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It was hard to believe that Alessandro Petacchi hadn’t won a stage all week during the return after a 12-year absence of the Giro di Sardegna in Italy. Was the Italian sprinter losing his touch? A day after losing his chain in the final sprint, Petacchi got his victory in the fifth and final stage to quiet the critics. The veteran Italian was able to beat back compatriot Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) to take the face-saving win. Bennati, meanwhile, winner of yesterday’s stage, sprinted to second and claimed the overall title.

Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) lived up to his promise to focus more on the classics this season by taking an important victory in Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad that officially opened the Belgian racing calendar. Formerly known as Het Volk, the semi-classic delivered a nail-biter to kick start the classics season as Hushovd steered clear of two late crashes to steer to victory ahead of Kevin Ista (Agritubel) with Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) coming through third.

NAHBS, day 1, part II: The Moots Comooter is a commuter bike that costs more than many cars... but what the hey, the mileage is a lot better than even a Prius.

I came away from my first five hours at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show with more than 350 photos. OK, so only 15 percent of them are usable, but even so, the volume of eye-catching hardware on display is second to none. Most of the products on display are bicycles from small builders that show unique details, exquisite handwork, and timeless paint schemes. Yet even a multi-million dollar company like SRAM has a clever product to offer this market, which is oriented more toward singlespeeds, retro-styled road bikes and urban fixies.

After a whirlwind 2008, which saw its riders dominate both internationally and domestically in both mountain biking and cyclocross, the Luna women’s mountain bike team is shifting gears for 2009. Georgia Gould and Catherine Pendrel will take a step back from the UCI World Cup series, focusing on off-road stage races and one-day events in North America. Former world champion Alison Dunlap will end her three-year retirement to race select mountain bike and cyclocross races. And Czech strongwoman Katerina Nash will miss much of the early season to rehab a nagging knee injury.

Alison Dunlap, the last American cross-country rider to bring home a world championship, bid farewell to pro racing in 2005. After more than a decade racing on the road, ’cross and mountain bike, the Colorado Springs resident said she was burned out, largely due to the constant travel and punishing workouts, and that she was ready to step into the next phase of her life — coaching and mentoring aspiring female cyclists.

With more than 100 exhibitors and a seemingly endless array of handcrafted bicycles and parts, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show feels like an oasis of optimism amid the current business climate.

The 2009 Tour of Colorado races and dates have been finalized. Get your bikes ready! The Koppenberg Road Race in Superior, CO opens the 2009 Tour of Colorado series on March 29. This Spring Classic Colorado road race will set the tone of the Series as a difficult event with a long history. Excel Sports in Boulder presents the May 16th Sunshine Hill Climb and the May 17th legendary North Boulder Park Criterium. If any race should be a NRC race, it’s this great criterium!

Price: $230 Colors: Six colors Sizes: Small to Large Weight: 230 to 270 grams Web site: www.trialtir-usa.com LAS introduces their new top shelf helmet, the Victory. Designed with safety as the most important attribute, the Victory also excels in ventilation, fit, and style.

Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) sprinted to victory Friday at the Giro di Sardegna and overtakes the leader jersey at the end of the 147km fourth stage. Bennati darted ahead of Mirco Lorenzetto (Milram) as the pack came in for the mass sprint into Cagliari on the southern tip of the Mediterranean’s second-largest island. Overnight leader Oscar Gatto (ICS) finished out of the bonuses and slipped to second at six seconds back. Bennati is confident he can hang on for Saturday’s finale and secure the overall victory if it all comes down a sprint as expected.

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Portugal's reigning national champion Joao Cabreira was handed a two-year doping ban on Friday by the Portuguese Cycling Federation. Cabreira, a 26-year-old who won the Tour of the Algarve in 2006, was found guilty of "using a masking substance", according to the federation, prior to providing a recent sample to doping controllers.

The night before the North American Handmade Bicycle Show begins, bikes are unpacked, booths are built, and one of the newest trade shows in the country begins to take shape. Held last year in Portland, Oregon, the annual NAHBS comes to Indianapolis, Indiana, for 2009.

Dominique Rollin is expected to start Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (ex-Het Volk) this weekend in Belgium, culminating a long road that’s taken him from Canada to the most important races in Europe. The 25-year-old Canadian will be a key member of Cervélo’s spring classics squad and he’s relishing the opportunity to race the events that he dreamed about as a boy back in Montreal. Rollin should know some of the circuits well. He raced three years as an amateur at VC Roubaix and lived at the storied velodrome where Paris-Roubaix finishes each year.