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Media and fans swarmed Lance Armstrong before the start of the Tour of Ireland, which kicked off at the Ritz-Carlton in Powerscourt, just south of Dublin. The hundreds of people pressing in on the Tour de France star confirmed what Leadville Trail 100 organizers already knew: Armstrong brings the crowds. Tour of Ireland project director Darach McQuaid said Armstrong’s presence means a lot to the organizing committee.

Romain Feillu (Agritubel) snatched the sprint in Friday’s finale at the 42nd Tour du Limousin as the main bunch roared into Limoges for the fourth and final stage. Feillu out-kicked Perrick Fedrigo (BBox) to claim the 180.1km stage from Chalus to Limoges to wrap-up the four-day stage race across western France. Mathieu Perget (Caisse d’Epargne) finished safely in the pack to claim the overall victory, the first stage-race win of his young professional career.

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The 800-pound gorilla

Russell Downing (CandiTV) outkicked two Saxo Bank riders out of a small group to win the first stage of the 2009 Tour of Ireland. Astana and Saxo Bank drove the peloton hard up and over the day’s categorized climbs, shattering the field and setting a group of 23 riders free with just under 40km to go. Alexander Kolobnev and Matti Breschel (both Saxo Bank) finished second and third ahead of Philip Deignan (Cervélo) on the 196km stage from Powerscourt to Waterford.

Singletrack designed by and for mountain bikers gives riders a reason to discover the Northern California coast near Shelter Cove.

Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won the third stage of the Eneco Tour at Hasselt, Belgium, on Friday, edging out overall leader Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Slipstream in a sprint finish which saw Italian Francesco Chicchi take third spot. "I had earmarked this stage and it's super to have won it," said Boonen. "It was really nice today to have been riding in my home region. We went right past my parents' place and my village, my house, my training ground."

Nearly 700 racers lined up for the Trek Border Battle, the eighth race in the Wisconsin Off Road Series.

Française des Jeux’s Yoann Offredo has been ruled out of next week’s Vuelta a España, after suffering injuries in the Eneco Tour. The 22-year-old Offredo crashed in the second stage of the Eneco Tour on Thursday and suffered a collarbone fracture. Offredo had been listed on Française des Jeux’s preliminary start list for the Vuelta.

It was nearly déjà vu in the finale of stage 2 at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Wednesday as Darren Lill (Team Type 1) sped away from a select group of chasers on the climb to Mt. Nebo. Lill was not to be denied the stage win as he was by Garmin’s Blake Caldwell in stage 2 in 2008, staying away on the slopes of the highest point in the Wasatch for the solo win.

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Before the Winter Park Mountain Bike Series concludes Aug. 29, racers dealt with the Mary Jane Circuit Course and cold temps.

Heading into the Tour de France, Garmin-Slipstream’s Christian Vande Velde didn’t know what to expect. After a breakthrough ride in 2008, where he finished as the top American in fourth place, Vande Velde started the 2009 season as the team’s primary GC hope at the world’s biggest bike race.

Think mountain biking in places like Gotham is an urban myth? Think again. Try Philly, Boston, NYC and Houston for starters.

In just a few years on the US market, Shimano’s PRO component line has already achieved good visibility. Lately prominent on the bikes of Columbia-HTC riders and of course those of Skil-Shimano, PRO bars, stems, and other parts appear destined for reasonably broad acceptance.

PRESS RELEASE

The Irish National Team will begin the Tour of Ireland with one rider missing from the roster. Paul Healion, who won the sixth stage of the FBD Insurance Ras this year, was killed in a car crash Sunday. His funeral was Thursday, the day before the Tour of Ireland kicked off. There will be a minute of silence for him at the start of stage 1. “It’s difficult to go to his funeral the day before the race,” said Mark Cassidy of Sean Kelly’s An Post squad. Healion was 31, and recently married. No others were involved in the single-car crash.

At any given pro bike race, there are hundreds of hard-life stories that line up at the start every day. The story of Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN-Energade), however, is unusual among them. Coming from Rwanda, where six of his brothers were killed in the 1994 genocide, Niyonshuti got a pro contract for this year after winning the 2008 Tour of Rwanda. Now Niyonshuti is about to start his first pro European event at the Tour of Ireland. [nid:96865]

American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) won the second stage of the Eneco Tour on Thursday, further consolidating his hold on the overall lead. Farrar won a field sprint at the end of a 178.1km stage from Ardooie to Brussels, adding to the sprint win he earned in stage 1 on Wednesday. Farrar outsprinted Yauheni Hutarovich (Française des Jeux) and Columbia-HTC’s Edvald Boasson Hagen for the win in Brussels. The stage was marked by several breakaway attempts, the last of which was reeled in just 500 meters from the line.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Felt Bicycles has issued a voluntary recall of about 1450 2007/2008 F1X Cyclocross bicycles. The bicycle’s fork steerer tube can break, causing the rider to lose control, fall and suffer injuries. There have been six reports of these forks breaking with minor injuries reported in two of the incidents. The recall includes all 2007/2008 Felt F1X Cyclocross Bicycles. These bicycles are available in Semi-Matte Black and have aluminum frames with carbon fiber forks with aluminum steerer tubes.