Road

The Tour of the Battenkill Valley, an upstate New York road race that has captured the imagination of many Northeastern riders with its partly dirt route, will be a two-day event with a pro road race next year. But the new pro race will not be UCI sanctioned or part of USA Cycling's America Tour calendar, as the promoter would have liked. USA Cycling and UCI officials say the race's short history and unusual course raise too many question marks, especially after deadlines have passed for requesting UCI sanctioning.

After considering an end to its involvement in cycling, German dairy manufacturer Nordmilch announced Friday that it will remain as title sponsor of the Milram team for at least another year. The company, whose contract with the team expires at the end of 2009, had reportedly consulted with attorneys to explore the possibility of ending its support a year early. Milram remains the sole German ProTour team after sparkling water distributor Gerolsteiner pulled its support from the cycling team of the same name in light of doping scandals involving its two top riders.

Weight: 83 grams Sizes: 90, 110, and 120mm Price: $199.00 Web site: www.rotorbike.com With the new Rotor SL MTB stem you can shave off a few more grams to make your mountain bike that much more responsive and make climbing just that much more effortless. With the use of only two screws for the handlebars and two for the steer tube, the Rotor SL MTB stem still achieves the required clamping force using its dual-thread pitch DTT Evo bolts with T25 Torx heads.

Colors: Black, Egglplant, Periwinkle, Orange, and Moss Green Sizes: Fits 22.2-25.4mm and 31.8mm handlebars Price: $25 to $40 Web site: www.trekbikes.com[nid:85626] The Trek Time series includes fun, simple, and functional watches for those looking for an entry-level bike computer. The ability to snap the computer on and off the handlebars allows you to detach it when you make stops during your ride or commute without worrying about theft.

Sizes: XS to XL Price: $65 Web site: www.dakine.com/bike The Dakine Storm Rider includes a Gore Tex insert to help to keep your hands dry from precipitation and the Thinsulate insulation. For durability, the Storm Rider uses Dakine's Weathershield shell. And out of consideration for your sniffling red nose, they stitched terrycloth panels to the thumbs.

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In addition to taking surfing lessons, attending team meetings and logging some miles, the Astana team has been busy testing new equipment during this week’s training camp in Tenerife. One of the many items under test was a spanking new set of as-yet-unnamed Bontrager wheels that Lance Armstrong has called “insanely fast.” According to Trek spokesman Ben Coates, the wheels are a prototype, and the only pair around at the moment.[nid:85646]

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Lance Armstrong has indicated he could race for a full two years after launching his comeback from retirement with a bid for an eighth Tour de France crown. The seven-time yellow jersey champion, who also reiterated his innocence in the face of drugs allegations over the years, added that he was happy to finish way down the standings of the world's biggest race if it meant helping promote his global fight against cancer.

Lance Armstrong on Thursday played down any rumors of internal strife in his new Astana team. The American was keen to show, at least, that Astana is one big happy family. The 37-year-old suggested he would be happy to race as the team's second or third-in command if circumstances demanded it. [nid:85596] "I've been ... racing professionally since 1992, when Alberto was, what, ten," Armstrong said in a news conference in Tenerife in Spain where he is training with Astana. "I think Alberto has obviously a tremendous amount of natural talent, and can read a race.[nid:85586]

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Web site: www.hutchinsontires.com[nid:85576][nid:85577] Have you been looking to run tubeless tires on your road bike? If not, here's a few reasons why you should: no pinch flats; ability to run lower pressure for better traction and a smoother ride; less weight than traditional tube-dependent clinchers; less expensive than tubulars. Now Hutchinson offers a variety of 127 tpi tubeless road tires. The Atom is a single compound, slick-type road tire that offers low weight, safety, and dry weather race performance.

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has been training with new Astana teammate Alberto Contador in the Canaries, his team announced on Wednesday. On Monday, the 37-year-old Armstrong revealed his intention to ride in the 2009 Tour de France after a four-year absence. An Astana spokesperson told AFP that "Contador rode in Armstrong's group for almost an hour", before the Spaniard took a plane to Madrid to receive a prize from sport paper AS on Wednesday night. The two stars of the Astana team trained in separate groups on Tuesday.

The final two weekends of 'cross racing in the United States are upon us and when I think back to Star Crossed in September, just one week after finishing the Tour of Missouri and a long road season, it’s hard to remember all the racing up to this point. This 'cross season has been packed with travel and races every weekend. So, as we barrel down to the final and most important weeks of the season, it’s really awesome to think back on some of the great battles we’ve all had against one another.

Although he is only three days into the Astana team’s first pre-season training camp on the island of Tenerife, Lance Armstrong has already shown team manager Johan Bruyneel that he will be ready for the new season. “Yeah, he’s in good shape,” said Bruyneel when the team returned to base after their third training spin of the camp, a three and a quarter hour ride, which according to the Belgian included "a few hills, but nothing special."[nid:85556]

Sara Carrigan, an Olympic road champion in 2004, has announced her retirement from professional cycling, Cycling Australia reported on Wednesday. The 28-year-old Carrigan represented Australia at eight world championships, two Commonwealth Games and two Olympic Games. Four years ago in Athens she won gold in the road race. Carrigan was twice Australian champion in the road time trial and won a clutch of victories in international races around the world.

Price: $95 to $125[nid:85546][nid:85548] Web site: www.sanmarcovintage.com In the world of cycling, fashion is determined by small details that are typically overlooked by the "noobs" and those not involved in the sport. One of the more subtle, yet convincing ways to step up your cycling fashion is with a classy saddle.

Matching your tire to a course’s conditions is a key to achieving the best possible result. There are currently three major tubular tire manufacturers that design, manufacture and produce complete tire lines: Challenge, Dugast and Tufo. Each manufacturer’s line is made up of three models — file tread, all-condition and mud — in a multitude of sizes.

Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong will train together for the first time on Thursday, their Astana team said. On Tuesday, the two former Tour de France champs trained in separate groups in a session that began on Sunday on the island of Tenerife. "We have groups each day, one with the best prepared cyclists and the other with the least prepared," an Astana spokesman said. The two are to train together "in theory” on Thursday.

Katie Compton, four-time national champion and worlds silver medalist, does not have a component sponsor. Compton and her mechanic husband Mark Legg, are not entirely pleased about this state of affairs, but the pair does enjoy the freedom to choose the parts they prefer.

From Michael Ball, Rock Racing Team Owner Culver City, Calif. – “Whenever a rider is suspended – be it for doping or any disciplinary issue – it brings negative attention to the sport that so many of us are working hard to cast in a positive light.”

Do I need wedges under my cleats?

December 1, 2008 Sean Petty Chief Operating Officer USA Cycling 1 Olympic Plaza, ??Colorado Springs, CO 80909 Dear Mr. Petty:

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y) has stepped up to support the Tour of the Battenkill’s application to ?be included in the 2009 UCI America Tour. In mid-November, despite authorization from the UCI for a late application, USA Cycling declined to review promoter Dieter Drake’s bid to replace the Tour of Georgia on the UCI America Tour.

What brings a team together? CSC’s boot camps are legendary. Often teams bring in consultants that help with “team building” activities. Ropes courses are status quo. A little trust-tree action from time to time is surely part of the deal. Last year on Garmin we realized that while all of this is well and good, and does form solid ties, we found something even better — booze, and bar-food-fueled attempts to stimulate Boulder’s nocturnal economy.

Dear Lennard,
I'm a 39-year-old, 175 lb., 150-200 miles-per-week recreational rider who frequently rides long charity rides and occasionally races. I recently switched to Specialized Armadillo Elite tires to avoid a rash of flats I'd been having, and they've worked wonders (no flats at all since the switch.) I had most recently been riding Schwalbe Stelvios, and Michelin Lithions prior to them.

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A three-member arbitration panel has suspended Rock Racing rider Kayle Leogrande for two years, after concluding that he used EPO during last year's Super Week, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Monday. The independent panel of arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association (AAA)/North American Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) unanimously found that Leogrande, 31, used EPO when competing at Superweek on July 26, 2007. Leogrande, who has the option to appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport, said he was not yet prepared to respond to the panel’s decision.

America's seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong announced on Monday that he will be trying for an unprecedented eighth Tour title as well as his first win at the Giro d'Italia. The 37-year-old Texan had been thought to be solely focusing on the Giro, but said on Monday that he also intends to take on the Tour in July. "Lance Armstrong announces his participation in the 2009 Tour de France," announced his Astana team on its Web site.

The weather for Storm the Greens was not stormy, but it was ‘cross weather — temperatures in the low 40s, spitting rain, and wind. But that didn't deter the 200-plus racers who came out to vie for Zipp OVCX Tour points and Kentucky State Championship medals. In the Elite Men's race, Ryan Knapp (BikeReg.com) continued his string of dominating performances. Knapp separated himself from a lead group of four after two laps and never looked back.

Todd Wells (GT Bicycles) and Amanda Miller (Mesa Cycles) took the wins on the second day of Iowa City's Carousel Volkswagen Jingle Cross Rock, on a day when overnight snow turned the course's Mt. Krumpit descent into a muddy bog that looked more like a bobsled run.

Wells the elder

The Danish cycling team led by former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis has lost its co-sponsor Monday after software firm IT Factory declared bankruptcy and said its chief executive had embezzled 500 million kroner ($85 million). The team was previously known as CSC Saxo Bank, but was due to change its name to Saxo Bank-IT Factory for the 2009 season after the Danish software company had apparently stepped up to replace the American Computer Services Corporation as a co-sponsor.

France’s Ag2r La Mondiale team will be back for next month's Tour Down Under in Australia, organizers said Monday. Ag2r La Mondiale has the best overall record in the Tour Down Under with four winners since the first race in 1999 -- Spaniard Mikel Astarloza (2003), Gilles Maignan of France (2000), Australian Simon Gerrans (2006) and Swiss Martin Elmiger (2007). "It is great news that such a quality team will be competing in Adelaide in January," race director Mike Turtur said.

Thirty-five degrees, steady showers, gray skies … in short, perfect conditions for the final round of the BikeReg.com MABRAcross series, which also served as the Maryland, Delaware and D.C. cyclocross championships. The course was a long loop with many off-camber sections made treacherous by the weather conditions.

Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) and Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM Racing-Seven Cycles) won this weekend's Bay State Cyclocross race in Sterling, Massachusetts, the seventh event of the Verge New England Cyclo-Cross Series. Driscoll's win solidified his overall lead in the Verge series. Bruno-Roy was in third place in the series coming into the Sterling race, behind series leader Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona) and Rebecca Wellons (Ridley). Dombroski was not at the Sterling race. [nid:85483]

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Troy Wells (Clif Bar) and Todd Wells (GT) kicked off the 2008 UCI Carousel Volkswagen Jingle Cross Rock in Iowa City, Iowa, in fine style. The brothers finished 1-2 in the first day of racing, with Andy Jacques-Maynes (California Giant Strawberries) finishing third. In the women's event, Devon Haskell, Lisa Strong, and Josie Jacques-Maynes fought for position in a very tight event. In the final laps, Haskell pulled away from the other two, with Strong placing second and Jacques-Maynes claiming third. [nid:85492]

Brothers in arms

The team formerly known as Saunier Duval and then Scott-American Beef, has a new title sponsor for the 2009 season. The new Fuji-Servetto squad will retain its ProTour status. The team was close to collapse after the positive doping test of Italian climbing sensation Ricardo Riccò at the Tour de France. Both Riccò and teammate Leonardo Piepoli were both found to have used the new EPO variant, known as CERA.

Alberto Contador’s busy off-season is finally coming to a close and cycling’s latest “triple crown” winner is keen to get back on the bike. The Spanish climber heads to Spain’s Canary Islands this week for Astana’s first pre-season training camp ahead of the 2009 season, where he will finally meet his new teammate Lance Armstrong face-to-face.

American Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) and Belgian Erwin Vervecken (Fidea) won the fourth round of the cyclocross World Cup, the Cross of Koksijde Dunes, in Belgium on Saturday. Compton outsprinted world champion Hanka Kupfernagel, beating the German by one second to the line on Saturday. Kupfernagel, who won her fourth world cyclocross title in January, finished 17 seconds ahead of Holland's Daphny van den Brand. Compton’s win moves her to seventh place in the overall World Cup standings, with 110 points, well behind Kupfernagel’s solid first place, with 220.

Price: $34.95 Web site:www.roadrashrepairkit.com Road rash: Large, shallow abrasions caused by sliding across pavement without a full Kevlar suit. Symptoms: Loss of sleep, reduced mobility, and hypersensitivity to hot water, resulting in unpleasant cold showers and general crankiness.

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Former Gerolsteiner rider Stefan Schumacher, who failed a doping test at the Tour de France, said Thursday he will sue the French anti-doping authorities (AFLD) for defamation. "I have been judged and pilloried," Schumacher, who has always denied doping, wrote on his Web site. "My conscience is clear." "I don't want to stop here and I will not stop here," Schumacher added. "The people who have always believed in me and continue to do so and don't deserve this." Schumacher is one of four riders to have failed a test for the new EPO variant known as CERA at this year's Tour de France.

German milk-product manufacturers Milram is considering an early exit from its multi-million Euro sponsorship of the professional cycling team, a German newspaper report claimed on Thursday. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine, the company has sought legal advice about whether it can finish its sponsorship agreement before the contract expires in 2010. The current sponsorship contract is reported to be worth eight million Euros ($10.3 million) a year.

The Ohio State Championships were held in Columbus this past weekend on a course that featured equal parts power and equal parts skill. However, the presence of strong winds on race day made the power sections more significant, as three sections of lengthy straightaway went straight into a headwind. The park was extremely spectator-friendly, with most watchers perched up on the finish line hill looking down on the entire course.

Another unseasonably dry Oregon afternoon greeted about 500 competitors at the Kruger's Crossing Cyclocross Classic, the closing race of Portland's local 'cross scene before the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix comes to town Dec. 6 and 7 for its finale. [nid:85434] Held on Sauvie's Island, an agricultural area and migratory bird sanctuary about 20 minutes from downtown Portland, the course sent riders careening along rutted farm roads, through berry fields, pastures, a barn, over a pile of pumpkins and past a dead rat. And, of course, we shouldn't forget the beer garden and bonfire.

In my travels this fall I've gathered a notebook and a camera memory card full of neat new products — or soon-to-be-maybe products — that have yet to find a home on VeloNews.com. Here is a buffet table full of a few of them:

Speedplay's new mountain pedal

Web site: www.geargrinder.com Geargrinder is a new casual cycling apparel company that features eco-friendly clothing and accessories for the everyday rider. The clothing is ride-ready, yet suitable for looking and feeling good off the bike or after a ride.

The Nov. 16 installment of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup traveled to the southern suburb of the Village of Lansing. The course was flat as a pancake; however, it was filled with multiple twisty sections and a loose sand pit.

American Tom Danielson will be starting his second season with Garmin next year, but he’s looking at it as a fresh start. After a frustrating year that started with a broken shoulder and little fitness, the former Discovery Channel rider and Tour de Georgia champion is eager to get cracking with off-season training this winter. He sat down with VeloNews during team camp to talk about Belgian racing, rehabbing a shoulder and battling with his own brain. VeloNews: What’s new, Tom?

Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador will train together for the first time in the Astana team in Spain's Canary Islands this month, Astana said. Seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong, who announced his comeback to cycling after a three-year hiatus earlier this year, and Contador, who has won all three of the sport's three-week grand tours, will take part in the November 30 to December 8 session on the island of Tenerife, an Astana spokesman said.

Rain drops fall heavily on my jacket as I weave my way through throngs of haughtily dressed Japanese women, each staring disapprovingly at me though their transparent Hello Kitty umbrellas, as they go about their upscale shopping in downtown Kobe city. I am searching for an elusive Coffee/Bike/Dog Grooming/Hair Salon that is rumored to hold the best coffee in the Kansai region of Japan. It is closed. I end up at a eerily familiar Mr Doughnut and, two cups of grime and five doughnuts later, I make my way back out into the rain and begin my search for home.

Weston Schempf and Betsy Shogren turned in strong performances to win the Men’s and Women’s 1-2-3 classes at the Squadra Coppi Tacchino Ciclocross (i.e.: “Turkey Cyclocross”) on Sunday at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg, Virginia.

Colavita-Sutter Home has announced its 2009 team roster, which includes most of re-signed its core squad for the 2009 season and added Aaron Olson, who comes to the team from Bissell.    Returning riders include Cuba's Luis Amaran, Argentinean sprinters Alejandro and Anibal Borrajo and Sebastian Haedo, climber Anthony Colby, Kyle Wamsley, and all-arounders Luca Damiani, Davide Frattini, and Tyler Wren.  Olson raced for Colavita in 2004 and 2005 before heading to Europe to ride with Saunier-Duval and T-Mobile.  He returned to the domestic peloton last year with Bissell.

Retail price: $18.95 Web site: www.velopress.com Pages: 224 Weight Training for Cyclists: A Total Body Program for Power and Endurance by Ken Doyle and Eric Schmitz is now available in a revised second edition. The new edition features: • All-new illustrations for clarity and ease of use • A new chapter on stretching and warm-up • Expanded coverage of core strength and lower-body strength exercises

Should I wax my carbon seatpost?

Bradley Wiggins may be Garmin’s highest-profile signing for 2009, but Christian Meier may be the team’s most promising young hire. Along with Svein Tuft, Meier comes to Garmin from the Canadian Symmetrics team. But in a way, Meier was already there; the tri-lingual 23-year-old spent the last half of the 2008 season as a stagiare with Garmin.

Bouygues Telecom has signed a former Japanese national champion for the 2009 season, the French team announced Tuesday. Yukira Arashiro, the Japanese champion in 2007, becomes one of just a few riders from his country to be given a chance to compete in the European peloton. Bouygues is hoping the 24-year-old, who is said to be comfortable on most types of terrain, will show his full potential in one of cycling's three grand tours.

Spanish cyclist Manuel Beltran has been banned from racing in France for two years after testing positive for the banned blood booster EPO at this year's Tour de France. France's national anti-doping agency (AFLD) made the announcement Tuesday.

If there was a representative moment of Saturday night’s Garmin-Slipstream 2009 team presentation, it came as the squad took the stage of the Boulder Theater following a few short videos and words from both team sponsors and management. As the 27 riders sauntered single-file up a short staircase and onto a stage scattered with couches in no particular order, the last men onstage were left to sit in chairs placed at the front of the stage.

The price of 11s
Dear Lennard,
I have been riding Campagnolo components for years and years. The new 11s stuff looks great, but the new 11s cranks are not inexpensive.

I cannot understand why given a 5.5 to 5.9 mm difference in changes the 10s crank would not work fine. Do you have any experience with the 11s parts used with a 10s crank. I happen to have a carbon 10 crank, first generation, Record.
Jeff

Dear Jeff,
I think you’ll find that your Record crank will work just fine with the 11-speed group.

Web site: www.fizik.it Weight: 145 grams Are lightweight saddles a pain in the butt for you? Well, Fi’zi:k has created a new saddle that may satisfy your lightweight obsession without sacrificing the comfort of your backside. The Antares is the third ‘a’ between Fi’zi:k’s two other premium a’s: Aliante and Arione. Compared to others in the ultra-lightweight saddle category, Antares has 300 percent more padding and 50 percent more flat sitting area, yet it weighs only 145 grams.

Colors: White, Silver, Grey White, Black Sizes: 38 to 48 Price: $400 Web site: www.gaerne.com There is no question of whether or not the Gaerne Myst is a high quality road shoe. Every stitch, perforation, and bit of material was designed to serve a function, and do it well.

Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen) and Melanie Swartz (Vela Bella- Kona) won Saturday's events at the North Carolina Grand Prix in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The UCI Cat. 2 events were part of the North Carolina Cyclocross series, which concludes next weekend the finals in Salisbury, North Carolina. The Hendersonville races continue Sunday.

Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen) and Melanie Swartz (Vela Bella- Kona) won both events at this weekend's North Carolina Grand Prix in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The UCI Cat. 2 events were part of the North Carolina Cyclocross series, which concludes next weekend the finals in Salisbury, North Carolina.

The UCI Licenses Commission has granted an additional seven ProTour licenses, bring the number of teams holding the governing body’s top designation to 16. In release issued on Monday, the UCI announced that the panel has approved the applications of Cofidis (F), Française des Jeux (F), Katusha (RUS), Quick Step (BEL), Saxo Bank-IT Factory (DEN), Silence-Lotto (BEL) and Rabobank (NED). The commission is still reviewing the applications of Euskaltel-Euskadia and BBox-Bouygues Telecom.

Triple grand tour winner Alberto Contador underwent a successful surgery on his injured nose, a spokesman reported Monday. "Doctors who operated on him fixed a deviation in his nasal partition," his spokesman said in a statement. The 2007 Tour de France winner's injury resulted from a fall during this year’s Giro d’Italia, which resulted in breathing problems. The statement said Contador will leave hospital on Tuesday and can join his Astana team at a training camp in the Canary Islands on November 30.

A pair of UCI category one and a pair of cat. 2 events made up this past weekend's USA Cycling Cyclocross National Calendar. At Long Island's Whitmore's Landscape Super Cross Cup — the cat. 1 events — Ryan Trebon (Kona) won on Saturday while Todd Wells took Sunday's event. Trebon moved into the USAC calendar standings lead for the first time this season. Meanwhile Georgia Gould (Luna) won both days in Long Island to increase her lead in the standings.

Bernhard Kohl, who last month admitted to using drugs in the Tour de France where he finished third, was banned from cycling for two years on Monday. The suspension was handed down by the disciplinary commission of Austria's anti-doping agency, NADA. Kohl tested positive in retroactive controls carried out by France's national anti-doping agency last month for CERA, the new generation of banned blood booster EPO.

Despite authorization from the UCI for a late application, USA Cycling declined last week to review an application to replace the Tour of Georgia in 2009 on the UCI America Tour with a two-day race in upstate New York, passing up an opportunity to fill a gap in the international calendar. As the 2009 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar stands, there will be a nearly month-long gap in NRC racing between the March 26-29 Redlands Bicycle Classic and the April 26 Dana Point Grand Prix of Cycling. In 2008 the Tour de Georgia was part of USA Cycling's Professional Tour.

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With Scot time trial specialist David Millar in the mix, Garmin-Chipotle won the Giro d’Italia’s opening team time trial this May. Having added Olympic and world pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins to the team along with Canadian strongman Svein Tuft, Garmin is anticipating an even stronger TTT crew for 2009. With a team time trial back on the menu at the Tour de France, Millar is already eager for July.

To a cycling enthusiast, the fall Garmin-Chipotle team camp may look like Christmas for the 28 riders on the squad, but to them it’s another day at the office. Whether they’re thumbing through Fi’zi:k’s ‘Blackbook,’ the brand’s 2009 saddle catalog, trying to decide which saddle to choose or test, or they’re submitting sizes for 2XU compression gear, or sitting through a lecture on wheel selection by sponsor Zipp — it’s all work. [nid:85344]

Georgia Gould delivered a knock-out at the Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup in the Hamptons Sunday to take both the race and the North American Cyclocross Trophy Championship. Meanwhile, Todd Wells went toe-to-toe with Jeremy Powers to win the men’s race while Ryan Trebon refused to tap-out after a bad break on lap one.

Alberto Contador will undergo surgery on Monday to repair a nasal injury from a crash and remove a polyp from his vocal cords. The Astana rider said he thinks a spill in the Giro d’Italia that drove his glasses into his nose left him with breathing problems. “Doctors have detected a deviation of the nasal partition toward the right that doesn't allow me to breathe properly,” he said. As regards the polyp, Contador said he has suffered from hoarseness for more than a year, and that an examination determined that the polyp was the cause.

American Floyd Landis has challenged the ruling of the international Court of Arbitration for Sport that stripped him of the 2006 Tour de France title in U.S. Federal court, charging that the system for resolving doping cases is inherently biased against the accused.

Christophe Moreau endured a forgettable 2008 season, suffering through a winless season that collapsed when he abandoned in the seventh stage of the Tour de France without making much of an impact. Moreau -- the last active rider from the “Festina 9” from the Festina Affaire of the 1998 Tour de France – wants to have at least one more strong performance before hanging up the cleats for good.