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Against a backdrop of falling television audiences and dwindling roadside support, the organizers of the Vuelta a España on Wednesday called for their shrinking fan base to rally behind the race once again as they unveiled the route for the 2008 edition. "This will be the Vuelta of hope, a chance for a new cycling," said race director Victor Cordero as he unveiled the 63rd edition of the Spanish national tour. The three-week, 3173km race begins August 30 in the southern city of Grenada and ends September 21 in Madrid. Its 21 stages include three time trials, among them a team time trial,

The French finance company Cofidis will continue underwriting its cycling team until the end of 2009, it was announced on Wednesday. In a press release, the company said that supporting cycling in the long term offered a “formidable” return on its investment. Cofidis has been a part of the professional peloton since 1996. The company also vowed “to continue and intensify” its commitment to drug-free cycling. Cofidis quit the 2007 Tour de France when rider Cristian Moreni tested positive for testosterone after stage 11. The 35-year-old former Italian champion was sacked and subsequently

USA Cycling named Nick Adams as director of sponsorship and business development on Tuesday. Adams comes to USA Cycling from AG Edwards and Sons, Inc., a national financial consulting firm. He has also worked as director of athletics at the University of Illinois at Springfield and at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado — where he owns and operates the Grand Valley BMX Track — and served as associate director of athletics at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. At USA Cycling, Adams will lead the national governing body’s sponsorship-sales efforts. He will be responsible

The Tour de Georgia is still hunting a title sponsor for 2008, but with five new host cities, a team time trial on Braselton’s Road Atlanta motorsports track and the enthusiastic backing of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, race director Jim Birrell was optimistic on Wednesday as organizers announced the route for next year’s race. The 2008 race will include five new host cities and feature a team time trial on Braselton’s Road Atlanta speedway. “We’re in a much better situation than we were last year,” said Birrell of Medalist Sports during a press conference at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at

Caution - Lansing, IL ChiCrossCup

Victor Cordero, director of the Tour of Spain (Vuelta) speaks during the presentation of next year's route in Madrid

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle announcing the stages for this

Frischkorn and Grajales are looking forward to Georgia '08

VeloNews Photo Contest: A new winner and a new gallery

Due to having my computer stolen and losing a ton of information, photos, time and momentum, I had not yet posted anything about last month's Milan bike show. Scheduled in early November, its relevance as an important international bike show has declined over the years, but given the rich history and passion of the Italian bicycle industry, it nonetheless had much to offer in the way of eye candy.

Campy’s Red Shifters Red is, and always has been, the color preferred by Italian auto racing teams, says the Italian bicycle components manufacturer Campagnolo. And using this symbolism Campy will turn the Record shifters it supplies to its professional teams red. The letters on the shift bodies of both shifters will be changed from white to red.

After going into the Sydney round of the track World Cup with high hopes, a chest infection has forced Magnus Backstedt to withdraw from the second round in Beijing. "I was flying right up until the morning of the pursuit. When I woke up I just didn't feel 100 percent,” he said. “During my ride as soon as my heart rate hit anything close to my max I started coughing, which at full speed in a pursuit is not ideal. I was disappointed with my ride, but then I jumped straight up and rode the points race qualification and my legs just had nothing!" The big Swede spent the majority of the

2006 World Bicycle Trials Champion Vittorio Brumotti

Fiera Milano trade-fair venue

Italian marketing relies on a tried and true method for a targeted audience

The Green City Bikes

You don't see this too often at trade shows

The Milan Four-day featured some wild racing

Pippo Pozzato gave track racing a shot in Milan

One of the strangest marketing efforts we saw.

San Patrignano's bamboo bike

The Bianchi 9-2-8 Carbon SL monocoque

The new Selle Italia Monolink seatpost/saddle combo

Cipo' is still a big draw

The Cinelli Neo Morphe

The Deda Phazer

Retro in the modern world: the Deda Campione

Campagnolo’s professional issue red shifters.

SRAM’s Red shifter.

SRAM’s Red cassette

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski’s Superfly

JHK’s 45mm Dugast XL 29-inch/700c mountain bike tubulars mounted to prototype Bontrager carbon rims

Pacocha gets a chance to beat up a pricey set of wheels

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Maureen Bruno Roy came and conquered not only the season-ending Capital Cross Classic, but also the 2007 Verge MAC SRAM season championship. Davide Frattini couldn’t make the finale in Reston, Virginia, but claimed the Verge MAC SRAM season championship by a single point based on his previous conquests. A big part of the story of this year’s Capital Cross Classic, presented by the Bike Lane, was what didn’t happen. Rain, snow, sleet and freezing rain were all part of the forecast, but Sunday’s weather turned out nicer than the previous day, marked by wind and bitter cold. One thing that

Bruno Roy rides to a weekend sweep and the verge MAC title

"Cycling in the News" is a regular service of VeloNews.com. Readers,reporters and friends are encouraged to send links to current stories aboutcompetitive cyclists and cycling that appear in the mainstream media. Ifyou come across a news item that you believe may be of interest to otherVeloNews readers, we would be grateful if you choose to send it to rosters@InsideInc.com. USA Cycling mulling move (Canada)The Colorado Springs GazetteUSA Cycling officials have set a Dec. 15 deadline for their 48-employee organization, which is considering new Colorado Springs locations and options in Ogden,

Mickael Bourgain led a French domination of the men's sprint on the final night of the opening leg of track cycling's World Cup in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday. Bourgain fought off team-mate Kevin Sireau, winning both his races in the final. England's world keirin and kilometer time trial champion Chris Hoy prevented a French clean sweep of the medals, beating world team sprint champion Gregory Bauge of France for the bronze medal. "I felt very very good and I am happy with the tournament," Bourgain said. "My hardest match-up was against Greg Bauge, but that is how it goes.

Cadel Evans rates his No.1 ranking at the end of the 2007 ProTour more highly than even his runner-up finish in this year's Tour de France. "For me, personally it was better than getting second at the Tour and it's not easy to do," the 30-year-old Australian said Sunday. "It's taken from all of the big races from February to October so it's a long time to have to be good for. "In terms of races or contracts or whatever, maybe it isn't (better) but for me personally it was." Evans faces a testing 2008 season with the Tour de France and the Beijing Olympics road race just

Belgian Sven Nys (Rabobank) won the fifth round of the UCI World Cup of Cyclocross in Igorre, Spain, on Sunday. Nys took the top spot ahead of compatriot Bart Wellens (Fidea), a repeat of the finishing order in last year’s World Cup in Igorre. Nys’s victory further solidifies his hold on the overall standings in the nine race series.

The first half of the final weekend of the 2007 Verge MAC Series brought the first taste of the winter weather to the Mid Atlantic racing scene after an unusually warm autumn. The Carlisle Cross Classic took place on Saturday at Pennsylvania's Carlisle Fairgrounds, a location more famous for its massive antique auto shows than for human powered speed. "Speed" was the name of the game on the course designed by Mike Hebe on the wide open spaces of the fairgrounds. It sent riders up and over every side of the only hill, but its dominant characteristic was the extremely long, paved approach

Demonstrating why they were crowned the overall winners of this year’s Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, Kona-YourKey.com rider Ryan Trebon and Luna’s Georgia Gould each soloed to victory on Sunday in wet and windy Portland, Oregon. Trebon’s competition for series supremacy was Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Leer-Cyclocrossworld.com), who won Saturday but finished a distant second on Sunday. Gould, who had the series wrapped up after winning Saturday, outlasted perennial rivals Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) and Lyne Bessette (cyclocrossworld.com), who both abandoned the cold,

Saturday Afternoon - It was drizzling in Oz this morning. That’s okay, because the track is covered making us feel less guilty about being inside. The scratch race has no consequences for the Olympics but it’s a popular event and full of surprises. Travis Meyer squeaked through in his heat. We remember him from his days at Junior Worlds when he won three world track titles in a 10 hour time span. His brother Cam took the bronze last night in the points. A poignant moment for me yesterday came when a struggling Magnus Bäckstedt (bronchial infection) was working with Travis to regain the

Gould does the double

Trebon gets his jersey back

Johnson saw the overall vanish again, but conceded that Trebon was a worthy winner

Trebon working the barriers in a driving rain

The national champ, suffering from a cold she brought back from Europe, abandoned

Gould leads Compton

Bos earns bronze in the Keirin

Glöss hit the deck after her bike came apart

Glöss survived the crash.

Chris Hoy won the men's keirin event as British cyclists claimed two goldmedals on the second night of the UCI World Cup track meet in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday. Hoy, the reigning keirin and kilometer time trial world champion,downed compatriot Ross Edgar and world sprint champion Theo Boss of theNetherlands to take gold. Great Britain followed up with gold in the men's team pursuit, beatingNew Zealand. The British team of Edward Clancy, Stephen Cummings, Chris Newton andindividual pursuit world champion Bradley Wiggins won in a time of 4:01.196seconds over 4000 meters. Team

Chris Hoy won the men's keirin as British cyclists claimed two gold medals on the second night of the UCI World Cup track meet Saturday in Sydney, Australia. Hoy, the reigning keirin and kilometer time trial world champion, downed compatriot Ross Edgar and world sprint champion Theo Boss of the Netherlands to take gold. Great Britain followed up with gold in the men's team pursuit, beating New Zealand. The British team of Edward Clancy, Stephen Cummings, Chris Newton and individual pursuit world champion Bradley Wiggins won in a time of four minutes 01.196 seconds over the

Upsets were the theme of the day in Portland, Oregon, at the fifth round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. On a muddy day that saw brief snowfall turn to cold rain, pre-race favorites Ryan Trebon and Katie Compton, the reigning elite U.S. men’s and women’s national champions, were beaten by their top domestic rivals, Tim Johnson and Georgia Gould. Racing was held at the Portland International Raceway, site of the 2003 and 2004 national cyclocross championships. The course, which was relatively flat, would have been a fast and uneventful track if not for the rains that

Germany's Dana Glöss is comforted by teammates after her fork broke (below) in competiton

A big score for the Commonwealth in the Team Pursuit.

Glöss's bike

Hoy tops the keirin podium

'08 Giro route announced

Johnson, the mudder, emerges triumphant

Gould shows the national champion her wheel

Trebon was short a little horsepower

Johnson scored himself a jersey

Compton had a mechanical and an off day

Portland's fans turned out in droves

Dear Readers,
Welcome to the latest edition of The Prologue, the weekly summary of news from the world of competitive cycling from your friends at VeloNews.com.

“A 60 percent chance of snow before 10 a.m., then rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 36. South wind between 8 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.” Welcome to December cyclocross in Portland, Oregon, host city to the2007 Crank Brothers U.S.Gran Prix of Cyclocross finals. The forecast for this weekend’s events,a pair of races that will determine the series winners, is wet, cold andmuddy. It’s going to be a sloppy weekend. Saturday appears to be the harsherday of the two, with colder temperatures bringing the possibility of snow.Sunday is predicted to be nearly 10 degrees

Editor’s Note: - Connie Carpenter is at the UCI World Cup in Sydney, Australia, this week, accompanying her son, 2007 world junior time trial champion Taylor Phinney, as he enters his first elite level track competition. The 1984 Olympic gold medalist has agreed to send us reports throughout the event. Friday Morning - All the buzz is in the infield as the Track World Cup got under way on Friday morning. The track is outside Sydney, further than the Olympic Park complex – in a quiet zone known as Bass Hill. It’s familiar, but oh so strange, to be here in my first trip to Oz. Everyone is

Dual Olympic champion Ryan Bayley and Athens silver medalist Katie Mactier delivered Australia a golden opening night at the cycling World Cup season opener in Sydney, Australia, here Friday. Bayley continued his build-up to next year's Beijing Games by spearheading Australia's Team Toshiba to victory in the men's team sprint final, while Mactier claimed gold in the women's individual pursuit. Australia's time trial world record holder Anna Meares took silver in the women's sprint as she seeks to make the event her own for the Olympics after her favorite event, the

Just like most of the T-Mobile riders this week, Michael Rogers wasn’t sure what lay in store when he heard news that the German telecommunications giant was pulling the plug on its title sponsorship of the team. Despite some uncertainty, the Aussie GC rider believes the team’s future is safe as team manager Bob Stapleton scrambles to reorganize the squad in time for the start of the new season. “I did think [the team was dead]. T-Mobile chips in several million dollars a year and to find a sponsor of that caliber, in these conditions, is no easy thing,” Rogers said in an interview with the

Yehaw! That's Tim Johnson in there someplace

The outlook is ... muddy

The course: Now imagine it brown and splattered with mud and possibly snow

Bessette, Gould and Compton, still clean at the start of last year's muddy Portland USGP

Carl Decker and Barry Wicks after the 2004 Portland USGP race

Trebon went to New Jersey wearing the stars and stripes, but left wearing the white USGP leader's jersey.

Psyching up

... and he's off.