Warning: Your Kids May Be Listening to Yanni

Sure, they figured an alternative act would win. And yes, they expected their typical survey respondent would be a pierced, goatee-wearing rebel. So when the folks at the Cannondale bike company tabulated the results of their "markedly unscientific" Web poll last June — in which enthusiasts were asked, What music goes best with mountain biking? — they weren't exactly surprised to find sullen rockers Rage Against the Machine at the top of the list. What was unexpected, however, were the votes cast for the likes of Beethoven, Pavarotti, and New Age stylist John Tesh. "I guess it really is hard to keep up with what the kids are listening to these days," says bemused company spokesman Tom Armstrong. "We even had an all-out, nip-and-tuck battle between polka music and Yanni for a slot in the top ten."

And Now, Another Shining Moment in the Annals of U.S. Cycling

Minutes after finishing third overall and first among Americans at the CoreStates USPro Championship road race in Philadelphia last June, George Hincapie stood atop the winners' podium, donned the stars-and-stripes jersey as the 1997 U.S. national champion, and hugged mom and dad. Then he was disqualified. According to race officials, the 23-year-old Tour de France veteran had flagrantly violated rules by drafting behind his team car after suffering a flat tire ten miles from the finish. Although Hincapie's U.S. Postal Service team manager Mark Gorski acknowledges he was warned more than once, he didn't figure the race itself was at stake. And why would he? "It's extremely rare for a rider to get kicked out of a race for drafting," says Jim Ochowicz, who spent ten years as team director of American squads 7-Eleven and Motorola. "It was an extreme verdict." That may be, but on race day the stars-and-stripes jersey sat unclaimed: Eighth-place finisher Bart Bowen, the national champion by default, didn't want it. "I came here to win the race," said Bowen, who finished 11 seconds behind overall winner Massimiliano Lelli of Italy, "but this is not the way I wanted it to happen."