Belgium's Nick Nuyens (Cofidis) won the first stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux on Thursday after a tough day of racing over the climbs made famous by some of cycling's Belgian one-day classics.

Nuyens dominated Dutch ace Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) and Spaniard Jose Luis Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne) on the uphill finish at the end of the 189.5km race from Waremme to Eupen, taking the overall lead from Dutch teammate Michiel Elijzen.

Elijzen, who had won the prologue on Wednesday, finished several minutes in arrears as some of the climbs, which feature on the one-day classics Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Flèche-Wallonne, took their toll.

An early four-man breakaway managed to build a seven-minute lead. However, the numerous climbs did them no favors, and they were reeled in by a small group of riders with 56km to race.

At the front the lead was being maintained at a steady pace, notably by Frenchman Christophe Mengin (Française des Jeux), Luxemburg's Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile), Russian Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Channel), Scotland's David Millar (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Nuyens and Dutch pair Dekker and Maarten Tjalingui (Skil-Shimano).

Seven riders, including Nuyens, then attacked 5km from the finish, and on the uphill Nuyens pulled away on his own to claim the win and thus hand Cofidis its second victory in as many days.

Friday's second stage is a largely flat 199.1 km from Antwerp to Knokke on the Belgian coast, where the crosswinds could play a tactical role.

Zabel rumored ready to rejoin T-Mobile
Milram sprinter Erik Zabel could be set for a dramatic return to his old team T-Mobile after next month's world road cycling championships, according to speculation in the German press on Thursday.

Zabel was one of the stars of the hugely successful German outfit during his 12-year spell with the team, previously known as Deutsche Telekom. The 37-year-old left the team in 2006 to join Milram.

But with uncertainty surrounding Milram and a number of other teams in the wake of several doping scandals, German daily tabloid Bild has speculated that Zabel is set for a return to T-Mobile.

The German outfit, one of several teams operating strict, internal anti-doping programs to deter cheating, will name its team for the 2008 season at the end of next month's world championships in Stuttgart.

T-Mobile press officer Stefan Wagner would not confirm any of the team's new recruits before then. However, Zabel himself fueled speculation when he said, "You can never say never."

CONI appeals Petacchi case to CAS
Anti-doping officials from the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over Alessandro Petacchi's positive test for salbutamol during the Tour of Italy.

Petacchi, one of the world's top sprinters, who has won stages in all three major tours, tested positive for elevated levels of the asthma drug during the three-week race in June.

A month later the Italian, who is asthmatic, was cleared by the Italian cycling federation (FIC) of any wrongdoing.

However, CONI says the 33-year-old, who rides for the Milram team, should be sanctioned, and recently stated its reqeust for a one-year ban.

"CONI's anti-doping prosecutors have lodged an appeal to the CAS in Lausanne against the decision of the Italian cycling federation to close the case concerning Alessandro Petacchi," a CONI statement said Thursday.

The FIC cleared Petacchi in July after deeming that his positive test for the substance was "the consequence of inhaling a therapeutic product, which cannot be seen as a doping offense.”

Salbutamol is primarily used in asthma medicines to relieve attacks and open up the airways. However, when overused it is deemed to have anabolic effects.