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Budget-friendly Tommasso Mondial — butted aluminum and Ultegra for less than a grand

I’m back.

Embattled cycling star Tom Boonen could face a six-month ban from cycling after his second positive test for cocaine, according to the sport’s international governing body. Boonen, who recently claimed a third victory in the prestigious Paris-Roubaix one-day classic, tested positive for cocaine in April – less than a year after he tested positive for the drug for the first time, in May 2008.

Giro 2009 Tech: Continuous carbon threads run from the fork leg up into the steerer of the SuperSix.

Giro 2009 Tech: The 2010 Cannondale SuperSix is made in Asia.

Giro 2009 Tech: At 6-foot-5, Lennard Zinn found the 63cm SuperSix a great fit.

Giro 2009 Tech: Cannondale runs the bottom bracket area as wide as possible.

Giro 2009 Tech: The SuperSix uses BB30 technology inside a huge bottom bracket.

Giro 2009 Tech: The SuperSix's huge head tube has a 1.5-inch lower bearing.

Giro 2009 Tech: The SuperSix seatstays flex for a comfortable ride.

Giro 2009 Tech: All but one Liquigas riders are on stock SuperSix frames.

Giro 2009 Tech: The SuperSix comes in eight sizes.

Giro 2009 Tech: 2010 Cannondale SuperSix

Ivan Basso was eager to prove at the Giro del Trentino that he is back on form and must be considered the favorite for the Giro d’Italia. He did just that, and his efforts were assisted by having the right tool, namely his new, all-carbon Cannondale SuperSix. The SuperSix has taken a big jump in frame design since it was introduced in 2008, and its performance was a surprise to me. Being 6-foot-5, off-the-shelf bikes are rarely big enough for me to ride comfortably. Even if they are, the tallest size often tends to shimmy at high speeds or with the hands off the bars.

Tuesday’s first mountain stage provided an interesting antipasti of who’s going to be the main attraction in this centenary Giro d’Italia.   Danilo Di Luca (LPR), the 2007 Giro champion, sprinted to victory ahead of 2000 Giro winner Stefano Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone) out of an elite group of about 40 riders to remind everyone that he’s still a force to reckon with.  

Rarely has a modern grand tour entered the mountains as early as does this year’s Giro. After a brief team time trial and two flattish stages disrupted by crashes (because of the maximum-size field of 198 riders racing on narrow, technical finishing circuits), the three-week race heads for the Dolomites on Tuesday.

Framebuilder Ugo De Rosa can look back on a glorious past, having built steel bicycles for a long line of champions, among them Eddy Merckx and Francesco Moser. But the De Rosa family continues to press forward, producing frames in a variety of materials to meet the demands of a rapidly changing market. The rise of carbon fiber “changed the Italian bicycle industry,” said Doriano De Rosa, one of Ugo’s sons.

Great Britain’s Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate) won his 16th World Cup race May 10 in La Bresse, France, tying Frenchman Nicolas Vouilloz’ record for wins in the series. Vouilloz, mountain biking’s winningest male downhiller, collected 16 World Cup victories and seven world championships between 1993 and 2002. Peat also took over the series lead from teammate Greg Minnaar, who won the opener in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. “I’m very happy to win after such a long time,” said Peat. “It’s good to keep the jersey in the team.”

San Francisco, Calif. (May 11, 2009) – Organizers of the San Francisco Twilight Criterium say the event will be postponed until September of 2010, due to a lack of adequate sponsorship. “Unfortunately, in this lackluster economic climate, securing sponsorship dollars is a tough task,” said race director Ryan Dawkins of Project Sport, LLC. “We had a choice between putting on a smaller event or waiting until next year to do it right, and on the grand scale our fans expect.”

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Christian Vande Velde came into his own last season with a run of stunning successes: A strong showing at the Tour of California, the pink jersey at the Giro, a stellar fourth place in the Tour de France, and to cap the season, the Tour of Missouri overall win. This year Vande Velde scored a stage win at Paris-Nice, and looks set for another top season that he hopes is set back only slightly by his injuries in Monday's stage 3 crash at the Giro.

Team Quick Step’s management has urged Tom Boonen to undergo professional counseling after his second positive test for cocaine, but added that it would stand by him while he serves a suspension. The 28-year-old Boonen, Belgium's top cyclist, is facing up to what could be a premature end to his impressive career after his second positive test for cocaine, which came just two weeks after winning Paris-Roubaix for the third time. He first tested positive for the drug in May 2008.

Price: $15 to $30 Sizes: SM/Med and L/XL Colors: Dozens Web site: www.walzcaps.com Walz Caps is a producer of a wide range of stylish cycling caps. Their handmade in the USA caps are available with many color and pattern options within each of seven styles.

Price: $50 to $260 each Sizes: 8mm to 30mm Web site: www.bocabearings.com Boca Bearings has upgraded its ceramic bearing line with the new Peeka Boo 5. The new Peeka Boo 5 uses both ceramic races and ceramic balls, which Boca believes contributes to a greater reduction of friction and perhaps a better wear rate. The races are ABEC 5 and made of Zirconia, and the balls are grade 5 and made of Silicon Nitride. Boca believe that the new grade-5 balls are more spherical than previously available.

It was a bittersweet day for Garmin-Slipstream in Monday’s third stage at the Giro d’Italia.   Tyler Farrar bolted to second place in the stage, climbed into second place overall at eight seconds back of race leader Alessandro Petacchi (LPR) as well as second in the points jersey and earned some prime podium time with the best young rider’s jersey.   That was the good news.   Team captain Christian Vande Velde crashed out of the Giro in a spill with about 50km to go and suffered serious injuries that will complicate his preparations for the Tour de France.  

There’s never a dull moment at the Giro d’Italia.   Just when it seemed like things were bordering on routine, all hell broke loose and the final 50km of the 198km march from Grado to Valdobbiadene turned into a crash derby.   Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) was the primary victim, crashing out with a broken rib with about 50km to go before another spill with about 12km to go completely blocked the entire breadth of the road just as the peloton ramped up for the sprint.

The anti-doping tribunal of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Monday banned Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) from competing on Italian soil for two years, the Ansa news agency announced. Valverde was cited for his role in the Operación Puerto blood doping scandal, which first came to light in May of 2006. The Spaniard can therefore not compete in any race that takes place in Italian territory, ruling him out of the next Tour de France, the 16th stage of which passes through Italy's Val D'Aosta region on July 21.

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This year, Ted King is making his professional European racing debut with the upstart Cervélo TestTeam.