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USA Cycling published its 2009 National Racing Calendar over the weekend, with several surprises, including the Dana Point Grand Prix of Cycling, held April 26, the new Oregon Pro Cycling Race, the June 21 Tour of Winghaven in St. Louis, the July 26 Chicago Criterium and August 8 Tour of Elk Grove, and the San Francisco Twilight Criterium, held September 5. Gone from this year’s NRC schedule are the Sequoia Cycling Classic, the Garrett Lemire Memorial Grand Prix, the Sea Otter Classic, the AT&T Austin Downtown Crit and the Cox Charities Cycling Classic.

American junior Zach McDonald finished second to Dutch rider Corné Van Kessel on Thursday in the GP Sven Nys in Baal, Belgium. McDonald crossed 14 seconds behind Van Kessel to take the runner-up spot with Belgian Sean De Bie (Kon. Balen B.C. V.Z.W.) third at 0:21. In the elite men’s race, Nys (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) won in 57:51, nine seconds up on Czech Zdenek Stybar (Fidea) with Belgian Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) third at 0:25.

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I’ve been in Europe since nationals, a little over two weeks actually and usually by this point in my trip I’m tired and ready to a break and relax for a couple days. A year wiser and happier makes such a difference. This year I made a tough decision to skip the Nommay World Cup in France when I got to Europe, let myself recover, get settled in my new home away from home and then give it the stick in the hardest races of the year.

Twenty teams have committed to racing in the 2009 Tour de Langkawi, the Malaysian stage race scheduled to run from February 9 to 15. The Tour de Langkawi is slated to start in Putrajaya, the home of Malaysian government, and finishing in the country’s capital Kuala Lumpur with the traditional criterium at Dataran Merdeka.

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Torque wrenches and temperature ranges Dear Lennard, I own both deflecting beam and click-type (Giustaforza) torque wrenches. They are stored in my garage where the temperature can get below freezing in the winter and over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. Do torque wrenches need to be stored and used within a certain temperature range to maintain accuracy? Gary Answer from Effetto Mariposa:

It seems that joining the international calendar may not have been as important as Tour of the Battenkill Valley promoter Dieter Drake initially thought. Even after being denied a spot on the UCI America Tour in early December — largely due to concerns over the race’s mix of dirt and paved roads — the two-day event has secured a major presenting sponsor in the form of microprocessor manufacturer AMD, and registered nearly 1,300 in the week registration opened.

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California Giant-Specialized has announced its roster for the 2009 racing season. Three riders will leave the squad to move up to the pro ranks — Andy Jacques-Maynes to Bissell Pro Cycling, Ken Hanson to Team Type 1 and Max Jenkins to the Danish team Glud & Marstrand Horsens.

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Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Two-time Tour Down Under winner Stuart O'Grady will lead Denmark's Team CSC Saxo Bank in Australia’s premiere stage race next month, organizers announced Monday. O'Grady, 35, who won the inaugural tour in 1999 and again in 2001, has ridden in the Tour de France since 1998 and won the gold medal in the Madison at the 2004 Athens Olympics. "Stuart has won here twice before and I know he will hit the race hard, looking to add a third title to his crown," race director Mike Turtur said in a statement.

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Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Dutchman Thijs Al (Be One) won the cyclocross world cup in Friday in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, prevailing over Belgians Kevin Pauwels and Sven Vanthourenhout. The top American male was Jamey Driscoll in 26th, followed closely by new U.S. champion Ryan Trebon in 27th. American national champ Katie Compton (Spike) was fourth. Compton won the Nommay, France, world cup, but her husband Mark Legg said she had bad legs Friday. "On the race day the legs didn't feel good and she couldn't open it on on the road or fast pedaling sections," Legg said. [nid:86170]

It's been a big year in professional cycling and the editorial staff at VeloNews took some time to look back at 2008 for our 21st annual awards issue.

Topping the list is the magazine's pick for International Cyclist of the Year, Alberto Contador. In the past, our editors' picks have often been at odds with those of our readers, but there seemed to be a strong consensus for 2008. A VeloNews.com reader poll showed overwhelming support for the man who won two of cycling's three grand tours this year.

Team Type 1 has hired a new director sportif, Vassili Davidenko, and a new assistant director, Gord Fraser, for the 2009 season. Davidenko was Team Type 1’s assistant director last year under Ed Beamon, who is not returning, the team said. “We were very fortunate to have someone with Ed’s experience to help guide us down the path of success in our first year,” said Team Type 1 General Manager Tom Schuler. “With Vassili and Gord, we have two former pros who can also relate well to the challenges a rider faces on and off the bike.”

The Amgen Tour of California will be expanded in 2009, covering more than 800 miles over nine days and visiting 16 host cities, race presenter AEG announced Wednesday. The fourth Amgen Tour will begin February 14 with a road stage in Sacramento — a first for the race — and finish in Escondido on February 22. Also for the first time, the riders will cross the Golden Gate Bridge at the beginning of stage 3.

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was among the guests earlier this week as the country's first fully professional cycling team, Katyusha, convened in chilly Moscow.

Managed by former Paris-Roubaix winner Andre Tchmil, Katyusha features some of cycling's elder statesmen like Australian Robbie McEwen and Filippo Pozzato of Italy, as well as younger talents such as former Olympic points race champion Mikhail Ignatiev.

It is the first Russian-owned team to compete in European cycling's elite, and will do so as of January 200

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Riders Elodie Touffet and Claudia Häusler, along with sports director Patrick Banfi, have signed with Cervelo TestTeam, the squad has announced. Touffet has been a member of Gauss RDZ Ormu (2008), Menikini-Selle Italia-Gysko (2007), Nobili-Rubinetterie-Menikini-Cogeas (2006) and Pruneaux d”agen (2005), with French National Championship rankings of third in 2006 and fourth in 2007.

Though BMC's Jeff Louder has not made a point of getting out of the cold and snow Utah has offered these last few weeks, he has been pleased with the results from his creative training regime. Content to make use of the wintry conditions by snowshoeing and skate-skiing, Louder nevertheless is looking forward to returning to riding on the road at the team training camp in California, as this chat with team media rep Georges Luechinger makes clear. Q: How are you coping in the cold; has it been snowing for you since September?

Ridding the rim of remnants
Dear Lennard,
I have some carbon tubular rims that I glued Vredestein Fortezzas into, and when I removed them there were parts of the casing stuck to the rim (I think it might have been latex that covered the casing but it wasn't able to be removed before mounting). Is there a safe way to remove this substance from a carbon rim?
Jared Dear Jared,

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The United States’ best-ever female collegiate cyclist is not an American. But someday she might be. South Africa’s Carla Swart, 21, just capped off a mind-boggling collegiate campaign, taking an unprecedented 11 national (both individual and team) titles in road, mountain bike, cyclocross and track. Grabbing that many jerseys in a single year is a feat that no collegiate racer ? man or woman ? has yet accomplished in the history of the National Collegiate Cycling Association.

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Italian UCI ProTour teams Liquigas and Lampre-NGC have confirmed their entries for Australia's Tour Down Under next month, organizers said Monday. Liquigas finished fourth overall in the team classification in the 2008 Tour Down Under and race director Mike Turtur said he expected the team to be competitive again in next month's tour around Adelaide in South Australia. This year Francesco Chicchi of Liquigas won stage seven of the Tirreno-Adriatico and was first in a stage of the Settimana internazionale di Coppi e Bartali.

World champion Lars Boom and U.S. women’s champion Katie Compton scored big wins in a muddy World Cup cyclocross race in Nommay, France, on Sunday. Compton topped a strong ride in the women’s field, earning first place as she edged out world champion Hanka Kupfernagel by 19 seconds. Fellow Americans Georgia Gould and Rachel Lloyd finished in third and eighth places at 24 seconds and 2:17 respectively.

Stefan Schumacher told a German newspaper on Sunday that despite the fact that he tested positive for CERA at this summer’s Tour de France that he “never resorted to doping” and fully intends to ride for Quick Step in 2009. Despite his plans to ride, Schumacher conceded that he has is uncertain if he will be able to pull it off in time to join the Belgian team. "I am innocent, I like my job,” Schumacher told Germany’s Sonntag Aktuell. “I'm only 27 years old and I'm super motivated. I want to win races and want to get my career back on track.”

The Astana cycling team on Sunday has denied earlier reports that Lance Armstrong would compete in next year's Tour of the Sarthe-Loire. Organizers said on Saturday the American seven-time Tour de France winner had confirmed his participation in the April 7 to 10 event. The Kazakh-financed team, however, issued a statement on Sunday denying that Armstrong is confirmed. "Contrary to certain announcements, Lance Armstrong will not be competing in the Tour of the Sarthe-Loire. Astana will confirm Lance Armstrong's schedule once it is finalized."

Australia’s Hilton Clarke (formerly with Toyota-United) and Russian Boris Shpilevsky (formerly with Preti Mangimi) are the two latest signings of the team FUJI-SERVETTO for the 2009 season. With these two transfers, the team’s lineup raises up to 23 riders, the minimum amount required by the UCI for ProTour teams.   Clarke will start his ninth season as professional rider. He has raced almost his entire pro career in the U.S., starting with the NetZero team in 2001. He did race in 2003 for in Europe for Barloworld. He will make his debut with the new team at the Tour Down Under.

Cervélo TestTeam has signed Heinrich Haussler of Germany and Jose Angel Gómez Marchante of Spain.  Born and raised in Australia, Haussler moved to Germany to pursue cycling in 1999.  His wins include a stage in the Vuelta a Espana (2005), two stages in the Vuelta a Murcia, and a stage in the Dauphiné Libéré (2007). José Àngel Gómez Marchante rode for Saunier-Duval (and subsequently Scott-American Beef) starting in 2005.His career highlight to date is an overall victory at the Vuelta al País Vasco in 2006 after winning the final time trial.   

Organizers for the Tour of Italy said on Friday that Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara will join former seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong on the start line for the centenary 2009 edition. It promises to be one of the strongest Giro line-ups in recent history with Italian former winners Ivan Basso — returning from a two-year doping suspension — Damiano Cunego and Danilo Di Luca as well as Spaniard Carlos Sastre, the current Tour de France champion, amongst the riders.

Besides Lance Armstrong, Astana's team roster for next month's Tour Down Under in Australia includes three riders from the 2008 Giro d'Italia, organizers said Friday. Also riding for Astana as Armstrong makes his return to professional cycling is Jose Luis Ruberia who rode in five of the Texan's Tour de France-winning teams. "We all know that Lance Armstrong is a champion, but the rest of his Astana teammates heading Down Under should not be underestimated," race director Mike Turtur said. Giro winner Alberto Contador will not be taking part in Tour Down Under.

Editor's Note: Tom LeCarner, VeloNews' copy editor, is an avid cyclist who has been unable to ride and train for most of 2008 because of knee pain. He is being treated at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and using Specialized Body Geometry equipment and services at Specialized's expense, and reporting on his progress in regular columns.

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Colors: Khaki Sizes: 30 to 38 inch waist Price: $90 Web site: www.cordarounds.com You may not be a "hardcore" commuter, but there's a good chance you use two wheels to get around town every once in awhile. In that case, a good pair of commuting pants that are not made of lycra may be just right for you. [nid:86098]

Size: 12" x 12"[nid:86095] Price: $13.95 Web site: www.velogear.com Collected by the editors of VeloNews, here's a full year of the best photographs of road cycling, from the spring classics to cyclocross. Full 12" by 12" color photographs.

Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri on Thursday asked for disgraced cyclist Leonardo Piepoli to be banned for two years. Piepoli failed a dope test during July's Tour de France for a variant of blood-booster EPO that was undetectable at the time but was later found in re-tested samples. The 37-year-old, who had failed to show for a previous hearing in October, denied knowingly doping during his 20-minute hearing to which he arrived without his lawyer.

German cyclist Stefan Schumacher, who failed two drugs tests at the Tour de France, confirmed Thursday he was suing the French anti-doping authorities (AFLD) for defamation. A statement issued by Schumacher's lawyer Michael Lehner said: "These tests were undertaken ... with a number of possibilities of blood contamination, of mixing up samples and other circumstances which could have distorted the result." The 27-year-old Schumacher is one of four riders to have failed drugs tests at this year's Tour de France.

Fluid and energy packaged together appeals to cyclists.

Bad days come and go. Everyone has one, no one’s immune to a real day “rocker.” It just happens. Well folks, I had mine last weekend and it sucked. Another year is gone and the opportunity at the national title will have to wait 362 days before I get another crack at that jersey. The race was over and done with and I barely even showed up to the race. I never put my face in the wind, I didn’t contribute to my teammates and it was the day I was dreamin’ and screaming about all season long!

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The Versus cable network will broadcast 30-minute daily reports from the Tour Down Under, the Australian race that will mark Lance Armstrong's return to stage racing next month. Versus also will webcast the entire final stage of the January 20-24 event on www.VERSUS.com. The half-hour telecasts will air at 4 p.m. ET except for the January 24 telecast which will air at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The 2009 Tour of Spain will begin in the Netherlands, in the first overseas launch of the race in more than 12 years, organizers announced Wednesday.