Stories by Andrew Hood

• Posted: Mon, May 5th
  Soler: Riding for stage wins or the jersey?
  If you believe Barloworld team manager Claudio Corti, Colombian climbing sensation Mauricio Soler is starting next week’s Giro d’Italia only with ambitions to win a stage or two. Instead of making a run for the maglia rosa, Corti says the Giro will serve as a ...
• Posted: Sat, May 3rd
  Merckx: Happily retired and carefully weighing his options
  Axel Merckx was back at the races last month in the Ardennes, but this time dressed in civilian clothes. The son of Eddy Merckx was made a triumphant return in his native Belgium and had a handful of cycling tourists in tow as he made the rounds before Flèche Wallonne and ...
• Posted: Fri, May 2nd
  Sastre, Schleck take a pass on Giro
  Last year’s runner-up Andy Schleck and Spanish climber Carlos Sastre will both skip this month’s Giro d’Italia in favor of a run at the Tour de France podium. The two Team CSC stars have opted to put everything on the Tour and will leave the Giro to other riders on the ...
• Posted: Sun, Apr 27th
  Valverde scores again in Liege
  A new climb with 20km to go lived up to expectations, breaking Liège-Bastogne-Liège wide open, but Alejandro Valverde relied on tactical savvy and his fiery finish-line punch to win La Doyenne for the second time in three years Sunday. After working into the decisive ...
• Posted: Sat, Apr 26th
  New climb will spice up Liège-Bastogne-Liège
  A new climb with about 20 kilometers to go in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège should pump fresh excitement into one of the oldest races in cycling. The steep climb at La Roche aux Faucons ("Falcon's Rock") is giving hope to riders such as Damiano Cunego, Frank Schleck and ...
• Posted: Fri, Apr 25th
  Valverde hopes for warm reception in Liège
  Chances that Alejandro Valverde will repeat his 2006 victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège all depend on what the rain gods decide to do on Sunday. If the peloton is drenched with rain and cold, he might finish even worse than 21st as he did in Flèche Wallonne. But if benevolent ...
• Posted: Thu, Apr 24th
  Cadel Evans: My job is to win the Tour de France
  Cadel Evans almost won Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday and will line up as one of the favorites for Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but July is what’s on his mind these days. Second at Flèche, the ...
• Posted: Wed, Apr 23rd
  Kirchen steals Evans’ thunder at Flèche Wallonne
  It was a mur too far for Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) as Kim Kirchen (High Road) sprang past the attacking Australian on the final ramps of the knee-busting steeps up the Mur de Huy on Wednesday to win a wet and wild Flèche Wallonne.
• Posted: Tue, Apr 22nd
  Flèche Wallonne: Is Cunego ready for another win?
  Look no further than the results sheet from Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race to see who’ll be bucking for the win in Wednesday’s mid-week classic at 72nd Flèche Wallonne. With the menacing wall at the ...
• Posted: Mon, Apr 21st
  Cunego: ‘I can win classics and tours’
  Nothing was going to spoil Damiano Cunego’s good mood after winning in Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race. Not even a journalist asking him if he still believes he can be a GC threat in grand tours. In fact, it’s the question that perhaps Cunego is better suited to the classics ...
• Posted: Sun, Apr 20th
  Cunego wins Amstel Gold Race
  The Cauberg climb was the scene of a stunning finale Sunday of a wild, action-packed Amstel Gold Race that saw Damiano Cunego (Lampre) score a huge victory against the attacking Frank Schleck (CSC). Realizing his only shot against faster rivals such as Cunego and third-place ...
• Posted: Sun, Apr 20th
  Bettini hopes for Liège start; Bennati back after long stop
  Two of Italy’s biggest stars are on the mend and hope to be back at their best in time for major upcoming goals. Two-time world champ Paolo Bettini is skipping both Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallone due to a broken rib suffered in last week’s Vuelta al País Vasco ...