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Last year Team Columbia dominated the Tour of Ireland, taking four stages and the overall title. Shortened from five to three days this year, the Irish tour will again host Columbia’s powerhouse squad, with star sprinter Mark Cavendish, world time trial champion Bert Grabsch, 2008 race winner Marco Pinotti and American Craig Lewis among those taking the start.

Francisco Mancebo and Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing) pulled off a one-two finish in the first stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah on Wednesday. The tandem sprang away from the fadiing peloton on the climb above East Canyon Dam and extended their lead to a maximum of 35 seconds before coming through the finish on the outskirts of Salt Lake City together, 25 seconds ahead of a disorganized chase group that contained overnight leader Brent Bookwalter (BMC). The result vaulted Mancebo into the overall lead over Sevilla by 9 seconds.

Cervelo is bringing three crowd-drawing racers to the Tour of Missouri: Tour de France green jersey winner Thor Hushovd, Tour stage winner Heinrich Haussler, and up-and-coming American stage racer Ted King. Haussler and Hushovd are sure to battle with Columbia's Mark Cavendish for stage wins in Missouri.

Kabush on a tear and Koerber ends dry spell in New York. But it's Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Catharine Pendrel who take overall Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour titles.

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Mountain bike birthers speak up against Levi

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) sprinted to victory in the 184km first stage at the 5th Eneco Tour on Wednesday in Belgium. A major crash marred the finale into Ardooie, Belgium, sending scores of riders somersaulting to the ground in a high-speed melee. Farrar avoided the mishap and darted to victory, sprinting ahead of Tom Boonen (Quick Step), with Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia-HTC) coming through third.

Dutch classics rider Servais Knaven isn’t done yet. The 38-year-old signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him in a Milram jersey through the 2010 season. “I am looking forward to the coming year. I thank the Team Milram and manager Gerry Van Gerwen for the trust they have in me,” said Knaven. “I enjoy riding on this team. You can feel the great (talent) and I want to do my part to contribute to the team’s success.”

Start List – 2009 Tour of Ireland

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Defending champion Jeff Louder's BMC Racing Team put a resounding stamp on the first day of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in Tuesday evening's prologue, placing four riders in the top ten with Brent Bookwalter taking the win beneath the Utah State Capitol Building. Bookwalter blazed through the foothills above Salt Lake City to win the 2.8-mile prologue with a time of 6:12. Garmin-Slipstream’s Dave Zabriskie stopped the clock two seconds off Bookwalter’s pace in 6:14. Ian McKissick (BMC) rounded out the podium less than half a second outside of Zabriskie’s time.

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How do the big races produce custom leaders' jerseys so fast?

Why does my bike 'autoshift'?

Why is my bottom bracket noisy?

Can I retrofit QR15 legs on my SID fork?

Over the years Jeff Louder (BMC) has been a pretty noticeable guy at The Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic – he’s been on too many stage podiums to count, and has finished in the top three overall five times, including third overall at the 2009 race, which concluded July 26. At this year’s race, he stood out in another way – he had an odd circular pink and black object stuck to the top of his helmet.

As dorky as using GPS on a mountain bike might seem, the technology has real benefits, especially when it comes to safety and risk management.

When Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) says he’s on good form, you better believe him. Fresh off sprinting to victory in Sunday’s Hamburg Cyclassics race in Germany, Farrar came within a whisker of winning the opening prologue at the Eneco Tour, which clicked into gear Tuesday with a 4.4km course.

Start List – 2009 Tour of Utah

BMC Pro Cycling Team
• 1. Jeff Louder
• 2. Brent Bookwalter
• 3. Steve Bovay
• 4. Jonathan Garcia
• 5. Ian Mckissick
• 6. Jackson Stewart
• 7. Chris Barton
• 8. Chad Beyer

Garmin/Felt
• 11. Peter Stetina
• 12. Peter Salon
• 13. Raymond Kreder
• 14. Taylor Shelden
• 15. Walker Savidge
• 16. Kirk Carlsen
• 17. Alex Howes
• 18.

The National Racing Calendar rolls into Salt Lake City Tuesday evening as the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah returns in 2009 to challenge the mountain goats of the North American peloton. The five-stage race covers 325 miles and features many of the most demanding climbs in northern Utah.

Gary Fisher is best known for producing innovative, race winning and fun-to-ride mountain bikes. That’s all about to change. With the introduction of the Gary Fisher road bike line in 2010, you can expect to associate the Fisher brand with both the dirt and the tarmac. Already, the Kelly Benefit Strategies pro team has ridden the Gary Fisher Cronus to major wins with the Tour de Beauce, by Scott Zwizanksi and most recently the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium by David Veilleux.

Tyler Farrar notched the most important victory of his career this past Sunday in the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg, Germany. The classic win capped a break-out year for the 25-year-old Garmin-Slipstream rider, who’s won a stage at Tirreno-Adriatico, the overall at the Delta Tour Zeeland and five top-5s at the Tour de France so far this season. And he’s not finished yet.

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Lance Armstrong says he'd bet on a professional stage race returning to Colorado in 2011, in part because Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter is "motivated and eager" to make it happen. Armstrong, speaking to reporters after winning the Leadville Trail 100 on Saturday, also said he hasn't decided whether to race in the 2010 Tour of California, which has been moved back to May and now conflicts with the Giro d'Italia. On the Colorado tour, Armstrong says he remains in close touch with Ritter.

Knee pain has forced Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen to pull out of what was to have been his comeback race, the Eneco Tour, his Katusha team announced Monday. McEwen suffered several injuries, including a fractured tibia, in a crash on the Tour of Belgium at the end of May. But despite hoping to make a comeback at the Eneco Tour, the 12-time Tour de France stage winner has been advised to wait. "Doctors can't guarantee him that his knee will support the intense, repetitive efforts of racing," one of his team managers, Bart Leysen, said.

Giant enters 2010 full of confidence in its long-travel line and engineering; a progression set to compete with any bike in any category.

Wet and wild would not even begin to describe the conditions for Sunday’s U.S. criterium national championships in Downers Grove outside Chicago. Torrential rains soaked the elite amateur men's field and thunderstorms delayed the pro men's race by an hour. The slick course caused crash after crash, turning the races into survival contests and dashing the hopes of favorites.

STANLEY GEAR Expands Sponsorship of The US Gran Prix of Cyclocross for 2009 Organizers of the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross, (USGP) have announced that Stanley food and beverage gear has expanded its support of the country’s premiere cyclocross series by becoming the Title Sponsor of the Stanley Portland Cup in Portland, OR December 5th and 6th and extending its support to the other series events as well.

After a relatively quiet week last week, things are cracking across Europe. There’s stage racing in France, Ireland and Holland, a women’s World Cup and the Trittico Lombardo across northern Italy. 5th Eneco Tour (Ned, ProTour) August 18-25 Now in its fifth year, the Eneco Tour was born for the ProTour to bring the series to the important Benelux market, one of bike racing’s hotbeds. Bobby Julich won the inaugural edition in 2005 and José Ivan Gutiérrez (Caisse d’Epargne) is the two-time defending champion.

Colombian climbing ace Maurcio Soler will leave Barloworld to ride for Caisse d’Epargne in 2010. That’s according to the Spanish wire service EFE, who reports Soler will join the Spanish team run by manager Eusebio Unzue. The 26-year-old Colombian burst onto the scene in 2007, when he won a stage and the King of the Mountains polka-dot jersey.