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Kelly Benefit Strategies Official Team Launch Set for Feb 26 Team Unveils New Jerseys, New Bikes and New Athletes, San Antonio, TX Minneapolis, Min., February 20, 2009 – After an unofficial winter camp in Winter Park, CO, the Kelly Benefit Strategies pro cycling team moves this weekend to San Antonio, TX to begin intensive race preparation for the 09 season and an official team launch event next week. The KBS program will introduce the 2009 lineup, unveil new jersey designs and demo the team’s new Fisher road line at the team launch February 26.

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One of the lingering tech questions from the Amgen Tour of California has finally been answered, at least partially. As early as the prologue, a reader wrote to inquire about Jelly Belly’s time trial bikes, which are GT-branded but not shown on the GT Bicycles Web site. The GT-sponsored team also used these frames (with a different paint scheme) last season. We finally tracked down Michael De Leon, PR and advocacy manager for the Cannondale Sports Group, to get some of the story.

Dear Explainer,
There is something that I don’t understand following the recent reports that A-Rod tested positive for steroids. Why is Major League Baseball not required to conduct drug testing in accordance with the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency, given that baseball is an Olympic sport? It has been said many times in VeloNews and other publications that the UCI must test per WADA requirements in order to maintain IOC eligibility. Why the double standard?

Mirco Lorenzetto used to lead out Alessandro Petacchi; now he’s beating him. The Lampre sprinter dashed to his second consecutive victory in the Giro di Sardegna on Wednesday, winning stage 2 and taking the overall lead in the five-day Italian stage race. A day after beating Petacchi in Tuesday’s opener, Lorenzetto out-kicked Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) to win the 164km stage from Porto Torres to Santu Lussurgiu.

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Price: $195 to $225 Weight: 160 grams at 225mm Sizes: 27.2mm by 225 to 400mm Colors: Red, orange, blue, green, pewter, pink and black Web site: www.kenteriksen.com The Sweetpost is a new boutique seatpost from Eriksen Cycles. Based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and established in 2006, Eriksen Cycles is a small producer of titanium bicycle frames and seatposts. [nid:88617]

A handful of Dutch reporters made the trip down to Portugal last week for the Volta ao Algarve, a small race that typically doesn’t attract much attention from the international press. This year was different because Theo Bos – the five-time world champion on the track – made his debut on the road with the Rabobank continental team. A victory in a small criterium on Feb. 15 made front-page news in the Dutch papers, but Bos had a tougher time in the hilly Algarve course against a tougher field. He abandoned in the fourth stage that featured a second-category summit finish.

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The women of ValueAct Capital are on a mission. Of course, winning races is primary. “My goal is to be one of the top three teams,” team director Lisa Hunt said at their February 10-18 training camp in Healdsburg, California. “We were top five last year. I’m confident we can be one of the top three this year.” Now in their fourth year, though, their mission has expanded. “We’re really out there to promote women’s cycling,” said Sharon Allpress, a racer on the team since 2007. “Not just to promote it, but to help it grow.”

Editor's Note: Writer/photographer Mark Johnson, who reported on his day a Garmin-Slipstream team car during stage 4 of the Tour of California, spent Sunday on Palomar Mountain in San Diego County, waiting for the final stage to come up the road.

While the Web-based cycling community was all a-Twitter over the recent theft and return of Lance Armstrong's time trial bike, another cyclist has suffered a bigger loss of personal property, but did not discover it until he returned from the recent Amgen Tour of California. Salt Lake City Police have issued an appeal for the public's help in recovering items stolen in a burglary at the home of Garmin-Slipstream’s David Zabriskie. According to police, the break-in occurred while Zabriskie was in California for the recent Amgen Tour.

Mirco Lorenzetto dashed to victory in a bunch sprint in the opening stage of the Giro di Sardegna in Italy on Tuesday. Lampre went one-two to fend off arch-rival Alessandro Petacchi (LPR) as Lorenzetto finished just ahead of teammate Enrico Gasparotto. Reigning world champion Alessandro Ballan gave a perfect lead-out to Lorenzetto to set up the victory in the 184km stage starting and finishing in Olbia. Pre-race favorite Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) came through sixth.

World Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey on Tuesday praised Lance Armstrong's comeback and the "phenomenal" interest the U.S. cyclist generated for cycling and the campaign against cancer. Fahey, who was operated on for lung cancer in 2001, applauded Armstrong's own personal struggle against cancer and the donations the U.S. cyclist generated during his comeback from retirement at Australia's Tour Down Under last month.

Officials from the Spanish cycling federation are asking for records and test results from the recently re-opened Operación Puerto doping investigation that could lead to possible racing bans, the Spanish sports daily AS reported in its Tuesday edition. Citing unnamed sources, the paper reported that the federation requested blood test results and documentation from a Madrid court Monday. That information could be used to issue racing bans for cyclists and technical staff involved in the alleged blood-doping ring.

David Millar wants nothing more than to return to the winner’s circle in 2009. Last year, Millar was a key ingredient in Garmin-Slipstream’s successful debut on the highest international level, not only helping in the frontlines but also playing an essential backroom role in helping organize and manage the team. With Garmin-Slipstream on solid footing, the veteran Scot can return to focus on racing and getting results.

Weight or air resistance?