Road Racing

New Zealander Greg Henderson (Columbia-HTC) sprinted to his first grand-tour victory on Monday in stage 3 of the 2009 Vuelta a España. The former track racer proved the fastest in a furious finale, crossing ahead of Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil) and Oscar Freire (Rabobank). Going into the final tricky corner, Henderson had a couple of Quick Steps in front of him and teammate André Greipel on his wheel. The idea was to launch the big German to the line. But things didn't work out as planned.

George Hincapie (Columbia-HTC) rode through a wall of sound as he outsprinted Andrew Bajadali (Kelly Benefit Strategies) to win the road race Sunday at the USA Cycling Professional National Championships in his adopted hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. The pair overtook Jeff Louder (BMC Racing Team), who attacked an elite group of seven riders in the final lap of the 185km race, which featured four trips over Paris Mountain.

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Chris Horner cannot wait to get to the warmer climes of Spain. It’s not that the Astana captain doesn’t like bumping shoulders on the narrow, rainy roads of Holland, but he knows that the real battle won’t begin until the Vuelta a España transfers down to the Iberian peninsula next week. In the meantime, it’s about gritting the teeth and avoiding a costly mishap.

Gerald Ciolek (Milram) has been lurking on the edge of greatness ever since he came out of nowhere to beat Erik Zabel and claim the 2005 German national title as a 20-year-old neo-pro. After winning the 2006 U23 world title, Ciolek has patiently been collecting minor wins and close calls in bigger events. He finally got his just reward in Sunday’s second stage of the 2009 Vuelta a España, a pan-flat 203.7km ride from Assen to Emmen in the Netherlands.

If Saturday’s rowdy and enthusiastic welcome for the Vuelta a España is any indication, next year’s Giro and Tour starts should be off the charts. An estimated 40,000 fans braved wind, cold and rain to watch SuperFabio roar into the leader’s jersey at the Vuelta, so just imagine what it’s going to be like in Amsterdam, which hosts the Giro start in May, and Rotterdam, which has the Tour’s grand depart in July. Holland is playing host to all three grand tours and the Dutch fans seem up to the task of making the pro peloton feel welcome.

Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream) reaffirmed his position atop the U.S. time trial field Saturday, as he won his fourth consecutive national championship by nearly one minute on a 20.7-mile course in Greenville, South Carolina. Zabriskie blazed the winding Greenville time trial course Saturday in a time of 39:37, 1:02 faster than his winning time on the same course in 2008.

When the stage has a clock sitting at the finish line and riders start one at a time, you can almost bet the house that Fabian Cancellara is going to be fastest across the line. The big Swiss time machine reaffirmed his prowess against the clock with an impressive ride on damp but not wet roads in front of 40,000 rowdy Dutch fans to jump start the 64th Vuelta a España and snag the leader’s jersey.

Start Times – Prologue, Vuelta a España, 2009

• 1. Alberto FernÁndez Sainz Xacobeo Galiciap, starts at 3:21p.m.
• 2. Matheus Pronk Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team, starts at 3:22p.m.
• 3. Dominik Roels Team Milram, starts at 3:23p.m.
• 4. Frantisek Rabon Team Columbia-HTC, starts at 3:24p.m.
• 5. Kevin De Weert Quick Step, starts at 3:25p.m.
• 6. Francesco Tomei Lampre-NGC, starts at 3:26p.m.
• 7. Christian Meier Garmin-Slipstream, starts at 3:27p.m.
• 8.

The 64th Vuelta a España clicks into gear Saturday on the Assen race track with one of its deepest and most competitive fields ever. Not only are riders racing the Vuelta to prepare for the world championships, but some of the biggest names are lining up with nothing less than all-out victory as their stated goals. With none of last year’s top-3 back to defend their podium spots, the 2009 Vuelta is wide open. A challenging course well-suited for aggressive attacks in the mountains will promise to keep things interesting all the way into the final week.

Chris Horner will finally get a crack at the GC in a grand tour when the Vuelta a España clicks into gear on Saturday in Holland. That’s according to Astana sport director Sean Yates, who said the team will let Horner give it a stab for the overall classification. “Horner has progressed a lot this year, but he hasn’t had a chance to show on his own what he can do in the GC because he’s always been working for others,” Yates said. “I think he’s very motivated for the Vuelta. First he has to avoid a crash and then it’s a question of following.”

Preliminary Start List – Vuelta a España 2009

Garmin-Slipstream's sprinter Tyler Farrar will be looking for stage wins at the Vuelta a Espana starting Saturday, and the team is sending a squad of all-rounders and sprinters to help him get his first grand tour stage win. Farrar is coming off a string of successes at the Tour de France and the Eneco Tour. Team CEO Jonathan Vaughters says he expects the success to continue.

As if the last two years hadn’t happened at all, Alexander Vinokourov is back at the Vuelta a España and back on the Astana team. Ignore that two-year racing ban for illegal blood transfusions and forget about the behind-the-scenes power struggle at Astana involving Johan Bruyneel, Vinokourov and the power cadre of Kazakh backers. At least that’s what Vinokourov wants everyone to do.

Just in time for fall, Fort Bicycles is rolling out some great deals on cyclocross frames. A Fort all-aluminum Cross.Max frame is now selling for $349, and the carbon-aluminum Cross.Max.SSC is just $549. Both are sold as frames only (no forks), but Fort does offer SRAM, Campy, or Shimano build kits as special order items.

Suspended rider Danilo Di Luca said Wednesday that he may have been the victim of a conspiracy after twice testing positive for banned blood booster CERA during this year's Giro d’Italia. Di Luca purportedly finished second in the Italian tour, which he won in 2007, but subsequently returned positive tests for the third-generation of EPO, called a Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator (CERA), on both May 22 and 28. Di Luca won two stages during the Giro and held the leader's pink jersey for eight days before eventually losing to Rabobank’s Denis Menchov by just 41 seconds.

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Are Shimano external bottom brackets interchangeable?

Columbia-HTC's Edvald Boasson Hagen won the Eneco Tour on Tuesday after winning the final stage, a 13.1km individual time trial in Amsfoort, the Netherlands. The 22-year-old Norwegian finished ahead of France's Sylvain Chavanel in the overall standings after the Frenchman clocked the fourth fastest time in the time-trial in the seven stage ProTour race through Belgium and the Netherlands. American Tyler Farrar, second in the overall standings, withdrew ahead of the final stage, saying he hoped to rest up for this weekend's start of the Vuelta a España.

Australian Allan Davis will have the chance to make amends for missing the Tour de France in July after he was named in Quick Step's squad for the upcoming Vuelta a España. Davis, a sprinter, was Quick Step's “tenth man” for the Tour in July, but missed out on a place after teammate Tom Boonen was given 11th hour clearance to race despite having tested positive for cocaine, for the second time in his career, two months previously.

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Ivan Basso is taking aim at nothing short of overall victory for the 64th Vuelta a España, which clicks into gear Saturday in Holland. The Italian said he’s better prepared for the Vuelta than the Giro d’Italia earlier this season, where he finished fifth overall. “I trained myself in the best way without any stress,” Basso said in a team statement. “The final victory is a concrete goal.”

Should I rebuild my Campy 8-speed shifter, or switch to 10-speed?

Six-time national criterium champion Tina Pic (Colavita - Sutter Home) is ending her career with a bang as she outsprinted Tibco's Lauren Tamayo and Brooke Miller at the Marion Classic Two-Bridge NRC Criterium in Indiana on Sunday. It was a double-win weekend for Pic's team as Luis Amaran solo'd to a classic win in the men's race, holding off a late charge by OUCH-Maxxis' Karl Menzies.

Technical course

Team Columbia-HTC believes powerful German sprinter André Greipel can help continue its impressive 2009 season once the Vuelta a España clicks into gear this Saturday. Mark Cavendish's stunning haul of six stage wins from this year's Tour de France took his tally to 10 in two participations, and was the highlight of a hugely successful season for the American outfit so far.

Alexander Vinokourov is now officially part of the Astana team and is set to ride the Vuelta a España. The back-room wrangling over the return of Vinokourov went down to the wire, but team officials reached an agreement Monday to ease the way for his return to the Kazakh-backed team. Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel and Rinus Wagtmans, the authorized representative for the Kazakh sponsors, hammered out an agreement Monday. Vinokourov will be immediately welcomed into the Astana team and has a contract to race through the 2010 season.

There won’t be a late-hour bid to include Michael Rasmussen in the 64th Vuelta a España. At least Rasmussen isn’t expecting one. “All I can say regarding the Vuelta is that the team did not register me in time and that Unipublic did not want to make an exception by letting me in,” Rasmussen told VeloNews via e-mail. “They did, though, make exceptions with three Lotto riders that were not on the preliminary start list. Anyways — no Vuelta.” Rasmussen did not disclose the name of the team.

UCI president Pat McQuaid told Reuters on Sunday that there were no positive tests at this year’s Tour de France. Based on controls taken so far, McQuaid said he is optimistic about the future of the sport. "At this point in time I haven't heard of any positive tests at this year's Tour de France or that we're checking samples to confirm positives,” McQuaid told Reuters’ Stephen Farrand. "It's looking like the Tour de France will not have any positive tests for a number of years.” McQuaid spoke to reporters Sunday during the final stage of the Tour of Ireland.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia-HTC) consolidated his lead in the Eneco Tour by beating some of the more specialist fast men in a sprint for the finish of Monday's sixth stage. Boasson Hagen grabbed precious bonus seconds for the win, extending his lead over American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) to 21 seconds going into Tuesday’s final 13.1km individual time trial. Farrar, the winner of three stages so far here and the leader until Boasson Hagen took over on Sunday, finished third on the stage, just behind Australian Matthew Goss (Saxo Bank).

Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde will lead Caisse d'Epargne at this year's Vuelta a España, the team announced on Monday. The 29-year-old, who finished second in the 2006 Vuelta, did not compete in this year's Tour de France after being banned from competing in Italy for two years by the Italian Olympic Committee after he was implicated in the Operación Puerto doping scandal. The decision, which Valverde has contested, kept him out of the Tour, the 16th stage of which passed through Italy. The Vuelta takes place from August 29 to September 20.

Cadel Evans will lead Silence-Lotto at the 64th Vuelta a España with hopes of reaching the podium in the season’s final grand tour. Evans struggled through the recent Tour de France, finishing out of the top 10 for the first time, but will be riding to make amends for a frustrating performance in July with something big at the Spanish tour. The Aussie all-rounder has raced the Vuelta three times, abandoning in 2004, finishing 60th in 2004 and just missing the podium with fourth in 2007.

Interchangeable lenses are nothing new to performance eyewear. But historically, removing and replacing the lenses required a clenched jaw and careful application of force. Often, flexing the frame to pop out a lens felt like the frame was about to break. A revolution in sunglass technology has changed all that, to the point that a number of novel solutions to lens interchangeability now share space in the marketplace. We’ve assembled several sunglasses to look at their approach to lens removal and replacement.

Simon Gerrans – the popular Aussie rider left out of the Tour de France by his Cervélo team – got his revenge Sunday. Gerrans became the first Australian to win the GP de Plouay, the 14th race in the season-long ProTour calendar, held on a hilly course in western France. Gerrans won ahead of defending champion Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom) and Germany’s Paul Maertens (Rabobank).

Bernie Sulzberger (Fly V Australia) overtook the OUCH-Maxxis sprint train roaring out of the final corner of the Downtown Salt Lake Criterium on Sunday to win the bunch sprint in final stage of the 2009 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. Sulzberger powered away from U.S. criterium champion John Murphy (OUCH-Maxxis) and Chris Barton (BMC Racing Team) in the final 200 meters to take the win.

The Rocky Mountain Bicycle Show kicked off its second year on Saturday at Denver’s National Western Complex. Eye candy abounded, and a steady stream of visitors kept the 70 or so exhibitors busy talking most of the day. Free microbrew samples ensured that spirits were high, and the relative coolness of the vast hall sheltered visitors and exhibitors alike from the 96-degree heat outside.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia-HTC) took the leader's jersey from Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) after placing second in Sunday’s fifth stage of the Eneco Tour behind Lars Bak (Saxo Bank). Bak made his dash for the line 5km out to edge Boasson Hagen by two seconds with Italian Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-N.G.C.) third. Farrar missed out in the late breakaway and came in 30 seconds adrift to see Hagen pass him overall by 15 seconds following the 204.3km stage to Sirrard in the Netherlands.

Russell Downing (Candi TV) stuck it to the ProTour squads at the Tour of Ireland Sunday, escaping on the weather-shortened circuits of Cork to take the overall win and second on the stage behind Norway’s former road and cross-country champion Lars Petter Nordhaug (Joker-Bianchi). Saxo Bank animated the rain-drenched stage from Bantry along the southern coast to Cork. With five riders within shooting distance of the GC, the Danish ProTour team stacked many of the day’s early breaks and pushed the pace.

Tour de France stage-winner Juan Manuel Garate will be part of Rabobank’s starting nine for the upcoming Vuelta a España. Garate, who won atop Mont Ventoux ahead of Tony Martin (Columbia-HTC), crashed during the Clásica San Sebastián earlier this month and broke a finger. He’s been able to recover in time and will be at the start line Saturday in Assen, Holland for the commencement of the 64th Vuelta. The presence of the veteran Spanish climber brings added firepower to the strong Rabobank squad for the season’s third and final grand tour.

Felt-Holowesko's Alex Howes has a unique way of signaling attack, but riders might take note in the future if the reigning U23 road champion opts for unusual nutritional choices near the finish of a race. On Sunday, near the end of the tough 153km fourth stage, Howes bit off a hunk of hot dog and shot away from the day's long breakaway to take his first NRC win on the mountaintop finish at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort at the 2009 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. [nid:96996]

Liquigas-Doimo heads to the 64th Vuelta a España with a strong team and even stronger ambitions. Led by GC threats Ivan Basso and Roman Kreuziger, Liquigas will start the Spanish tour with high hopes for a shot at overall victory as well as stage victories with the likes of Daniele Bennati and Manuel Quinziato.

Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) did what he does best at the end of stage 2 of the Tour of Ireland. After a fast, slightly downhill leadout from his man Bernie Eisel, Cavendish turned on the afterburners to take the victory ahead of Rabobank’s Michael Van Staeyen and Saxo Bank’s Stuart O’Grady. “It’s great to win,” Cavendish said. “It was a tough circuit but once the peloton came back together we took control with 2km to go.”

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) won the fourth stage of the Eneco Tour on Saturday, his third victory of the stage race through the Benelux countries. Farrar, further secured his hold on the overall leader’s jersey, outsprinting Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia) and Italian Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre). Farrar also won the first and second stages. Sunday’s fifth stage covers 204.3 kilometers over many of the same roads included in the Amstel Gold Race. The Eneco Tour ends Tuesday, with a 13.1km time trial in Amersfoort, in Holland.

The blistering heat that has marked the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah gave way to blistering times Friday night as the stage 3 individual time trial rolled onto the grand prix track at the Miller Motorsports Park near Tooele, Utah. Tom Zirbel (Bissell) redeemed his sub-par performance in Tuesday’s prologue and returned to the form he has exhibited for most of 2009. Zirbel punished his cranks for 14.5 km to put in the fastest time of the night in 17:00, 14 and 19 seconds ahead of BMC teammates Ian McKissick and Brent Bookwalter, respectively.

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.

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.

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.

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.

There only thing certain about Alexander Vinokourov’s immediate future and whether or not he’ll race the Vuelta a España is that it is all far from certain. Despite some reports that Vinokourov has the go-ahead to start the Vuelta next weekend with Astana, nothing is settled yet for the returning Kazakh rider. According to Astana team spokesman Philippe Maertens, paperwork that would ease the way for Vinokourov’s return to the Astana fold is complete, but there’s still no final agreement between all the major players.

Recent injuries have put GC-threat Juanjo Cobo's Vuelta a España in doubt. The 28-year-old Fuji-Servetto leader crashed during training last week ahead of the Trittico Lombardo, resulting in serious abrasions and bruises to his arms and hands. Later X-rays revealed a fracture in the Spaniard's right shoulder. Despite doctors’ orders to stay off the bike for three weeks, Cobo is still hoping to start the Vuelta. Team manager Joxean Fernández included Cobo as part of the starting nine for the Vuelta, with Iker Camaño as the first replacement.

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.

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.

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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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.

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.

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.

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and Lea Davison (Maxxis) won the short track on Sunday in the Yankee Clipper at Windham Mountain in New York. Kabush, following his victory in Saturday's cross country, added a little icing to the cake by taking the short track ahead of Sam Schultz (Subaru-Gary Fisher and Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air-Specialized). Davison, meanwhile, outfought Luna teammates Katerina Nash and Georgia Gould to win the women's race.

A matter of inches

Garmin-Slipstream's Tyler Farrar sprinted to victory in the Vattenfall Cyclassics on Sunday. Farrar out-sped Matti Breschel (Saxo Bank) and Gerald Ciolek (Milram) to become the first American to win the 216.4km circuit race in Hamburg, Germany. Having lost out several times on sprint stages to Columbia-HTC’s Mark Cavendish in this year's Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, the 25-year-old Farrar said he was pleased to finally get a win under his belt.

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) and Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher) won their respective Pro XTC cross-country races in the Yankee Clipper at Windham Mountain in New York on Saturday. Kabush overcame a close encounter with a stump to take the win in 1:38:46 ahead of Max Plaxton (Sho-Air-Specialized) with Todd Wells (Specialized) third. Koerber, meanwhile, celebrated her first pro win in five years by crossing just ahead of Luna teammates Georgia Gould and Catherine Pendrel, who finished second and third, respectively.

Into a gully, then into the lead

This just in from Northwave: The company is starting to show some early releases from the 2010 shoe line, including the Rebel SBS mountain bike shoe. The Rebel SBS is positioned as a mid-priced, high performance trail shoe that includes many features from the top-line product.

Phillip Gaimon defended his title at New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb on Saturday, as Canadian Sue Schlatterer easily won the women’s division. After near-record-setting spring and summer rains, Mother Nature blessed the 37th edition of one of the toughest hillclimbs in the country with a warm and near-perfect day. At race-time the temperature at the base of the Auto Road (1565 feet) was an unusually warm 75, while the summit (6,288 feet) posted a balmy 60, with wind speeds at just 20 mph.

Lance Armstrong (Mellow Johnny's) won Colorado's Leadville 100 on Saturday, knocking more than 15 minutes off of the old record, about a half hour ahead of six-time winner Dave Wiens. Armstrong rode about 60 miles alone off the front, finishing with a nearly flat rear tire. Armstrong ally Matt Shriver helped drive the pace in the early miles, powering a group of eight along the relatively flat mid-section of the course and into the base of the turn-around climb. Shriver hung on, despite problems with his cleat, to finish third.

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As we've already reported, several Trek-supported riders are on hand in the high country of central Colorado to keep the pace high as Lance Armstrong takes his second stab at the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race.

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Reigning Olympic road race champion Samuel Sánchez will wear the No. 1 bib for the upcoming Vuelta a España in the season’s third and final grand tour, August 29- September 20. With none of last year’s top-3 podium finishers back for the 2009 edition, race organizers released a preliminary start list Thursday that includes the Euskaltel-Euskadi leader with el número uno.

Preliminary Start List – Vuelta a España 2009

• 
  EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (EUS) - ESP
  Race Numbers 1- 09
• SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel (ESP)
• ANTON HERNANDEZ Igor (ESP)
• MARTINEZ DE ESTEBAN Egoi (ESP)
• PEREZ LEZAUN Alan (ESP)
• PEREZ MORENO Ruben (ESP)
• ISASI FLORES Inaki (ESP)
• HERNANDEZ GUTIERREZ Aitor (ESP)
• IRIZAR ARANBURU Markel (ESP)
• TXURRUKA Amets (ESP)
• • Reserve Rider - URTASUN PEREZ Pablo (

Late in the riding season, the best ways to dress up your bike and make it feel like new include new cables and housing, new bar tape or grips, a new chain, and new tires. If you can’t afford new wheels or other components, there are little things that can make a big difference. It’s especially true for shifter and brake cables and housing. Aside from just improving the feel at the levers, actual shifting and braking performance will improve as well.

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Why should I always put a spacer above my stem?

SRAM, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, has announced a voluntary recall of the SRAM 10-Speed Chain PowerLock connector links. SRAM reports that the PowerLock outer connector plate could crack during installation or early use, causing the chain to separate and leading to loss of bicycle control and possible injury. For this reason, SRAM is recalling and replacing all affected SRAM 10-Speed Chain PowerLock connector links.