The seesaw battle for the lead in the Race Across America finally landed in Dani Wyss's favor Thursday evening as defending champion Jure Robic had to stop to serve 60 minutes of penalties just 55 miles from the finish line in Annapolis, Maryland.
Instead of serving his time at the Mt. Airy, Maryland, time station, however, Robic and his crew decided to quit. Wyss, who is recorded as arriving at that time station at the same time, proceeded down the road to victory in Annapolis.
"Jure was the fastest cyclist on this years RAAM. On the last time check TS51, he came few minutes before Dani Wyss. Because of the penalties, issued controversially, because of the rules not aplied always in the same manner and because of not issuing penalties to others, Jure and his crew decided not to finish the race as 2nd, but step out of it on TS51.
"Today it was written the history of RAAM. Jure and Dani staged the toughest fight ever and on the end the fastest didn't won.
"Expect more in next days when we will be relaxing before traveling back home."
It's a shame that the closest and possibly greatest RAAM ever had to end on a sour note. It's amazing to consider that a 3,100-mile race could come down to just minutes separating these two endurance athletes until one of them bailed out .... more»
Update: The leading solo men in the Race Across America plowed across Ohio on Wednesday at times within sight of each other as they prepared to enter mountainous West Virginia.
After Jure Robic and Dani Wyss passed through the Chillicothe time station at the same time, a punctured tire briefly sidelined Robic who was passed by Wyss. According to the time station splits in Athens, Robic arrived 3 minutes ahead of Wyss.
With Robic's 60 minutes of accumulated penalities, however, the Slovenian is actually in second place with less than 450 miles to go ... more»
Endurance cycling junkies no doubt are enjoying the contest between Jure Robic and Dani Wyss being played out this week as the Race Across America nears the finish line.
But the real action of RAAM takes place behind the scenes in the team vans and the riders' own heads.
And that's where filmmaker Stephen Auerbach takes viewers of his new documentary, "Bicycle Dreams." [Trailer above] It's the story of the solo division competitors during the RAAM in 2005, one of the most tragic years since the race began in 1982.
Auerbach and his film crew got unprecedented access to the cyclists and the crews .... more»
After 2,100 miles, Slovenian wonder-cyclist Jure Robic maintained his lead in the grueling Race Across America as he was first to pull into the Effingham, Illinois, time station Tuesday morning.
But something is different at this point in the race as four-time RAAM champion Robic defends his title; a 39-year-old cyclist named Daniel Wyss followed him into the time station by only 81 minutes.
It's probably one of the few times that anyone has been this close to Robic this late in the race during his wins in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
Wyss, a 39-year-old cyclist from Switzerland, won the race in 2006. He might just be waiting for a chance to slip ahead of Robic during a sleep break or wrong turn over the last 1,000 miles. .. more»
Four-time Race Across America winner Jure Robic, left, of Slovenia took off from Oceanside, California, on his bicycle at noon Wednesday to defend his title against 23 other men entered in the solo division of the 3,022-mile cross-country race.
He's expected to finish sometime on Friday, June 26, when he pulls into City Dock in Annapolis, Maryland.
This is the 28th running of RAAM, the amazing uber-endurance bicycle race that's the longest, and probably the most difficult, bicycle race in the world.
Four solo women and one man over 60 started their trans-America uber-endurance bike race at noon Tuesday; the 2-person, 4-person and 8-person teams will leave Oceanside on Saturday ... more»
Try as he might, Australian cyclist Cadel Evans couldn't shake Alejandro Valverde as he tried to make up the 16-second margin that separated him from the yellow jersey in the final stage of the Dauphiné Libéré on Sunday.
No. 2 Evans attacked at least four times on the last climb, the St. Bernard-du-Touvet. Each time he was marked by Valverde and No. 3 Alberto Contador of Team Astana.
Stef Clement of the Netherlands won the stage in Grenoble, followed across the line by Garmin's Timothy Duggan of Boulder, Colorado ... more»
Pierrick Fédrigo joined a 14-man breakaway just 10 miles into the 65-mile stage over the Col d'Izoard and beat the three other survivors as they raced their bicycles into Briançon on Friday.
Among the Dauphiné Libéré bike race leaders, Alejandro Valverde retained his margin over Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador at the end of Stage 6. The race ends Sunday in Grenoble.
While the leaders matched each other in the peloton on the steep climb up Izoard, Spaniard Mikel Astarloza made the only bold move and attacked... more»
"What I've watched for the past 15 years has been almost robotic racing. I used to gasp for air and had to think about when I could take a sip of water – my sport drink – I'd try and time it for a flat section on the switchback of a climb.
"[Now] I see people talking on the 'phone' [radio] riding a climb at the front of the Tour de France. For me it's surreal – I don't recognise the sport anymore."
-- Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond giving one example of why thinks there's widespread doping in cycling. He was speaking at the anti-doping Play the Game Conference at Coventry University in the UK. He went on to offer solutions to the problem, according to a report in that uses statistics and analytical data.
Expect to hear more about doping as we head into the Tour de France on July 4. ... more»
Cadel Evans will be wearing the leader's jersey at the Dauphiné Libéré on Thursday when the peloton sets out on the 95-mile bicycle race to Mont Ventoux.
The Australian regained the yellow jersey by finishing second in the individual time trial on Wednesday, trailing Bert Grabsch of Columbia-High Road by 7 seconds.
Alberto Contador, Evans' chief rival in the Dauphiné and the upcoming Tour de France in July, finished 5th on Wednesday, 44 seconds behind Grabsch. The Astana cyclist is 2nd in the overall standings, 45 seconds behind Evans ... more»
A five-man breakaway that developed early in Stage 3 of the Dauphiné Libéré survived to the finish line in St. Etienne on Tuesday.
The winner of the breakaway sprint, Milram's Niki Terpstra of the Netherlands, also took over the race lead from Silence-Lotto's Cadel Evans.
Evans, one of the favorites to win the Tour de France next month, finished with rival Alberto Contador in the peloton that crossed the line about 1:30 behind the breakaway group ... more»
Garmin-Slipstream's David Millar couldn't hold a 5-second lead over the peloton in the final kilometer of Stage 2 at the Dauphiné Libéré as Angelo Furlan of Lampre won the sprint.
Millar, who sits in 5th place overall, faded within reach of the finish line in Dijon to end the 141-mile race. He was swarmed by the QuickStep team of Tom Boonen, who finished 3rd. Marcus Zberg of BMC Racing finished in 2nd place.
Australia's Cadel Evans safely finished further back, retaining his 8-second lead over Spain's Alberto Contador of Team Astana. Both are favorites to win the Tour de France, which begins in Monaco on July 4 ... more»
Two bicycle races of note are on tap this Sunday -- one a stage race that's considered a Tour de France prelude and another a one-day championship race in the U.S.
Aussie Cadel Evans won the opening time trial of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in France. The second-place finisher of the Tour de France the past two years beat 2008 Tour winner Alberto Contador by 8 seconds in the 7.5 mile individual time trial around the streets of Nancy.
Meanwhile, cyclists took to the streets in the city of brotherly love for the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship. Columbia-High Road's sprinter Andre Greipel beat teammate Greg Henderson at the line. ... more»
Solo cyclists in the most amazing bicycle endurance event in the world, the Race Across America, start their cross-country purgatory on June 17.
A documentary that chronicles their mind-boggling trials over a previous 10-day-long race from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland, will be released early next week.
Entitled "Bicycle Dreams," the film by Stephen Auerbach gets inside the heads of these cyclists and their support crews over the mind-numbing, sleep-deprived 3,000-mile race.
Auerbach, who produced an earlier documentary on RAAM for NBC-TV in 2005, had 18 cameras following the action. This included camera crews embedded with cyclist's support crews. You can experience the personal drama that resulted from their efforts in the 2:50-minute trailer above. ... more»
Three-time Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer won the individual time trial at the Tour of the Gila on Friday, solidifying his overall lead.
Unofficial results show Leipheimer beating Tom Zirbel of Bissell by 53 seconds and Lance Armstrong by 1:23. Other top five finishers were Philip Zajicek of Fly V and Rory Sutherland of Team OUCH.
The ITT accounted for Stage 3 of the five stage bicycle race based in Silver City, New Mexico. The 16.15-mile course out-and-back course left from the town of Tyrone and featured two climbs ... more»
You may never have heard of Dutch cyclist Theo Bos before (I hadn't), but I'll bet you won't forget his name now.
The cyclist for Rabobank was involved in a crash on Sunday in the final meters of the Tour of Turkey that looks to all the world like he grabbed yellow-jersey wearer Daryl Impey of Barloworld and flung him to the ground.
Both Bos and Impey hit the deck. Impey eventually limped across the line to win the 8 stage Presidential Cycling Tour (Tour of Turkey), but he skipped the podium celebrations and is being monitored for a light fracture in a vertabra; he also lost a tooth.
Calls immediately came in for Bos to be suspended. Among those offered criticism were Lance Armstrong at his Twitter site:
"rewatched Bos crash 10x. Fences were uneven, sprint looked nervous/sketchy, but imo the hands should never come off the bars in a sprint.. more»
Just like that, Tyler Hamilton is out of professional cycling.
Admitting to testing positive to a banned substance, Hamilton said Friday that there's nothing to fight about. The 38-year-old cyclist said he's retiring from cycling immediately.
According to the AP and ESPN, Hamilton said he tested positive after taking an over-the-counter anti-depressant. He told the AP:
"There's nothing to fight about. I took a banned substance. I accept the consequences. You make mistakes in your life and I accept the penalty like a man." ... more»
Here's the nasty finish at the Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen in Belgium on Wednesday via Cycling.tv. It just amazes me that this doesn't happen more often.
The good news was that Alessandro Petacchi won his first-ever race in Belgium with this sprint. The bad news is that seven riders were injured, among them Robbie McEwen (who broke a rib and was treated for a suspected concussion) and Tom Boonen.
In the aftermath, the first rider to go down, Greg Van Avermaet, blamed Petacchi for the crash. McEwen blamed Avermaet, who ran into him and started the chain reaction. ... more»
Belgium's Tom Boonen won his third Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, becoming part of a very small list of cyclists who have won a "Hell of the North" hat trick.
The video at left shows what was probably the defining moment for Boonen. Having established a two-man lead with Thor Hushovd, the Norwegian crashed as Boonen led him through a cobbled section near the end.
Hushovd, riding for the Cervelo Test Team, is considered the stronger sprinter of the two, and would have been favored to win at the finishing velodrome in Roubaix. The crash put him out of contention for the win, but he battled back to take third .... more»
Team Astana's Alberto Contador holds the lead by 8 seconds over Olympic gold medalist Samuel Sanchez going into Friday's penultimate stage of the Tour of the Basque Country.
Meanwhile, US cyclist Christian Vande Velde of Team Garmin-Slipstream nearly won the 4th stage on Thursday.
He joined a three-man breakaway that stayed out front for most of the mountainous 100-mile stage, but breakaway companion Michael Albasini of Columbia-High Road won the final sprint in Güeñes.
Contador, the defending champion on the six-stage Vuelta al País Vasco ... more»
Tour de France contenders Alberto Contador, Carlos Sastre, Cadel Evans and the Schleck brothers will be among the cyclists competing at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco (Tour of Basque Country) next week.
The six stage race courses through the mostly mountainous Basque countryside of Spain. The ProTour race runs Monday through Saturday and features a summit finish at the Sanctuary of Arrate on Wednesday and an individual time trial finale on Saturday.
Universal Sports is offering live online coverage of the race all six days. Check its Tour of Basque Country dashboard for details. Highlights, photos and breaking news from the race will also be available there. ... more»
Levi Leipheimer won his second cycling championship of the year on Friday by winning Spain's five-day Vuelta a Castilla y Leon bicycle race.
The win follows on the heels of his third straight Tour of California championship in February.
The Montana-born member of Team Astana was joined on the podium by teammate Alberto Contador in 2nd place and Garmin-Slipstream's David Zabriskie in 3rd place (Zabriskie placed 2nd to Leipheimer in the Tour of California.) ... more»
"What I've watched for the past 15 years has been almost robotic racing. I used to gasp for air and had to think about when I could take a sip of water – my sport drink – I'd try and time it for a flat section on the switchback of a climb. 
Three-time Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer won the individual time trial at the Tour of the Gila on Friday, solidifying his overall lead.
Levi Leipheimer won his second cycling championship of the year on Friday by winning Spain's five-day Vuelta a Castilla y Leon bicycle race.
