Charles Pelkey
BACKGROUND: Pelkey joined VeloNews in 1994, putting aside a career as a U.S. Senate press secretary in Washington to cover a sport he grew to love as a Cat. 2 roadie in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Pelkey has been a journalist in one form or another for the past 25 years, working in radio, daily newspapers and that one brief foray into PR. At VeloNews, he has served as technical editor, news editor, online editor and now senior online editor.
He lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with his wife Diana and two children, Philip and Annika, and is currently completing work on a law degree.
BIKES IN THE GARAGE: '79 Pinarello Treviso, '81 Trek 710, custom Clark-Kent Ti, Litespeed Ultimate, Schwinn cyclocross prototype, Jamis Dakar Pro, '86 Gitane tandem, '80 Mercian, '58 Armstrong British 3-Speed, '89 Trek 990 (converted to commuter with wood fenders, lights, etc.), Haro single-speed 29er
Stories by Charles Pelkey »
Posted: Thu, Jul 2nd
Garmin makes last-minute roster changeThe Garmin-Slipstream team announced on Thursday that Martijn Maaskant will replace injured Irish rider Dan Martin on its Tour de France roster.
Martin, who has been suffering from tendinitis in his knee, concluded that he would be unable to ride the upcoming three-week race, ...
Posted: Wed, Jul 1st
The Explainer - Signing away your rightsDear Explainer,
I just read in the local paper that a county judge hearing a lawsuit against the Tour de 'Toona ruled that a waiver, signed by a woman who was later injured and paralyzed in an accident at that race, will keep her from recovering any kind of damages. It's a sad ...
Posted: Thu, Jun 25th
Longo wins another national time trial titleAt 50, Jeannie Longo is showing no sign of slowing down as she won her 56th national champion’s jersey, successfully defending her French national time trial title in Saint-Brieuc on Thursday.
The Grenoble native easily defeated a strong field of challengers, covering a ...
Posted: Wed, Jun 17th
Giove charged in marijuana conspiracyFormer world downhill champion Melissa “Missy” Giove and two alleged co-conspirators were arrested in New York Tuesday, charged with plans to distribute some 400 pounds of marijuana.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested the 37-year-old Giove, 26-year-old Tamara ...
Posted: Wed, Jun 17th
The Explainer - What happened to the lifetime ban?Dear Explainer,
I read with interest the story about Tyler Hamilton’s eight-year suspension from cycling. In the article you mention also that Geneviève Jeanson accepted a 10-year ban for her second doping ...
Posted: Tue, Jun 16th
Hamilton accepts 8-year banFormer Rock Racing rider Tyler Hamilton has accepted an eight-year suspension from sport after a positive doping test earlier this year, his second violation since 2004.
Hamilton could have faced a lifetime ban due to his 2004 suspension for homologous blood doping, a ...
Posted: Mon, Jun 8th
The Explainer - Getting that ol' EPO boostDear VeloNews,Could you please forward this to your ombudsman? I find it rather disturbing, perhaps even ironic, that a cycling news publication such as yours has an advertisement for a forbidden doping product - but there it is:
EPO-Boost ...
Posted: Wed, Jun 3rd
The Explainer - Who decides what's "safe?"Dear Explainer,
By now, we’ve all probably seen the crash that highlighted the final kilometer of this year’s Giro d’Italia. While I was actually hoping for Danilo Di Luca to pull off a miracle win, I am pleased that he didn’t do it by having race leader Denis Menchov ...
Posted: Wed, May 27th
The Explainer - RadioheadDear Explainer,
Have racing tactics changed with the advent of race radios as riders now all seem to be communicating directly with team cars? Do you think the riders race more conservatively, knowing the whereabouts of their opponents or do radios make racing more exciting ...
Posted: Wed, May 20th
The Explainer - Giro questions to ponderDear Readers,
While doing Live Updates during the Giro d’Italia this past week, I am pleased to see that our new update tool offers readers the chance to chime in with questions during our coverage. We do get to read all of them and I often try to include some of them ...
Posted: Wed, May 13th
Explainer: Can Astana change its kit mid-race?Under a strict interpretation of UCI rules, teams are only allowed to ride with “a single design for clothing (colours and layout) which may not be altered for the duration of the calendar year.”
However, teams have made changes in the past, with the prior approval of the ...
Posted: Wed, Apr 29th
Who are those guys?Dear Explainer,My question is a combination of a rant and query. I just read about the UCI’s decision not to allow the Astana team to ride the Tour of the Gila and it got me wondering. Who made them the boss? Under what authority are they acting and who gave them that ...
