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National Champions Sign to 2007 Roster for Kelly Benefit StrategiesPro Cycling TeamNew Co-Title Sponsor Announced; Team Name ChangeMinneapolis, Min., December 15, 2006 – The Kelly Benefit Strategiespro cycling team, one of the newest pro teams on the national racing circuit,today announces finalization of the 2007 roster – including two marqueeformer pro national champions – and the name-changing addition of a co-titlesponsor.Maryland-based Medifast, the country’s leading manufacturer of clinicallyproven meal replacement programs, joins Kelly Benefit Strategies as co-titlesponsor creating the

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside

The 2007 BMC Professional Cycling Team recently met for the first time at the headquarters of their performance-coaching center, Endurance Performance Training Center in Mill Valley, California. At the Bay Area facility, each rider underwent medical testing with team doctors Massimo Testa and Eric Heiden, performance testing with Endurance PTC staff physiologists and finalized 2007 racing and training plans with team performance director Charlie Livermore and team director Gavin Chilcott. Members of the Continental team include: Alexandre Moos (formerly Phonak), David Vitoria (formerly

Brian Vernor first caught the cycling world’s attention with his 2004 film "Pure, Sweet Hell," which showcased the witty, hard-driven men and women of the domestic cyclo-cross scene . This year Vernor again focused his lens on the ’cross community, this time in the form of a photography project. Vernor followed the entire 2006 Crankbrothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross from Gloucester, Massachusetts, to Portland, Oregon, snapping portraits of ’crossers, fans and industry personalities in his makeshift tent booth along the way. Vernor, a native of Santa Cruz, California, whose day job is

Quick Step-Innergetic introduced its 2007 team to the press Friday in Kortrijk, Belgium. After the obligatory introduction by team director Patrick Lefévère of the team sponsors (including new bike supplier Mike Sinyard of Specialized), the full team was introduced, headlined by Tom Boonen and world champion Paolo Bettini. The team showed a video outlining the impressive number of victories its riders have had this season, including Flanders, Lombardia and Bettini's world’s win, and then the collected media were let loose on the riders. As expected, Boonen and Bettini received the

In a communiqué released Friday evening, pro cycling’s licensing commission announced it was awarding a four-year UCI ProTour license to the Belgian-based, Swedish-sponsored Unibet.com team, while Astana, the Kazakh-sponsored, Swiss-based squad, will have to wait at least until next week before learning the fate of its application. However, news that the commission has overturned an earlier decision to extend the license of the Active Bay company, owned by the former Spanish team owner Manolo Saiz, means that the new Astana management team has a strong chance of joining the ProTour. The

The bowl-shaped heart of Roger Williams park in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, turned into something of a one-ringed circus of ’cross Friday, as 692 masters, competing in 15 age-grouped races, kicked off the 2006 cyclo-cross national championships. Indeed, the master’s men 30-34, 40-45 and 45-49 age-group races bore the appearance of real circus processions, as all three boasted swollen 100-plus fields that could stretch halfway around the course if uninterrupted.

At 47, Steve Tilford is quickly approaching the “ageless wonder” category reserved for cycling’s best-known graying hero, his former Specialized teammate Ned Overend. It was no surprise to see Tilford wallop the men 45-49 age-group category to claim yet another national ’cross championship in Providence, Rhode Island on December 17, shortly after Overend took the jersey in the men 50-54 group. We caught up with Tilford as he was watching Overend lead the amateur race. When posed with the tough question (so who would win in a ’cross race between you and deadly Nedly?), Tilford — the pride of

Team BMC

Vernor on the job

Boonen and Lefévère chat during the presentation

The team

The men's 35-39 field exemplified the growing interest in the discipline

Beggs is back

Up-and-over. Lockhart likes 'cross

Aging gracefully: Tilford with his older buddy

Dear Readers,Every year our mailboxes fill up with welcomed cards and letters fromold friends and business associates sending good wishes and holiday cheer.In recent years, a growing number of those have arrived electronically,often directing us to one web site or another to take advantage of whatthe medium has to offer.One recent delivery prompted us to share a link that we thought youmight particularly enjoy. You have to check out the “card” offered up by our friendsat Specialized. That one might be hard to top, but that said, we thought we might open up this page for others to send in

Win Your Own Cycling Caricature by Dave Brinton!VeloNews Illustrator to Draw a Customized Cycling Portrait forContest Winner in January 2007Boulder, CO, December 13, 2006 - VeloGear is accepting entriesfor the 2007 Dave Brinton Cycling Caricature Contest! Dave Brinton is the illustrator of the popular VeloNews magazinecolumn, "At the Back." Brinton's illustrations are featured in LesHéros du Vélo, an illustrated 2007 calendar featuring12 of the great cyclists of the twentieth century.Celebrate 2007 in style with Les Héros du Vélo, Brinton'spersonal tribute to the legends of cycling.

Navigators Insures for the FutureThe Navigators Insurance Cycling Team announced a planned collaborationwith the Belgian based Cycling Center today as part of the team’s effortincrease its investment in the growth and development of American cycling.The Cycling Center, based in Hertsberge Belgium, just 20 km from thepicturesque and cycling famous city of Brugge, will serve as the Europeanbase for the Navigators Insurance Professional Cycling Team as it continuesto expand the European part of its race schedule. In addition, the CyclingCenter based amateur team will serve as a developmental

A record number of mud-pluggers from throughout the United States will descend upon Providence, Rhode Island, this weekend for the 2006 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross national championships. The event, which will award 28 national titles and is sponsored by California Giant Berry Farms, runs December 15-17. On Monday, USA Cycling announced that 1940 amateur and elite athletes had registered for the 2006 nationals, a 14 percent increase from 2005. Last year, 1700 athletes competed at the nationals in Providence — an amazing 41-percent increase from 2004.

South Korea's Jang Sun Jae on Thursday became only the third cyclist in Asian Games history, and the first in 36 years, to win three or more golds at the same games. Jang went into the record books — and celebrated his 22nd birthday in style — when he won the Madison on the last day of action at the ASPIRE velodrome. He was already a gold medalist in the individual and the team pursuit and on Thursday teamed up with Park Sung Baek to win the Madison with 35 points. Kazakhstan took silver with Ilya Chernyshov claiming his third medal of the games following his team road race time-trial

Two Austrian under-23 cyclists, Stefan Ebner and Marco Oreggia, were suspended for two years Thursday for doping offenses. Oreggia tested positive for the banned endurance-boosting hormone EPO in training a week before the world road championships in Salzburg in September. Ebner failed to appear for a doping test on September 14, a violation considered the same as testing positive by the Austrian cycling federation's anti-doping committee. Both cyclists will appeal the suspensions, committee head Gernot Schaar said.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Former elite cyclist Tammy Thomas was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges of hindering the government's steroid probe. Thomas, 36, is accused of three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury investigating a steroid ring that spanned across many sports. The indictment adds cycling, a sport often associated with doping, to a probe that has exposed steroid use in professional baseball, football and track and field. Thomas was banned for life in August 2002 after testing positive for the

Press Release - Win your own cycling caricature by Dave Brinton

Trebon and Wells: Time for a changing of the guard?

The course

This is pretty much where Compton's been all year

Gould thinks Compton is mortal, however

Johnson is a renowned mudder

Thomas before her suspension in 2002

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside

Organizers unveiled the 2007 Vuelta a España route on Wednesday, with three mountaintop finishes among the highlights, including the return of the punishing Lagos de Covadonga ascent. The three-week race gets under way September 1 in the port city of Vigo, in the northwest province of Galicia. The finale to the 21-stage race will be the traditional finish in Madrid on September 23. But it's the first week of the 3,241km race, and the return of the Lagos de Covadonga as part of the arduous 182km fourth stage, that has next year's challengers excited. ''It will be great for

The French anti-doping lab whose procedures are being challenged by American cyclist Floyd Landis is getting upgraded security to protect its computer systems against hackers. The computers at the Chatenay-Malabry laboratory were breached last month by hackers who stole data and allegedly sent out letters to top officials in a bid to discredit the lab. French Anti-Doping Agency president Pierre Bordry said Wednesday that Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's defense advisory council agreed that security must be improved at the lab to make the computer systems more secure. "We have

Greenville Magazine has named Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie the most influential person in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. The magazine announced its choice in the

China's Guo Shuang outraced compatriot Gong Jinjie in the finals of the women’s sprint at the 15th Asian Games in Qatar on Wednesday. The 20-year-old Guo took the gold in two straight races, winning the second in 11.986 seconds. South Korea's You Jin A took the bronze. It was Guo’s second gold of this year’s games. She won the 500-meter time trial on Saturday, setting an Asian Games record of 35.175 seconds. In the men’s sprint, Japan's Tsubasa Kitatsuru took the gold ahead of South Korea's Choi Lae-seon. China's Tang Qi collected the bronze. Meanwhile, Cheung King

I just rolled in from the last training ride of the season and it feels pretty good knowing there is just one more weekend of racing. It’s hard to believe that cyclo-cross nationals are here already. I’m looking forward to getting back to the beautiful Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island, because I have a couple of monkeys to shake off my back from last year’s event. More on that later. Last week was big in the Boulder bike-geek world. On Wednesday, Boulder Cycle Sport hosted a fundraiser at the historic Boulder Theater to raise money for junior cyclo-cross development. We

New Venues Highlight 2007 US Gran Prix of Cyclocross ScheduleDecember 13, 2006 (Lebanon, NJ) - The management team of theUS Gran Prix of Cyclocross has announced the dates and venues for the 2007US Gran Prix the Official National Cyclocross Series ofUSA Cycling. The 2007 schedule will again include six days of racing,four of which will take place at new venues. The schedule includes: USGP Trenton - October 27-28 (Mercer County Park, WestWindsor, NJ)* USGP Louisville - November 17-18 (River Road Country Club, Louisville, KY)* USGP Portland, Oregon - December 1-2 (Hillsboro, OR)* New venue for

Race director Victor Cordero announces the 2007 Vuelta route in Madrid

Cover boy Hincapie

From left, China's Guo Shuang with compatriot Gong Jinjie and South Korea's You Jin A

The route

From left, Denis Menchov talks with Alejandro Valverde and Oscar Pereiro during the Vuelta presentation

Show time!

Race announcer extraordinaire Dave Towle and the Mudskippers on

Danny Summerhill and Zack Taylor (left), two beneficiaries from the

Race promoter Brian Hludzinski's son, Vin. A beneficiary for future

TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar manager preps a race rig at the Colorado state championships

Questions on mix-and-match components, fraying cables, carbon comfort, compact cranks and more.

Spanish riders Jesus Hernandez and Alberto Contador were the first of some 50 cyclists linked to the Operación Puerto blood-doping scandal to appear in court, legal sources in Madrid said Tuesday. Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, suspected of masterminding a vast blood-doping network in cycling, football and other sports, will be among those heard following the police raids in Spain just before the Tour de France in July earlier this year. Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich and defending Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso are among several cyclists suspected of working with

South Korea showed why they were the 4km team-pursuit favorites at the Asian Games by smashing the Asian record en route to gold on Tuesday in Qatar. The Korean quartet swapped the lead with Iran until the sixth lap before making the final their own, finishing in 4:12.746, slicing 0.016 second off the previous record, which they set in Sydney in November. Iran had to settle for silver in 4:14.226. "We weren't expecting to beat the record. We knew it was good. This was all about winning the gold medal,” Park told Reuters. Defending champions China took bronze, beating Japan in the

The Discovery Channel cycling team has responded to the December 8 decision by the International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT) to exclude the team from its membership over its signing of Italian Ivan Basso, implicated in the Operación Puerto inquiry. In a similar move in October, IPCT excluded Manolo Saiz's Active Bay company, a decision that was confirmed by a formal vote during the group's December 8 meeting in Brussels. The Discovery Channel's response follows. — Editor The International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT), a business group developed to represent the

Just over a year ago the grand-tour organizers, ASO, RCS Sport and Unipublic, announced a new race series based on their three events in an attempt to destabilize the UCI ProTour. The plan was quietly withdrawn when the 20 ProTour teams and the ProTour Council voted against it. Now the Tour-Giro-Vuelta group is taking another tack, announced Tuesday. The news release starts: “All their attempts at rapprochement with the Union Cycliste Internationale having ended because of the refusal of the latter to return to an open sporting model, and not wanting their events to be part of a closed

Cross-country racers Max Plaxton and Marie-Héléne Prémont, both of whom ride for Rocky Mountain-Business Objects, have been named Canadian cyclists of the year, according to Canadiancyclist.com. Canadiancyclist.com polls its online readers each year for the awards. The polls were open for two weeks, and software prohibited voters from voting more than once. More than 2000 individuals took part in this year’s voting, which ended December 11. Plaxton, 21, began his 2006 campaign after struggling through illness in 2005. A native of Tofino, British Columbia, he had a strong early season in

USA Cycling on Tuesday announced the winners of its annual “Club of the Year” competition. Of the 1905 USA Cycling-sanctioned clubs in the United States, nine were chosen this year for recognition in three overall divisions and six special categories. The San Diego Bicycle Club earned the Division I Club of the Year distinction, while the Skylands Cycling Club in Sussex, New Jersey, was designated Division II Club of the Year and Team DRT/Deep Blue in Wilmington, Delaware, took home the Division III award. Division I is defined as having 76 or more members, while Division II clubs have

Alberto Contador - seen here after a stage win at the 2006 Tour of Romandy - was among the first cyclists to testify in the Puerto case.

South Korea racing to the win and an Asian record

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now up for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of ourmost recent contest. Take the time to wander through that gallery and see if you agree or disagree with our choice of winner. We have to admit that we’re total saps at times and that could be why we fell for Helen Powers' “Young fan at cyclo-cross race November, 2005.” As the subject's father - and husband of this week's winner notes, "what kid doesn't like ringing cowbells and eating bagels?" We don't know any. Anyway,nice

On September 25, cross-country mountain biker Jimi Mortensen received a two-year doping suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for missing three out-of-competition tests during an 18-month period from late 2004 to early 2005. Mortensen wasn’t exactly dodging the tests. The Eagle, Colorado, resident says he simply stopped filling out his USADA paperwork because he was fed up with being a part of USADA’s out-of-competition testing group. Mortensen became a member of the group after representing the United States at the 2003 world mountain-bike championships in Lugano,

South Korea's Lee Min Hye won the women's 3km individual pursuit at the 15th Asian Games on Monday, breaking her own record in the process and snapping China’s perfect winning streak over the past four games. Lee won in three minutes, 44.146 seconds, beating the record by 0.073 second. She had set the previous best on Sunday. "I feel like I'm flying in the sky. I want to continue beating the Asian record and join the world stage after this," Lee told the Xinhua news agency. "In the qualifying round, I beat the Chinese riders, so I have expected today's performance.” Li

2007 USA CYCLING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR ANNOUNCEDMore than 650 National Titles in Road, Track, Mountain Bike, BMXand Cyclo-cross on the LineColorado Springs, Colo. (December 11, 2006)— More than 650 nationaltitles will be on the line next year as USA Cycling announced its 2007National Championship Calendar Monday.The 13-race calendar offers an opportunity for competitive cyclistsof all ages, abilities and disciplines to compete for a coveted stars-and-stripesjersey that signifies a national champion.  In 2007, USA Cycling willfeature national championship events in the five recognized

Young fan at cyclo-cross race Nov 2005

VeloNews Photo Contest: A new winner and a new gallery

Lee speeds to victory

If there was any doubt that Sven Nys is on a seemingly endless roll this season, the Belgian 'cross phenom' put it to rest as he scored his fifth successive win cyclo-cross’s Superprestige series, taking Round 5 at Hamme-Zogge, Belgium, on Sunday. Nys further solidified his already formidable series lead over fellow Belgian Bart Wellens, who again finished second on Sunday. For North American ‘cross fans, the big news came in the form of a top-ten finish by Kona’s Ryan Trebon, who came across the line some four minutes back from the hard-charging Nys. Nys, who lost to Wellens in the

The calendar may say December but the weather said otherwise at Sunday’s final round of the 2006 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series, the Caster’s Cyclocross in Warwick, Rhode Island. The ’06 Series closed out just as it began, with temps in the 50s and Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Tim Johnson (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com)stamping their authority all over the Elite Women’s and Men’s events. Bessette’s win, her fifth in five Series starts, cemented her position as the 2006 Verge NECCS overall champion while Mark McCormack (Clif Shot) took home the overall title

Nys looks to be on track to win the Superprestige, the World Cup, the Belgian national title and World's. What's left?

Guo Shuang won the women's 500-meter time trial in record time and teammate Feng Yong took the men's 1-kilometer time trial with another Asian Games' record as China claimed both titles contested Saturday in track cycling. Guo, who trains at the UCI's world cycling center in Switzerland, won her event in 35.175 seconds, an Asian Games record, well ahead of silver medalist Hsiao Mei Yu of Taiwan, who was clocked at 36.190. You Jin-a of South Korea, racing with a knee injury, was third with a time of 36.961. "I feel good and proud," she said. "I tried my best to win the

Verge titles on the line this weekendComing into the final weekend of the 2006 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series, the race for the elite championships hangs in the balance. Both races of the Rhode Island doubleheader, Saturday’s W.E. Stedman Grand Prix in South Kingston and Sunday’s Caster’s Cyclocross in Warwick, offer very different race experiences in which series titles will be decided. The W.E. Stedman course, a fast, open, and often blustery tour around the grounds at the Curtis Corner Middle School, favors sheer strength over technique while Sunday’s Caster’s track

Picking up where they left off two weeks ago, the wife-husband duo of LyneBessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Tim Johnson (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com)won Saturday’s W.E. Stedman Grand Prix in South Kingston, Rhode Island,the sixth round of the 2006 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-CrossSeries. Less than 20 miles from the site of next week’s U.S. national Championships,the penultimate Verge NECCS race went to form, with Bessette dominatingthe Elite Women’s field and Johnson forming an early breakaway and thensoloing in for the Elite Men’s win.On a dry afternoon with temperatures

The soon to be infamous Dam Run-up

Jon Card (Cane Creek) celebrates his win

Anne Schwartz (Flying Rhino Cycling Club) collects her fourth straight win

Sachs wins the Illinois title

Bessette

Spain's sporting media has reacted quickly to reports from the French newspaperLe Monde that claimed four top Spanish football clubs were linkedwith Dr Eufemiano Fuentes who is alleged to have masterminded a vast blood-dopingnetwork.The four clubs in the firing line are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Real Betisand Valencia.Fuentes denied the Le Monde report, which was written after oneof the newspaper's reporters procured documents containing allegationswhich have as yet been unfounded. However in a separate interview with the newspaper Fuentes claimedthat Barcelona, the current

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside

Bart Wellens (Fidea) showed his heels to Sven Nys (Rabobank) in round eight of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup on Friday in Milan. Wellens finished more than a minute ahead of the World Cup leader, who in turn was trailed five seconds later by teammate Sven Vanthourenhout, making for yet another all-Belgian podium. American Ryan Trebon (Kona) finished 22nd at 5:34. UCI Cyclo-cross World CupRound 8 — Milan, ItalyTop 101. Bart Wellens (B), Fidea, 1:06:202. Sven Nijs (B), Rabobank, at 1:023. Sven Vanthourenhout (B), Rabobank, at 1:074. Francis Mourey (F), Française des Jeux, at 1:145. Klaas

Former Coors Classic competitors, team personnel, race officials and media from all over the country descended on the University Bicycles store in Boulder, Colorado, Thursday night, for the launch of a new DVD that chronicles the complete 1977-88 history of the pioneering stage race. The store was an appropriate location for the launch, being only a half-mile from the North Boulder Park circuit that nearly always hosted the finish of the Classic. Photo contestWe noticed a lot of you brought your cameras to the Coors Classic DVD release bash, which inspired us to declare a special photo

A decision made at a special meeting of the International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT) group on Friday could threaten the future status of the Discovery Channel team. The group voted to exclude Discovery from its membership over its signing of Italian Ivan Basso, who is implicated in the Operación Puerto inquiry, according to a source that attended the meeting in Brussels. However, the vote does not mean that the American team loses its UCI ProTour license, which enables it to race in all of the ProTour events. The IPCT, a business group chaired by Quick Step’s Belgian team manager