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With Damiano Cunego giving the Tour de France a skip to prepare for the world championships, Lampre-NGC will instead focus on trying to win stages and leave the fight for the GC to the other teams. The Italian team brings a nine-man squad full of stage-hunters, with the lone exception of veteran Marzio Bruseghin, who will do what he can to try to finish among the top 10 overall. The improving condition of reigning world champion Alessandro Ballan, who missed the spring classics with poor health, gives Lampre a shot to fight for a stage in the breakaways and transition stages.

French veteran Christophe Moreau will headline Agritubel in what’s expected to be his final Tour de France. The 38-year-old Moreau will anchor an Agritubel team that brings a mix of youth and experience that will be on the hunt for stage victories and perhaps a spell in one of the jersey for Moreau’s exit.

Tom Boonen (Quick Step), whose participation in the next Tour de France may depend on a court order, won the Belgian road cycling championships on Sunday. The 28-year-old outsprinted Philippe Gilbert and Kristof Goddart to claim his first national title as an elite on an undulating 234km course that some felt would not favor the big rider’s strengths. "Philippe was the strongest today,” said Boonen. “I had no legs but I raced with my head. I am especially happy for my team, which did a great job.”

Brazilian Daniela Figueiredo Genovesi on Sunday became the first solo woman to finish the Race Across America in several years, taking the victory by some 10 hours over U.S. rider Janet Christiansen. Genovesi covered the the 3,021 miles from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland, in 11 days, 17 hours and eight minutes. “I don’t know the words to say how I feel,” she said. “So happy, so happy.”

The Cannondale people know a good thing when they see it, and hosting their international sales meeting and product release in Park City, Utah, is one of them. Setting up shop in the small ski town and mountain bike mecca gives Cannondale dealers and the press a chance to try out some of the company's latest products. This year we've gotten a look at Cannondale’s 2010 line, including top-end models of the cross country Scalpel, the 7900-equipped CAAD9 road bike and the race-ready CAAD9 cyclocross bike, complete with tubulars.

It’s almost July and you know what that means – it’s time to bet on the Tour de France. Bookies across Europe ? where betting on the Tour and other cycling events is quite popular ? have anointed their favorite. Alberto Contador leads the odds across all the major European betting houses, outstripping seven-time Tour champ Lance Armstrong and defending champion Carlos Sastre. In fact, Contador is so heavily favored by the bookies, that it would be hard to make much money on the Spanish climber.

Each year the BC Bike Race attracts a handful of elite cross-country racers to challenge themselves on the singletrack during the seven-day journey from Vancouver to Whistler. In 2007 Trek’s endurance racers Jeff Schalk and Chris Eatough proved to be the heaviest hitters, controlling the race virtually from start to finish. Last year World Cup riders Barry Wicks and Kris Sneddon (Kona) had the strongest legs, and faced off against a larger smattering of pro riders, Eatough and Schalk included.

It’s impossible to escape the buzz of sports chatter these days in the streets of Vancouver, British Columbia. The city is 200 days out from hosting the 2010 winter games, and Olympics is on the lips of nearly everyone. Olympic-related stories dot the local paper, the Vancouver Sun and are the topic of choice on local radio stations. It’s within this community that the BC Bike Race starts its third edition. Needless to say, the race isn’t generating nearly the hype of the approaching Olympics. That’s not a bad thing, so said race director Dean Payne.

You needn't ride too far from Andreas Hestler’s house in North Vancouver to reach the long, rocky descent for stage 1 of this year’s BC Bike Race. The trail is called “Pipeline,” as it runs along a gas pipe from atop a pine-covered mountain all the way to the waterline of the Burrard Inlet. The trail is steep and laden with obstacles. Rock-covered drop offs and slippery roots abound. Riders making the descent must squeeze in between huge trees and navigate long, narrow wooden structures. There are countless sections that are unquestionably scary.

Note: This interview was conducted several days before Cervélo TestTeam announced its 2009 Tour de France roster, which did not include Simon Gerrans. The Aussie was very surprised, writing on Twitter, “I’m still digesting the news. I’m pretty disappointed.”

Riccardo Riccò – Italy’s bad boy of racing – already has a team for next season when his 20-month ban for doping ends in 2010. Italian second division team Ceramica Flaminia has confirmed it has signed Riccò to a two-year contract and is expected to officially announce the news in a press conference this weekend.

Eyewear design is the most protected wing of the building — no pictures allowed.

Australian Cadel Evans has been given scope for a more promising tilt at the Tour de France yellow jersey with a reinforced team for the July 4-26 event. Silence-Lotto on Friday named the two-time runner-up as team leader, with his compatriot Matthew Lloyd joining Belgian Jurgen Van den Broeck and Dutchman Thomas Dekker on duties of helping Evans in the mountain stages. Germany's Sebastian Lang, who has recovered from a crash at the Dauphine Libere stage race last week, is also included.

Europe is the middle of national championship week, with most nations holding their respective time trial races Thursday and Friday ahead of road racing action this weekend. Here’s a wrap-up of the some of the main events: Spain: Contador
Alberto Contador (Astana) confirmed his favorite status for the upcoming Tour de France as he won the Spanish national time trial title Friday in Cantabria in northern Spain.