Road Racing

The Tour de France is heading back to Holland in 2010. Tour officials announced Thursday that the 2010 Tour will start in Rotterdam. More details will be provided in an official ceremony on Dec. 11 in the Dutch port city, officials said. “Rotterdam is an important metropolitan area with assurance of success,” Tour director Christian Prudhomme told AFP. “It’s doing everything so that people can get around on the bike. It’s in this spirit that the city wants the grand départ.” The Dutch city was picked ahead of Utrecht, Holland, and Dusseldorf, Germany.

Price: $23.99 Web site: www.oscycling.com OS Performance Nutrition is a new all-natural multipurpose energy drink mix that is available in four specific formulas suitable for your race situation. OS Endurance for longer, moderate intensity activities. OS Sprint for intense efforts. OS Pre-Load for a pre-race carbohydrate and protein load. OS Re-Load for post-ride recovery. Each formula is available in three flavors.

Sizes: 24 to 72 servings per box Price: $17.99 to $79.99 Web site: www.motortabs.com Motor Tabs are an easy-to-carry and easy-to-use carbohydrate and electrolyte replacement supplement. No mixing necessary, just the drop of a single effervescent tablet into your water bottle. Each 65-calorie tablet contains 250mg sodium, 75mg potassium, and 16g of carbohydrates from sucrose, dextrose, and maltodextrin.

Todd Wells (GT Bicycles) is on top of the Crankbrothers U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclocross standings for the first time in his career, following his win Sunday and second place Saturday at the Mercer Cup in New Jersey.[nid:85247] Wells, a two-time national champion in cyclocross, passed Jesse Anthony (Jamis) who had led the series after the first weekend. Anthony fell to sixth place following a disappointing weekend in the Garden State. (Complete men's standings)

Why do my Speedplay cleats wear out?

Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) won the third round of the Superprestige cyclocross series on Sunday at the Aspere-Gavere race in Belgium. World champion Hanka Kupfernagel skipped the race, run in wet and very muddy conditions. The hallmark of the course was a steep, muddy downhill chute that caused many falls, some of them race-ending, like the one that sent Niels Albert to the hospital with an injured spleen. Compton got off to a comfortable start in third position after a front-row start, with Saskia Elemans leading and Daphny van den Brand in second.

Following her double wins at the USGP Mercer Cup races in New Jersey this weekend, Georgia Gould (LUNA) has landed on top of the USA Cycling national cyclocross standings. Gould takes over the lead from Laura Van Gilder.[nid:85220] Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale), who finished fourth and third in New Jersey, remains on the top of the men's rankings although his teammate Tim Johnson is closer, thanks to his first place Saturday (Johnson did not start Sunday).

With only the Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup remaining, the battles for the inaugural North American Cyclocross Trophy series are still tight.   

Women's battle: eight is enough

With Lance Armstrong, Carlos Sastre, Damiano Cunego and Ivan Basso already confirmed to start the centenary celebration of the corsa rosa, another big name has announced that he will race the 2009 Giro d’Italia. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) is the latest to confirm his presence in the Giro, set to begin May 9 in Venice. “Why would we want to change the program?” asked Rabobank sport director Erik Breukink in the Dutch daily De Telegraaf. “We saw last year the double worked well, so this year we’ll follow the same program, with the Giro before the Tour.”

Dear Lennard,

Price: $28.99 to $50.99 Color: White, Black, Blue, Red and Yellow Web site: www.vittoria.com Are traditional black tires cramping your “euro white” style? May your style never be cramped again. Vittoria now offers the Rubino, Rubino Pro, Zaffiro Pro, and others in a classy white in addition to black, blue, red and yellow.

Price: $38 to $225 Sizes: 16, 38, 60mm and full disc Web site: www.wheeltags.com Wheeltags is a manufacturer of stylish graphics for high profile rims and disc wheels. With over a dozen (and growing) styles to choose from you can find the perfect match to make your bike just that much more unique. If Wheeltags doesn’t provide a stock design that’s perfect for you then you have the option to go the custom route for a little extra cost.

As advertised, the ‘cross course through the Washington County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro, Oregon, was wide-open, grassy and void of anything resembling elevation gain. Several days of dry weather and Sunday’s beautiful, mostly blue skies only added to the warm feelings about how quickly the course could be covered.

Cooler, windier weather on Day 2 of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Mercer Cup, presented by Knapp's Cyclery, in New Jersey, made Saturday's tough race conditions look easy by comparison. Thicker, stickier mud competed with gusting winds for an extra punch in the gut but Day 2 saw a repeat for the women, with LUNA teammates Georgia Gould and Katerina Nash clinching gold and silver by a wide margin. It was GT’s Todd Wells who emerged the victor in the men’s event.

Samuel Sánchez continues to soak up the attention that comes with the Olympic gold medal. Everywhere he goes, journalists are knocking down his door for an interview. This week, “Samu” is on vacation in Spain’s Canary Islands and told reporters there more details about his racing schedule for the upcoming season. He’ll skip the 2009 Tour de France (where he finished seventh overall last year) and focus on trying to win the Vuelta a España.

Mud so thick that racers had to pedal downhill set the stage for Day 1 of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Mercer Cup, in New Jersey on Saturday. In races of attrition, in which time gaps grew to a minute or more among the top five, Georgia Gould (LUNA) and Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld-Cannondale) bested the competition through tough, power-stealing conditions.

“This is definitely my favorite race and that’s my main motivation,” said Costa Rican cyclist Federico Ramirez (BCR-Pizza Hut) after finishing the 2008’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores, on Saturday in Limón, Costa Rica.

A grim reality sets in at the midpoint of any multi-day mountain bike stage race. The anxious buzz of the event’s first half has all-but petered out, and riders no longer speak only in the tone of optimism. Legs are drained and bodies are exhausted, perhaps injured. Bikes creak and squeak. Butts are sore. For some, the knowledge that half of the journey still remains is enough to drive the motivation straight into the basement. Many contemplate quitting, or simply wonder how in God’s name they plan to reach the finish line. [nid:85129]

The seventh stop of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup traveled to the village of Northbrook, a suburb north of Chicago. The race brought out the dedicated to mix it up in the treacherous 'cross conditions.

Elite Men

Sizes: Medium and Large Price: $89.99 Web site: www.lezyne.com Lezyne’s Carbon Road Drive is in a class of its own when it comes to road hand pumps. Coming in two sizes, the medium weighs in at a slim 88 grams, and the large at 104 grams. Machined out of aluminum and topped off with a solid lay-up carbon handle, it is light yet durable. They advertise that the carbon mounting bracket is noise and vibration free. As a special feature, it is compatible with Lezyne water bottle cages.

The most dominant feature on Stage 2 of La Ruta de los Conquistadores is the 25km paved climb from San Ignacio Acosta to Copalchi, which accounts for roughly one-third of the 76km trip from west to east San Jose. In La Ruta’s trusty race guide, the climb’s profile appears a gradual three-peaked slog up 3000 vertical feet.

FOX Racing will produce two commemorative suspension components — a special 40 RC2 fork and DHX RC4 shock — based on development that netted championship titles in men’s and women’s downhill worlds in 2009. Only 200 of each will be produced for consumers.

Colors: Red, Black, Blue Sizes: Small, Medium, Large Price: $64.95 Web site: www.barmitts.com Are you a cold-weather rider? Then Bar Mitts may be of interest to you. Modeled after hang gliding mitts, Bar Mitts encase your hoods, brakes, and handlebars, creating warm neoprene pockets for your hands. This weather shield for your hands allow you to wear a thinner glove, which leads to better bike handling.

What’s the best way to quantify pain? This question popped into my head countless times during today’s opening stage of La Ruta de los Conquistadores, a hellacious 68.7-mile slog from Jaco Beach to the outskirts of San Jose. During the journey I carried my bike up ridiculously steep, muddy slopes, climbed 14,500 feet of elevation gain (much of it in the granny gear) and suffered like a rented mule. I crossed the line cross-eyed and drooling just under eight hours in 42nd place, about two hours behind stage winner Frederico “Lico” Ramirez.

Price: TBA Web site: www.zerotractionfilm.com ZERO traction is a film about the 2007 cold and muddy USA Cycling’s Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City. Shot entirely in high definition, the film captures the grimy details of ‘cross. The film is scheduled to premiere in Lawrence, Kansas on November 19th. DVDs will soon be available at www.zerotractionfilm.com.

Bobbles, bubbles and beer — there was all that and more last weekend during the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships in Portland, Oregon. Canadian Drew MacKenzie won the men’s crown, beating the likes of Ryan Trebon, Nat Ross, Steve Fassbinder and Adam Craig. Sue Butler took top honors in the women's race, winning a come-from-behind battle.

Team Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale doubled up this past weekend during the UCI 1 Toronto International Cyclocross in Toronto, Canada, putting Jeremy Powers atop the podium on Saturday with Tim Johnson taking the win on Sunday. Canadians had plenty to cheer about, too, as Ottawa’s Natasha Elliott (Stevens-EMD Sorono) scored two consecutive victories on the muddy Centennial Park course.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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).

The Czech Republic made it a six-pack of stage victories at Australia’s Crocodile Trophy Sunday as VIG+ Racing’s Kejval Lubos delivered on the promise he showed during Saturday’s stage at Chillagoe. This time there was no blowing up at the death as Lubos and breakaway partner Tomas Kozak made it another “Czech-one-two” when the race reached its annual stop-over at Mount Mulgrave Station, a cattle grazing property almost as large as some European principalities.

Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Katerina Nash (Luna) took impressive solo victories at the opening day of the 2008 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, at Champion’s Park in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday.

The Czech VIG+ Racing team made it five straight stage victories from five attempts Saturday as Ivan Rybarik scored his second stage win at the Crocodile Trophy of 2008. With the leaders in the general classification taking it easy during today’s 99 kilometer “out and back” stage from Chillagoe, VIG+ Racing showed its incredible depth at this year’s outback classic by stealing a stage victory with two of its domestiques.

The cross country competition kicked off the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships on Friday as nearly 200 collegians raced through the campus of Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, for the second year in a row. The first day of competition set the stage for an old-fashioned shootout between host Lees-McRae College and last year's overall team winner Fort Lewis College in Division I, while riders from nearby Brevard College and Appalachian State earned the Division II men's and women's crowns respectively.

Shimano found that the spoke plugs shipped in lieu of rim strips with its Dura-Ace WH-7850-C24-CL wheels have a greater likelihood of producing a puncture due to the surface texture of the rim and the spoke holes coming in contact with the tube. Therefore, Shimano has issued a voluntary recall of the spoke hole plugs. The wheelset will not be recalled. The fix is to remove the spoke hole plugs and replace them with a 18mm high-pressure rim strip.

The Czech VIG+ Racing team continued its complete dominance Friday at the 2008 Crocodile Trophy with Martin Horak scoring his first stage win and fourth consecutive stage win for his team as the off-road classic reached the Australian outback town of Chillagoe. The victory will be remembered for all the right reasons, with Horak, in the most sporting of gestures, rendering assistance when his breakaway partner, Kristof Hertsens of Belgium (Team Lingier) crashed.

Dimensions: 12x12 inches Retail Price: $13.95 Web site:www.velogear.com Also available: Inside Triathlon and IMBA calendars The 2009 VeloNews Road Racing calendar is now available at bike shops and online at VeloGear.com. The 12-by-12-inch full color calendar features images from road racing around the world. The 2009 Inside Triathlon and International Mountain Bicycling Association calendars also are now available from VeloGear.

Mont Ventoux could play judge, jury and executioner in the 96th Tour de France in what some are already calling a climber’s course. For the 2009 Tour, officials saved the best and hardest for last, with the mighty Ventoux poised in the penultimate day of the 21-stage, 3445km route from Monaco to Paris. Tour officials, who unveiled the course to rave reviews in a ceremony in Paris on Wednesday, are hoping the race will be so tightly packed that almost anything could happen on the storied steeps of the géant de Provence.

Tomas Trunschka took a hard-fought stage win on Thursday — his second in three days — to keep the Czech team VIG+ Racing atop the leaderboard in the 2008 Crocodile Trophy. The Czechs attacked early in the 122km stage from the rainforest of Koombooloomba Dam to the outback cattle station at Gunnawarra Lagoon. Martin Horak got the ball rolling when the lead bunch entered the mountainous, technical powerline track, which has claimed many victims in this race. [nid:84540]

What’s most clear from Wednesday’s announcement of the 2009 Tour de France is that the winner will have to maintain top form from the very first day in Monaco on July 4 to the finish in Paris on July 26.

Lance Armstrong says the 2009 Tour de France route, unveiled Wednesday, is "innovative and very interesting" and he said he looks forward to negotiating with Tour officials about "a mutually beneficial future together." In the statement released Wednesday afternoon, Armstrong appeared to be a bit ambivalent about whether he would ride the Tour next year.

Czech cyclist Ondrej Fojtik is one step closer to achieving his dream of winning the Crocodile Trophy after snatching the leaders jersey from the shoulders of teammate Tomas Trunschka during the second stage from Irvinebank to Koombooloomba Dam in tropical North Queensland.

Call the 2009 Tour de France a race of innovation and originality. Unwinding like a corkscrew from Monaco on July 4 to the finale into Paris three weeks later, the 21-stage race will be one hard to control and full of room for riders who dare to defy traditional tactics. Mont Ventoux is back, and so is the team time trial, but what makes the 2009 Tour route so interesting is that organizers were not afraid to throw convention to the wind.

The men favored to contest for the yellow jersey in the 2009 Tour de France applauded the route revealed in Paris on Wednesday, calling it “difficult, but interesting.” The 96th edition of the Tour de France will begin on July 4 in the Mediterranean Principality of Monaco, race director Christian Prudhomme announced at the Palais des Congrès of Paris on Wednesday.