tyler Hamilton lit up the 194km sixth stage from Toulon to Cannes in what he called a “suicidal attack,” riding solo for more than 100 kilometers. His escape, which he described as “a training ride,” gave Hamilton the best climber’s jersey for his efforts. ONCE’s Joaquim Rodriguez won coming into classy Cannes in a five-up sprint on the famed Boulevard de la Croisette after attacking on the Category 2 Col du Tanneron with 23km to

Walked into the office today and what did I see? Two dozen Krispy Kremedonuts staring up at me. Nothing like those little glazed wonders to geta column started, although I’m still partial to my neighborhood DaylightDonuts. This brings up my question for the day: If Tim Horton’s can stepup and sponsor the Canadian national team, and the Canadian national championships every year, why hasn’t someone gotten Dunkin’ Donuts to do the same for the U.S.? It’s a natural. Cyclists love donuts. At least this one does. Anyhow, USA Cycling finally announced the date and location of the 2003elite road

Fassa Bortolo rider Filippo Pozzato won Friday's second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race, a 215km stage from Sabaudi to Tarquinia. Pozzato took over the lead from fellow Italian Mario Cipollini after the longest stage of the Italian stage race. The 21-year-old Pozzato, a rising star in his homeland, won a sprint finish to beat Italian Paolo Bettini and former world champion Romans Vainsteins of Latvia after negotiating the 484-meter Tolfa climb at the 160km mark. Pozzato waited patiently for his moment before attacking in the final 100 meters to edge out Bettini and

World champion Mario Cipollini, of the Domina Vacanze team, dominated a sprint finish to win the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico as it finished in Sabaudia, Italy, Thursday. The 35-year-old Italian held off compatriot Dario Pieri to take the leader's jersey after the 178km ride around Sabaudia. After some mediocre riding in the early season Spanish races, Cipollini took full advantage of his team's close protection throughout the day before they led him on to a flat final straight. "I was feeling quite calm, I knew I had worked well recently and knew my fitness was up to scratch,"

The mood at Paris-Nice turned sullen Wednesday morning as riders, support staff and fans learned that Cofidis’s Andrei Kivilev had died from injuries caused in his freakish fall during a stage a day earlier. Kivilev fell face first with about 40km left in 182km stage into Saint Etienne and later lapsed into a coma, which doctors sustained with drugs to control his blood pressure. Cofidis team doctors said Kivilev died at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning at a hospital in Le Puy-En-Velay, France, after attending physicians doctors lost an all-night battle to control swelling of the 29-year-old’s

Gerolsteiner's Davide Rebellin won the second stage of Paris-Nice, sprinting out of a lead group of six riders that escaped on the slopes of the Category 1 Croix de Chaubouret and held off pursuers on a long descent into Saint Etienne. With time bonuses, Rebellin also took the yellow jesey of overall leader, three seconds ahead of defending champion Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom), who finished second in the stage. The group also included Fassa Bortolo's Dario Frigo who drove the pace on the day's hardest climb and now stands in third place overall at 13 seconds. Stuart

Paris-Nice got its third race leader in three days after Gerolsteiner’s David Rebellin out-sprinted his five rivals in a breakaway that shook up the 61st Paris-Nice. Tuesday’s 182km second stage from La Clayette to Saint Etienne hit four rated climbs, then Category 1 Croix du Chaubouret before an 18km descent to the finish-line and the long, grinding stage separated the contenders from the rest of the field. 2001 champion Dario Frigo (Fassa Bortolo) punched the accelerator with 2km to the summit to Chaubouret to split the lead group of about 40 riders. Only Rebellin and defending champion

Racing resumed Sunday at the Pomona Valley Stage Race in patented 75-degree Southern California weather, with just enough of a breeze to blow back the smog curtain that normally covers nearby Mount Baldy (snow-capped this time of year). While not pivotal in determining the overall winners of the race (that was essentially decided in the race's first uphill time-trial stage), Sunday's criterium still provided a remote possibility of dethroning overall leaders Genevieve Jeanson and Tom Danielson from their top spots -- if either suffered a race-ending crash, or California's much-anticipated

As predicted, the 191km first stage of Paris-Nice finished in a field sprint, perhaps the only opportunity for the sprinters to show their stuff in this mountainous edition of this early season French stage race.VeloNews.com followed the action all the way to the finish line in Paray le Monial. Just click here to bring up our live update window.Check in soon for a complete stage wrap up from European correspondent Andrew Hood, full results and stunning photos from the camera of Graham Watson. 61st Paris-Nice, March 9-16, stages: Prologue, March 9 - Issy les Moulineaux , 4.8km Stage 1, March

Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi made it look easy in Monday’s firststage of the 61st Paris-Nice, and he wasn’t even feeling all thathealthy. Fassa Bortolo did nice work driving Petacchi to his third win this seasonwhile Stuart O’Grady (Crédit Agricole) came across third to earn just enoughtime bonuses to grab the overall leader’s jersey away from prologue winnerNico Mattan (Cofidis). “I really have to thank my team because I was not feeling very goodtoday,” said Petacchi, already a winner at Trofeo Luis Puig and of a stageat Tour of Valencia last month in Spain. “Our train did a great

Orlando's Festival of Speed was very nearly an all-Ivan affair, as Saturn's Ivan Dominguez won the Saturday criterium and local rider Ivan Franco (Jet Network-Home Finance) tested Jittery Joe's Jeff Hopkins in Sunday's circuit race. Hopkins, though, managed to edge out Franco for the win to complete the weekend of National Racing Calendar racing. On Saturday, Dominguez was clearly the strongman in the evening criterium, winning out of a group of seven that included 7UP-Maxxis teammates John Lieswyn and Brice Jones, who tried repeatedly to work over the Saturn rider. "Ivan was just

Gord Fraser (HealthNet) pulled off his second win at the Pomona Valley Stage Race on Saturday, the Stage 3 Puddingstone Road Race held in and around Bonelli Regional Park. The 7.8 mile loop offered 700 feet of climbing per lap with a total elite men's distance of 98 miles with the elite women riding 72 miles. Fraser credited his team's ability to close down any of the breaks that tried to escape the pack (a mistake that almost cost them Friday's Circuit Race). And while an early break of six riders comprised of fellow HealthNet riders Russell Stevensen and Jason Lokkesmoe provided just

It was a day's of two's for Tyler Hamilton and Lance Armstrong. Each barely missed winning a race against the clock by just two seconds; Hamilton at the opening prologue of the 61st Paris-Nice and Armstrong in the final time trial of the Tour of Murcia in Spain. Both were making their respective season debuts this week and it's obvious both are already in fine shape heading into more important races later in the season. Here's a look at all the racing action Sunday in Europe: Hamilton debuts in P-N openerCSC's Tyler Hamilton just missed winning Sunday's opening

Two familiar names in North American racing – Gord Fraser and GenevieveJeanson -- scored wins Friday at the KB Home circuit race, the second stageof the Pomona Valley Stage race. Held in one of Southern California's newest planned communities, atthe very end of Southern California's newest freeways (as if it needs both),the stage kicked off under sunny skies and mild breezes (only partiallysmog-filled). With the women's race starting at 1:25 in the afternoon andthe men following at 3:00, competitors raced on a 2.3-mile nearly dead-flatloop around a work-in-progress, the ultra-suburban KB

Despite the insistence of director Juan Fernandez that his team is financially healthy the Union Cycliste Internationale on Thursday suspended Germany’s Team Coast for its failure to provide necessary financial guarantees. Fernandez had earlier said that the team is in a good position to retain the services of 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich (see “Ullrich still a Coastie, says Fernandez” below), but the UCI action now puts that contract in doubt. The troubled team's riders have been told they may continue participating in Spain’s Tour of Murcia, which ends on Sunday, however

Chris Carmichael, now renowned as Lance Armstrong’s personal coach,has been elected to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame along with four otherswho will be formally inducted at a banquet on May 25 in Somerville, NewJersey.Hall of Fame President Ernie Seubert and Chairman of the Nominationand Selection Committee Ray Cipollini certified the votes after tallyingballots cast by industry leaders, cycling governing bodies and journalists.Carmichael, who lives in Colorado Springs, was selected as a Contributorfor his coaching, which includes serving as U.S. Cycling Federation’s Men’sRoad coach from

Lampre’s Jan Svorada came back to Spain and did what he did this time last year: Win the opening stage of the Tour de Murcia in a tough field sprint. But this year he had to beat Erik Zabel to do it. The two battled to the line at the end of Wednesday’s 162km first stage between Murcia and Ceuti in southeastern Spain, a day that also served as the season debut of four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Indeed, Armstrong was the clearly the center of attention before the start in Murcia as big crowds hovered around the U.S. Postal Service bus hoping to catch a glimpse of the

Mountain biker Carl Swenson of Boulder scored a career-high fifth-place finish in the 50km freestyle race this weekend at the 2003 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Swenson, 32, a two-time Olympian and six-time U.S. national champion who raced mountain bikes for RLX-Polo Sport last season, snapped a pole in a crash early in Saturday’s race, but recovered to finish just 1:24 behind Czech Martin Koukal, who claimed the gold in 1:54.25.3. Swedes Anders Soedergren and Joergen Brink took the silver and bronze, respectively. Swenson’s performance was icing on this year’s

Dutch racer Roy Sentjens (Rabobank) won Sunday’s 56th Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, finishing alone 19 seconds ahead of Belgian Leif Hoste (Lotto-Domo) in the semi-classic that shares the same weekend with Het Volk to open the Belgian season. With 2km to go, the 22-year-old Sentjens attacked the remnants of a group of eight riders that escaped early in the race to score the first victory of his career. Eight riders, including Postal’s Tony Cruz, broke clear early in the race in horrible weather and built up a 12-minute gap with 80km to go. Volker Ordowski (Gerolsteiner) accelerated and trimmed the

Johan Museeuw showed no signs of age as he roared to victory in Saturday’s Het Volk, the opener of the Belgian racing season. His Quick Step team dominated the 200km course across the cobbles of Belgium, finishing with four riders in the top-five. Only U.S. Postal’s Max Van Heeswijk challenged the team’s gauntlet and there was little he could do on his own but hang on to finish second ahead of Paolo Bettini at 16 seconds back. Het Volk marked the Quick Step debut of Tom Boonen and the return of Franck Vandenbroucke, who crossed the line hand-in-hand to take fourth and fifth, respectively, at

Alessandro Petacchi takes the final sprint into Valencia

Spain's Martin Perdiguero came out of nowhere to win Friday's difficult climbing stage in the Tour of Valencia while Dario Frigo moved back into the overall lead. The pint-sized Domina Vacanze rider is known more for his sprinting prowess, but vaulted past Frigo in the final 50 meters to claim a surprising stage-win. Perdiguero insisted the win shouldn't come as any surprise. "I've lost a lot of weight and came into this season with a lot of motivation to show I can climb better. Look what happened today. I was at the front and now I have won," Perdiguero said. Frigo drove

Saeco's Igor Astarloa sprinted to victory in the third stage of the Tour of Valencia on Thursday, charging out of a lead group of 52 riders that finished in Puerto de Sagunto 30 minutes sooner than organizers had originally expected. The lead group flew over a difficult three-climb stage and came into this industrial port ready for a sprint. Saeco teammate Santos Gonzalez put down a strong lead-out and Astarloa held out against compatriots Angel Edo (Milaneza-MSS) and Angel Vicioso (ONCE) to score his first win of the season. "I was afraid that I might have gone too early, but I had a

Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) had an easy time winning the would-be Spanish classic Trofeo Luis Puig on Sunday in Valencia. Petacchi easily handled Kelme’s Isaac Galvez to win the 178km race, which fell flat in its hyped showdown among the stars of sprinting, many of whom were MIA. Rabobank’s Oscar Freire, fresh off two wins at Ruta del Sol last week, fell ill to stomach flu and didn’t start. World champion Mario Cipollini was dropped on the opening climb to make a rather disappointing start to his 2003 season. And Telekom’s Erik Zabel finished more than two minutes off and

Rising French star Sylvain Chavanel (Brioches La Boulangère) delivered the goods in Saturday's 180km Tour du Haut Var, nipping Spanish rider Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) to grab the victory. A 10-rider rider break went away at the Cote de Tuilieres with about 20km to go. With 2km to go, Chavanel, Sanchez, Cofidis' Andrei Kivilev and Stephane Goubert attacked off the group and came in for the sprint. Chavanel nipped Sanchez and Kivilev took third. "There were a lot of breaks in the last 10km, but nobody wanted to arrive at a final sprint with me," said Quick Step's Paolo Bettini,

American Fred Rodriguez (Sidermec), won the second stage of Greece’s Tourde Rhodes on Friday.Rodriguez beat Holland’s Rudi Kemna and Czech rider Jan Svorada to thefinish at the end of the 120km stage, a large loop that left Rhodes traveledthrough Apollona and finished again in Rhodes.Rodriguez’s shot at a win was uncertain until the final kilometer ofthe race as a three-man breakaway headed by Vlaanderen-T Interim’s RudolfWentzel lasted from the day’s first sprint at 20km until the very lastkilometer.Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner), holds on to the overall lead, thoughhe he is now tied with

Alessio’s Ruslan Ivanov was simply stronger than four others in the breakaway that closed out the fifth and final stage Thursday in the 49th Ruta del Sol in southern Spain while Kelme’s Juan Pascual Llorente held on for final victory. Ivanov dropped Inigo Chaurreau (AG2R) and Gustavo Toledo (Paternina) on a Category 2 climb just 5km from the finish and unleashed a stage-winning attack on the flats with 1km to go. Jose Luis Martinez (Paternina) and Santi Blanco (Relax-Fuenlabrada) tried to hang on, but the veteran Alessio rider simply out-muscled the Spanish riders in the Ruta’s final

In weather that’s more reminiscent of his home back in Holland than sunny Andalucia, Dutch rider Remmert Wielinga endured a long day in the saddle through cold, wind and rain to deliver Rabobank its third stage victory in the 49th Ruta del Sol. Wielinga – winner of a stage at the Mallorca Challenge earlier this month – outmuscled Kelme’s Ivan Parra and ONCE’s Joaquin Rodriguez to win Wednesday’s difficult stage, which featured no less than four category-two climbs. The trio peeled away from Quick Step’s Patrik Sinkewitz and Euskaltel’s Unai Extebarria on the final climb of the day. Parra

Dear Monique: I am a 53-year-old triathlete who has been competing for more than 20 years. Recently I have been having difficulty in keeping my weight up. Genetically I am lean. I do my best to consume calories before, during, and after workouts and throughout the day. My training involves weight lifting and stretching, as well as the three disciplines. I have read that HMB will prevent protein catabolism and may increase weight gain. It is also said to promote recovery. I would appreciate your opinion of this supplement and any guidance on maintaining my body weight. -- ST Dear Monique:

There was a change in the weather in Spain’s Andalucia on Tuesday and a leadership change in the Ruta del Sol. The sun was nowhere to be seen as fog, cold and rain welcomed the peloton for the first stage in what’s called the “race of the sun.” Kelme’s Javier Pascual Llorente got out of the cold first, winning the Ruta’s 166-km third stage and catapulted into the overall lead. The stage from Sevilla was dead flat until it reached the short, but steep category-one climb to the Sanctuario de Nuestra Senora de Araceli high in the rugged mountains in southern Spain. The lead peloton split

I have a new pair of Sidi shoes and am considering going from Lookpedals to either Campy Record Pro-Fit Plus or Shimano DuraAce SPD-SL's.Which, if either, will work better with the Sidi sole and plate? Will I need to get longer cleat bolts for either system?  Will I needto use the Sidi plate with either system?How about Sidi with Ritchey Road pedals?  (I understand the Ritcheycleat is a 2-hole SPD style.) --PhilDear Phil;For the Campy or new Shimano SPD-SL pedals, you will use the sameSidi plate you did with the Looks, and both pedals will work identicallywith that shoe as the Looks did. The

If Oscar Freire was happy after winning Sunday’s opening stage of the 49th Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucia – the Ruta del Sol – he was downright ecstatic Monday when he roared to his second straight stage-win. Freire put down a blistering sprint with 350 meters to go, easily holding off nemesis Erik Zabel who couldn’t come around him in the finale of the rolling 165-km stage between Sevilla and Huelva in Spain’s sunny Andalucia region. AG2R’s Jaan Kirsipuu – winner of two races already this month -- nearly picked Freire’s pocket with a late charge on the left side of the finishing

Genèviève Jeanson (Rona-Esker) won a field sprint on Saturdayto go two for two at the 2003 John Earley Memorial Valley of the Sun stagerace outside Tempe, Arizona, while Mark McCormack (Saturn) outfoxed a smalllead group to take his first victory.A three-man group that included Adam Livingston (Schroeder Iron) and ABDCycling teammates Frank Pipp and John Puffer slipped away from the bunchafter Saturn’s Ivan Dominguez won the KoM, building a lead of nearly threeminutes on the 16-mile circuit. But they were retrieved late in the 89-milerace, and a flurry of attacks eventually saw McCormack,

Giro d’Italia winner Paolo Savoldelli (Telekom) is recovering in hospital after being knocked over by a motorcycle during a pre-season training ride in Tenerife, Spain, Saturday. The Italian, one of the new stars recruited by the German Telekom squad, was admitted to a local hospital with fractures to his nose and mouth. He was due to be transferred to the university clinic at Fribourg-en-Brisgau in Germany to undergo surgery. Savoldelli had been expected to line up in the Telekom jersey for the first time in the Tour of Valencia in Spain on February 25. Another new face in his German

After two days of moderately difficult rides, the Navigators decided to head out for what was deemed an "easy" day in the saddle, though it hardly turned out that way. From the sound of things, the pace was easy for the 10km to Bolgheri, and then someone went to the front and turned on the gas. Henk Vogels wasn’t to blame this time - I saw him and Ryan Guay leaving quietly on their own, about 15 minutes after the rest, for a truly easy, flat 50km. Given my present level of fitness (or more accurately, the lack thereof), I skipped the ride entirely and caught up with the mechanics to discuss

Rabobank’s Bram Degroot won the 112km opening stage of the 30th Tour of the Mediterranean on Wednesday. The Dutch rider bested 2002 World Cup champion Paolo Bettini in a sprint to the finish in Arma di Taggia along Italy’s Mediterranean coast. The 150 riders, who left the start in Taggia maintained a moderate pace until the day’s first major challenge, the col du San Bortolomeo, a category 1 climb at that peaked out at the 69-kilometer mark. Bettini tried his luck with a solo attack, but was reeled back in as Phonak’s Miguel Martinez drove a strong chase. With 20 kilometers remaining, a

Chances of anything significant happening on the last day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi were slim when the day started. But when race officials neutralized the race two laps into the 12-lap criterium because of threatening skies, Tom Danielson and his Saturn team could sit back and coast, assured that the 24-year-old from Durango, Colorado was going home with a yellow jersey in his suitcase.

Brown and Bongiorno battle in the sprint...

How good could Tom Danielson be? Consider this. In the moments after finishing just an eyelash behind stage winner Hernan Dario Munoz on stage 9 of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi, the 24-year-old seemed more upset by the fact that he’d lost the stage than exultant that he’d just all but locked up the overall title in the fourth richest stage race in the world.

Someday someone will actually pull it off here in Malaysia. Break away from the field early in the race, hammer hard for a few hours, and catch the peloton napping just long enough to grab a solo victory. That day, however, was not today. Despite a Herculean effort from the increasingly famous Koji Fukushima, the eighth stage of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi ended with another mad-dash sprint at the end. And like he did two days before, Australian Stuart O’Grady came away the winner.

Saturn’s plan all along, if it worked, was to have Tom Danielson sporting the yellow jersey come the final day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi. It just wasn’t supposed to happen this early.

Stuart O’Grady just shrugged his shoulders when asked the last time he’d won a bunch sprint like the one that concluded stage 6 of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi. “I don’t know,” he said after a brief pause. “It’s been a while.” Indeed, until Wednesday, it had been nearly three years since the Credit Agricole rider had broken through with a win like the one he grabbed at the end of the 136.3km run from Marang to Cukai on another scorcher of a day in Malaysia. Before that you had to go all the way back to the third stage of the Midi-Libre in May of 2000.

Several minutes have passed since the conclusion of the second stage of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi, but Stuart O’Grady’s motor is still redlined. Moments ago two ugly crashes in the last kilometer of the stage left at least a dozen riders bumped, bruised or worse. Among them are several of O’Grady’s Credit Agricole teammates. Normally O’Grady isn’t one for drama, but the cause of all this carnage has been placed on one of his competitors, a young ambitious Argentinean who rides for the Italian Ceremiche-Panaria team. “It was the most ridiculous sprinting I’ve ever seen,” O’Grady recalls.

Italian sprinter Fabio Baldato spoiled the Frenchies' party Wednesday in the opening stage of the five-day Etoile de Besseges in southern France. Alessio rider Baldato covered the 153.5km stage from St. Cannat to Sainte Tulle in 3 hours, 47 minutes and 6 seconds, edging French rider Franck Bouyer (Brioche La Boulangere) and Mickael Skelde (EDS-Fakta) to score the win. The race continues Thursday with a 150km circuit course in Marseille. Galvez scores second victory in Mallorca Challenge Kelme's Isaac Galvez snagged his second victory in Wednesday's mass sprint in the fourth

Leaning against the Ceremiche-Panaria team van 20 minutes before the start of stage 5, Graeme Brown was very matter of fact about the first four days of 2003 Tour de Langkawi. Sure the Aussie, who went neck and neck with Mario Cipollini at last year’s Giro, had been beaten in three straight sprints by a younger, brasher foe. But Brown wasn’t ready to concede anything to Mendonca Pagliarini, the 24-year-old Brazilian Lampre rider who’d won three straight sprint finishes here in Malaysia.

The French racing season opened Tuesday with Ludo Dierckxsens (Landbouwkrediet) winning the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, 150km from Gardanne to Aubagne near Marseille. The race was marked by a long breakaway by nine riders that took advantage of favorable winds to build an insurmountable lead that was more than half-an-hour by the finish. In the closing kilometers, Magnus Backstedt (Credit Agricole) attacked, only to be joined by Dierckxsens, who beat the Swede to the line. Most teams who competed on Tuesday will stay on for the 33rd Etoile de Besseges, which enters the Bouches region

One star continued to shine, while another emerged at the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia on Sunday. For the third straight day Brazilian Mendonca Pagliarini took top honors in a bunch sprint, this time winning the 172.9km stage 4 trip from Gerik to Tanah Merah. But getting equal billing on this day was Canadian mountain biker Roland Green, who showed it didn’t matter whether it was dirt or tarmac when it comes to climbing.

American Fred Rodriguez started his 2003 season off with a strong second-place finish in Sunday’s GP Costa del Etruschi in Italy, finishing just behind winner Jaan Kirsipuu. Several riders broke away in the opening Italian race of the 2003 season, but were brought back for a bunch sprint. Kirsipuu, who typically starts the season strong, edged Rodriguez. The news is good for Rodriguez, who joined Sidermec (formerly Tacconi Sport) in December. Rodriguez is hoping to move up one step this spring following his impressive performance last year when he finished second to Mario Cipollini in

The third day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi lacked the bloody drama of its predecessor, but when the bunch cleared the line in the mining city of Ipoh the result was the same. For the second day in a row Brazilian Mendonca Pagliarini took a sprint-finish win in Malaysia. The pair of victories are the first of the 24-year-old’s 2-year pro cycling career. In the chase for the overall, there was no change at the top, as Saturn’s Nathan O’Neill maintained his 23-second lead over Canadian national team rider Roland Green.

It has to be cause for concern when you look around and see you’re off the front of a bike race with only a two-time world champion on your wheel … and Daphny van den Brandt is no different than anyone else. “I was worried,” Van den Brandt said after earning her first world title in the women’s cyclo-cross world championship in Monopoli, Italy on Sunday. “If you have Hanka Kupfernagel with you in a cyclo-cross race, there really is no time you can relax.” Like virtually every other race on the world’s course in Monopoli this weekend, the outcome of the women’s event was decided largely on

The finish stretch for the second day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi looked to be perfect for a clean, hard-fought sprint. The road was wide and the final straightaway long. But after what overall race leader Nathan O’Neill called “a bunch of guys racing like it was the last crusade,” two major crashes wreaked havoc on stage 2 Saturday in Malaysia. In the aftermath, Saturn’s Charles Dionne was one of at least a half dozen riders who ended up in the hospital, suffering from a severe laceration on his left thigh and several broken fingers according to a hospital official. Up front Mendonca

Italian Alberto Loddo (Lampre) won Friday's mass field sprint to take the opening stage of the Tour of Qatar, a 90km circuit in Doha. Under sunny skies, Loddo beat out Frenchman Damien Nazon (Brioches La Boulangere) and Italian Massimo Strazzer (Phonak) and claimed the race leader's gold jersey. Loddo counted heavily on his Lampre teammates to bring back the main breakaway duo of the day, consisting of Christophe Kern (Brioches La Boulangere) and Michael Blaudzun (CSC), whose lead reached a maximum of 1:25. In the overall standings, Loddo leads Strazzer by three seconds, and Nazon by

Dear Lennard Zinn;We've been looking around for a good road bike for my girlfriend andone thing we've noticed is that the Shimano STI shifters do not fit herparticularly well. She has relatively small hands and the levers are justtoo far away from the bar for her to comfortably brake. I believe thatShimano addressed this issue in the mountain bike brake set up, but dothey or anyone else address it in the road arena? --MikeDear Mike;There is no alternative, short brake lever from Campagnolo or Shimanowith an integrated shift lever like ErgoPower or STI in it. You can addressit with the

Ag2R's Mikel Astarloza relied on the sprinting prowess of his teammate Jaan Kirsipuu to hold off a final stage challenge from Stuart O'Grady, and a host of other Australians, hoping to keep the Spaniard from claiming the overall title at the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under. Meanwhile, Ceramiche-Panaria powerhouse Graeme Brown should have had little reason to complain after surviving a week of frustration to finally win a stage in this year’s race.

Gianpaolo Caruso catapulted himself into a thrilling four-way battle for overall victory in the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under by winning Saturday’s 147km fifth stage. Caruso, 22 and the 2001 Under 23 World Championship silver medalist, won the tough Wilunga circuit race in scorching 44C degree heat outsprinting a 10-man lead breakaway. In his second season with the Spanish ONCE team, Caruso beat Germany’s Stefan Weseman (Telekom) and Italian Paolo Lanfranchi (Panaria) for his first victory as a professional. He is now tied for third overall at 4 seconds behind new race leader, Spain’s

Caruso takes the sprint into Willunga

Fabio Sacchi says he is enjoying the scorching heat of South Australia that baked the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under peloton with temperatures reaching 110 degrees Friday. But when asked about the heat Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen is putting upon his overall lead in the six-stage race that ends on Sunday, the Saeco leader becomes a bit wary. After the 144km fourth stage from Unley to Goolwa on Friday, Sacchi’s overall lead on McEwen dropped from 10 seconds to eight. Racing into a head wind, Australia’s Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com) won the leg in a sprint from Graeme Brown (Panaria), Stuart

With Robbie McEwen and Graeme Brown battling the final sprint in the third stage of the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under on Thursday, surprisingly much of the day’s attention was turned to a war of words between race leader Fabio Sacchi (Saeco) and Aussie Stuart O’Grady. Sacchi blasted the Credit Agricole star for questioning the abilities of the visiting Italian team. Sacchi, who continued to hold the race leader’s jersey after the third stage from Glenelg to Hahndorf, was upset over comments made by O’Grady in his daily newspaper column. Published in the local Adelaide newspaper The

Saeco’s Fabio Sacchi has learned one thing about racing in Australia: forget trusting anyone, even your mates. Sacchi took the race lead by winning yesterday's second stage through the Barossa Valley to Kapunda. The result continues the Milan rider's success in the event, which includes two spells in the yellow leader's jersey and a stage win from the 2001 and 2002 races. Asked what his past appearances in the race had taught him, he said he came away with just one clear lesson. “I learned not to trust anyone, including your friends,” Sacchi noted. By Sunday, when the 735km race ends in

All the efforts by Australian sprinter Graeme Brown to shed his label as a dirty sprinter were forgotten Tuesday when he was relegated from first place in stage one of the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under. After crossing the line first in the 50km criterium in East End Adelaide, Brown, 23, was found guilty of not holding his line in the sprint and dangerous riding. The decision followed a 15-minute deliberation by race commisssaires following a protest by Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) who was third to finish. McEwen’s complaint was lodged to chief race commissaire John McDonnell of New Zealand

To the casual observer, road racing looks like an individual sport. Racers and educated spectators, however, know this is not the case at all. The sport is really like a complex chess game on wheels, in which attacks, blocks, and sacrifices are constant, right up to the finish line. This is most obvious when watching a top professional team, such as the U.S. Postal squad, during the Tour de France. However, by following some basic guidelines, even an amateur club team can employ team strategy and tactics for one-day road races and criteriums. KNOW YOUR ROLESIn laying out the team’s strategy

Dear Editors,Totally agree with Brad Libby. This sport seems to get more and more expensive. By the time my daughter may want to race, the fees will be $100 for a licenseLet's not hit people that are starting with high fees. Let’s find another way of getting the money.Pros could possibly work it into their budget when they make a proposal to a sponsor. The promoter could do the same. I know it's a lot of work to promote a bike race, but just pencil it into the budget: Free registration to all beginners.(See Brad Libby’s letter, “Give it up for the sport you love”)We've got to

Dear readers;I get a lot of questions about cranks – crank lengths, non-standardcranks, compatibility, etc., so I thought I’d just combine a number ofthem here.  --LennardDear Lennard;I would like to read your comments or opinions on a product calledPowerCranks (see at Powercranks.com). I would like to buy a pair to improvemy technique. Thanks for your help. --HeltonDear Helton;PowerCranks are cranks with a clutch bearing at the bottom-bracketconnection in order to only engage the bottom bracket in the forward direction.You can only keep them turning if you pull up and around the entire

Everyone’s crazy except you and me, and I’ve been wondering about you lately.- AnonymousThe VeloNews.com letters column has been stuffed like a Florida ballot box of late with informed opinions about masters and juniors, rednecks and yuppies, and SUVs. Pretty much everyone agrees that one or another of these things sucks like a Hoover upright crosswired to a black hole, especially those SUVs. And it's true, the land-schooner commanders - soccer moms, George C. Scott-as-George S. Patton wanna-bes, and bondage aficionados with sweaty dreams of perpetual confinement in steel and leather

Editors,It may have played itself out in letters already, but I wanted to tossout a reply, as a master, and level the field a bit.I can honestly say that for every young rider with an attitude, I havecome in contact with a masters rider with not only a superiority complex,but also the unfortunate ability to make their comments and actions twiceas bad because they have the experience to pour salt in the wound withthe accuracy of a Navy SEAL sniper.I have met more than my share of "I am so above it all,” know-everything,critical-of-anyone, snobbish, nose-in-the-air,

Dear Joe and Dirk:I have been reading some European studies on stationary trainers and how the inertia of the trainer affects the muscle fibers. The studies say thatlow inertia trainers cause the rider to use all fast twitch muscle fibers and high inertia trainers with large flywheels use slow twitch muscle fibersthe ones predominantly used in road racing and triathlon.I have spoken to some triathlon and cycling coaches and they all agreed. Do you guys have any information on this subject?Thank you,ChuckDear ChuckNeither of us has ever seen such research and tend to doubt that there is such a

I resolve to try and emulate daily in some small way the grace, dignity,humor, good nature, and integrity of two friends sorely missed by many, JohnPavlat and Chris Ethridge. MikeMaverick Sports PromotionsEditors;I resolve to:1) Start slow and ease off.2) Thank the Lord that I can still ride.3) Help those who can’t ride find something to channel their passion.4) Raise as much money as I can for my daughter’s Children’s Hospital.5) Tell my family and friends that “I love them” each day.6) Pray for peace.7) And “kick butt and win a race this year”.Ron Heimburger Tampa, FLEditors,I resolve to do

Dear Mr. Friel;As a serious, mostly self-coached junior racer I have a couple questionswith regards to planning my season. This past year was my first season racing(as well as my first experience cycling seriously at all) and I found shortlythat I had some amount of potential, winning the senior sport classes inlocal mountain bike races, and doing well in group rides. Encouraged by thismodest success, I began putting in substantial miles of training on the road.I ended up riding an average of 500 miles a week (25+hrs) for a little overthree months of the summer, all at very low intensity,