Andrew Hood
BACKGROUND: Hood cut his journalistic teeth at Colorado dailies before the web boom opened the door to European cycling in the mid-1990s. Hood's covered every Tour since 1996 and has been VeloNews' European correspondent since 2002. He lives in Leon, Spain, when he's not chasing bike races.
BIKES IN THE GARAGE: Specialized Tarmac SL, Jamis Xenith, Jamis Dakar, '85 Basso, Schwinn beach cruiser
Stories by Andrew Hood »
Posted: Mon, Jul 6th
Q&A with Bob Stapleton: Cav' has home at ColumbiaBob Stapleton was already in a good mood Monday morning before the start of the third stage of the 2009 Tour de France at Marseille’s old harbor.
The president of Columbia-HTC was enjoying the warm afterglow of Mark Cavendish’s explosive victory in stage 2 and Andre ...
Posted: Mon, Jul 6th
Cagey Cancellara keeps hold on jerseyFabian Cancellara saved his yellow jersey Monday by slipping into the stage-breaking attack powered by the entire Columbia-HTC team.
The Saxo Bank rider was the only one from his favored team to be in the decisive, 28-man breakaway featuring Lance Armstrong (Astana) but not ...
Posted: Mon, Jul 6th
Was Armstrong just riding smart, or looking for an edge on Contador?Naysayers will be quick to point out that Lance Armstrong’s presence in and Alberto Contador’s absence from Monday’s decisive 28-man breakaway is all the proof they need that the Texan is riding against the Spaniard in the 2009 Tour de France.
Calmer heads might ...
Posted: Sun, Jul 5th
Skipping Giro was right call for HesjedalThe road back to his second Tour de France was different for Ryder Hesjedal this year.
While most of his Tour-bound teammates followed the successful blueprint from 2008 and raced the Giro d’Italia in May, Garmin-Slipstream brass put the brakes on the tall Canadian and ...
Posted: Sun, Jul 5th
Stage 2 — a Tour de FurnaceTemperatures surged into the high 90s on Sunday as searing summer heat took a grip on the peloton at the Tour de France.
Riders sprinted for the line into Brignole with extra intensity Sunday because it seemed like they just wanted a cold drink and some shade.
“It was ...
Posted: Sat, Jul 4th
Andrew Hood: Three Spanish Tour kings are on different trajectoriesThe first three Tours de France in the post-Armstrong era have been all won by riders from Spain, but only one hit the jackpot Saturday in the Monaco time trial sweepstakes that opened the 2009 edition.
Contador: on a mission
With a superb second-place ride, ...
Posted: Sat, Jul 4th
Cancellara says he wants to hold the jersey until the team time trialFabian Cancellara knew if he could stay close to the climbers on the first half of the course in Saturday’s individual time trial to open the 2009 Tour de France, the yellow jersey was his.
Cancellara’s plan worked like a charm, staying within six seconds of 2007 Tour ...
Posted: Sat, Jul 4th
Sastre couldn’t wear yellow jersey to startDefending champion Carlos Sastre wanted to wear the yellow jersey to start the 2009 Tour de France in Saturday’s time trial, but race officials told him he couldn’t.
Officials from Cervélo TestTeam approached Tour officials Friday evening about allowing Sastre to wear ...
Posted: Fri, Jul 3rd
Sastre likes underdog roleIt’s not often that the defending Tour de France champion is rated as an underdog.
That unlikely position is just where Carlos Sastre finds himself on the eve of the 96th edition of the Tour de France.
With all eyes on Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador, not to mention ...
Posted: Fri, Jul 3rd
Contador, Bruyneel promise Astana will ride as oneJournalists and bloggers might be keen on planting the seeds of discontent within the Astana squad, but the team is refusing to buy into the storyline.
Astana team boss Johan Bruyneel and Alberto Contador promised Friday that the team will ride as a unit during the Tour de ...
Posted: Tue, Jun 30th
European racing this weekBesides that little ol’ race starting Saturday in France, there’s not a whole lot on the menu in terms of racing this week.
Butting heads against the biggest race of the year isn’t ideal marketing strategy (though there is plenty of racing throughout July on European ...
Posted: Mon, Jun 29th
Team directors oppose the Tour's two-day radio ban.Team sport directors are rallying their opposition to plans to ban race radio during two stages during the upcoming Tour de France.
Representatives from some of the top teams Monday criticized efforts by Tour officials to ban the use of earpieces and radio links between ...
