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The domestic cyclocross season began Saturday with a pair of upset wins under lights at the Full Speed Ahead Starcrossed event held at Marymoor Velodrome, in Redmond, Washington, near Seattle. Both the men’s and women’s victories were piloted aboard Cannondales, as Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) and Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale) emerged as underdog victors against Kona riders — Powers ahead of perennial domestic top dog Ryan Trebon, and Butler against Canadian national champion Wendy Simms.

Against the impressive backdrop of the Lehigh Valley’s South Mountain, the best of the MAC Cyclocross Series opened their 2008 season with the UCI Nittany Lion Cyclocross at Penn State University’s satellite campus in Fogelsville Pennsylvania on Saturday.

South African Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and American Melissa Buhl (KHS) won the second round of the 2008 Jeep 48Straight mountain bike series, held Saturday at the Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah. The two took wins under dark skies and rain, which muddied the racecourse. Formerly known as the Jeep King of the Mountain Series, the newly titled 48Straight events pit the world’s premier gravity mountain bike racers in a dual slalom/mountain cross hybrid event. Riders race each other twice, with the rider with the fastest combined time advancing to the next round.

Six hours before kicking off their cyclocross season at the Full Speed Ahead Starcrossed UCI cat. 2 event in Redmond, Washington, Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com riders Tim Johnson and Jeremy Powers sat down with VeloNews.com for a post-lunch, pre-nap chat on a rainy Seattle afternoon. The following day both men were headed to Tacoma for the UCI cat. 2 Rad Racing GP, presented by Kona and FSA, known for its dreaded UCI-limit 80-meter run-up. Top cross racers Ryan Trebon, Barry Wicks, Adam Craig, Carl Decker and Geoff Kabush were also expected at both races.

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How close was it between Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador in Saturday’s nail-biting 17.1km time trial at the Vuelta a España? Very close. Leipheimer gave his Astana teammate a scare and blasted up the Cat. 1 Puerto de Navacerrada to win his second time trial stage at this year’s Vuelta and chewed considerably into Contador’s 1:17 head start in the Vuelta’s penultimate stage. Leipheimer stopped the clock in 33 minutes, 6 seconds (30.997kph), 31 seconds faster than Contador and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) to secure second place overall.

The full start list and departure times for the stage 20 individual time trial at the Vuelta a España, a 17.1-kilometer individual time trial from La Granja de San Ildefonso to the summit of the Category 1 Puerto de Navacerrada. Follow the progress of the Vuelta's top riders with our Live up-to-the-minute coverage.

In my last “Inside Cycling” column about Lance Armstrong’s proposed comeback, I showed that his age (37 this past Thursday) and his three years away from the sport need not be a handicap. Then I posed the question: “Will the seven-time Tour champ be able to improve his likely ‘competitive’ condition in February to the ‘superhuman’ fitness he will need next July to win the Tour?” Not even Armstrong can fully answer that question, but it’s one that we can certainly address.

GT Bicycles will not hire back Jill Kintner, the Olympic bronze medalist in BMX, for 2009. Kintner, 26, signed with the Madison, Wisconsin-based bicycle manufacturer at the onset of the 2006 season to race Four cross. During her three years with GT, the Seattle native won two national and two world championships titles as well as the 2006 World Cup overall in that discipline. In 2007 Kintner turned her focus toward BMX racing in preparation for the upcoming Beijing Olympics. In August Kintner claimed Bronze in Beijing.

It was a weekend of great contrast here in the land of the coached. The latest adventure started in Crested Butte last Friday when I got a call from the VeloNews edit desk. Turned out one Lance Armstrong was going to be racing near Aspen the following Sunday, and they wanted to know if I could pop by and grab an interview. The recently un-retired Tour champ would be contesting the 12 Hours of Snowmass cross-country race, and hopefully talking more about why he’s decided to turn in his AARP membership card.

There is no shortage this year of new racers who have only a vague idea of what they’re doing. If you count yourself among them, or if you just want to hone your skills, the National Capital Velo Club will be holding their traditional marathon cyclocross clinic on Saturday September 27, the day before NCVC’s Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross, at Lilypons Water Gardens in Buckeystown Maryland.

An impressive field of racers will take to the field at Jonathan Page's Planet Bike Cup on September 27 and 28 at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisc. Top racers from throughout the Midwest will contest the amateur events and will be joined by elite riders from throughout the Midwest as well as from California, Oregon, Colorado, Canada and Switzerland. The elite men’s field will be headlined by Planet Bike’s Jonathan Page, a multiple national champion and the 2006 world silver medalist.

Challenge, the handmade Italian tire manufacturer, has a new tire that’s ready for the coming cyclocross season. The Grifo Fango mud tire rounds out the brand’s line that includes the Grifo XS file tread, which is built for sand and smooth courses and the Grifo, an all-conditions tire that’s over 20 years old, easily recognized by its chevron tread pattern.

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Off-the-cuff comments last weekend by Lance Armstrong that he wants to take his comeback tour worldwide raised hopes in Australia that the seven-time Tour de France champion’s return to racing might start in January’s Tour Down Under. Not so fast, matey. Armstrong, who turned 37 on Thursday, said he hasn’t finalized his comeback plans yet and will make a full disclosure Wednesday in New York while attending the Clinton Global Initiative.

David Arroyo won the second stage in a row for Caisse d’Epargne while Alberto Contador fended off last-gasp attempts to blow apart the race in Friday’s two-climb, 145.5km stage across the rugged sierra north of Madrid to safely retain the overall lead Vuelta a España. Arroyo, 28, is one of the worker bees who occasionally gets to taste the honey themselves. The veteran gregario was fulfilling his obligations to follow the breakaways over two first category climbs to set up team captain Alejandro Valverde when fate turned his way.

Team Redline Factory Team, based in Seattle, WA announces its final rosters and sponsor lineup for the 2008/09 Cyclo-cross Season. Based out of Seattle, WA but covering multiple regions around the USA, the team will be led by elite team riders with grassroots development programs in each of the regions. Look for Team Redline at many of the USGP CX races, UCI races, National Championships and in your local race scene! The 2007-08 Roster: Kevin Bradford Parish – Spokane, WA – Elite Racer Kristi Berg – Seattle, WA – Elite Racer Chad Berg - Seattle, WA – Team Leader/Elite Master

The Chicago Cyclocross Cup is proud to announce that Monique Ryan, MS, RD, LDN will be leading a presentation on fueling for the cyclocross racing on Tuesday, October 7 in Chicago. Advance registration is required. Monique Ryan, MS, RD, LDN is a nationally recognized nutritionist with more than 24 years of professional experience. She is founder of Personal Nutrition Designs, a nutrition consulting company based in the Chicago area.

Dear Readers,
This week, I’ll be sharing some reader responses to my recent columns on road rage (See “Bikes vs. cars," “Summer of rage” and “More rage”). But first, as noted last week, I would like to invite those of you who can attend to visit with me at my next speaking appearance:

Saturday, September 20, 2008
Nashville, Tennessee

Jesse Lalonde (Gary Fisher 29 / BKB / T6) and Holly Liske (Hayes Disc Brakes) won at the Smokin Spoke on Sunday afternoon. The Spoke, the tenth race in the 2008 Subaru-sponsored Wisconsin Off Road Series, was held at Camp Tesomas in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

A self-propelled cycling art and fashion show, Interbike's latest addition brings the cutting edge of urban cycle culture to life Interbike, producers of North America's largest bicycle industry trade shows, today announced they have teamed up with Momentum Magazine to produce the first "Urban Legend Fashion and Art Show" at Interbike 2008 on Sept. 25 at 5 p.m.

Miles Ahead Events and Hudz Enhancement Brake Hoods are joining together to produce the first annual Rocky Mountain Bicycle Show. The November 1st and 2nd event - held in the Glenn Miller Ballroom on the University of Colorado campus - will showcase many of the best framebuilders in the country, and allow consumers the first chance to get their hands on the latest and greatest new components and accessories shown at Interbike.

Announcing the Spike Shooter Katie Compton Super Fan competition held at upcoming Cross Vegas, Wednesday night September 24th at the Desert Breeze Soccer Complex. See the Cross Vegas website for directions and race information. www.crossvegas.com Spike Shooter and Katie Compton are looking for Katie Compton Superfans. This year at Cross Vegas we are going to reward two superfans of Spike Shooter rider Katie Compton and women's cyclocross with a Superfan gift pack. We want to see painted bodies, screaming fans and happy people supporting our sport. Katie Compton superfans.

Olympians will not be the only ones walking around Interbike showing off new medals this year. Podium winners at CrossVegas and the USA CRITS finals, two evening races drawing some of the world’s best cyclocross and road champions, will also be able to sport medals, in the form of custom cowbell trophies by Cowbell.com, distributor of fun and cowbells to sporting events, fundraisers and businesses.

This weekend's Full Speed Ahead Star Crossed presented by Gerk's Ski and Cycle and the Rad Racing GP presented by FSA and Kona opens the North American Cyclocross Trophy with an impressive field. Current National champ Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale) will be met at the start line by '06 champion, Ryan Trebon (Kona) and '05 champion and Olympian Todd Wells (GT). Wells, who raced the Beijing mountain bike race, is on top form after finishing fifth in the cross-country at the Canberra, Australia, mountain bike World Cup on August 30th.

Last weekend, The Intermontane Challenge attracted people from all over North America to preview a part of one of the world’s most unique and lucrative mountain bike races. Some of the City’s dignitaries were also on hand to celebrate Kamloops introducing this world class event to the community.

Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) has won the 2008 the UCI downhill mountain bike World Cup. The South African finished fifth at the World Cup finals in Schladming, Austria, on September 13 to inch his way by two-time defending champ Sam Hill (Monster-Ironhorse) 1354 points to 1293.

Spain is an uproar Thursday night over alleged comments from Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre accusing Team CSC-Saxo Bank manager Bjarne Riis of trying to undermine his efforts to win the Vuelta a España. Sastre — who is leaving Riis’s team to joining the start-up Cervélo team in 2009 — was quoted in a lengthy interview with the Spanish wire service, EFE, suggesting that Riis has divided the team against him during the three-week Vuelta. Sastre later denied making those statements.

Cycling’s biggest players will meet Friday in Madrid to try to heal the division and ill will that have split the sport the past few years. Whether the meeting among members of the UCI, the organizers of the three grand tours and the top professional teams can ease the way for resolution or reopen old wounds remains to be seen.