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Clay doing what Clay loved to do.

After considering your opinions* regarding the magazine's top honor, international cyclist of the year, the North American male cyclist of the year and North American female cyclist of the year awe now move on to the category of Best men's road team of the year. After a full season of covering bicycle racing, the VeloNews crew hunkers down in a secret location and takes stock of the events and standout performances of the year. The 18th annual VeloNews awards will appear in the December 5 issue. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes not, our picks often trigger a flood of reader responses.

November 12, 2005 (Minneapolis) - Women and their supporters gatheredin Las Vegas at the Interbike trade show in September for the sixth YoplaitNouriche Women’s Cycling Summit. The fall 2005 Yoplait Nouriche Summitfocused on a highly successful entry-level racing program and on how teamscan give more value to their sponsors.   The full proceedingscan be found at WomenCyclists.comCycling Made Real – a grassroots program that worksPast Yoplait Nouriche Summits have identified Cycling Made Real asthe country’s most successful program for recruiting novice women to bicycleracing. 

We’ve been getting quite a few inquiries here at velonews.com about thefuture of the USPRO road championship. Just last week USA Cycling announcedthe time and location of all of next year's events except for USPRO.And as reported earlier this year, big changes are in store for the eventas the event will no longer be open to foreign racers. Over the years, the national championship, organized by Pennsylvania-basedrace promoter Threshold Sports, has been held as an open internationalevent in Philadelphia that has grown into the most important one-day eventin North American racing. But all

See anyone you know?

You remember this guy, don't you?

The victors.

Not your typical Sunday ride, eh?

The whole Barry-Demet family stopped by VeloNews international headquarters to discuss a new book deal.

Pay to the order of.....

Is this guy a DOPER?

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now up for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of ourmost recent contest. We could wax academic about the superior compositional elements of Ed Subias’s “SoCalCyclo-cross 2000,” but mostly we like it because we can taste metallic lactic acid just looking at it. Congratulations Ed! Drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.com to work out the details and we’ll send you a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes of Cycling."Go ahead and take a look at our latest gallery,decide what you like and let us

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Lack cycling heroes? Look for heroes who cycleEditor:A couple of letters in Friday's mailbag lamented the lack of cycling heroes. This reader long ago gave up on the "athlete hero." They're mostly overpaid, egotistic, pampered rich people. I do admire their athletic prowess -

VeloNews Photo Contest: Last week's winner and a new gallery

Ullrich - seen here in Austria during the Tour of Germany - is trying to decide whether the Giro will help or hinder his Tour chances.

The Gavia was the scene of an epic showdown in the 2000 Giro...

... a battle won by none other than Lampre's Gilberto Simoni

The sprint king may take a pass on the Giro

Sunday's EuroFile: A climbers' Giro; Reactions mixed

Nijs strikes a familiar pose.

Groenendaal set an early pace...

... and helped establish the winning break...

... but always had that teammate of his right on his wheel.

In 11th place on Sunday, Wellens has not had the season he'd hoped for.

Bishop was one of many who flatted on Saturday

Jaikel had a unique mechanical problem

2006 Giro route unveiled

Millar hopes to ride the 2006 Tour

The route of the 2006 Giro d'Italia

Two-time Giro winner Gilberto Simoni points to what he hopes will be another route to victory

Campos moves into the lead

While unsure of the specifics, most agree that the `06 Giro will be a tough race. Too tough?

You messin' with me? A focused Magen Long awaits the start of crit’ nationals.

Manzano not surprised

Gravity dudes Jared Rando, David K and Andrew Neethling before racing the STXC in Utah.

Cameron Chambers soaked up some mud in Boerne, Texas

Luna Chix teammates Alison Dunlap and Katerina Hanusova.

A ghostly white Adam Craig won a free hosing down, not to mention the XC in Texas.

Adam Craig bustin’ out of his skinsuit.

Jelly Belly’s Alex Candelario sported a sling after breaking his collar bone in Redlands.

Phone home: Cody Warren had to call someone after winning the Dual in Deer Valley, Utah.

Alison Dunlap showed she was virtually unbeatable in a paved sprint at Sea Otter.

Tears of joy? Several weeks after finishing third at the Angel Fire World Cup, Erwin Bakker was busted for EPO.

The men in Orange: Kona’s Ryan Trebon, Barry Wicks and Peter Wedge

Nice shades: Yeti’s Ross Milan coaches high school wrestling. How cool is that?

Thanks, Elke! Trent Lowe’s tan lines get a rubdown from team soigneur Elke Brutsaert.

After losing the USPRO crit nationals by a hair, all Dave McCook could do was ponder what could have been.

Trek/VW’s Sue Haywood and Jeremiah Bishop workin the autograph table

Brian Lopes shows Jared Graves how to take a victory slug of victory champagne.

Jill Kintner enjoyed a moment to herself before the 4X in Angle Fire, New Mexico.

Can Frischknecht compete on the Costa Ricans' turf Uh huh

Guess who! Mary McConneloug sneaks up on Sue Haywood at the Sea Otter classic.

Bishop still managed fifth despite the atomic bonk

A soggy night at the Athens Twilight Criterium

Not your average mountain-bike race

Oswaldo Olmos took school pride to the next level at collegiate road nationals.

Jared Graves shows some bling and keeps the tags on.

At the end of the 2005 race season, I found myself with a hard drive chock-full of strange images from the year’s racing scene. Most (if not all) are on their way to an eternity in the digital afterlife, having been erased to make way for next year’s crop. But before I 86ed all of the images, I felt compelled to share a few with you. For whatever reason, none of these shots made it into a velonews.com race report this year. That said, more than a couple are worth looking at. Enjoy.

The NORBA XC crowd.

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Regarding Heras: Wait for the ‘B’ testEditor:Hey, guys, before you start poking Roberto Heras with sharp pointy sticks, maybe you ought to wait and see what the result of the "B" test is. I've worked in molecular-biology labs for over 30 years and there is no such thing as a test with

Now married, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Heather Irmiger after both winning the XC in Brian Head, Utah.

Descente Named Official Cycling Apparel of Team CSCTeam CSC, ranked number one professional cycling team in the world,chooses Descente for its quality, brand strength, advanced product developmentand legacy.BOULDER, CO — November 9, 2005 — Descente Cycling Apparel, licensedand distributed exclusively by Axcent Sports in North America, Europe,Australia and elsewhere, has been named the official cycling apparel supplierto the Team CSC professional cycling team, based in Denmark and run byRiis Cycling.The team, comprised of 30 of the top cyclists in the world, includesIvan Basso, a top pick to

Hincapie will enjoy a new status at the `06 Tour

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Where is the outrage?Editor,Is it just me or is Rabobank acting quite suspiciously regarding the Heras positive? Theo De Rooy states that winning that way "wouldn'tmean anything to us."Is there no anger that their man may have been cheated out of a title by a suspected doper? No joy

Heras says he's confident that he won't have to give up his fourth Vuelta title.

Heras as he prepared to ride into Madrid this year

Menchov (L) isn't thrilled with the prospect of winning the Vuelta this way

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Hey, business is businessVeloNews,There is an article in the Saturday, November 5th edition of the San Francisco Chronicle explaining how Health Net, the nation's largest HMO (and professional cycling team sponsor), is about to let a four-year-old child die (see "Family fights an HMO

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now up for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of ourmost recent contest. Austin Seroogy’s shot of two cyclo-cross racers remounting after clearing the sandy run-up at Boulder Reservoir was one of those rare perfectly timed photos that catches the essence of a sporting event. Congratulations Austin! Contact us and you win a copy of Graham Watson's "Landscapes of Cycling."Go ahead and take a look at our latest gallery,decide what you like and let us know what you think by dropping a noteto

Roberto Heras – winner of an unprecedented fourth Vuelta a España crown this September – has been released by his Liberty Seguros team after tests indicated that he had used EPO prior to stage 20 of this year’s Vuelta. The UCI notified the team on October 27 that Heras, 31, had tested positivefor the banned blood booster EPO in samples given after the Vuelta’s penultimatestage, an individual time trial from Guadalajara to Alcalá de Henares, in which Heras finished second, just two seconds slower than winner Ruben Plaza(Comunidad Valenciana). “Roberto Heras was released from the team

Not quite 2004, but Voeckler has no regrets

Wong loved the course

Noble shows 'em the way

VeloNews Photo Contest: Last week's winner and a new gallery

Heras tested positive after his strong performance in the stage 20 TT

Boonen may retire at 30

Bessette remains the undisputed Queen of `Cross in North America

Johnson took off early and stayed off the front

Greg Reain gives chase