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So far, the Tour de Langkawi could be named the Tour de Jans Koerts, as the yellow jersey holder from Mercury-Viatel won his second stage on Sunday, the sixth day of racing in Malaysia. Koerts' victory came despite hitting the barriers 150 meters from the finish line and getting bopped on the head in the sprint. Sunday's stage from Kluang to Melaka was relatively short at 150km. It was probably also one of Koerts’s last days in the leader’s jersey - after Monday’s rest day there is one more day of relative flat and then two days of massive climbs, something Koerts is the first to admit is

Belgian cyclist Nico Eeckhout (Lotto) won the 31st edition of the Etoile de Bessèges by the slimmest of margins on Sunday after a final stage raced on a circuit around Molieres-sur-Ceze and Bessèges. France's Florent Brard (Festina) took the stage victory, and his compatriot Damien Nazon (Bonjour), who won the third and fourth stages, came in only 21 seconds behind his Belgian adversary from the Lotto team. However it was too little too late as Eeckhout put the finishing touches to a campaign which he got off to a perfect start with victory in the first stage. Eeckhout held on to

Belgian Bart Wellens (Spaar-Select) won the eighth and final round of the Superprestige cyclo-cross series in Harnes, France, on Sunday. Wellens outsprinted Dutchman Richard Groenendaal, who had already wrapped up the overall title after round 7 in Diegem, Belgium. 30 seconds later came Belgian Sven Nijs, followed by world champion Erwin Vervecken. With his win, Wellens finished second in the overall standings, one of eight Belgians in the top 10.

The race leader has everyone's attention

Tuft, Okazuki and Langella

The peloton enjoyed the scenery on the way to Melaka

Frenchman Damien Nazon (Bonjour) won for the second straight day at the Etoile de Bessèges as he took the fourth stage in Les Fumades in a sprint from Jo Planckaert and Steffen Radochla. Lotto’s Nico Eeckhout held onto the race leader’s jersey. The stage featured a 10-rider break – Peter Farazijn (Cofidis), Bert Scheirlinckx (Collstrop), Chris Peers (Cofidis), Sebastien Demarbaix (AG2R), Lenaic Olivier (Jean Delatour), Thierry Gouvenou, Loic Lamouller (both BigMat), Andy Flickinger (Festina), Franck Perque (Francaise des Jeux) and Stuart O’Grady (Credit Agricole) -- that went off at the 20km

Degano had time to celebrate

The break stayed out for nearly 200km

Barry has been active all week

All it took was one little mistake in the race map, and Enrico Degano (Ceramiche Panaria) beat out powerhouses Mercury Viatel and Mapei-Quick Step in a bunch sprint to take his second stage of the Tour de Langkawi. Jans Koerts (Mercury Viatel) continues to hold the yellow jersey, although his lead over Degano has been cut to 18 seconds from 25.

Average speed: 51.95 kilometers per hour for 135.5km. That’s all you need to know to understand stage 4 of the Tour de Langkawi. It was fast, brutally fast, more than a kilometer and a half per hour faster than Mario Cipollini's record Tour de France stage last year. And at the finish, overall leader Jans Koerts (Mercury-Viatel) added a stage win to his honors, easily outdistancing Ivan Quaranta (Alexia Alluminio) and Andris Nauduzs (Selle Italia-Pacific).

French rider Damien Nazon of the Bonjour team won the third stage of the season-opening Etoile de Bessèges race on Friday but Belgium's Nico Eeckhout kept the leader's jersey he has held from the start. Nazon leapt into second place overall after winning the 140km stage from Nimes to Ales in southern France. Jan Svorada of the Czech Republic was second in Friday's stage and lies third overall. The stage was marked by a number of falls, before a group of 22 riders broke away 10km from Ales. Denmark's Nicolay Larsen led in the closing kilometers before falling, allowing Nazon to pedal to

In the VeloNews road season preview issue (February 5, 2001), we inadvertently left Massachusetts’s Kevin Monahan off of the 7-Up-Colorado Cyclist team roster, and we heard about it quickly from some of our readers. We caught up with the entire team on Thursday at its Boulder, Colorado, training camp. Six inches of new snow on the ground and temperatures in the teens put a damper on the festivities. "This sucks," said newcomer Dave McCook. "I didn’t come here to ski." The team made plans for a snowshoe excursion on Friday, but Thursday was a day for indoor training, testing and team

Koerts scored Mercury's second stage win

Moninger leads the Mercury chase

Sure enough, Monahan was there.

Killing time in the meetings.

Juan-Carlos Pineda

No ride on Thursday

Australian neo-pro Mathew Hayman (Rabobank) won the overall title at the Majorca Challenge, while another Australian, Robbie McEwen (Domo-Farm Frites), finally beat Germany’s Erik Zabel in a field-sprint finish. The final stage was a 153.4km circuit around Palmanova, which the peloton covered in 3:45:04, for an average of 38.104kph. With Hayman holding a 1:46 lead over Francisco Cabello, the Kelme team was the animator of the race, placing five of its riders into a 15-man break, which rode out to a three minute lead over the day’s three climbs. Behind, the Rabobank squad organized the chase

Mapei-Quick Step finally made it onto the winner’s podium Thursday at the Tour de Langkawi, with Paolo Bettini just nipping Phonak's Alexandre Usov at the line. Mercury Viatel's Jans Koerts continues to hold onto the yellow leader's jersey, with stage 2 winner Enrico Degano (Ceramiche Panaria) and Bettini 10 seconds back. The 177km third stage along the east coast of Malaysia, from Kota Bharu to Kuala Terengganu, was led for much of the day by the breakaway duo of Svein Tuft (Team Canada) and Soren Petersen (Saturn). Tuft initiated the break a mere 6km into the stage, and was soon joined by

Festina’s Steffen Radochla won the second stage of the Etoile des Bessèges, 151km between Septèmes-les-Vallons and Miramas in France. Belgian Nico Eeckhout (Lotto-Adecco) retained the leader’s jersey. Under sunny but windy conditions, the 22-year-old German Radochla won a sprint finish at the end of an animated stage marked by many aggressive, but failed, breakaways. After a 45km breakaway by Jean Delatour’s Christophe Edaleine was brought back, the attacks kept coming until the final kilometer, but the peloton regrouped in time to set up the field sprint, with Radochla edging out Jaan

After getting off to a late start, Prime Alliance continues to round out its team, and on Thursday it announced the addition of 20-year-old Ryan Miller, the 1999 under-23 national time trial champion. In addition to his 1999 title, Miller also won 15 national championships as a junior. The Kirkland, Washington, rider was a member of the Nutra Fig team in 2000. With the addition of Miller, Prime Alliance now boasts three of the top young Americans in Miller, 20-year-old Michael Creed (runner-up at the U-23 national road and time trial championships) and 21-year-old Danny Pate (1999 elite

Koerts and Fraser feel the heat

Frank McCormack keeps an eye on things for Saturn

The yellow jersey takes it to the line

U.S. national criterium champion Laura Van Gilder will race for the TalgoAmerica.com squad for the 2001 season. In 2000, Talgo America, a North American train manufacturer with corporate offices in Seattle and Washington, D.C., signed on as a sponsor of the Altoona Cycling Team’s women’s squad. This year, Talgo takes over title sponsorship. The team will be called TalgoAmerica.com. Earlier this year, Van Gilder was expected to ride for the Canadian Intersports team, along with Catherine Marsal, Elizabeth Emery and Anne Samplonius. However, that team has yet to be finalized, and Van Gilder

There has still been no official word from the UCI regarding the fate of the cancelled mountain bike World Cup triple in Whistler, but VeloNews has learned that at least two Canadian locations, Sun Peaks Resort and Grouse Mountain, are in the process of submitting bids to replace Whistler, and are being considered by cycling’s world governing body. Sun Peaks, a ski area 45 minutes from Kamloops, British Columbia, has already been awarded this year’s Canadian national mountain biking championships. "They’ve been running Canada Cups there for a long time," said Aaron McConnell of Altitude

Koerts holds onto yellow for another day

Stage 1 winner Fraser leads the peloton

In a deal that’s been rumored for some time, Tomac USA, the bicycle company owned and operated by legendary rider John Tomac and pioneer designer Doug Bradbury, has joined forces with American Bicycle Group, which owns Litespeed, Merlin and Quintana Roo. The deal will shift most of the marketing, production and day-to-day operations responsibilities from Tomac to American Bicycle Group. "It’s not a buyout where they own the business," Tomac said. "It’s a licensing agreement that gives us access to resources we were lacking in the past." The Tomac USA product line consists of three aluminum

Mercury-Viatel’s Jan Koerts held onto the yellow leader’s jersey at the Tour de Langkawi on Wednesday, but Italian Enrico Degano rocketed up to second-place when he beat out Koerts for the stage 2 win in Kota Bharu. The 226.3km stage featured two long climbs early in the race, one of about 14km and another of 19km, making for a hard day in the saddle. However, the 171 riders were all together for field sprint finish. Koerts and Mercury were looking for another stage win, but Degano shot ahead in the last 250 meters to take the win.

With his Rabobank teammates chasing behind, Dutchman Michael Boogerd was able to sit in for a free ride in the lead group up front, and he emerged freshest from a five-man breakaway to take the win on stage 4 of the Majorca challenge. The Boogerd group also included Swiss Fabian Jeker and Spaniards Felix Garcia Casas, Francisco Cabello and Juan José de los Angeles. Those four were forced to do the bulk of the work when Rabobank took up the chase late in the race, and at the finish, Boogerd took the sprint from Jeker with relative ease. Two minutes behind, Telekom’s Erik Zabel beat out Luca

Lotto-Adecco’s Nico Eeckhout took the leader’s jersey at the Etoile de Bessèges after winning the 141km first stage from La Ciotat to Aubagne. Eeckhout won a six-up sprint from fellow breakaways Nicolas Reynaud (Festina), Jakob Piil (CSC-World Online), Nicolas Jalabert (CSC-World Online), Chris Peers (Cofidis) and Christophe Bassons (Jean Delatour). Reynaud and Cyril Dessel (Jean Delatour) embarked on a long breakaway just 10km into the stage, on the climb of Ceyreste, eventually building a lead of 6:25. At the 100km mark, they were caught by the five other riders that made up the final

Defending champion Mercury-Viatel has picked up where it left off last year at the Tour de Langkawi, with Gord Fraser winning the first stage and teammate Jans Koerts taking the yellow leader's jersey.

Telekom’s Erik Zabel scored his second stage win at the Majorca Challenge on Tuesday, winning the field sprint at the end of the 163km stage three from Cala Bona to Cala Rajada on the island of Majorca. Zabel, who also won the opening stage on Sunday, again outsprinted fellow German Sven Teutenberg, with Australian Robbie McEwen grabbing third for the second day in a row. Following a last-kilometer attack by Juan José de los Angeles (Kelme-Costa Blanca), the peloton regrouped, only to be splintered into several small groups due to a crash in the closing meters. Zabel escaped harm, however,

The 7-Up-Colorado Cyclist team training camp got off to a rough start on Monday when rider-manager Jeff Corbett crashed hard on the first team ride of the year outside Boulder, Colorado. Corbett fractured the L1 and T12 vertebrae in his back and sustained other assorted lacerations and bruises. He’s expected to miss at least three months of the season. Riding in gusty winds, the squad was in a tight echelon when Corbett knocked bars with teammate Kevin Monahan. "Before I could back off or anything, I was on my way down," said Corbett. The team flagged down a passing motorist, who gave

Team rosters for the 2001 Tour of Langkawi. Ag2R PREVONYANCE (France) GILLES MAS, Manager LINAS BALCINUS STEPHANE BERGES PHILIPPE BORDENAVE LAURENT ESTADIEU ALEXANDRE GRUX THIERRY LODER INNAR MANDOJA ALEXIA ALLUMINIO (Italy) LEONARDO LEVATI, Manager IVAN QUARANTA ANDREA BROGNARA SERGUEI OUTSCHAKOV MARIO MANZONI CORRADO SERINA CHRISTIAN AURIEMMA TBA BONJOUR (France) CHRISTIAN GUIBERTEAU, Manager WALTER BENETEAU FREDERIC GABRIEL CHARLES GUILBERT OLIVIER PERRAUDEAU MICKAEL PICHON JEAN-CYRIL ROBIN THOMAS VOECKLER CANTINA TOLLO (Italy) ENRICO PAOLINI, Manager CLAUDIO ASTOLFI CESARE DICINTIO

Fraser takes stage 1

Telekom’s Erik Zabel scored his first win of the season on Sunday, taking the first stage of the Majorca challenge, an 80km circuit race in Palma de Majorca, the capital of the Balearic Islands. Zabel beat out Germany’s Sven Teutenberg in the final sprint, while American David Clinger scored a 10th-place finish. In Monday’s second stage, Australian Mathew Hayman (Rabobank) scored his first professional victory with a long solo breakaway. Run on a 10km circuit, the season-opening stage 1 was a nervous affair, and was marked by a big crash on the fourth of eight laps. That, coupled with the

Gully did himself proud

Czech cyclo-cross fans in Tábor had plenty to celebrate this morning when their countrymen Martin Bina, Radomir Simunek Jr. and Jan Kunta grabbed all three podium spots in today’s junior men’s race. Indeed, Czech riders took four of the top six spots in the race and now added to the home team’s overall dominace of the championships thus far. Of the nine medals awarded to this point, Czech riders have won five. When the junior men’s team arrived in Tábor to prepare for their world championship event this morning, it looked as though attendance might be a bit on the sparse side. A week of cold

You start fast and stay out front. Simple and obvious words to live by in cyclo-cross. Here in Tábor that fast start has counted for everything. Hanka Kupfernagel, Sven Vanthourenhout and Martin Bina all rode like mad for the opening 800 feet of pavement and dove into the first stretch of dirt among the first and then stayed there. In the elite men’s race, Erwin Vervecken joined the winner’s club in the same fashion, but he had some pretty tough company when he rounded that critical turn. And starting his race at the other end of the 57-man field, American Marc Gullickson fought through the

How many chickens died for these Belgian fans' toppers?

Lion in winter. More than a fan this Dutchman works for the national squad

She almost wins on intimidation alone. When asked how they assessed their chances at start of the women’s race at the 2001 World Cyclo-cross Championships in Tabor in the Czech Republic, most riders framed their responses in terms of how they might fare against Hanka Kupfernagel. As the sport’s first world champion, the German has come to dominate the relatively young women’s side of cyclo-cross. And, in its second year as a world championship event, Kupfernagel made sure that the biggest competition of the day would be for second place.

If you keep count, Belgian colors are most prevalent

It was all a matter of keeping his cool, said Sven Vanthourenhout about winning the men’s Under-23 world cyclo-cross title on Saturday. The 20-year-old Belgian said that when he came to Tabor for the world championships, he was beginning to have doubts about his chances. But it was the pros on the formidable Belgian squad, he said, who told him to relax and convinced him that he could do it. “I was nervous even when I rode warm-up laps this morning,” Vanthourenhout said. “I wasn’t taking the right lines, I wasn’t keeping my footing….” But after the start, when he ran into trouble,

Long drive: they drove straight through from Brittany.

Cyclo-cross, an admittedly small niche in a relatively small sport, has a passionate fan base, especially in Europe. The world championships this weekend in Tabor in the Czech Republic have attracted fans from across the continent. Busloads of Belgians, trainloads of Dutch and long car caravans of Swiss have descended on this Czech city. And with them, they bring all the markings of true fans, hoping to make their affiliations quite clear. Flags are everywhere, but hats and the occassional spike-spined orange jumpsuit can do a lot to clarify who it is you're cheering for. Racing

Djernis cheering section. He came from Copenhagen to cheer on Henrik

Cyclo-cross, an admittedly small niche in a relatively small sport, has a passionate fan base, especially in Europe. The world championships this weekend in Tabor in the Czech Republic have attracted fans from across the continent. Busloads of Belgians, trainloads of Dutch and long car caravans of Swiss have descended on this Czech city. And with them, they bring all the markings of true fans, hoping to make their affiliations quite clear. Flags are everywhere, but hats and the occassional spike-spined orange jumpsuit can do a lot to clarify who it is you're cheering for.

Lion in winter. More than a fan this Dutchman works for the national squad

A little help from her friends. Kupfernagel celebrates with Germany's biggest fan.

If you keep count, Belgian colors are most prevalent

Vantourenhout kept his cool... until he got the jersey.

Groenendaal's cheering section should be large, loud and orange on Sunday

Czech fans had reason to celebrate.

Long drive: they drove straight through from Brittany.

Djernis cheering section. He came from Copenhagen to cheer on Henrik

Let it snow. The weather gods seem to like cyclo-cross.

Well, Kansas doesn't have these nifty Soviet-style apartment blocs.

The Jelly Belly cycling team announced its 2001 line-up on Thursday, and the squad features several youthful additions. Eddy Gragus will once again head the team, joined by returning riders Kirk Albers, Norm Carter and Mariano Friedick. The newcomers are Brad Buccambuso, Jonathan Erdelyi, Damon Kluck and Jason McCartney. "Brad and Jonathan did well in the espoirs ranks, both in the U.S. and abroad; Damon was riding on his own all season, yet still placed consistently in the top 20 or 25 in NRC events; and Jason is a very aggressive rider who impressed our guys at Killington. Combined with

The saga known as Missy took another twisted turn two weeks ago during a training ride near Durango, Colorado. According to Giove, she was riding just south of the small Colorado town when she crashed, then fell off the edge of a "17 to 25-foot high" sheer cliff. The ensuing landing left her with a broken left leg and severely strained ligaments in both knees. "It was just a routine crash until I slid right off, bike and all," said Giove, reigning national downhill champion and runner up in last year’s World Cup standings. "But broken bones are a lot better than tears, so I’m not even

"It’s Kansas … only with hills." On close inspection, Dale Knapp’s description of the world cyclo-cross championship course in Tábor in the Czech Republic is fairly accurate: The world’s course, huddled beneath a collection of Soviet-era concrete apartment blocks, is quite reminiscent of the U.S. national championship loop in Overland Park, Kansas. And, if weather predictions hold true, there may be a few more reminders of that weekend back in December. Knapp and the rest of the U.S. contingent are based at Tábor’s Goldbrick Hotel, just a mile from the course and, for the most part, the

Knapp is relaxed and ready.

Djernis says this may well be his last 'cross race.

Mapei's Paolo Bettini, who won the prestigious Liege-Bastogne-Liege race last year, was bitten by a female monkey while training in Malaysia, on January 31. The Italian champion was bitten while training in Malaysia for the Tour of Langkawi. Bettini and a group of riders were giving the monkey some sweets when, after a brusque movement by Bettini, it got scared and bit him on the left knee, according to team reports. The Mapei rider was given antibiotics as a precaution after medical advice. Copyright AFP 2001

A press release from the U.S. Postal Service team hit the digital in-box last night, and included a statement from the team's general manager regarding Roberto Heras's status with the team and ongoing negotiations to buy out his Kelme contract. The two-word summary for fans -- and perhaps Kelme management -- is: Sit tight. Here's the full content of the release: STATEMENT FROM U.S. POSTAL SERVICE PRO CYCLING TEAM GENERAL MANAGER MARK GORSKI CONCERNING ROBERTO HERAS There have been some questions raised today in media reports concerning the status of the transfer of Roberto

Team Saeco officials vowed to put their disappointing 2000 season behind them as they unveiled its 2001 team line-up, in San Marino on January 30. "The program for 2001 is to improve on last year," was the blunt assessment of team manager Claudio Corti. Last year was hardly a memorable year for a team that had little to celebrate on track or road, and whose talisman Mario Cipollini saw injury curtail his appearances. But Tuesday's launch served to turn the page and fuel hope for more prosperity in the team's seventh year of competition for the red-shirted outfit. "The year 2000 was

With UCI paperwork due into USA Cycling, the Division III line-up in the U.S. is becoming clear. Among the eight U.S. teams, six are previewed in the Feb. 5 issue of VeloNews -- 7-Up-Colorado Cyclist, Zaxby's, Jelly Belly, NetZero, Prime Alliance and Noble House. Details of the two remaining teams, DeFeet-LeMond and RealityBikes.com, have come out this week. The DeFeet-LeMond team makes the move from the amateur ranks to Division III after several successful seasons. Last year, highlights included third place at the espoir national time trial championship and fourth at the elite

Officials with Team Kelme have complained to the UCI that the U.S. Postal Service had recruited Roberto Heras, but hadn't honored the Spanish rider's termination clause. That clause's deadline -- essentially a contract buy-out, with $1 million (U.S.) paid to Kelme -- passed on January 25, and Kelme considers Heras part of its team. Kelme management claims that Heras remains under contract because his transfer clause remained unpaid as of the January 25 deadline. According to Joan Mas, Kelme's team manager, representatives for the U.S. Postal Service called at 8 p.m. on the 25th,

Heras, earlier this month, riding at the Postie's Arizona training camp.

The Mapei team held its official team launch Saturday, revealing a massive outfit that enters the 2001 season with an emphasis on young talent and internationals. Twenty-four of Mapei’s 41 riders are Italian, but this year’s line-up includes athletes from 12 different nations. Mapei’s youth movement is carried by eight new professionals, including teenagers Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland and Bernhard Eisel of Austria. Other promising young riders making their debut in the professional ranks include under-23 world champion Yevgeny Petrov of Russia and Czech hope Pavel Zerzan. Petrov, 22,

A listing of product sponsors for the newly-formed Global Racing downhill team includes one stand-out surprise: Missy Giove and Co. will ride Orange downhill rigs. Until now, the British bike manufacturer Orange hasn’t had much visibility on the World Cup circuit, though one of its biggest success stories -- South African Greg Minnaar, who was ninth overall in the 2000 World Cup -- is one of the riders on the Global team. "After seeing Greg Minnaar’s excellent performances in 2000, we sent our head mechanic Patrick Griessen to make an evaluation of the Orange program, and he was extremely

U.S. Olympian Erin Mirabella has been added to the Jane Cosmetics cycling team. The 22-year-old track racer has won seven U.S. championships and competed with the U.S. Olympic team in Sydney last September. "With everything that’s happened at USA Cycling, I was a little worried about the 2001 season, but this is just great," Mirabella said in a statement released by the team on Friday. "I rode with Odessa Gunn on Timex last year, and I know Julie Hanson and Jane Quigley really well." With Mirabella added to the team, the Jane Cosmetics line-up is now as follows: Catherine Cardwell,

The Prime Alliance cycling team continued its whirlwind winter dealing on Friday, announcing that it had added Roy Knickman to the team's management group. "He just saw it as an opportunity to come into a rapidly expanding program," said team director Kirk Willett, Knickman's former teammate on the Mercury cycling team. "It gives him a position where he can be really pivotal in the team's development." Knickman, who was named general manager, was unavailable for comment, but in the team press release he stated: "I am very excited to be involved with the Prime Alliance Cycling

Future kingpin Roy Knickman

Frank McCormack returns for his seventh season with Saturn.