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Carla Swart clung to the back of the elite seven-woman breakaway in the waning minutes of the 2008 Division I women’s road championship, held Saturday in Fort Collins, Colorado. Outnumbered and without teammates, the Lees-McRae sophomore didn’t appear to have the numbers or legs to win. Looks, however, can be deceiving.

Cuban Missile and Two Calebs

Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita-Sutter Home) took the stage 2 sprint win at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas. Action Images photographer Kurt Jambretz was there to catch all the action.

The Podium (left to right) Rory Sutherland (Heath Net-Maxxis), Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita-Sutter Home), and Kyle Gritters (Health Net)

Slipstream-Chipotle’s victory in Saturday’s team time trial began weeks ago. The building blocks of the team’s historic victory that put Christian Vande Velde as the first American in the pink jersey in 20 years started with the team’s meticulous planning and execution. Just days after the Ardennes classics, the team gathered in its European base in Girona, Spain, to work on the time trial rotations and technique.

Jill Taylor, the fiancée of Slipstream-Chipotle soigneur Johnny Coln (affectionately known as Soigny Johnny – pronounced Swanny Johnny) brings on gasps and giggles by balancing two forks on the tips of two toothpicks.

Shanks filing the “Nader hooks,” a.k.a. “wheel retention tabs,” off of a new Oval Jetstream fork destined for Magnus Bäckstedt’s Felt team bike.

Allen Lim exclaimed “I should have been Italian,” when he saw his Giro badge. It says: “Allen Lim. Allenatore.” You see, in Italian, “allenare” means “to train,” and an “allenatore” is a “trainer.” Hence, he “allenates” the Slipstream-Chipotle team and could heretofore be known as “The Allenator!”

Oops! McEwen’s bike said 90th Giro d’Italia on it, but this is the 91st Giro! A Silence-Lotto team mechanics made a “1” and sticks it on.

McEwen’s new bike has a 2009 fully-redesigned Ridley Oval-licensed Jetstream road fork and seatstays. Both the stays and the fork feature split aero blades with a new shape designed by MIT aerodynamics guru Mark Drela. The fork and stays are not only aerodynamic themselves, but their split blades also suck air away from the spokes and reduce the aerodynamic drag of each wheel. And at sprinting speeds of over 70kph, not to mention all of the hours spent riding leading up to it, every ounce of aerodynamic drag and watt of power saved makes a difference.

Robbie McEwen says that his new Jetstream-equipped road bike is “the fastest thing I’ve ever ridden.” He won the second stage of the Tour de Romandie on the first iteration of it, an all-black bike without paint. This second one, painted especially for him for the Giro, lists all of the towns in which he has gained Giro stage victories. Or that was the intention, anyway; McEwen says that one town was left off.

Slipstream-Chipotle’ secret weapon: “Chef Willy,” Slipstream-Chipotle’s Swiss chef, has been cooking for American teams for decades at major tours. He was cooking for the 7-Eleven team when Andy Hampsten won the Giro, and he was there for every one of Lance Armstrong’s Tour victories. Now Slipstream-Chipotle hopes he will bring the same kind of good fortune. Barred from the kitchen at the posh Hotel Torre Normanna (temporary residence until stage 1 of Slipstream-Chipotle, High Road, Saunier Duval-Scott, AG2R-La Mondiale, Rabobank, and CSC) south of Palermo, he has time at dinner to joke with David Millar.

I have been in Sicily since Wednesday and have been watching the buildup in excitement and preparation among the teams, both riders and staff members. The atmosphere has been light and was getting less so as the race draws closer. And here also is the first of many cool Giro bikes you will see here in the coming days and weeks.

Ivan Basso should not be held up as a model for young riders, Scottish rider David Millar said on Saturday. Millar said that despite 30-year-old Basso — who is allowed to ride competitively again from October 24, 2008, and has agreed a two-year deal with Liquigas — serving a two-year ban for his involvement in the Operation Puerto scandal he was in no way a role model for those aspiring to become professional cyclists.

France's Cyril Dessel, of the AG2R-La Mondiale team, won Saturday's 179.4km fifth stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk cycling race between Calais and Cap Blanc-Nez. Cofidis rider Stephane Auge of France, who won Tuesday's first stage, retained the leader's pink jersey and looks set fair to win the race following Sunday's sixth and final stage, a 128.4km stretch around Dunkirk. Dessel clocked 4:23:48 to finish ahead of Gerald Ciolek of Germany and France's Samuel Dumoulin during this relatively short but tense stage.

Christian Vande Velde might have the pink jersey, but it was a team victory in every sense of the word Saturday for Slipstream-Chipotle in the 23.6km team time trial to open the 91st Giro d’Italia. Vande Velde, 31, becomes the first American since Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro to don the prized maglia rosa, but he’d love nothing more than to have eight more to pass among his teammates.

Levi Leipheimer was at home in California when he woke up a week ago with a surprise message. Instead of racing the Volta a Catalunya and the Dauphiné Libéré as planned, he was going to the Giro d’Italia. Leipheimer’s Giro debut in Saturday’s team time trial might have come as a surprise, but the American promises to make the most of the unexpected opportunity. Along with Astana teammates Andreas Klöden and Alberto Contador, the team starts with three options for the podium.

The Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team has donated $5,000 cash to Fausto Munoz Esparza, the rider who was paralyzed in a high-speed crash in last Sunday’s final stage of the Tour of Gila in New Mexico. The team said the donation consists of the Toyota-United teams riders’ prize money earned at the Tour of Gila, plus staff donations. In addition, Toyota-United will auction off a team jersey signed by all 14 riders. The jersey auction will begin Monday on Bay.

Brasstown Bald in the Spring

4 hours into the ride....

Yesterday, it was 80 degrees Farenheit

Pavel crossing Woody Gap all alone