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Carlos Sastre (Cervélo TestTeam) surged out of the anonymity of the peloton Monday with a dramatic stage victory in a grueling, seven-hour march across the Apennines to re-energize his hopes of overall victory at the Giro d’Italia. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) rode shrewdly to sprint to second, expanding his lead over second-place Danilo Di Luca (LPR), while Levi Leipheimer (Astana) saw his hopes of winning the Giro fade when he ceded 2:51 to drop from third to sixth, 3:21 back. “I was not as strong as those guys, it is plain and simple,” Leipheimer said at the finish line.

Chris Wherry (Hotel San Jose) and Carmen Small (Colavita-Sutter Home) won the elite Iron Horse criteriums on Sunday in Durango, Colorado. It was the third consecutive crit win for Wherry and the second for Small. A three-man breakaway containing mountain biker Sam Jurekovic (Sho Air-Specialized), Dan Bowman (Kelly Benefits) and Jesse Dekrey formed midway through the hourlong men’s race, on an eight-corner course around downtown Durango.

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In order to challenge Denis Menchov and Danilo Di Luca for victory in this centennial Giro, Levi Leipheimer, Franco Pellizotti, Carlos Sastre, Ivan Basso and Michael Rogers have to go on the attack in the final week. But where and when they attack is all important because in the first two weeks they have been unable to out-climb race leader Menchov or runner-up Di Luca. So if the challengers can’t gain the time they need on this week’s three summit finishes, at Monte Petrano on Monday, Blockhaus on Wednesday and Mount Vesuvius on Friday, what can they do? The short answer is: Tactics.

Julien Absalon (Orbea) has had a carbon crown and steerer for his 32mm stanchioned SID World Cup since late last season and now you can have one too. RockShox has announced that the SID World Cup, its flagship cross-country racing fork, will get an upgrade for 2010. After a two-year absence, RockShox will bring back the carbon crown and steerer for the World Cup model.

Claudia Hausler (Cervélo TestTeam) took the overall victory in the 25th edition of the Tour de l'Aude on Sunday as Columbia-Highroad’s Ina-Yoko Teutenberg collected her third stage win in this year’s race, out-kicking Noëmie Cantele (Bigla Cycling Team) and Emma Johansson (Red Sun Cycling Team). Teutenberg, who thus claimed her 18th career stage at the tour, gave all the credit to teammate Chantal Beltman.

Olympic champion Julien Absalon (Orbea) won the fourth round of the UCI cross-country mountain bike World Cup on Sunday in Madrid. Absalon collected his victory in 1:44:32, more than a minute ahead of runner-up Ralph Naef (Multivan Merida). Naef’s teammate Moritz Milatz crossed third at two minutes back. The women’s race was a good deal closer — Margarita Fullana Riera (Massi) took the win in 1:28:24, just four seconds ahead of Marie-Helene Premont (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) with Lene Byberg (Specialized Factory Racing) third at 15 seconds back.

It was two-for-one again in Sunday’s 15th stage, as the Giro d’Italia unfolded with two races within one that was almost as hot and blistering as the searing temperature on the tarmac. Leonardo Bertagnolli (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni) won the battle for the kisses from the podium girls, the sole survivor of a 16-man breakaway that went clear early in a tremendously hot, hilly 161km from Forli to Faenza.

Spain's Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) vowed to put his doping worries behind him after winning the 89th edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya on Sunday. Kiwi Greg Henderson (Columbia-Highroad) won the seventh and final stage of the race, a 110km course between Sant Cugat and the motor racing circuit at Montmelo. The 29-year-old Valverde was recently banned from competing in Italy for two years by the Italian Olympic committee (CONI) after he was implicated in the Operación Puerto doping scandal.

Simon Gerrans won yesterday's stage 14 of the Giro! At our hotel last night, there were fireworks, there was dancing, the champagne was flowing, and music was blaring! Of course I think this has less to do with Simon's win and more to do with the wedding reception at our hotel last night. In fact, it's worth pointing out that the music made sleeping difficult between the hours of 11pm through 2am, and the cannon like fireworks seemed a bit excessive. But I'm sure that everyone at the wedding party had a great time and the Giro d'Italia was the last thing on their minds.

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Colorado’s thin air and long, grinding mountain passes played to the strengths of climbing specialists Anthony Colby and Mara Abbott, who took solo victories at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road race. The iconic Colorado event, which covers 47 miles from Durango to Silverton and ascends the hulking Coal Bank and Molas passes, celebrated its 38th year on Saturday.

Marianne Vos (DSB Bank) won the eighth and penultimate stage of the Tour de l'Aude on Saturday, her third win in the French stage race. As she had on Friday, Vos again joined a successful break, this time on a tough route through the Pays de Sault that included four Category 1 climbs. At the stage finish in Espezel, Vos beat Nicole Cook (Vision 1) and Grace Verbeke (Lotto-Belisol) to the line. The three moved away from the field following an attack by Ina Tuetenberg (Columbia).

Sometimes you don’t have to win to make a strong impression. That’s certainly the case for Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream), who proved that he’s reached a new level in the rough-and-tumble world of field sprints. With two seconds and one third, Farrar came close to the elusive breakthrough victory. The team was more than satisfied with Farrar’s performances and he all but assured himself a ticket to the Tour de France in July as the team’s top sprinter.

Danilo Di Luca (LPR) missed a chance to jump back into the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia in Saturday’s hilltop finish up the fiercely steep climb to the San Luca church that was tailor-made for his explosive style. Instead of battling for a vital 20-second time bonus that might have come with a stage victory, LPR botched the chase in the 172km 14th stage and let most of a 14-man breakaway stay clear to gobble up the time bonuses.

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Trek-Livestrong's Taylor Phinney fell to sixth overall at the Fleche du Sud stage race in Luxembourg on Friday, losing the leader's jersey he took in the prologue. Phinney finished 16th on the stage, 1:10 behind race winner Simon Zahners of the Swiss team, Bürgis Cycling. Zahners outsprinted three breakaway companions, while Phinney finished in the field. Zahner now leads the GC, 12 seconds ahead of Dutch rider Maint Berkenbosch. Phinney continues to lead the best young rider competition by three seconds over German Marcel Kittel, the winner of stage 1.

Pennsylvania's Tour de 'Toona won't be held this year, because of a lack of sponsorship, organizers announced Friday. The race was to have been held July 13-19, returning to a stage race format after holding a one-day race last year. But lack of sponsorship forced organizers to postpone the event to 2010, spokesman Bob Leverknight said in an email to VeloNews. "We weighed a lot of factors. The lack of sponsors, sponsors that cut their commitments, and the general economic climate caused the race to be put off for a year," he said.

Marianne Vos on Friday won her second stage of this year's Tour De L'Aude Feminin, after another hilly day in France. Vos finished nine seconds ahead of race leader Claudia Hausler (Cervelo TestTeam), who maintained her lead. Trixi Worrack (Nurnberger Versicherung) was another 22 seconds back in third. Americans Kristin Armstrong (Cervelo) and Amber Neben (Nurnberger Versicherung) finished in a group of about 20 riders that came in about three minutes behind Worrack.

Just moments after the dust settled from Thursday’s decisive time trial that saw him lose the maglia rosa, Danilo Di Luca said he wants it back as soon as possible. The 2007 winner said aggressive tactics can still win the Giro, but just as quickly added that he didn’t expect to see that from Levi Leipheimer. “I’ve never seen Leipheimer attack,” Di Luca said on RAI television. “He’s going to have to now if he wants to win this Giro.”