Jay called Monday looking for someone to ride with. He's trying to get some fitness back after being off the bike since about October. He talked about his legs not being strong but I assumed it was typical cyclist talk, downplaying how one feels. As it turned out, he was telling the truth. Most of the ride he sat on my wheel and got towed around. We rode out to Lone Elk and he was hurting on the first hill entering the park. That is not Jay. Normally he dances up hills.

We had a nice 2 hr ride. Nothing terribly intense except for a few short efforts. Within the last couple miles he started to feel frisky and attacked up Brookton Way. I didn't chase right away but gritted my teeth and brought him back about 3/4 of the way up. This road is a double hill. We descended and near the bottom he went again, hard and had good momentum. I had a bad gear and was not going to bring him back unless he totally cracked, which he did, in a way. Nearing the top, he shifted. The chain must have bound up. He turned left, tried to correct with a right turn, over-corrected to the left and then over the handlebars he went. It was scary but impressive viewing. He was shaken up and had a few scrapes on the elbow and knee but emerged safe and sound. His rear wheel wasn't so lucky. It had a BIG wobble. It was rideable but unfixable. The knee gave no problems during or after the ride.

Tonight was Tuesday Worlds. I rode okay in the A race and got about 7th in the field sprint. I am really lacking either the ability or the desire to bridge up to breaks. I can see them up the road. They look reachable but something is holding me back from giving it a go. My recovery right is not good. If I were to bridge I think I would get dropped right back off so I think that is holding me back. It's a mental thing. I need to do some intervals. I've really neglected that type of work this year during the week.

The B race happened. I was there, hung out, moved up a few times and gave a decent effort on the final lap. Again I was about 6th or 7th in the field. That is fine. It's just training miles.

Viewpoint: This morning was one of the more spectacular sunrises I've seen. About 5:20 I looked out and saw what had earlier looked promising had seemed to fizzle out. Ten minutes later when I left, the garage door opened and was witness to a great view but had left the camera inside and didn't have time to go back and get it. Layer upon layer of cloud was underlit with a brilliant orange. Quite a view.

Whipped up a damn fine Gooey Butter cake Monday. It is about as unhealthy as any cake you make but oh my does it taste good.

Rode for about 3 hrs Saturday down through High Ridge, Rock Creek, Old Lemay, Four Ridge and back home. Attendance was light as a new rider, Kyle from Indiana U, showed up and that was it. At Rock Creek and Old 21 I saw Joe at the gas station and we pulled in. Kyle and I left 8:15 and Joe said he pulled in at 8:18. Right on time as usual. He took a guess as to which way we went and he took the wrong way but it turned out since we crossed paths.

I rode okay but I'm sluggish in the hills. My technique is off and feel like I'm muscling my way over hills. I rode okay but sickness and injury has set me back several notches. I need to build back my fitness. Next weekend is Rolla. I'm not doing the crit but plan to do the RR on Sunday. I'm thinking that might be my last race, except for the weekly Worlds, before I leave next month.

News Item of the Day: MILAN, Italy (AP) — Paolo Savoldelli won his second Giro d'Italia title Sunday following two years of injuries and health problems that almost ended his career. The Italian, who rides for Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel team, captured the most significant cycling race after the Tour de France. Armstrong, who will be going for a seventh straight Tour title this summer, has never competed in the Giro. "Being a Giro champion makes no difference," Savoldelli said. "I'll support Lance in France because he's the strongest."

Savoldelli, who also won the 2002 Giro, wore the overall leader's pink jersey for the last eight stages of the 20-stage race. In the last one, in keeping with tradition, the leader pedaled to the finish line unchallenged. Savoldelli completed the 2,147-mile race 28 seconds ahead of Gilberto Simoni, a Giro winner in 2001 and 2003 who finished sixth. Venezuelan climber Jose Rujano Guillen was third, 45 seconds back. "My secret was to stay tranquil in the most difficult moments when I was under attack in the mountains and I slipped behind," Savoldelli said. "I knew I could fight back later on. I believe I have proven my value in an otherwise unlucky career." During the past two seasons, Savoldelli broke his leg in a crash and was weakened by various viruses. After he recuperated, he injured himself again in a crash this year while training with the Discovery Channel team.

Alessandro Petacchi won the final stage, edging Erik Zabel in a group sprint in downtown Milan. Petacchi won four stages in this race, the last one a 74-mile mostly flat course from Albese con Cassano to Milan that he covered in 3 hours, 29 minutes, 35 seconds.

I'm thinking I might submit some photos to Velonews Photo Contest. I'll have to wade through my photos and pick some out. Along those lines, it's a rest day so I'll post a pic.

The neo-classical gothic victorian post-modernist architecture that dots the landscape of the Tuesday Worlds course


This mornings pre-sunrise.


I'm thinking I might submit some photos to Velonews Photo Contest., I'll have to wade through my photos and pick some out.

Now for my rant of the day. It bugs the crap out of me when I read messageboards and people give the current leader of the Giro a nickname and call him "Salvo". His frickin' name Savoldelli, not Salvodelli, idiots. Now, if his nickname among the team truly is Salvo I will make a retraction. In the meantime, you are all idiots. Just like all those who looked at Hamilton and again Salvodelli this year as likely successors to Armstrong. Brilliant thinking! If only Hamilton were not older than Armstrong and "Salvo" only a year younger, it would be a fabulous plan.

News Item of the Day: Ivan Basso won stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia, brushing aside his rivals in the individual time-trial. The Italian clocked 45 minutes five seconds on a hilly 34km course from Chieri to Turin, nine seconds quicker than Russian Vladimir Karpets. It was Basso's second-straight stage win after he also prevailed in Limone Piemonte on Thursday. But compatriot Paolo Savoldelli kept the overall race lead after finishing fourth on Friday, 23 seconds adrift.

Basso tried to shrug off his disappointment at his lowly overall position after his latest win. "These two stage wins are a huge satisfaction but I don't want to think about what I could have done," he said. "You need a bit of luck to win major stage races and I didn't have it. "My only consolation is knowing that one day I can win the Giro."

Saturday's 190km stage takes the Giro riders from Savigliano to the ski resort of Sestriere. It is the last mountain stage and will very likely decide the winner ahead of Sunday's final flat stage to Milan.

Viewpoint: Karpets really impressed me last year at the Tour. He's young, a good time trialist and hangs pretty tough in the mountains. Give him a little seasoning and improve his climbing some and he's a potential Grand Tour winner.

Rode over to JB tonight and did a couple hours of good tempo riding. It had been quite a while, maybe a year, since I had gone over there to ride. It really is a nice ride with a couple flatter sections and four good rollers each lap.

I'd been riding for a while and all over a sudden Shoemaker comes powering by me. I kept going at my pace. He seemed to ease up on the flat and I rolled past and opened up a gap. I'm guessing he did it on purpose because 3/4 of a lap later here he comes motoring by again. A little later, I roll by again. This time he didn't wait as long to go by and he kept on going. Fine by me. I wasn't that excited to play back and forth with him. I just wanted to ride steady and be a part of some interval game.

A strange thing happened on the way over to the park. I came across this guy off his bike. He had this old Univega 10-speed that had gotten its chain wedged between the rear dropout and the smallest cog. He freed the chain after a minute or so. The odd thing is his tire was also coming off the front wheel. He started trying to pry the tire back on the wheel. I stopped him, pulled out my tire lever and began to put the tire back on. The really weird thing is that the inner tube didn't go all the way around the wheel. Where the tire had come off, the tube doubled back on itself so that something close to only half the tire had tube, While I was trying to get the tire on he was mumbling that it wasn't flat but just needed air. I really wonder if the guy was drunk. Why would he even start riding if the tire had no air to begin with, especially with tube as farked up as it was. After I got the tire most of the way on he said "maybe I can kind of ride back home like this". I followed him a little bit. He was wobbly. Maybe because of the tire, I don't know. But, after a couple hundred feet he got close to the edge of the pavement. Instead of just putting his foot down he reached out his hand and caught himself of the fence. Even then he didn't put down his foot. He tried to push off and get going. That failed miserably. He lost balance and fell into the fence, conveniently ripping the right brake lever off the handle bar. He then got a phone call on his cell. The situation was too weird for me and I went on my way.

News Item of the Day: Giro d'Italia race leader Paolo Savoldelli lost time to his rivals on Thursday's 194-km 17th stage but was happy to cling on to the race leader's pink jersey. Savoldelli finished seventh, one minute and 48 seconds behind stage winner Ivan Basso and lost 42 seconds to Jose Rujano of Venezuela and Italian compatriot Gilberto Simoni, twice a Giro winner. He now leads Simoni by 58 seconds, with Rujano third at 1:24. Italy's Danilo Di Luca finished 16th on the stage and slipped from second to fourth overall, 1:36 behind Savoldelli.

"It was a hard stage and I couldn't go with Simoni when he accelerated but I'm pleased I didn't lose too much time," said Savoldelli, Giro winner in 2002. "I'm not a great climber but I think I'm defending my lead quite well. I started the Giro hoping for a top-five placing, so I have to happy with my performance." Savoldelli has a chance gaining ground in Friday's 34-km individual time trial from Chieri to Turin but could suffer again on Saturday's 190-km mountain stage to Sestriere. "In theory I should be able to gain something in the time trial and then I'll try to defend whatever lead I have on Saturday," he said. The Italian added: "All I can do is give it everything and accept what happens."

There's nothing cooking today. I've been going through the pictures I took Tuesday and might post a few here.

News Item of the Day: Gilberto Simoni feels he is in the right shape to enter Milan in pink come Sunday, and has also hinted at racing this year's Tour de France. "It's not in my programme but given my form, I would like to ride the Tour - having won this Giro, because it's me who's going to win!" the Lampre rider said.

The Italian currently lies in third place, trailing compatriot and Discovery Team race leader Paolo Savoldelli by 1'48". But Simoni's belief of taking the Giro was bolstered by his rival's recent wobbly performance on the climb to Livigno at the back end of stage 14 where untimely cramps saw Savoldelli lose a precious 28 seconds. "From what I've seen," Simoni boasts, "it's my rivals who should fear me, and not the other way round."

But if his words come as a treat for voracious cycling journalists worldwide, one thing remains uncannily certain: this Giro is as full as tricks, turns and surprises as it is demanding ascents. Nothing is certain with five days left to go, and the unpredictable nature of the action so far has been glaring. "Of all Giros, I have never seen one quite like this! If someone asked me to make a prediction, I would be completely incapable," triple Giro winner (1948, 1951, 1955) Fiorenzo Magni, the former Lion of Flanders, tells French sports daily l"Equipe.

Who would have foreseen 2004 winner Damiano Cunego's collapse on the Passo Duran? More unlikely still, who would have guessed that Ivan Basso would crack so astonishingly on the Stevlio, losing over 40 minutes just days after being touted for Giro glory, not to mention Lance Armstrong-dethroning stardom?

And what of Danilo Di Luca's extraordinarily knack of clinging on; better still, of competing for the overall prize? The Italian hotshot lies just 25' adrift of Savoldelli and his recent form suggests that nothing can be taken for granted as the race enters its final five days.

Viewpoint: I have to agree with Simoni that he is still a threat in this Giro. However, announcing he will win is rather bold. He hasn't looked that much better than anyone to make that statement with any conviction. To me, it almost sounds like the bluster of someone who is not confident at all and is trying to bluff his opponents.

And if it's springtime, it is time for the usual Simoni Tour de France boast. Seems as though he learned his lesson from the past few years and isn't predicting victory or downplaying Armstrong's abilities. Typically, July rolls around and he loses 5 minutes on the first mountain stage. Go for it Gibo, Maybe you can snag a stage along the way.

Back to doing the Tuesday Worlds again after three weeks away. During the absence I contracted a condition known as velo absentia dememtia. Symptoms are forgetting what hell you can and cannot do in a race after a period of time away from racing. In this case, I "attacked" on the first lap. So vicious was my attack that it would have dropped nearly 20% of grandmothers in America. The bad part was that I eat just before coming to the races and my effort promptly gave me stomach cramps. Half the race I was left taking partial breaths because of the cramps. Eventually they eased and I spent the last half generally hanging out in the top 10 with an occasional drift backward.

All in all I rode okay considering the layoff. My recovery needs work but I hung in well enough and the leg felt good so I'm satisfied.

News Item of the Day: Tour of Italy overall leader Paolo Savoldelli confirmed Tuesday that he would take the start of the Tour de France in support of Discovery Channel leader Lance Armstrong on July 2. The 2002 Giro winner takes a 25-second overall lead into the final mountain stages.

Earlier this month, Savoldelli was included in a shortlist of eleven riders to support Armstrong in his bid for a seventh Tour title. The others are past Tour participants José Azevedo, Manuel Beltran, George Hincapie, José Rubiera, Benjamin Noval, Benoit Joachim and Pavel Padrnos, as well as newcomers Savoldelli, Yaroslav Popovych and Leif Hoste.

After two disappointing seasons at T-Mobile, Savoldelli has risen from the ashes during this year's Tour of Italy. However, he downplayed his chances of retaining his slim 25-second lead over Liquigas' Danilo Di Luca after American Tom Danielson, who was to be his lieutenant in the mountains, withdrew on Stage 9 due to an injured knee. "I haven't raced at this level for a long time and I'm not sure I can hold out the third week," said Savoldelli.

The knee is feeling rather good. As a test, I did a couple one legged deep knee bends with only the very slightest sensations. I'm racing tomorrow.

Since it is a rest day, not that I haven't had plenty of them lately, I thought I'd post a couple pictures from this morning.
It was a pretty sunrise this morning.


A barn near my work


News Item of the Day: LISSONE, Italy (AP) -- Alessandro Petacchi beat Erik Zabel and Paolo Bettini in a group sprint Monday to win the 15th stage of the Giro d'Italia, his third victory in this year's event. Petacchi, of the Fassa Bortolo team, took the lead 200 meters from the finish line, then fought off a late spurt by Zabel, the German veteran sprinter of T-Mobile. Olympic champion Bettini took third place.

Paolo Savoldelli, who finished in the main group, retained the overall leader's pink jersey -- 25 seconds ahead of fellow Italian Danilo Di Luca. Two-time Giro winner Gilberto Simoni holds the third spot overall, 1:48 back.

Petacchi, Italy's top sprinter, set a postwar record of nine stage wins in last year's Giro.

Monday's stage was shortened by about 31 miles because a mountainous part of the race was hit by heavy rain, and organizers deemed a downhill section too dangerous.

Viewpoint: I can't believe that Basso is still racing. He wants a stage win but at this point he'd be better off recovering for the Tour in July.

Rode for another hour on the fixed gear this morning. I was scared riding up the street to start. The knee hurt and I almost turned around but it quickly went away and was pretty doggone good the rest of the way. Today's was a bit hillier since I rode up Little Rock. Despite staying in the saddle I had no real pain. Every once in a while I would make an odd pedal stroke that would feel odd but I'd get back into a smooth, circular motion and all would be god.

News Item of the Day: LIVIGNO, Italy, May 22 (Reuters) - Ivan Parra of Colombia was in fine form again on Sunday, winning the 210-km 14th stage of the Giro d'Italia. It was Parra's second consecutive stage victory after also taking Saturday's 13th stage from Mezzocorona to Ortisei. The Selle Italia rider finished one minute and 50 seconds ahead of Tadej Valjavec of Slovenia and Jose Rujano of Venezuela after featuring in a long breakaway.

Italy's Paolo Savoldelli finished 10th 3:42 down on Parra and lost 28 seconds to rivals and compatriots Danilo Di Luca and Gilberto Simoni but retained the overall race lead. Di Luca is now second at 25 seconds with Simoni third at 1:48.

Former race leader Ivan Basso again suffered and lost time during the stage after stomach problems on Saturday. He is now out of contention for overall victory.

Viewpoint: I might have to buy this video/dvd when it comes out.

This morning I gave the knee a test run. Thinking that the Speedplays and all of their float may not be the best for a tender knee, I decided to ride the fixed gear. Not only does it have the gears fixed but it has fixed LOOK pedals with zero rotation. I only rode 50-55 minutes around the neighborhood and chose a route that, for the most part, avoided any big hills. The results were good with only some slight twinges being felt.

Today gave me some confidence after a few days concern about my long-term prospects. Sunday I plan on another short test.

News Item of the Day: ORTISEI, Italy, May 21 (Reuters) - Italy's Ivan Basso lost the race lead in the Giro d'Italia after suffering stomach problems throughout the 218-km mountain stage from Mezzocorona to Ortise on Saturday. Basso finished 68 seconds behind compatriot Paolo Savoldelli and slipped to second place in the overall standings, 50 seconds down on Savoldelli. "I had stomach pains from the start of the stage and it was difficult to eat because I felt sick," said Basso. "To be honest the time I lost isn't that much considering I felt so bad."

Bjarne Riis, team director of Basso's CSC team, said: "Fortunately the team rode well all day and so we limited our losses. I think we can say we've been lucky." CSC media officer Brian Nygaard said Basso would start Sunday's 210-km mountain stage from Egan to Livigno but was unsure how he would perform. "Ivan managed to eat normally after the stage and his digestive system is back to normal but he has obviously suffered a lot," Nygaard said. "It could be difficult for Ivan tomorrow after the effort he made but he will definitely start the stage."

Basso began the Giro as one of the favourites for overall victory after finishing third behind Lance Armstrong in last year's Tour de France. He had taken the race leader's pink jersey on Thursday after finishing second on the mountain stage to Zoldo Alto.

Viewpoint: After Thursday's strong effort, I expected Basso to seize solid control of this race. Now, I suppose his entire race is in jeopardy if he does not recover well. Sunday's stage is not easy so, for his sake, I hope he does heal quickly. Savoldelli is looking good but now that he has the lead he has to be concerned with a total lack of teammates in the hills. This has been a terrific race so far. Let's hope the last week lives up to the past two.

Hot News before Cyclingnews: Giro d'Italia: Italian 2000 overall race winner Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas) abandons race before start of Stage 13.

This must be a really tough stage. McEwen announced Friday he was quitting. And before today's stage Kirsipuu, O'Grady, Cooke and Vierhouten have also retired.

I find out today that I am basically on call this weekend. That sucks. But, since Pope Benedict is apparently unwilling to heal my knee through prayer, being on call is a good excuse to stay off the bike for a few more days. However, I will at least spin for an hour or so tomorrow morning.

News Item of the Day: Italy's Alessandro Petacchi won a sprint finish to claim the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Friday. Ivan Basso kept the pink jersey as the overall race leader after he finished the stage in the same time as his closest rivals. Petacchi was led out by his Fassa Bortolo team and overtook Paride Grillo in the final metres to take his second win in this year's Giro. Grillo finished second and Spain's Isaac Galvez Lopez was third.

Saturday's 13th stage is a 218km (135 mile) route through the mountains from Mezzocorona to Ortisei. It will include several tough climbs and is expected to take more than seven hours to complete.

Velotrash:A source close to Sheryl Crow told Star magazine that the singer has ended her nearly three-year relationship with Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong. Sheryl's rep is denying the split, but one of Crow's buddies says that between Sheryl's touring and Lance's training, they hardly got to spend any time together and ended up growing apart. "They were leading separate lives," the source said.

This has been a bad week for cycling romance. Lance & Crow rumored split. Ullrich and his significant other split up. And starting all the discord was Cipo announcing that he and his wife were splitting.

After making my last post I saw this little nugget...

Bonus News Item of the Day: Giro organisers said that fears of an avalanche may lead to the cancellation of Sunday's 14th stage - the Stelvio Pass mountain climb.

A final decision will be taken on Saturday.
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From what I've read, the forecast is good but 30cm (12") of snow has fallen today.

My knee is still bothersome. I was going to test it this evening but it's obvious just by walking around that it has not healed enough. I'm just going to give it more rest and right now have no expectations of racing the State RR this Saturday. If there is a stunning recovery, great. If not, I won't be disappointed.

The glamour of bike racing.


News Item of the Day: ZOLDO ALTO, Italy, May 19 (Reuters) - Home rider Ivan Basso took the lead in the Giro d'Italia with a strong display on the first Dolomite mountain stage over 150-km from Marostica to Zoldo Alto on Thursday. Fellow Italian Paolo Savoldelli won the 11th stage but Basso finished second in the same time to replace compatriot Danilo Di Luca in the pink jersey. It was the first time Basso pulled on the pink jersey in his seven-year career. He now leads Savoldelli by 18 seconds, with Di Luca third at 1:04. Italian Gilberto Simoni finished third in the stage, 21 seconds behind the winner, and is fourth overall at 2:27.

Last year's race winner Damiano Cunego suffered on the steep Passo Duran climb near the end of the stage, finishing 6:02 behind Savoldelli and Basso. Italian Cunego is now down in 16th place overall, 7:20 behind Basso, and has little chance of victory. "I've been thinking about this stage for months, was determined to do well and hoped to take the pink jersey," Basso told reporters. "I tried to sprint for the stage victory but I'd worked hard to catch Savoldelli and wasn't quite fast enough."

Basso said he and his CSC team would have to work hard to defend the pink jersey. "It's obvious the cards are now on the table so I'll have to race differently," he said. "The second half of the Giro is tough but I'm ready to defend my lead. "I've got a good team and a good team director that will come up with the right tactics so that we can race well. But I won't underestimate any of my rivals until the end of the Giro in Milan on May 29."

Savoldelli said he sat behind Basso in the final two kilometres to give him extra strength for the sprint to the line. "After two years of crashes and illness I really wanted to win the stage and played it smart near the finish," Savoldelli said. "I hope Ivan isn't upset. He took the pink jersey so it was right to share the prizes."

Savoldelli is Basso's biggest rival for overall victory but knows it will not be easy to finish first. "I won the Giro in 2002 and know how to win it but I was also second in 1999," he said. "The difference between winning and finishing second is an abyss."

Viewpoint: For whatever reason I didn't expect this stage to be so decisive. Riis was hinting before the stage that something big was going to happen and Basso followed through. He blew the race apart on Passo Duran after Simoni had made the initial move. I'm impressed with DiLuca's ride. He is a good climber but hung tougher than usual in the high mountains. I expected more of Garzelli and Cioni. Cunego was the biggest disappointment, however. Six minutes back? That's hard to imagine after his performances last year. He hasn't ridden as well this year but I expected better losing six minutes.

I'm taking another day off the bike. I had a real good stretch after work. One that really seemed to work on the IT band. I'm going to try the same movement later this evening.

Rolling hills outside Ste Genevieve

Some of the yellow flowering plants around Prairie du Rocher

A lonely tree and barn.


News Item of the Day: (BBC) Australia's Robbie McEwen claimed his third victory in this year's Giro d'Italia as he won a group sprint in the 10th stage on Wednesday. McEwen came from behind in the last 100m to edge out Alessandro Petacchi. Stuart O'Grady took third place and veteran Erik Zabel was fourth after a thrilling finish involving the top sprinters in the world. Danilo Di Luca retained the overall leader's pink jersey, nine seconds ahead of fellow-Italian Ivan Basso.

The 11th stage on Thursday is the first to feature big mountains and the 150km (93.2m) course finishes with a climb to Zoldo Alto in the Dolomites.

Police seized a hyperbaric tent and medicines from a hotel being used by some Giro d'Italia teams. The Italian news agency ANSA reported that the tent was found in a hotel hosting the Davitamon-Lotto team of McEwen. Allan Peiper, sport director of Davitamon-Lotto, said hyperbaric tents are not illegal under International Cycling Union and World Anti-Doping Agency rules. But the pressurized oxygen chamber could possibly infringe Italian anti-doping rules which forbid a wider range of performance-enhancing methods.

I mentally debated much of the day on whether to go to the World Championships tonight before finally deciding to skip. The left knee feels fine and the right is pretty good but still tender if I move wrong. Rather than really stress the leg by racing I went out for a neighborhood spin and am glad I didn't race. First, the knee hurt more when riding than walking around. Not bad but I would feel it while in the saddle. Out of the saddle was not so noticeable. On top of that my legs are still feeling pretty tired. If I had raced it's likely I would not have been able to keep up. A hard effort or two up that hill and I would have been shot out the back.

In all I only did 20-25 minutes of very easy riding. No sense in pushing my recovery. I'd like to be well for the Master's race Saturday but I have bigger fish to fry in July.

I figure I'll show a couple pictures I took on Sunday's ride. The first is a horse farm on, coincidentally enough, Harness Rd.


News Item of the Day: The French formation Agritubel will not dispute the Turn of France. The organizers of the Outer Loop shared their decision Tuesday, estimating that the team of Denis Leproux did not bring sufficiently of sporting guarantees. There will thus be only 21 teams at the July 2 start.

The Agritubel team remained with the gate of the Turn of France. "At the end of the 2005 Paris-Roubaix, during which the Agritubel team had had an encouraging race, the organizers had wondered about the possible participation of a 22nd team at the Tour start in Vendée. The runners of Agritubel not having
progressed at recent races, the direction of Amaury Sport Organization thus decided to stay with the 21 teams selected from the very start of the season ", announced ASO in an official statement.

"The decision should be accepted but I am disappointed, obviously", declared Denis Leproux, sporting director of Agritubel. "I do not want to make a hot statement. We will meet to see all the consequences ". Agritubel, newest of the French teams, counts in particular among its riders, Florent Brard, who finished seventh and first of the French at Paris-Roubaix, as well as the Spaniard Alberto Martinez, former winner of the Criterium Internationale.

The only wild-card thus will have been allotted, as of last October, to team AG2R Prévoyance, directed by Vincent Lavenu, who had already been selected as a wildcard to the 20 Pro Tour teams.

Viewpoint: I had read that R.A.G.T. was also thought to be possible wildcard. Based on this repor it looks like ASO was smart enough to not even consider them this year. They have done nothing for two years and should not have been in last year's race.

After riding 183 miles the last two days I think a rest day is well-deserved. The knees feel a little better today. Since the pain was reminiscent of some IT band pain that I had in the past, I have stretched several times over the past 24 hrs. Me thinks I chose the right remedy.

Now that my brain is working again here are some random thoughts from the ride.

Missouri is pretty. The whole ride wasn't gorgeous but there some very nice areas too. There are no dramatic mountain vistas in MO but glimpses of rolling green hills and tree-lined roads make for some quite nice riding. Even IL right now has a lot of flowering yellow plants to spice up the endless farmland.

For the first time this year I got the dime-sized tan on the back of my hand from wearing my cycling gloves. Sexy!

In Festus, Hwy 61 is a reasonably well-travelled road. I'd compare it to Big Bend out west around Castlewood. Now admittedly, that doesn't compare to Lindbergh or Manchester. However it is more than busy enough to keep me from taking a natural break while standing on the shoulder of the road in plain view with my back to the road. We rolled past this rough looking fellow and, as I passed, my ears picked up the familiar tinkling melody as his golden stream struck the ground. I did a double take, looked back and had to chuckle.

After 70+, pain filled miles a HoneyBun with white icing tastes heavenly. That was a delicious piece of junk food.

The Modoc Ferry was a fun little jaunt across the river but it was cold out in the middle of the Mississippi. If felt 10 degrees cooler than on the shore.

News Item of the Day: Eurosport.com - The Fassa Bortolo train rolled out the sprint red carpet for Alessandro Petacchi on Monday's Stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia, catapulting the hitherto frustrated Italian super sprinter to his first stage triumph of the 2005 edition of the race. Danilo Di Luca (ITA) conserved the overall race lead.

Despite one early climb and one early break, Monday's 139 km stage -- the shortest on the 2005 Giro's itinerary -- boiled down to what was essentially an inevitable mass-sprint launching pad. After capping the category-two Passo del Muraglione climb in the first third of the race, the last 88 km of Stage 9 was a flat, fast and furious drag race for the finish in Ravenna.

Fassa Bortolo -- held blushingly impotent in the sprint finishes of the Giro's first week -- strangled race tactics Monday. The Italian team rode to tactical perfection, allowing a little leash to a breakaway comprised of Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) and Mads Christensen (Quick Step), but never allowing the duo a real window of escape. Krauss, the current blue-jersey wearer of the Intergiro competition, and Christensen bubbled off the front from the first kilometre of Monday's race, trading measured -- and ultimately futile -- pulls before being gobbled back with 18 km left to race.

Fassa Bortolo lingered mid-pack until the final five-kilometre lead-in to the finish, slowly assembling their lead-out train for Petacchi. Gutted by bad luck and botched tactics (notably on Stage 6 when a misstep in the Italian team's train crashed Petacchi three kilometres from the finish) Fassa Bortolo was an efficient -- but visibly nervous -- ball of energy at the entry of the final kilometre.

With the sprint hostilities launched, Petacchi jumped with the patented panache that earned him a record nine Giro d'Italia stage wins last year. Aussie Robbie McEwen, already a double sprint winner at this edition of the race, put up a fight but eventually faded to fourth on the stage, relegated for second by Italian puncher Paolo Bettini.

Swiss Phonak rider Aurelien Clerc tallied third on the day.

I'm not sure what I did on yesterday's ride but my outer knees were sore this morning. Joe and Mark were the only hearty or foolish souls to join me for the Gran Fondo. Straight out of the driveway my knees bothered but and I banked on them loosening up as the miles passed. That rosy scenario never passed. Instead the knees ached more and more. On top of the pain, the legs didn't have a lot of strength when the road tipped upward. I invariably slipped of the back but soldiered on bravely. As we approached Ste Gen my legs had no gas on the hills. It reached it's worst part on the last hill before turning off 61. The legs didn't turn over. When I finally reached the top Joe asked if I was hurting that badly or if I was pacing myself. I accelerated my drinking and worked on a Clif Bar to try and get some energy back in the legs. I think it helped a little it was still a slog the rest of the way.

After the ferry crossing I hopped back on the bike and started the small climb up from the river. After about 30 ft, my rear wheel seized up and I fell over. What happened? I thought Joe had crossed wheels but he insisted he had not. I look at the rear wheel and somehow it had fallen out of the dropouts. Very strange. Thankfully, everything was good except for some damaged pride. I fell in front of about 20 other bikes waiting cross over to the MO side of the river. I can live with the shame. The rest of the way back we were fought a brisk wind. My legs recovered fairly well but the knees were screaming. The wind wore us down. Mark began to hurt between Prairie and Maeystown and Joe eventually eased up some but he was still the strongest.

We dragged our sorry butts home a little before 3pm. Seven and a half hours and 120 miles later. It was a great day for riding except for the 40 miles of wind on the return trip. I'm sure it helped at times on the way down, though. Except for the knee pain, I felt not so bad despite some struggles. I'm tired this evening and nether regions are tender but I'm satisfied with how I did.

News Item of the Day: American David Zabriskie (CSC) killed the Giro's giants Sunday, tallying the performance of his career to stun the favourites and win Stage 8's 45 km time-trial to Florence. Italian Danilo Di Luca saved the overall race lead by the skin of his teeth, 9 sec better than stage runner-up Ivan Basso.

Zabriskie -- just the 19th man on a long 186-strong start list -- was initially pegged to ride reconnaissance for his CSC team's designated overall leader Ivan Basso. The 27-year-old Utah native did more than his job, clobbering a 45 km course between Lamporeccchio and Florence that included the rude Il Pinone climb. Though far from steep, the category-three ranked Pinone measured a lung-testing 8.5 km in length at an average gradient of 4.5 percent.

For the duration of Sunday's glorious Italian spring afternoon (spectacular sun and temperatures comfortably capping in the mid-20's Celsius), Zabriskie awaited what he thought was inevitable: To be spanked off the stage podium by the race's time-trial Goliaths. But one by one, names like Serhiy Honchar (Domina Vacanze), Marzio Bruseghin (Fassa Bortolo) and, particularly, Zabriskie's own CSC teammate Ivan Basso came up short, confirming the potential of Zabriskie, the defending U.S. national champion in the time-trial discipline.

After cracking on the category-one Sammomme climb on Saturday's Stage 7 and sacrificing a dangerous 30 sec in the overall standings, Italian Ivan Basso roared back into the general-classification on Sunday. Runner-up (at 17 sec) to stage winner Zabriskie, Basso more importantly dropped a heavy hammer on the rest of the overall race favourites -- particularly defending champion Damiano Cunego.

The 23-year-old Cunego finished 16th on the stage, 2 min 24 sec off the pace, which tumbled the Italian from second to fourth overall, 1 min 15 sec adrift of the pink jersey saved on Sunday by Danilo Di Luca. Di Luca, as often happens in a major tour, has been transcended by the leader's jersey. Far from a time-trial specialist, the Liquigas rider tucked and gunned a stellar effort Sunday, finishing the stage a respectable 10th and saving the pink jersey by a slim but satisfying 9 sec from Basso. Discovery Channel's Paolo Savoldelli, third on the stage (at 44 sec of winner Zabriskie), also now occupies third on the general classification, 35 sec adrift of Di Luca.

After two weeks of sickness and relative inactivity I gave in went over to Columbia to ride with Joe and Aaron. After a night and early morning of rain the roads were wet but the skies dried just before we started. The four of us went to Maeystown. Along the way we did one paceline effort and then a shorter lead out train effort to the Maeystown city limit. Halfway through and I was riding okay but could feel a lack of sprinting type strength.

On the way back we put in another couple paceline efforts and that pushed me to my limits. The legs were cramping a little but we were pretty close 255 by then and getting home wasn't too difficult. I hurt a little by the end but getting the miles in before tomorrows long ride is a good thing. At least that is what I'm telling myself.

Ride distance was 63 miles. Elapsed time of approximately 3:40 or 3:45.

News Item of the Day: Spain's Koldo Gil Perez (Liberty Seguros) mastered the first hill-heavy day of the 2005 Giro d'Italia Saturday, soloing to Stage 7 victory ahead of an all-star chase group led home by defending race champion Damiano Cunego. Italian Danilo Di Luca usurped the pink jersey of the race's overall lead.

Stage winner Perez was the sole survivor of a 21-man escape that bubbled off the front just 32 km into Saturday's 211 km route between Grosseto and Pistoia. Perez, the overall winner of the Tour of Murcia in March, attacked on the day's major difficulty, the category-one Sammomme climb, whose summit sat just 16.9 km from the finish line. Six kilometres long and at an average grade of eight percent, the Sammomme was the rudest test of the 2005 Giro d'Italia thus far, sawing the peloton to shreds and providing a telltale hint at who, truly, is in pink-jersey form.

Spanish climber Perez, 27, danced up the Sammomme with serene ease, graceful and out-of-the-saddle before bombing a humid, rain-slicked descent to the finish in Pistoia. The Liberty Seguros rider folded into the drops, measured his effort and won the day -- the biggest of his of career -- 20 sec in front of a mad-capped chase group helmed by defending Giro d'Italia champion Damiano Cunego. "I was very tired at the top of the last climb but my team director Manolo Saiz told me I still had a lead of over a minute and so I gave it everything to win," he said

The hostilities in the peloton -- and the selection process for the worthy wearer of the pink jersey -- were launched on the slopes of the Sammomme by Italian Gilberto Simoni. The double Giro winner's (2001, 2003) acceleration instantly dropped the pink jersey of Paolo Bettini. The Olympic road race champion has been valiant in the first week of this Giro d'Italia but was forced Saturday to bow to the mountain-climbing prowess of the real overall race favourites.

Simoni's pace put the hurt on CSC's designated leader Ivan Basso, the Italian third-place finisher at last year's Tour de France losing contact off the summit of the Sammomme and trailing in 30 sec adrift of the group of all-star race favourites. Basso now sits in 10th in the overall standings, 1 min 27 sec back of overall leader Danilo Di Luca. Its a deficit the 27-year-old can erase, but Basso is already digging a dangerous hole -- particularly ahead of Sunday's 45 km individual time-trial, a discipline not exactly known as his forte.

It was Di Luca's second pink jersey of the Giro after winning the stage and taking it in L'Aquila on Thursday. "It's great to have the pink jersey again and I'll try and defend it in tomorrow's time trial to Florence." Di Luca said. "I've showed I'm riding well and so even though I'm not a time trial specialist I might keep it by a few seconds."

Di Luca admitted he would not be a contender for overall victory just because he has been on top form since winning three races and taking the lead in the new ProTour competition. "I have little chance of winning the Giro because the final week in the mountains is very hard," he said. "Two stage wins and two days in the pink is enough for me. Now I'll try and help my Liquigas team mates Stefano Garzelli and Dario Cioni."

On a stage made slick and dangerous by the daylong threat of rain, Italian Stefano Garzelli survived safe-and-sound -- until the stage's final kilometre. Slipped up on the day's ultimate right-hand bender, the 2000 race champion hit the tarmac hard. Slow to rise, Garzelli displayed a thigh ripped with road rash and, paced by his Liquigas team, straggled to the finish at what could have been a disastrous loss of 2 min 27 sec. However, because his crash occurred in the final three kilometres, Garzelli was graced by race officials and awarded the same time as the group he crashed out of. The Italian ended up losing a more-palatable 50 sec on the day and occupies sixth on the general classification, 1 min 14 sec back of Di Luca.

Thirty-one hours to the start of Gran Fondo Ste. Genevieve. Maps and cue sheets are all made up and the weather looks good, if not a bit cool. I need to get some Clif bars or some other nutrition but that's no big deal.

News Item of the Day: MARINA DI GROSSETO, Italy (AP) -- Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen won a chaotic group finish Friday to take the sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia, while Olympic champion Paolo Bettini reclaimed the overall lead. A 6-second bonus from a mid-stage sprint moved Bettini 3 seconds ahead of Danilo Di Luca in the overall standings. Di Luca took the pink jersey from Bettini with a victory in Thursday's stage.

McEwen won his second stage after overtaking Jaan Kirsipuu of Estonia and Davitamon-Lotto teammate Henk Vogels, who tried for the victory when he rushed into the lead in the last kilometer. McEwen completed the 94.8-mile stage from Viterbo to Marina ti Grosseto in 3 hours, 37 minutes, 17 seconds. "I'm sorry for Vogels, but I realized at 300 meters that the group was going to overtake him, so I launched my own sprint,'' McEwen said.

Alessandro Petacchi of Italy lost a chance to win his first stage when he and some of his Fassa Bortolo teammates, who led going into the sprint, fell at a tight corner. Petacchi set a record with nine stage wins in last year's Giro.

Saturday's seventh stage from Grosseto to Pistoia, in the Tuscan region, features a tough uphill section close to the finish.

Viewpoint: Surely Petacchi will win one stage, won't he? Not that I'm rooting for him to win.

Today was the first day in a long time that I started to feel something close to normal. There was still some very minor nausea and there was a headache for a couple hours but starting around mid-day I felt pretty good.

This evening I rode down to Fenton after dinner to watch the company's softball team play. We lost but the ride was decent. Fenton Park averages about 20 minutes each way so I did not ride a lot and there was a big rest period in between but it was good to get out on the road again.

As I write this the countdown to Gran Fondo Ste Genevieve is 59 hrs away. Right now, there is a confirmed four riders although Amy said she may bring some others along. She better let me know how many others so I can make maps up and arrange for a shuttle back to the MO side.

News Item of the Day: L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) -- Danilo Di Luca sprinted the last 100 meters to win the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday, taking the overall lead from Olympic champion Paolo Bettini. Di Luca, of the Liquigas-Bianchi team, beat fellow Italian rider Marzio Bruseghin to win the longest stage of the race which included three mountain passes in the early section. Di Luca completed the 138.2-mile course from Celano to L'Aquila in 6 hours, 1 minute, 18 seconds, his second stage victory in three days. Overall, Di Luca led Bettini by just 3 seconds. Third-place Luca Mazzanti was 25 seconds back.

Di Luca, who won the Amstel Gold Race and the Fleche Wallonne classic earlier this year, said he was overjoyed at capturing the stage and the leader's pink jersey in his native Abruzzo region. "It's a great, extraordinary day for me. A win close to my home. It's something difficult to explain,'' Di Luca said.

Colombia's Mauricio Ardila Cano was third on Thursday, 2 seconds back with a pack of riders. Belgium's Bjorn Leukemans was fourth, followed by Giro favorites Ivan Basso and defending champion Damiamo Cunego.

I'm feeling better still but the nausea continues to linger. Tomorrow I'm going to miss the Tues. Worlds again but this time it is because of a very exciting staff meeting at work. Whee!!!! Since there will be no riding tomorrow I got out and rode for an hour today. At least I'm not nauseas when riding. I felt better today. The legs were still stiff from yesterdays ride but hurt less on the bike. Most of the ride was up and down as I took the subdivision back to Suson and then climbed in and out of the park three times.

News Item of the Day: SANTA MARIA DEL CEDRO, Italy, May 9 (Reuters) - After only two stages of the Giro d'Italia the gloves have come off in the sprints with Alessandro Petacchi and Robbie McEwen exchanging strong words after a chaotic finish on Monday.

McEwen won the stage and Petacchi, who was blocked in and finished fourth, accused the Australian and Estonia's Jaan Kirsipuu of working together to stop him winning. "You could see that McEwen and Kirsipuu had agreed to get me off the wheel of my lead out man Marco Velo," the Italian told reporters. "I wanted to win the sprint but perhaps all my success of the last few years annoys some people and so perhaps the other sprinters have created a coalition against me."

McEwen responded in the stage winner's news conference. "There was no conspiracy," he said. "Everybody can say what they want but (Julian) Dean and Kirsipuu were riding their own sprint as far as I know." "I saw them move up and they make a good tandem so I gambled and I decided to follow them. Kirsipuu went early and so gave me an armchair ride to the finish."

McEwen made it clear that the other sprinters in the Giro had decided to fight back against Petacchi and his dominant Fassa Bortolo team to stop him repeating his record of nine stage wins set last year. "We're not going to sit and let Fassa Bortolo and Petacchi rule the sprints any more," he said. "In the last couple of years we saw that other sprinters were killing each other for his wheel while he sat there comfortable behind his team mate before starting his sprint when he felt like it." "Nine times out of 10 he would win but now instead of sitting behind and being slaughtered we're going to get up there, take them on and standing up for ourselves."

Petacchi enjoys a clean and fast sprint to the line but thanks to his sharp bike handling skills learnt while racing BMX bikes as a child McEwen likes to jump around and fight for position in the final metres. "Sprinting in cycling is not like sprinting on an athletics track. There are no lanes and cycling is more about finding the best line to the finish," he said. "I won today because I was fast enough, clever enough and strong enough to be in the right place at the right time." When there is more competition and Petacchi doesn't get an easy ride to the finish it's easier to beat him."

The next round of the sprinters' battle is expected to be at the end of Tuesday's third 205-km stage from Diamante to Giffoni Valle Piana.

Viewpoint: Petacchi is sounding like he ate some sour grapes for breakfast. Waaahhhh!!! The others won't let me win!!!! Waaahhh!!!

This morning my condition had improved enough that I squeezed a ride in. Before getting on the bike I had no intention of riding hard. Right out of the driveway, my body confirmed that I would not be going hard. This week off the bike sapped me of some major strength.

I rode down into Fenton before ever feeling comfortable. Once on the river road I pushed it into the 53x14 but did not give a big effort. Instead I turned over a nice easy tempo. A really hard effort was out of the question. At this point I just needed some miles. Actually, I rode halfway decent and stayed in the big ring up Old Gravois.

Total ride time was about 1hr 45min. I didn't ride hard despite pushing a pretty good sized gear. My thighs are stiff this evening so they needed the work. Next weeks ride could be rough but with some luck I'll get a few good rides.

News Item of the Day: TROPEA, Italy (AP) -- Olympic champion Paolo Bettini of Italy won the first stage of the Giro d'Italia, beating some of cycling's top sprinters to take the overall lead. Bettini claimed the leader's pink jersey from Australia's Brett Lancaster, who finished first Saturday in the time trial prologue of the most important cycling race after the Tour de France.

Bettini, the road race gold medalist at the Athens Games, pulled away during a short uphill stretch in the final mile of the 129-mile race. "It was not an easy finish. ... The sprinters were sure to try, as they did, to stay ahead and the leading men didn't want to lose precious seconds,'' he said.

Bettini, of the Quick Step team, beat second-place Robbie McEwen of Australia by three seconds and third-place Alessandro Petacchi, Italy's top sprinter, by four seconds. Overall, Bettini leads McEwen by 12 seconds and Petacchi by 14. Defending champion Damiano Cunego of Italy was ninth and is 25 seconds behind the leader.

Monday's second stage is a mostly flat 113-mile ride from Catanzaro Lido to Santa Maria del Cedro.

Viewpoint: Fassa totally boogered up the leadout. It was as if they had no clue what the final kilometer was like. Four guys on the front of the peloton when they hit the base of the climb and the wheels fell off. All four looked like they had ridden into wet cement as Bettini opened up the gap. I suppose Fassa didn't all that badly since Petacchi still got third. Obviously the hill took its toll on most of the riders. It looks bad though when your team is in total control of the race and one guy just rides away for the victory.

News Item of the Day: REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, May 7 (Reuters) - Australia's Brett Lancaster became the first leader of this year's Giro d'Italia after winning the 1150 metre prologue time-trial on Saturday.

The 25-year-old Victoria State-born Panaria rider set a time of one minute 20.958 seconds for the sprint down the seafront. Italy's Matteo Tosatto of the Fassa Bortolo team was second in a time of 1:21.247 and his compatriot and team mate Alessandro Petacchi was third in 1:21.681.

In the overall standings Lancaster leads Tosatto by one second after the times were rounded down to the nearest second. "It's an incredible feeling to have won," Lancaster said. "I'd hoped to do well and wanted to do well but winning is just unbelievable." Lancaster used the skills he learnt riding as part of Australia's successful track racing team to reach an average speed of 51.750 kph. He was part of the gold medal-winning team pursuit quartet at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

"My track background definitely helped me," Lancaster said. "Other riders started very hard but I knew I had to gradually build up speed and finish fast, pushing a big gear as hard as I could."

Lancaster put his prologue win on a par with his Olympic gold medal. "The two things are totally different and this year I really wanted to do well on the road, so it's great to have won, but my gold medal was special. I'd put them on the same par as victories."

Lancaster will wear the special pink leader's jersey during the first road stage over 208 km from Reggio Calabria to Tropea on Sunday and hopes to keep it for as long as possible. "I'm going to do my best to keep it," he said. "I've worked on my climbing and so I might be able to get over the short, steep climb near the finish. I'm going to try."

Italy's Paolo Savoldelli was the best of the overall Giro contenders in the prologue, setting a time of 1:21 to finish fourth. The 2004 Giro d'Italia winner Damiano Cunego was 22nd in a time of 1:24, while fellow Italian Ivan Basso was 53rd in 1:26.

Viewpoint: What is up with Rudy Projects new TT helmet? Looks like something from the Battlestar Gallactica. Do those mutton chop extensions really do anything?

By Thursday I thought I was getting over whatever sickness I had but then Friday came and it laid me low. I went to work but with the exception of dinner, I laid in bed all day and night. This morning I'm slightly better. The aches and chills pretty much are gone. There is still some fever, a little coughing and some nasal garbage. At least walking doesn't feel like a chore today.

In honor of the Giro, the blog has a new pink look which should be obvious.

I dont know what has hit me. Monday night I felt fine for the team meeting but Tuesday morning (six hrs later) I woke up to chest congestion and a slightly scratchy throat. All day at work, my condition got worse. Chills, achy muscles, etc. Not your typical cold. I guess its some type of flu. Today I was only slightly better, probably because I was medicating. This really sucks. The only good thing is that I had already pushed the Ste Gen ride back one week. Right now I doubt I could ride that distance with the way I feel now.

Racing at Carondelet Park again this week. This week brought a little better conditions with temperatures around 60 and a bright sun, albeit a windy day.

Early on AJ and a Proctor rider opened up a gap on the field. Aaron was a little gassed and drifted back but the Proctor guy just hung out there all day. About a third of the way into the race I attacked and cut about half his lead before having the time differential level off. A couple laps later Shoemaker bridged up to and we shared the workload fairly well and stayed away for another 3-4 laps. Somehow the Proctor guy opened the gap up even more. There was some talk in the pack about him catching a draft off of the underpowered lead scooter. Thats hard to say but he opened a gap pretty good and to do so on a windy day is mighty impressive. I know watching a little of some earlier races the scooter was closer than it should have been. If there were any shenanigans, the gods sent them straight by giving the leader a flat in the final few laps.

The pack for the most part had already given up the ghost and was racing for second but when word filtered out from the crowd about the flat, the attacks came immediately. O'Neal was a relentless attacker most of the day and went with a couple laps to go but was reeled in on the final lap. They were some riders that came around me on the final lap but I still had okay position through the last major turn. Unlike last week, the inner line didn't open up as nicely and I got held up briefly a couple times. Enough to break any rhythm but I cranked it up again and was fought desperately for one of the final money spots. Making a quick count just after the line I figured on somewhere between 11th-13th. It was pretty close. The video replay had in 12th, just like last week. I would have liked a little better place but it was good enough to earn some green ones for the second straight week. Sven got 2nd. Aaron rode strong all day and got 5th. Nate, Aaron and Joe did some good hard work as well. A nice team effort I feel.

Congrats to Nate who upgraded after the race.

Negatives: Could still be more aggressive in the approach to the final sprint.
Positives: Felt reasonably strong and had no problem moving up through the field when I sensed danger up front.