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Bike racing is quite unlike the mainstream “stick-and-ball” sports that most Americans grew up playing, and can often be confusing, or a even a complete mystery. Even other endurance sports, such as marathon running or triathlon, lack the complexities and tactics of professional road cycling. In those sports, the person that is in the front of the race is usually the one that wins. That’s seldom always the case in cycling. In fact, it’s possible to win the Tour de France without crossing the line first on any of the 21 stages.

Colavita’s Sebastien Haedo and Brooke Miller (TIBCO) delighted fans on the crowded streets of Uptown Minneapolis by uncorking powerful sprints to win Stage 3 of Minnesota’s Nature Valley Grand Prix on Friday evening. The second criterium in a busy week of racing brought the racers back into the Twin Cities. This year, however, the race was moved to Uptown Minneapolis from the downtown course that has been used in years past. The pancake-flat, six-corner criterium was the perfect venue for fans to take in the action as the racers sped around Calhoun Square at twilight.

Heather Irmiger and Todd Wells both rode 29-inch wheeled mountain bikes to victory at the Carmichael Training Systems Sand Creek short track in Colorado Springs. The event was the second round of the 2009 Trailwatch.net national short-track series, and was held at Bear Creek Terrace Park on the western edge of the city.

Tyler Farrar is back in the winner’s circle Friday after claiming an impressive victory in the prologue of the Delta Tour Zeeland in Holland. The Garmin-Slipstream rider put his sprinter legs to good use on a short, 2.7km course in Hulst to open the three-day race in Holland, posting the fastest time of 3 minutes, 8.29 seconds (51.622kph). The blistering pace meant another win for Farrar, who has shown in the past he can put down a good prologue performance.

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Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies) took over the lead of the Tour de Beauceon Friday, after winning the stage 4 20km time trial. It was a battle of the Z's as Zwizanski took a narrow stage victory over Fly V Australia's Phil Zajicek, who put up the fastest time for awhile, before Zwizanski came in 26 seconds faster. Trek-Livestrong's young New Zealander, Jessie Sergent, was third. Overnight race leader Sergio Luis Henao of the Colombia national team was 21st at 1:42 behind Zwizanski and fell to second on the GC, at 1:03 behind. His teammate, Darwin Atapuma, is third.

Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) delivered a French stage victory Friday out of a breakaway in the short, 106km sixth stage from Gap to Briancon at the Dauphiné Libéré. Overnight leader Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) rode confidently in the main pack as 14 riders escaped over the day’s main obstacle up the Col d’Izoard to finish 16th with the same time as archrivals to retain his narrow 16-second lead going into the final weekend of racing.

Editor's Note: On June 9, VeloNews editor in chief Ben Delaney reported on the failure of a Mavic R-Sys front wheel in a Boulder criterium. The following is Mavic's response to that article.

MAVIC’S RESPONSE TO VELONEWS ARTICLE PUBLISHED JUNE 9, 2009

This letter is to address Ben Delaney’s article 'A Shattering Experience' posted on Velonews.com on June 9, 2009. We thank VeloNews for their continued help in investigating this accident and giving us the opportunity to respond.

Twenty-one teams are heading to the Vuelta a España in late August, but not everyone is going to be happy. Among the major teams left on the sidelines for the season’s third grand tour are two ProTour squads, the Russian-backed Katusha and Spanish Fuji-Servetto teams, as well as the Italian continental standout, LPR. The Vuelta organization, which released its list of invitees Friday morning, included 16 of 18 ProTour teams among the starting lineup.

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Colavita’s Alejandro Borrajo and Erica Allar (ValueAct Capital Team) sprinted to wins in the second stage of the 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix, a 66.5-mile road race through rural Minnesota. Despite a challenging course and aggressive racing, both Tom Zirbel (Bissel Pro Cycling) and Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team) retained their overall race leads.

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USA Cycling’s Professional Cross-country Tour (ProXCT) resumes this Friday in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the Carmichael Training Systems Sand Creek International. The Friday-Saturday event includes short track and cross-country competition between the continent’s top off-road racers, as well as age-group cross-country races in the amateur ranks. The event is the fourth round of the Pro XCT and the sixth round of the Kenda Cup West, the west coast wing of the Sho Air-Specialized U.S. Cup of mountain bike racing.

Jonathan Vaughters' Garmin-Slipstream squad has had it rough with injuries and illnesss for the first half of the season. Injuries to team leaders, including Christian Vande Velde's multiple fractures suffered in a stage 3 crash at the Giro d'Italia and David Millar's severe shoulder injury on the final day of Paris-Nice, have created an oddly easy environment for roster selection in April and May. 

Two amateur racers died Tuesday while on a training ride after being struck by an SUV near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Another rider was seriously injured in the crash. The driver of the SUV, 38-year-old Tausah Borland, was detained Tuesday evening on suspicion of drunk driving. She was released after posting bail of $100,000. An Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokesman told VeloNews that it could be four to five weeks before Borland's blood test results are available and county prosecutors decide whether to charge her.

Two time Tour de France champion Laurent Fignon has confirmed that he has been diagnosed with advanced intestinal cancer. “My cancer is an advanced cancer because it has metastasized,” the 48-year-old Fignon said in an interview to be broadcast on French television on Sunday. “We know for certain it’s in the pancreas and we don’t know the rest. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I am optimistic. I am going to fight and I am sure I can win the battle.” Fignon said he began treatment as soon as the diagnosis was confirmed.

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Rabobank mechanic registered one of the all-time best bike changes to keep Denis Menchov in pink in Rome