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If you think Xterra riding isn't "real" mountain biking, just ask Conrad Stoltz and Ned Overend. Oh, and they'll also tell you all about the benefits of riding 29ers while they're at it.

British sprint specialist Mark Cavendish has pulled out of Paris-Tours, the road sprint classic on October 11, his Columbia team announced on Wednesday. Cavendish, who won six stages at this year's Tour de France, had already withdrawn from the world championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland with a lung infection. The Isle of Mann rider recently pulled out of September's Tour of Missouri after two stage wins with the same problem.

The B-sample requested by former Silence-Lotto rider Thomas Dekker has confirmed his positive drugs test for the banned blood-booster EPO, the Dutch ANP news agency reported on Wednesday. The wire service said that Dekker has accepted the findings and is awaiting his sanction. The sample was originally taken on December 24, 2007, but new procedures introduced since then allowed for further tests which revealed a positive reading for EPO and the rider was ruled out of this year's Tour de France three days before the start in July.

A glance down the world championship results sheet reconfirms the notion that the best way to assure a shot at the rainbow jersey is to race the Vuelta a España … and to finish it. The entire top 10 of the elite men’s road race Sunday in Mendrisio competed in the Vuelta. Most of them rode all the way to Madrid, and the three that didn’t finish the Vuelta shared a total of five stage victories.

Dear Explainer, My wife asked me on a ride out on the roads of North Boulder County "what causes washboards?" I promised her I'd pose the question to you; she's gotten wise to my usual male "authoritative sounding but full of BS answers." I used to think washboards were caused by the braking action of cars but their presence on straight away sections makes me rethink that theory. Dig deep, we need to know. Brook Watts Dear Brook,

Alberto Contador spent time this week speaking with Spanish school children about a new book by author Jordi Sierra i Fabra, a collection of stories about the cyclist's early years and the challenges he's faced in his career. The two-time Tour de France champion presented the book aimed at children, “Querer es Poder,” (Where there’s a will, there’s a way) to a group of students Monday, but one story he’d like to conclude is where he will race in 2010. Contador said everything remains undecided about his home for the upcoming season.

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Press Release

Press Release

Sixteen-year-old Neko Mulally went two-for-two at the first major gravity race at the new Vertical Earth Mountain Bike Park at Blue Mountain.

The UCI’s Licensing Commission has renewed the four-year ProTour license of the Italian Lampre team and a granted a one-year renewal to Milram, but denied the renewal applications of Bbox Bouygues Telecom and Cofidis. The license commission "has decided not to award a UCI ProTour license to the French teams Cofidis ... and Bbox Bouygues Telecom," the UCI said, without offering details for the refusal.

American national time trial champion Jessica Phillips didn’t win the elite women’s world time trial championship last week. She didn’t take a medal, or even finish in the top 10. And, designated as an alternate, she didn’t participate in Saturday’s road race, either. Yet just rolling out of the start ramp of the world time trial championship wearing national team colors was a victory in itself for the Aspen, Colorado, native. She finished 14th out of 41 starters, 2:11 behind the winner, U.S. teammate Kristin Armstrong.

Early retirement

In lieu of rim strips, Velocity’s plugs for eyeleted and non-eyeleted spoke holes are narrower than rim tape and reusable.

Dear Readers, As many of you know, I spent last week in Las Vegas, attending the Interbike trade show and the outdoor demo that preceded it. While my tech department colleagues and I have been posting stories and photos since the start, we’ll be doing more over the next few days. There was just so much there, it’s hard to offer even a glimpse at everything that struck us in a single story, or even two or three. Looking through my files last night, I spotted some interesting items I’d like to share with you today.

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Julien Absalon has won just about everything there is in the cross-country discipline and he's done it all on a 26-inch-wheeled Orbea Alma. Now you can ride like Julien. Well, actually you probably can't ride like him, but you can ride his bike.

Ryan Iddings (Lapiere) survived a hard-charging chase in the men's elite field and Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) dominated the women as the Seattle Cyclocross Series (SCX) kicked off in Washington this weekend. Sun, warmth and a dry, fast course greeted racers to start the largest 'cross series in Washington. Some hard core 'crossers felt a little guilty enjoying the sunshine on race day; but we all knew the rain and mud would be here soon enough so we might as well break out the lawn chairs and soak up the last bit of summer in Seattle with 650 of our closest racing buddies.

Check out the lines of 20 big-hit bombers in a slideshow from the rocky trails and bright lights of Interbike 2009. What was the take-away from Vegas? Options, options, options.

If after viewing these slideshows you have dreams of boosting tranny to tranny over the ultra-mega double-jump pimping one of these beauties in particular, pony up for it.

Professional bike racing in the U.S. is different from just about every European country. When they say "pro" there, it means everyone in the race makes money doing it. Not so in the U.S. For some, becoming a professional means little more than cherry picking a few smaller races and paying USA Cycling $150 for an elite license. It was easy to see the differing ability levels at CrossVegas, as almost half of the field ended up lapped.

David Espinoza (Penn State), Colleen Hayduk (Kutztown University of Pennsylvania) and David Williams (Marian University) turned in strong performances during the USA Cycling National Collegiate Track Championships, held last Thursday through Saturday at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. Racing started Thursday at the former Lehigh Valley Velodrome with Espinoza winning the kilometer meter time trial in 1:06:54, 2.3 seconds faster than runner-up Matthew Fox (Midwestern State).

Last year at Vermont's Green Mountain Cyclocross Weekend, Dan Timmerman (Richard Sachs/RGM Watches/Radix) made everyone take notice when he was the only rider to keep in sight of winner Jamey Driscoll. Now the Richard Sachs rider has ascended to the mountain top by sweeping the weekend and taking the overall series lead. Timmerman took advantage of his front-row position to establish a lead on the first lap of each day. Saturday quickly turned into a battle for second place, as no one was able to keep the Ithaca, New York, rider is sight. [nid:98800]

Despite its late-season date, a near-conflict with the Interbike expo and ’cross races around the country, the first-ever TD Bank Mayor’s Cup attracted a deep field of domestic pros and regional elite riders, to race through the warren-like streets of Boston’s government district. Of course, the purse — $40,000 split evenly between men and woman – may have given some racers a little extra incentive to extend their season.

Wamsley conquers the break

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Give Evans his due!

The future is bright for both U.S. men’s and women’s cycling. That’s according to USA Cycling’s director of athletics Jim Miller, who says there’s enough talent to assure more success by American riders on the road at the top levels of the sport. Miller says there’s plenty of firepower to fill the void left by the retirement of Olympic and world champion Kristin Armstrong on the women’s side as well as a bounty of prospects moving up from the U23 to the pro ranks on the men’s side.