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Freire dons the golden leader's jersey

Leipheimer caps his season with a stars-and-stripes jersey

He hit the afterburners on Paris Mountain and that was all she wrote

Bajadali was right there — almost

Devine on the front, winding it up

Julich took a last-minute dig

But it would be Leipheimer's day in the sun

All alone out front

Man, that was some thirsty work

Dear Readers,

Welcome to this week's edition of The Prologue, the weekly news summary from the world of competitive cycling by your friends at VeloNews.com.

[nid:40251]Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) picked up where he left off, putting a nice bookend victory in Saturday’s 154.4km opener at the Vuelta a España to go along with his triumph in the final stage on the Champs Elysées at the Tour de France. The brawny Italian hitched a ride on Milram’s setup train and out-kicked a superstar field to win for the eighth time this season ahead of three-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Alessandro Petacchi (Milram), who came through third.

...but it was more than adequate.

Bennati picks up where he left off. After winning the final stage of the Tour de France, Bennati scores a victory at the Vuelta opener.

Danielson is out of the Vuelta

Cunego got back to the peloton

A nice sunny start to the third grand tour of the year

No clear fav's in this bunch.

A year of scandal in cycling, but the fans still turn out.

The day's break rolls away... but never got more than 3:20 on the field.

Martinez tries his luck with a solo effort. He is eventually caught, but now has the KOM jersey for his efforts.

The chase wasn't furious...

Bennati gets a jersey to boot

Cunego hopes to be back on Sunday

Vuelta a España organizer Unipublic released the final start list for the three-week national tour, which begins on Saturday, with a 146.4-kilometer stage in Vigo, Spain. 2007 Vuelta a España - Start ListAg2r Prevoyance1. Arrieta Lujambio José Luis, (Sp)2. Deignan Philip, (Irl)3. Dion Renaud, (F)4. Mandri Rene, (Est)5. DuPont Hubert, (F)6. Goubert Stéphane, (F)7. Krivtsov Yuriy, (Ukr)8. Usov Alexandre, (Blr)9. Turpin Ludovic, (F)Andalucia - Cajasur11. Perez Rodriguez Luis, (Sp)12. Lopez Gil José Antonio, (Sp)13. Martinez Perez Francisco Jose, (Sp)14. Olmo Menacho Juan, (Sp)15. Ortega Ocana

It looks like Johan Bruyneel’s planned retirement could be a short one. The Belgian sport director of Discovery Channel is in talks with the troubled Astana team to take over as general manager just weeks after announcing he would retire from cycling at the end of the 2007 season. Bruyneel confirmed he’s been contacted by officials from the Astana team to join the Kazakhstan-sponsored squad for the 2008 season and beyond. “It’s true I’ve had conversations with them but I’ve just returned from vacations and I haven’t had a chance to fully consider it,” Bruyneel told journalists ahead of

Slipstream Sports LLC has announced the Slipstream-Chipotle cycling team’s roster for 2008. The team includes David Millar, Christophe Laurent, Julian Dean, David Zabriskie, Christian Vande Velde, Magnus Backstedt, Tyler Farrar, Maartijn Maaskant, Tom Danielson, Dan Martin, Chris Sutton, Trent Lowe, Ryder Hesjedal, Danny Pate, Pat McCarty, Will Frischkorn, Jason Donald, Lucas Euser, Tom Peterson, Mike Friedman, Huub Duyn, Kilian Patour, Timmy Duggan and Steven Cozza. “We are poised for an outstanding year and are excited to have grown our relationship with Chipotle,” said Doug Ellis,

This year hasn’t been stellar, results-wise, for Team CSC’s David Zabriskie. But his second consecutive time-trial win at the 2007 USA Cycling Professional Championships on Saturday may have brightened things up a bit.

If the scale of parking problems are an indication of interest, then Eurobike qualifies as a success. The line just to park at the Messe Friedrichshafen on the second day of the trade show was an hour long. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, all of it bound for Eurobike. The show, held on Germany’s southern border, attracts exhibitors from more than 36 countries — and that includes everyone, from the biggest players to the most obscure little guys. Here’s what caught our attention on Friday. LightweightThe famous German Lightweight wheels have a new look these days. The new black all-carbon spokes

Some people think time trials are boring. But not us — especially not when Dave Zabriskie pips Danny Pate by a second to score his second consecutive stars-and-stripes jersey, and Saul Raisin returns to racing after a long convalescence. Casey Gibson was there, too, and sent us these shots of the day's action.

CEO and directeur sportif Jonathan Vaughters announces the Slipstream-Chipotle roster for 2008 at the USA Cycling pro championships

Lightweight’s new carbon clincher.

The shallow rimmed Ventoux still relies on the old style spokes. Lightweight will continue to offer the Aramid and Kevlar spokes to consumers as an option. The principal reason would be for the repair or replacement of a older wheel.

Yes 750 Euros, but it works with both Campagnolo and Shimano.

Luigi Bergamo explains the reversed seam on the new bib, meant to make the straps more comfortable.

The new Assos bib kit.

A single Speedplay Nano Gram Zero weighs 62 grams.

Maverick American’s 36mm DUC 36.

Selle Italia’s sharp Team Edition Flite...

...and the trendy Troy Lee version.

This white will work after Labor Day.

The Plasma compact cockpit.

EuroBike: News from the (crowded) aisles

SLK-Light offers the same Hollow Molding technology as K-Force at a more reasonable price.

The K-Force wheel.

FSA’s ISS (Integrated Seat System)

Schwalbe’s high-tech tubular.

Zabriskie defends his pro time-trial title

Soon-to-be-teammate Pate finished second

Slipstream scored a virtual sweep of the podium with Duggan in third

And Saul Raisin returned to racing after a long recuperation from a serious crash

This is how the day ended, with Dave Zabriskie zipping up his pretty new shirt . . .

. . . and here's how it began, with Saul Raisin the first man to leave the start house

Former world U-23 champ Danny Pate nearly got the win

Teammate Timothy Duggan slotted in for third

Bobby Julich was disappointed with his fifth-place finish

But Tom Zirbel had to be happy with his fourth-place ride

As for Raisin, he and his dad were just happy to be back in the game

Also back in the mix after an absence was Tyler Hamilton, though sans Tinkoff kit

The podium

Tom Danielson lines up Saturday for the Vuelta a España with a clean bill of health following a painful and sometimes bizarre battle with debilitating stomach problems. Danielson missed what was expected to be a Tour de France debut this year following a series of recurring stomach problems that derailed efforts at the Volta a Catalunya and the Dauphiné Libéré earlier this season. “I was in so much pain I wanted to cut open my stomach and give birth to an alien,” Danielson told VeloNews. “June and July were really dark months. My body was screwed up, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t pedal. I was

Once home to the early 20th century’s famous Graf Zeppelin factory, the southern German town of Friedrichshafen now plays host to retirees and tourists visiting Lake Constance and – once a year – to what is becoming one of the world’s biggest bicycle industry trade shows. Thursday marked the opening of the 16th Eurobike show, with more than 850 exhibitors from 36 countries showing their wares in an astounding 13 exhibition halls. Despite the ample space, navigating the aisles was already tough Thursday — and that’s before the show opens to the general public on its final day on

A memo drafted by the head of the arbitration panel reviewing the Floyd Landis doping case suggests that a decision in the matter won’t be forthcoming until mid- to late-September. Landis has been awaiting a ruling in the case since testing positive for testosterone at the 2006 Tour de France. The case was argued in a public hearing in May and a ruling had initially been expected prior to this year’s Tour. According to the memo from panel chairman Patrice Brunet, the three-member panel has scheduled a closed September 12th hearing to review procedures employed by staff at France’s national

Danielson won stage 17 at last year's Vuelta.

Eurobike's first-ever demo was held in the hills above Lake Constance.

Giant’s new Trance X

A clear view of its co-pivot.

Ridley’s new X-Fire.

X-Fire has tire and mud clearance suitable for true Belgian cyclo-cross.

Scott's Scale Limited now sports an integrated seatpost.

The Cross Comp has a price of $1400...

.. and the Cross Team is at $1800.

Both the Team and the Comp share Scott’s new wide profile cyclo-cross brake.

Scott offers nice details on each model like the headtube cable guides.

Look's new Quartz pedal.

Two of Crank Brothers’ new directset headsets, the Cobalt SL (Left, at $130) and the Cobalt Ti (at $300).

The Cobalt SLI is one of Crank Brother’s two new integrated cranks.

The Cobalt S is the other and set with a single ring.

Crank Bros' prototype Cobalt wheel.

Crank Brothers should be shipping the Speedball - now called the Iodine - seatpost by the begining of the year.

Happy anniversary SID, even the original was out for the party