Cycling

CHICAGO – Lance Armstrong finally cracked.

After years of defiantly lying when he said he never used performance-enhancing drugs, Lance Armstrong admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey broadcast Thursday that he doped throughout his cycling career.

Lance Armstrong said Wednesday that viewers can judge for themselves how candid he was in his interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The Tour de Fraud, Lance Armstrong version, continues. Tighten your helmet chinstraps and grab your handlebars. Armstrong apparently has 'fessed up.

Lance Armstrong must make a full confession under oath – not just an admission in a television interview with Oprah Winfrey – if he wants authorities to consider lifting his lifetime ban from sports, the director of the World Anti-Doping Agency said Tuesday.

During his battle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency last year, Lance Armstrong went to extreme lengths to disparage the agency, a quasi-governmental organization charged with policing banned drug use in Olympic sports.

The annual Nite Brite Bike Parade in east Sacramento has been canceled.

For the second year in a row, the Sacramento region has been shut out of the Amgen Tour of California, organizers announced Tuesday.

The World Anti-Doping Agency wants to double suspensions for all doping cheats from two to four years.

Freeport Boulevard near C.K. McClatchy High School is the latest city street headed for a "road diet."

Victor Bernardez scored on a free kick deep into stoppage time Sunday night to lift the Earthquakes to a 1-0 triumph over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series in Carson.

Cycling's governing body Monday accepted the findings of a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report about an elaborate doping program involving Lance Armstrong and stripped him of his seven Tour de France titles and banned him from competition for life.

Already an outcast in cycling after a massive doping report, Lance Armstrong absorbed hits much closer to home Wednesday: to his wallet and his heart.

The city of South Lake Tahoe has been awarded a grant to replace a section of a bike path that serves as a key link between various neighborhoods and the city's business district.

Former BMX professional freestyle rider Marty Schlesinger toured the nation on a Mongoose bicycle in the 1980s, performing backflips, tire grabs and Superman moves.

Lance Armstrong's life has rarely been routine. Like Michael Jordan, Barry Bonds and Tiger Woods in their sports, Armstrong catapulted cycling to a new mountaintop with talent, charisma and bravado.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Friday it had issued sanctions that strip Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and 2000 Olympic bronze medal and ban him for life from all sports governed by federations that are signatories to the World Anti-Doping Code.

After more than a decade of outrunning accusations that he had doped during his celebrated cycling career, Lance Armstrong, one of the best known and most accomplished athletes in recent history, surrendered Thursday, etching a dark mark on his legacy by ending his fight against charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

In its July issue, Bicycling magazine placed Sacramento right in the middle of its top-50 best bike cities, a ranking that suggests we've come a long way in recent years and can, with a little more effort and foresight, someday elbow our way into the Top 10 with the likes of Portland and San Francisco.

WALNUT CREEK – In retrospect, maybe my first clue that I was no longer running on the Ridge Top Trail here at Shell Ridge Open Space was that there was no freakin' ridge anywhere within sight.

For the second year in a row, cyclists will have to take a detour along the portion of the American River Parkway that runs from the Campus Commons Golf Course to nearly Ethan Way and Cal Expo because of a levee-improvement project.

California bicyclists will not be banned from using their cellphones after all.

Penn State trustees took no formal vote, but the vast majority of members voiced support Sunday for the university president's acceptance of tough penalties imposed by the NCAA over the university's handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case.

"Premium Rush," the action thriller about a Manhattan bike messenger chased around the city by a corrupt cop, has the potential to revive a fading cycling trend – and the controversy surrounding it.

For Bradley Wiggins, the champagne on the Champs-Elysees is about to flow.

For Bradley Wiggins, it's time to bestow gifts at the Tour de France.

Patrick Scott is no stranger to Eppie's Great Race. He helped organize the first race in 1974 and has participated in nearly 30 races since, having completed about 15 of them in the Ironman division – kayaking, bicycling and running.

Cadel Evans' vision of repeating as Tour de France champion vanished under the sun-baked punishment of the Pyrenees mountains Wednesday, as Bradley Wiggins took another step toward taking the yellow jersey home.

Bradley Wiggins knows he's well-positioned to win the Tour de France. But with the banged-up, frenetic and weary pack nearing today's final rest day of the three-week race, he wasn't taking any chances Monday.

Crashes, falls, fractures: Bradley Wiggins has seen it all. Now add tacks and nails to the list. Still, nothing can break his stranglehold on the Tour de France.

David Millar, a reformed "ex-doper," won a stage at the Tour de France on Friday, saying his victory is proof riders can win cleanly.

If Monday's time trial at the Tour de France was "the test of truth," as one top rider called it, Bradley Wiggins aced it.

Bradley Wiggins kept the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. Keeping his cool was another matter.

Peter Sagan of Slovakia avoided a bloody, across-the-road pileup to capture a stage for the third time at the Tour de France on Friday while Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland also missed the mayhem to keep the yellow jersey.

Mark Cavendish led a tight sprint to the finish Monday to win the second stage of the Tour de France, while Fabian Cancellara retained the overall leader's yellow jersey after the mostly flat ride across Belgium.

Fabian Cancellara gave some joy to his troubled RadioShack Nissan team as the 99th Tour de France began Saturday, winning his fifth opening-day prologue at cycling's premier race in the same Belgian city where he edged Lance Armstrong eight years ago.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has filed formal charges against Lance Armstrong, accusing the seven-time Tour de France winner of using performance-enhancing drugs throughout the best years of his career.

With their parents serving as the sleep-deprived support crew, eight Folsom teenagers finished fifth out of 18 teams in the grueling 3,000 mile Race Across America.

With so many flashy, art-inspired bike racks popping up in and around Sacramento these days, there's a good chance you've overlooked the racks poised to become a force in the industry.

The city of Sacramento will be testing a new concept in bicycle parking beginning today and continuing for three weeks as part of the annual "May Is Bike Month" campaign.

How do you get nine local teenagers – the youngest relay team ever to participate in Race Across America – ready for a 3,000 miles long bike ride?

Participants in this year's NorCal AIDS Cycle, a 330-mile bike ride to benefit HIV/AIDS organizations, raised $300,000, a spokeswoman said Sunday.

Robert Gesink, a Dutchman who rides for the Rabobank team, won the Tour of California with a main-field finish Sunday, confirming his place at the top that he had earned by climbing fast up Mount Baldy on Saturday.

Dutchman Robert Gesink won the difficult seventh stage of the Tour of California on Saturday to take a 46-second lead in the overall standings into today's largely ceremonial final leg.

BIG BEAR LAKE – Sylvain Georges of France pedaled to a long solo win, and Dave Zabriskie maintained his overall lead Friday with a main field finish in the mountainous Stage 6 of the Amgen Tour of California.

Dave Zabriskie won the individual time trial in hot and breezy conditions Thursday to take the Tour of California overall lead with three stages left.

Slovakia's Peter Sagan raced to his event-opening fourth consecutive stage victory in the Tour of California on Wednesday to increase his overall lead to 16 seconds.

Thousands of commuters are expected to pedal to work today around the Sacramento region as part of Bike to Work Day.

Peter Sagan of Slovakia won his second straight stage with a powerful and unchallenged sprint and retained the overall lead Monday in Stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California.

SANTA ROSA – Peter Sagan overcame a flat back tire with five miles left Sunday to win the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California in a wild sprint finish in downtown Santa Rosa.

After riding and crashing and periodically winning bike races around the globe for a decade, Tom Danielson had had enough. He realized he'd likely do better if he could see where he was pedaling.

Let's assume you're behind in your training, that spring sprung on you before you knew it and you're not as trim and fit as you had hoped.

The Tour of California will bypass previous stops in Sacramento, Auburn, Davis and much of the rest of Northern California this year. But from Bakersfield to Beverly Hills, the nearly 750-mile trek will offer the race's most diverse route.

Steven Tiller, the Sacramento carpenter-turned- designer whose bike storage rack could be poised for big things, has begun the manufacturing process but is still working out many details.

An eight-mile stretch of Scott Road will be closed to vehicle traffic Sunday so that bicyclists and walkers can enjoy some of the prettiest country in Sacramento County.

The driver of a small black sedan honked and leaned out his window one recent cold, windy Sunday. "Go ride on the sidewalk!" he yelled.

You don't have to be a pro cyclist with 5 percent body fat, a $10,000 race bike and million-dollar lungs to enjoy the feeling of riding like a pro.

For years, as Lance Armstrong ruled the Tour de France and carbon fiber became the material of choice for racers and recreational riders alike, high-end bikes got lighter, marginally faster and more mass-produced than ever.

A full-time bicycle frame builder and, an occasional competitive age-group rider, Paul Sadoff has spent most of the past 35 years accommodating discerning cyclists.

The simplicity of bike businesses to market and manage, combined with fuel savings and customers' desire to go green, are encouraging expansion and innovative uses for pedal power.

A detour will be in place for a one-mile section of the American River Parkway bike trail beginning at 9 a.m. today to allow for trail repairs.

Simple and functional when you ride them, bikes can become a clunky burden when it comes to putting them away.

The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame announced its first Legends Gran Fondo will take place in Davis on May 6.

All over town and out in the suburbs, folks hop on their bikes for the simplest of reasons, leaving their cars behind.

Cycling teams at the Tour of Qatar welcomed the end of a U.S. federal investigation into Lance Armstrong, saying Sunday they hoped the seven-time Tour de France champion finally could move on with his life.

Access to the Pope/Baldwin Bike Path in South Lake Tahoe, adjacent to Highway 89, will be restricted temporarily for the next 10 days.

Give Raymond Wiggins a bicycle - any bike will do: cruiser, mountain bike, BMX, even a 10-speed - and watch him transform it to something extraordinary, something more valuable than merely a mode of transportation.

We're still no bike-saturated Amsterdam or even bike-crazed Portland, but the bicycle has become a much more prominent option for folks in and around Sacramento.

This week, city leaders celebrated the completion of a $13 million project to transform a freeway segment into a landscaped boulevard with sidewalks and bike lanes.

The California Highway Patrol has launched a 10-month campaign to promote pedestrian and bicycle safety in north Sacramento County.

In the past 15 or 20 years, there have been countless technical advances in clothing for athletes and active folks.

California's world-class bicycle race won't speed past the Capitol next year – or anywhere else in the Sacramento area, for that matter.

If you're one of those folks who can never remember to turn back your clocks – the kind who shows up Sunday to your kid's soccer game only to wonder where everyone is – think about Greg Wilson.

City officials opened a new bike and pedestrian bridge over Interstate 80 in South Natomas on Saturday morning with a ceremony at nearby Peregrine Park in Natomas.

The city of Sacramento will open a new bike and pedestrian bridge today over Interstate 80 in Natomas that officials say will make it easier for cyclists in North Natomas to get to and from downtown.

Kirby Smith knows statistics and salesmanship. It's a good skill set for working in the cycling industry because Smith's job in "production and client development" is marketing a misunderstood bicycle.

The city of Davis now holds both first and second place in the record books for the "longest single line of bicycles."

A candlelight walk will be held Wednesday for an Elk Grove boy, 14, critically injured last week when a vehicle hit his bicycle.

Time to sign up if you're going to try to break a Guinness World Record by riding in the World's Greatest Bike Parade, which starts in downtown Davis the morning of Oct. 2.

Sacramento endurance cyclist Scott Brown, 47, is among the 230 riders selected to compete in the Furnace Creek 508 on Oct. 8 in the Mojave Desert.

The spectators for early fields of the Grand Prix – unlike for the Tour of California that raced through Sacramento in May – were mostly family, friends and other racers.

Some of the fastest cyclists in the country will be in Sacramento on Saturday for the Sacramento Grand Prix, a one-mile circuit course similar to that used for finishing stages of the Amgen Tour of California.

It's hardly anarchy on the American River bike trail, a tranquil oasis in an otherwise busy suburban landscape, but some Boy Scouts and the city of Folsom are striving to make it even safer.

Seeking a spot for the sixth time in the event's seven-year history, Sacramento has applied to host a stage finish of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California.

When 15-year-old Thomas Jessop was growing up, he came home every night to a 1981 Wyoming school bus, where he lived with his dad, brother and their three dogs. They had a makeshift kitchen, a toilet and another bus welded on top for a private sleeping loft, but they had no place of their own to park their home.

Six years into a pro career that catapulted him to mountaintops and victory podiums around the globe, Vladimir Efimkin decided in the summer of 2010 he'd had enough.

There's one sure way to keep high gas prices from ruining your summer road trip.

A bicyclist died after he was struck twice by vehicles near Davis on Sunday night.

Cadel Evans rocketed past the finish line Saturday, all but certain of his triumph in the Tour de France. As fellow Australians everywhere burst into celebration, Evans presented them with the portrait of a champion: body bent, muscles bulging, vigilant until the end.

After 2,105 miles and nearly three weeks of racing, through three perilously steep climbs into the Alps, the Tour de France will be decided today in a 26-mile sprint through Grenoble. This is like deciding a marathon with a 100-meter dash.

After weeks of the epic and exhausting Tour de France, millions of viewers have been treated to beautiful scenery, inspiring athletic achievements, huge crowds and sometimes bewildering behavior on two wheels.

A section of bike trail along the Sacramento River has reopened after four years of construction.

Challenge-seeking mountain bike racers annually flock to the Downieville Classic, a lung-searing, bone-rattling, 29-mile ride from Sierra City to Downieville over the Sierra buttes.

Inspired by the original Tweed Runs in London, where bicyclists wearing 1930s Scottish tweed come together for slow rides through city streets, Rick and Erin Houston began their own version in Sacramento in November 2009.

On Father's Day, when so many people are celebrating or taking stock, this father and son possibly hold the secret to happiness.

The eight-man team ranges in age from 29 to 51, and in rank from officer to chief. The goal is to bike across America in a week, raising awareness for law-enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

The wacky world of Peter Wagner, perhaps Davis' foremost recycler, is headquartered in an ordinary suburb on the west side of town.

Organizers of a new bicycle-sharing program in midtown hope to alleviate traffic and lure more customers – while also possibly benefiting from advanced software and security technology for the service.

Park lovers who gathered in the rain at the William Pond Recreation Area on Saturday spent more time discussing the past and future than chatting about the present weather.