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Three-time Amgen Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer will contest the road and circuit races this Friday and Saturday at the Sea Otter Classic, event officials confirmed Thursday night. Leipheimer lives in Santa Rosa, California, 170 miles from Sea Otter’s home at Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey. Leipheimer has raced Sea Otter before. In 2006 when riding for Gerolsteiner, the Montana native played a decisive role as a one-man team in the circuit race on the 2.6-mile loop. That year Jelly Belly’s Matty Rice took the win ahead of Health Net’s Karl Menzies.

09 Sea Otter: And win Schmitt did - the biggest of his budding career, he said

09 Sea Otter: Jacques-Maynes told Schmitt he was going to win

09 Sea Otter: Bissell put Jacques-Maynes, O'Bee and Schmitt off the front

09 Sea Otter: Land Rover was the only other full team to contest Bissell

09 Sea Otter: Criterium winner Morgan Schmitt

09 Sea Otter: Bissell delivered an easy win to Schmitt

Team Bissell steamrolled the Sea Otter Classic criterium Thursday, attacking the field en masse until they had three men clear. Morgan Schmitt was given the win after riding essentially a three-man team time trial with Ben Jacques-Maynes and Kirk O’Bee. With the field split into two groups behind them on an out-and-back course, Bissell’s three leaders decided the podium on the road. Jacques-Maynes, one of Bissell’s marquee riders who has already found success this year, let Schmitt know who got the top step.

09 Sea Otter: Fat or skinny, big or small, all bikes find a place at the Otter

09 Sea Otter: Four days of forecasted sunshine makes for happy campers

09 Sea Otter: More than 250 brands set up shop in the expo

09 Sea Otter: Riders of all ages ride and race the Otter

09 Sea Otter: A reflective view from the Ibis trailer

09 Sea Otter: "Big C" has been coming to Sea Otter for more than 10 years

2009 Sea Otter Classic

Nearly 20 years ago some 350 mountain bikers congregated to race cross-country and dual slalom at the Laguna Seca Challenge. The events of that 1991 weekend eventually grew into the Sea Otter Classic, which this year will host multiple thousands of racers competing in the widest range of disciplines of any event in North America.

Buried deep in a press release from the Cyclistes Professionnel Asociés released on Thursday was a rather troubling statistic. According to the CPA, there are a total of 866 riders registered with the UCI for the 2009 season. That total marks a drop of 21 percent in respect to 2008 and a 29 percent drop from 2007. The group said that a total of 476 riders were registered with 18 ProTour teams and another 390 riders with continental teams.

It’s official: Lance Armstrong will be in Venice next month to race the 2009 Giro d’Italia. "The recovery is going well and the plan is to be at the Giro," Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins told VeloNews. Several Italian media outlets reported that Armstrong confirmed to race officials Thursday that he will be at the May 9 start of the centenary Giro.   Both La Gazzetta dello Sport and Tutto Bici reported that Giro race director Angelo Zomegnan received official confirmation from Armstrong on Thursday.  

Price: $750 to $3,350 Weight: Rim 195 grams Sizes: 606 effective rim diameter Web site: www.edgecomposites.com When it comes to weight, Edge Composites wants nothing to do with it for the new 25 Tubular wheelset, the company's premium climbing wheelset, with a low aero 24mm profile.

It’s a format not commonly seen in American races, but team managers preparing for this weekend’s Tour of the Battenkill say their teams are ready for the one-day race’s combination of dirt and paved roads and steep climbs.

Less than one year ago Scott Tedro was just another passionate and affluent cyclist whose growing love for the sport had persuaded him to invest some cash in at the grassroots level.

There’s just no slowing down Jimmy Casper.   The French sprinter from Besson-Sojasun bolted to his second win this week after sprinting to victory in the 50th GP de Denain in France on Thursday. Casper also won Paris-Camembert on Tuesday.   Casper, a winner here in 2005 and 2006, covered the 202.7km course, which included a 15.2km circuit completed five times, in 4:40:18.  

Steven Cozza had a front-row seat for his debut at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.   The 24-year-old bolted into the day’s main breakaway and then led the move across the famous Arenberg cobblestone section. Luckily, he wasn’t seriously injured in a late-race crash on a slick corner and was able to finish the race.   Things didn’t go as expected for the Garmin-Slipstream crew, who were quietly optimistic Martijn Maaskant would reach the final, top-three podium.  

Australian cyclist Robbie McEwen revealed on Thursday that he suffered concussion but did not fracture any ribs after falling in the McEwen gets a concussion, but no broken bones in the Scheldeprijs pile-up in Schoten, Belgium. "I have concussion, but my ribs, my collarbone and my pelvis are all intact," he told the Web site of Belgian television station Sporza. The Katusha rider landed heavily after coming off his bike in the closing stages of Wednesday's race and initially expressed fears that he had broken some ribs.

Dear Explainer,
What does one do in order to secure a job as a cycling team soigneur? What are the qualifications? What are the limitations? What are the pros and cons?
Thanks,
David Barr Hello David,

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