Road

German sprint ace Erik Zabel admitts that he’ll probably miss racing, but says his retirement announcement is permanent. With scores of riders committing to comebacks, Zabel insists that, at 38, his farewell at the end of this season will be for good. “I’m sure I will feel a little bit nostalgic, but without a doubt it will be a relief,” Zabel told German reporters during a break at the Six Days of Munich track event. “When you’re not active, you live with less risk. Races with wet roads, snow, crashes … to think that all this is over is very agreeable.”

I just returned from Europe after visiting both the Milan bike show and a Formula 1 team in Silverstone, England that designs and has built aerodynamic carbon handlebars and bikes. At the Milan show, big news was the acquisition of Italian suspension maker Marzocchi by Tenneco, Inc. of Lake Forest, Illinois through the assumption of Marzocchi’s approximately $15 million in debt. Tenneco will lease Marzocchi’s Bologna manufacturing plant and will take over Marzocchi sales, marketing and customer service operations in the USA and Canada and purchasing and sales operations in Taiwan.

The Cervélo Test Team continues to add names to its lineup, this time bringing on 25-year-old Oscar Pujol to the new team for the 2009 season. Pujol, a close friend and training partner of Tour de France champion and top Cervélo recruit Carlos Sastre, turned pro this year with the Burgos Monumental continental Spanish team.

Colors: Black, Green, Red Sizes: Small to XX Large Price: $54.95 Web site: www.knog.com.au The Love Hate Gloves from the Australia-based company Knog, with “love” and “hate” stitched across the knuckles are made with goatskin leather. For extra durability, they have double stitched the key wear points. To improve breathability the gloves are perforated along the outsides of the glove and most notably along the strap.

Trek-Volkswagen rider Jeremiah Bishop claimed the men's win at this weekend’s 10th annual Iceman Cometh, a Michigan mountain bike race that caps registration at 2000 because of its immense popularity. In his first attempt, Bishop set a course record on the 27-mile course of 1:28:31. In the women's race, Amanda Carey (Kenda Titus Hayes), finished in 1:45:45, more than two minutes ahead of Susan Stevens (Brodie) and Heather Irmiger (Gary Fisher).

Nineteen year old Pete Ostroski in Intervale, New Hampshire, won this weekend's Porky Gulch Classic, an unusual omnium race held at Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Ostroski won two of the weekend's three events: the Toughest Two hillclimb, which ascends the first two miles of the Mount Washington Auto Road; and the Story Land Criterium, held on a hilly, narrow course inside a children's amusement park. In the Porky's third event, the Rockpile Rampage cyclocross race, Ostroski finished second to Todd Wheelden, who was second on the first two events and wound up second overall.

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Price: $29.99 Web site: www.pedros.com The Pedro's Trixie is an all-around tool for the single-speed or fixed gear rider. With no moving parts and all the necessary tools extruded out of hardened steal, it screams durability and practicality. The Trixie is small enough to be carried in a jean pocket, but more comfortably in one of the pen sleeves of your messenger bag.

Monique Ryan reviews a new study on caffeine consumption after exercise

Recently retired pro Rik Verbrugghe will join Quick Step as the Belgian team’s fifth sport director in 2009. The 34-year-old Belgian announced his retirement at the end of this season with Cofidis and will quickly step into the shoes as sport director at Quick Step, where he rode for one season in 2005.

Triple grand tour winner Alberto Contador says he is pleased with his recent trip to the United States to work on his time trial position at a San Diego wind tunnel. Contador, who won the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España within 14 months, said he made some changes to his position, but still has room for improvement.

Fabian Cancellara’s list of “must-wins” is growing shorter by the season. Just in 2008, the self-styled Spartacus added Milan-San Remo and the Olympic time trial gold medal to his career victories that already includes Paris-Roubaix, two world time trial championships and runs in the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. So what else left for the 27-year-old Swiss time machine?

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The UCI C2 HPCX served as the seventh round of the MAC Powered by SRAM Cyclocross Series on Sunday. Unlike the previous day’s sandfest at the Beacon Cyclocross in southern New Jersey, Sunday’s race meandered through a large grassy park next to the business district of Jamesburg. At 2.7 km, the course was technically one of the shortest on this year’s MAC circuit, but the combination of turns, hills and heavy ground from the previous day’s rainstorm made for long lap times, in the eight minute range for the Elite Men.

The BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series took to the property surrounding the Frank IX and Sons silk factory in downtown Charlottesville Virginia Sunday. Riders raved about the course- lots of fun but very difficult both technically and physically. The course included a sand pit as well as stairs constructed just for the race. The hot cider and fresh donuts from Carpe Donut were much appreciated in the cool morning hours, however the racing heated things up quickly.

Gathering winds blew in cloud cover and relatively cooler temperatures for an afternoon of Elite UCI racing in Los Angeles. The second-annual UCI Dam Cross race is the only UCI (class-two) CX event held in California this year. The 3.17-kilometer course was set at the base of LA’s Hansen Dam, snaking around and through an oak studded, bowl shaped park.

World champions Lars Boom (Rabobank) and Hanka Kupfernagel won the third round of the UCI’s World Cup of cyclocross, in Pijnacker, the Netherlands, on Sunday. In the men's race, the 22-year-old Boom grabbed the win ahead of Belgian Niels Albert (Palmans) and Belgian champion Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet). Boom took an early lead on the first lap, with only Albert and Nys able to hold his wheel. The three traded the lead with attacks from each throughout the race.

Lance Armstrong says he isn’t responsible for the dismal state of Filippo Simeoni’s career, nor has he ever done anything to intimidate the Italian champion. In an interview with VeloNews Saturday, the seven-time Tour de France winner said he was bothered by Simeoni’s comments as they appeared in the Spanish daily AS and later reported on VeloNews.com.

Roberto Heras, the Spanish rider who saw his 2005 Vuelta a España title stripped for a doping offense, is still holding out hope that he can return to the professional peloton. Unlike other riders who’ve returned from doping bans to secure teams, Heras has had trouble finding a contract, especially among ProTour squads that have been hesitant to sign the Spanish climber.

Two-time Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans isn’t losing any sleep over the prospect of Lance Armstrong’s return to racing. Back in his native Australia for a visit, Evans told the media outlet ABC that Armstrong would need to be at his best if the Texan hopes to win an eighth Tour crown.

Reigning Italian national champion Filippo Simeoni blasted the comeback of Lance Armstrong and said he would have nothing to say to the Texan if the pair ends up racing the 2009 Giro d’Italia. Simeoni, who had an infamous run-in with Armstrong during the 2004 Tour de France, angrily told Spanish journalist Quique Iglesias that the seven-time Tour champion should have stayed retired.

I don’t know about the rest of my fellow weekend warrior ’cross-aholics, but race time is often also deep thoughts time. It’s not like I’m out there unfurling the complexities of E=mc² while hopping barriers. But rarely does a race pass when I don’t find myself pondering something beyond the typical “pedal harder-don’t crash-shit, I crashed-man, I’m cracking-cool, I feel better” merry-go-round.

Bissell rider Ted King appears poised to be riding alongside Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre on the new Cervelo TestTeam next year. King, 25, had a breakthrough season in 2008, finishing second overall in the NRC individual rankings. Wins included the Hanes Park Classic, and a stage of the Joe Martin Stage Race. He also finished third overall at the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, and wore the KOM jersey for one stage at the Tour de Georgia.

Russian marauder Alexandr Kolobnev has signed a two-year contract extension to stay with Saxo Bank-IT Factory through the 2010 season. The 27-year-old joined the team managed by Bjarne Riis in 2007 and immediately had strong results, including victory at Monte Paschi Eroica, a stage in Paris-Nice and the silver medal at the world championships. This year, Kolobnev was close to a breakout win, with second at the Clásica San Sebastián, third at the Giro della Emilia and fourth at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Planet Energy and Catalyst Capital Group Inc. will continue as the principal financial sponsors of Team R.A.C.E. Pro (TRP) through 2009, but the team also said Friday that it will soon be ready to offer details about additional support from new sponsors as well. Josée Larocque and Steve Bauer of Cycle Sport Management Inc. said they are both pleased with the progress made during this first year of building a Canadian UCI Continental men’s team. “Our message is clear. We are focused on providing the best possible opportunity for Canadian road cyclists,” said Larocque.

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Toyota-United rider Ivan Stevic is facing a lifetime ban by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) for use of a prohibited substance, possession of prohibited substances and illegal trafficking of prohibited substances dating back to 2004.

Price: $59.99 Sizes: Small to XXL Web site: www.pearlizumi.com Pearl Izumi has answered the challenge of fall and winter cycling with the Shine Shoe Cover, which lets riders keep their feet warm and be more visible to motorists when cycling after sunset.

Lance Armstrong’s return to racing had many wondering if his vaunted Formula One crew would also make a come back. That answer came this week with the resurrection of the technical group born years ago to optimize Armstrong’s time trialing. At the San Diego Low Speed Wind Tunnel Tuesday, several key product engineers and aerodynamicists from the F1 crew regrouped to again push the envelope on Armstrong’s behalf.

The 66th Milan Bicycle Show is the first major show since the financial meltdown. The mood was not upbeat the first day of the show, but it was election news from the U.S. that raised spirits on day two. That the show is very small was determined long ago when the booths were reserved, but the outlook on the market probably was largely created in October. Reflecting a common theme heard around the show, Lorenzo Piotto, marketing manager for Elite, said, “We are in a difficult period now.”

Defending Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre says he’s all but certain to skip next year’s Vuelta a España and said he’s looking forward toward a possible showdown with Lance Armstrong at the 2009 Tour. Speaking to reporters at an engagement in Spain, Sastre reconfirmed that he’ll likely start the Giro d’Italia to prepare for the Tour and then skip the Vuelta, where he finished third overall in September.

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Italian veteran Davide Rebellin, looking for a contract following the dissolution of his Gerolsteiner team at the end of this season, will ride for Diquigiovanni in 2009. The Italian news service ANSA reported that an accord has been reached for the 37-year-old Rebellin to join the Italian continental team for at least one season. The Italian team, directed by the dapper Gianni Savio, will lead the classics squad for the team heading into next year. Rebellin completed the “Ardennes sweep” in 2004 when he won Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne and Liège all in a row.

Leonardo Piepoli, one of seven riders to fail drug tests at the Tour de France, has demanded a counter-test, according to the French national anti-doping agency (AFLD) on Wednesday. Piepoli, one of four who tested positive for a new strain of a banned blood booster EPO called CERA, will be controlled in the coming weeks AFLD said, without giving further details. Last month Austria's Bernhard Kohl became the seventh positive doping case after being controlled retroactively for CERA, joining Italians Piepoli and Riccardo Ricco and Germany's Stefan Schumacher.

Since my last diary, I’ve driven to Connecticut, jumped a plane south to Louisville and then west to Boulder to race the hotbeds of cyclocross!

Lance Armstrong hit the wind-tunnel this week in San Diego to further prepare for his return to racing, but he didn’t provide any more clues on whether or not he’d be starting the Tour de France. The seven-time Tour winner remains uncommitted toward racing in July, telling The Associated Press that he still hasn’t made a definitive decision on whether he’ll start the 2009 Tour.

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That wasn’t just any old Trek XO cyclocross bike Travis Brown was riding in last weekend’s Boulder and Redline Cup races — it was a prototype belt-driven bike. The Trek product tester first raced the anodized green machine, dubbed the XOB, at CrossVegas, held in conjunction with the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas.

Bissell Inc. will continue as the title sponsor of the Bissell Pro Cycling Team in 2009, the squad announced on Tuesday. Mark Bissell, chairman and CEO of Bissell Inc., will assume ownership of the team, which will be managed and directed by Glen Mitchell. Eric Wohlberg will be sport director. “The team has had a fantastic year and has surpassed the goals that we had in the beginning of the year,” said Mitchell. “I am very excited about becoming more involved with the team, and I look forward to the challenges ahead in building this team to the next level.

Italian road cycling great Paolo Bettini was taken to hospital on Tuesday after crashing and hitting his head on a security barrier during the Six Days of Milan track festival, ANSA reported. The 34-year-old, who announced his retirement from road racing in September, was racing the Madison with Spanish veteran Juan Llaneras when he crashed alongside Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych. Bettini's helmet broke upon impact with a security barrier. His neck and head were immediately immobilized before the emergency services rushed him to the Sacco hospital in Milan.

German public broadcaster ARD has been told it has no basis on which to bring a premature end to its contract with Tour de France organizers to televise the race during 2009-11. A spate of recent doping scandals, some of which involved German and Austrian riders, prompted ARD and fellow German broadcaster ZDF to announce their intention to stop broadcasting the world's biggest bike race.

Sizes: 49 to 59 cm Retail Price: Frameset: $1,200 Web site: www.rideblue.com/cxc The Blue CXc Carbon Cross frameset is the high-end version of Blue’s two cyclocross frame options. Though still considered a new company, its capabilities to perform at the highest level were proven by David Frattini at the UCI Cyclocross World Championships.

Recently retired Bobby Julich will be staying on with Saxo Bank-IT Factory next season in a new position as “rider development manager.” Julich ended his 16-year racing career this summer and will take on a managerial role in technical development, testing and time trial coaching for the squad where he enjoyed his most successful years from 2004-08.

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Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) scored double wins at the Cycle-Smart International race in Northampton, Massachusetts, this weekend, while Laura Van Gilder took the win in Sunday's race. Driscoll, in his first year aged out of the U23 category, has developed a formula for success in New England: a steady start on lap 1 and then turning on the pressure for each lap after that until he finds himself alone

Gustav Larsson, the silver medalist time trialist from the Beijing Olympic Games, has penned a three-year contract extension with Saxo Bank-IT Factory (formerly CSC-Saxo Bank). Larsson was rumored to be considering a deal with Caisse d’Epargne, but the 28-year-old Swede decided to stay with Bjarne Riis. Larsson -- who finished 14th in this year’s Giro d’Italia along with top-10s in the Tour of California, Criterium International, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of Denmark – saw his profile rocket after mining silver in the Olympic Games.

Lance Armstrong powered to victory at this weekend’s Tour de Gruene, winning both the individual and team time trials in convincing fashion. Armstrong’s participation was a welcome surprise to co-promoters Will Rotzler and Tom Sickmann, who learned of the Tour de France winner’s plans just days before the event. Sickmann attributed record participation levels for the tour to the “Lance factor,” adding that, “people don’t look at him like a rock star, or celebrity, they see someone who has transcended sport with his story. They see inspiration; they see hope.”

The second day of UCI cyclocross racing in Boulder, Colorado, saw repeat scenarios develop as on Sunday, with an identical result in the women’s race and a new winner from the same podium finishers from Saturday’s men’s race. In men’s racing, a lead group quickly formed containing Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com teammates Tim Johnson and Jeremy Powers, Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Saturday’s winner Todd Wells (GT).

On a warm day under clear skies, Melanie Swartz and Ryan Dewald stormed to victory at the Wayne Scott Xross in Fair Hill Maryland on Saturday. The long and relatively flat course through the Cecil County Fairgrounds was fast and technical with few opportunities to recover. In the Elite Men’s race, Greg Wittwer (ALAN North America) took a lead on the first lap and made the rest of the field ? and himself ? suffer. “I was going real hard,” he said after the race. “I saw from the earlier races that the races were staying together in the front and I wanted to spread it out.”

Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale's Jamey Driscoll and Stevens Cycles' Natasha Elliott won in Northampton, Massachusetts on Saturday, at the Cycle-Smart Invitational race. Driscoll's win ahead of Specialized's Andy Jacques-Maynes solidified his lead in the Verge New England series. Check back soon for photos and a complete report.

It was no day at the beach for the hundreds of professional and amateur ’crossers who competed in the opening round of the Boulder Cup, held Saturday on a sand-laden course at the Boulder Reservoir in Colorado. Todd Wells (GT) and Georgia Gould (Luna) took wins in the elite races, which stood as the fifth of eight round of the North American Cyclocross Trophy (NACT).

Riders from Britain's successful Beijing Olympic team was out in front again as the hosts won all six golds up for grabs in Manchester Saturday on the second day of the opening leg of the World Cup. Ed Clancy and Geraint Thomas, half of Britain's gold medal-winning and record-breaking team pursuit quartet in Beijing, joined up with Rob Hayles and Steven Burke to enjoy a triumph on their home track. Bradley Wiggins, a member of the team that stood atop the podium in China, opted out in preference for Sunday's Madison while Paul Manning has retired.

Great Britain's track cyclists scored gold in five World Cup events at the Manchester Velodrome on Friday night in their first action since the team’s domination of events at the Beijing Olympics. Performance director Dave Brailsford said it was time to concentrate less on Britain's exploits in China, where the team won seven of 10 events in the velodrome, and to look towards the London Olympics in 2012. And his team was in a confident mood as a mixture of familiar faces and new names took top step on the podium as the Manchester leg of the World Cup series kicked off.

The Giro d’Italia will have some pretty spectacular digs for its 100th anniversary bash. Giro officials announced that the centennary edition of the rosa corsa will begin May 9 in Venice. The Giro will return to city of canals for the first time in 12 years. With Lance Armstrong leading an all-star cast that also will likely include 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and Damiano Cunego, the Giro couldn’t ask for a better send off to celebrate a century of history.

Britain's track team may have dominated the boards of the Olympic velodrome in China, but for the man who helped orchestrate those remarkable achievements it's back to business. Dave Brailsford, the Performance Director of British track cycling, returned from Beijing a happy man after seeing his riders claim seven of the 10 gold medals on offer at the Laoshan velodrome in August. But he won't let his squad of deserved medal winners rest on their laurels.

The quaint town of Gruene (pronounced 'green'), Texas, will host Lance Armstrong for the 25th anniversary of the Tour de Gruene. The silver anniversary event will not be the first time Armstrong has participated: he also jumped into the event's team time trial in 1996, teaming with Eddy Merckx just weeks after Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Sizes: 48 to 62 cm. Colors: Steel: Cobalt Blue, Onyx or Competition Red (shown) with Serotta solid white decals. Titanium: matte finish with solid white Serotta decals. Retail price: Framesets: $1,795 steel, $2,295 titanium. Complete bikes start at under $3,000. Web site: www.serotta.com/heritage The Serotta Classique is part of the bike company's three-model Heritage Collection, which includes a cyclocross, fixed gear and road frames (and complete bikes) in either steel or titanium.

The wheel in front of me twitches and pulses with enormous energy as it tries desperately to pull away from my gasping breaths. My legs ache, the pain beginning deep, unbelievably deep, slowly creeping up through the layers of my consciousness, finally reaching the threshold where my struggle to ignore it is overcome and it comes gushing out in great spasms.

Top German cyclist Linus Gerdemann, known for his staunch anti-doping stance, has criticized the return of Lance Armstrong to professional cycling, citing the doping suspicions — all of them unproven — that have dogged the seven-time Tour de France winner. "This is not positive for the credibility of cycling," said Gerdemann, winner of the Tour of Germany. "But there's nothing anyone can do about it."

Levi Leipheimer couldn’t be in Paris last week to watch the official unveiling of the route of the 2009 Tour de France, but he was certainly following the news. Like just about everyone, the Astana captain was keenly waiting for details of the 96th Tour. VeloNews caught up with Leipheimer while he was in Utah this week to gauge his reaction to the route. Here are excerpts from the interview: VeloNews: What was your first impression after seeing the route?

Victoria Pendleton has told 2012 Olympic Games chiefs it will be an embarrassment if women are not allowed to compete in the same number of races as male cyclists. Pendleton triumphed in the women's sprint in Beijing, one of eight golds won in an impressive total haul of 13 medals secured by the British track team at the Laoshan Velodrome. However, in China there were only three women's events on the track compared to seven for men. And that has left Pendleton feeling her achievement was "insignificant" compared to the three golds won in Beijing by British team-mate Chris Hoy.

Oscar Sevilla, fresh off becoming the first non-Colombian to win the Clásico RCN in that event's 48-year history, will ride for at least two more seasons with Rock Racing. Sevilla confirmed he’ll stay with the California-based team through 2010 and is keen to return to European racing. The Spanish climber says his Rock Racing team is hopeful of receiving some invitations to compete in an expanded European calendar for 2009, perhaps including the Vuelta a España.

Linus Gerdemann, the promising German hopeful who wore the yellow jersey in the 2007 Tour de France, has signed a two-year deal to join Milram. The 26-year-old, who raced three seasons with T-Mobile/Team Columbia, will give the last remaining big German squad a marquee national rider for the 2009 season. “We are very happy about the signing of Linus Gerdemann,” said team manager Gerry Van Gerwen. “After long negotiations, we can finally confirm the transfer. In Linus, we have a rider we most wanted, who will lead Team Milram in the coming years.”

There were some interesting numbers released by the professional cycling group (CPA) this week that revealed the biological passport is being implemented on a wide scale. Over the course of the 2008 season, some 6501 blood and urine samples were collected from 749 racers as part of the UCI’s effort to create a biological profile for each rider. The so-called biological passport is an ambitious anti-doping effort initiated by UCI officials, who insist that creating a biological profile of individual riders is one of the most effective tools in catching cheats.

Czech cyclist Ondrej Fojtik achieved a life’s dream Wednesday, winning the Crocodile Trophy in the most emphatic fashion possible, with a victory in the penultimate stage from Cooktown to Daintree. The General Classification of the Crocodile Trophy – as per race tradition – was decided on Wednesday. Thursday’s final stage to Cape Tribulation will not be timed.

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Team Type 1 has signed young Belgian all-arounder Willem Van den Eynde and re-signed Australian Fabio Calabria.  Both racers have Type 1 diabete. Calabria and Van den Eynde must constantly monitor their blood sugar and food intake while using insulin that is permitted by a the UCI's Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).  Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said Calabria’s success in his first professional season provided the team with the confidence it can meet its stated goal to put a racer with Type 1 diabetes in the Tour de France by 2012.

Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) and Nick Weighall (Rad Racing-Hagens-Berman) won the sun-splashed Ft. Steilacoom cyclocross on Sunday in Lakewood, Washington. The track was dry and fast, the weather warm, and the elite women’s race a battle from the gun. Berg, Kari Studley (Velo Bela­Kona), Ingrid Spies (Recycled Cycles) and Ann Knapp (Kona) pushed and pulled each other? for four laps, with no one gaining a clear advantage.

Rock Racing’s Oscar Sevilla became the first non-Colombian in 48 years to win the RCN Classic when the Spaniard finished second in Sunday’s final stage individual time trial to secure a 40-second overall victory. Competing for the “Mayor of Tunja” composite team, Sevilla scored his fifth win of the season and his first in an international stage race since the 2006 Vuelta Ciclista Asturias in Spain. “I am particularly happy with this win because Colombia is my second home,” Sevilla said. “The people here make me feel very much at home.”

The 2009 Giro d’Italia looks to be shaping up into a battle of cycling’s titans, as still more big names have announced plans to race in Italy in May . With Lance Armstrong, Damiano Cunego and Ivan Basso already confirmed, 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and longtime Armstrong sidekick José Luís Rubiera are both expected to start the centennial edition of the corsa rosa. Sastre said last week that he’ll likely skip the Vuelta a España and race the Giro instead as preparation for his Tour defense.

Polishing scratched aluminum cranks, tubeless road tires and Scotch-brite pads

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Retail Price: $199.99 Web site: www.northwave.com/usa Available: March 2009 The Northwave Aerlite SBS was first shown to the public by Gunn-Rita Dahl, who raced in it at the Beijing Olympics this summer. The sole contains carbon powder, and the shoe features a natural rubber tread, an "Ultra Y Heel Cup" and “cats tongue” material lining the heel.

Retail Price: $11.99 for a 17 ounce aerosol Web site: www.finishlineusa.com Finish Line Speed Clean is a surface cleaner that now comes in a high pressure can that allows the user to blast the dirt out of parts like derailleur cages, bearing retainers, and cleat spring housings. It also is an effective surface cleaner for rims, disc brake rotors, cogs, rings, and chains. The Speed Clean combines the effectiveness of a degreaser with the reach and drying power of a compressed air gun into one step.

Team Milram has signed Robert Förster and Ronny Scholz for the coming season. The two German riders are the seventh and eighth riders that Milram has hired from the Gerolsteiner team, which is shutting down at the end of the season. Mlram has a total of 12 new riders coming for next season. "We have won two experienced riders in Ronny Scholz and Robert Förster, who will strengthen our team," said Gerry van Gerwen, Milram's general manage. "Ronny Scholz is very experienced and a good helper. Robert Förster will surely bring us a few wins."

It may have come by way of a gift from the Czech Republic, but whatever the case, consistent effort was rewarded again today at the Crocodile Trophy as Belgium’s Nic Vermeulen claimed victory in the race’s signature stage from Mount Mulgrave to Laura. Vermeulen, who has toiled long and hard against the Czech powerhouse VIG+ Racing over the past seven days,was in an impossible position once again, outnumberd 4-1 by the Czechs in the final kilometers of Monday’s stage.

Alberto Contador’s road to the Tour de France won’t pass through the Giro d’Italia next year. The Spanish winner confirmed this weekend he wouldn’t defend his Giro title next May and instead focus his season on trying to win a second Tour crown in three years.

In part 1 of a two-part interview with Jonathan Vaughters, the Garmin-Chipotle team manager discussed new rider acquisitions and the team’s reason for going ProTour in 2009. Here, in part 2, Vaughters discusses Tom Danielson's status with the team, his disappointment at losing Taylor Phinney and his perspective on the AFLD’s testing at this year’s Tour de France.

Fort Lewis College narrowly edged host Lees-McRae College to win the Division I team omnium competition at the 2008 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships. Even fewer points separated Division II champions Appalachian State University and second-place Colorado School of Mines. The top individual scorers in both endurance and gravity events were also awarded individual omnium crowns following Sunday's dual slalom contests.

Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) slapped high-fives and jubilantly raised his arms skyward as he coasted alone across the finish line to win Sunday’s Derby City Cup No. 2, the second round of the 2008 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. The Massachusetts native was all grins and hugs at the awards ceremony following the elite men’s race — and for good reason. Johnson’s victory came just one day after he was a non-factor in Saturday’s race, won in dominating fashion by rival Ryan Trebon (Kona).