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Road Racing

Casper wins Etoile de Bessèges opener

Jimmy Casper delivered his new Besson Chaussures team its first victory of the 2009 season after out-kicking the field in the opening stage Wednesday at the Etoile de Bessèges in southern France. Casper — best known for his stage win in the 2006 Tour de France — crossed the line ahead of compatriot Sébastian Chavanel (Française des Jeux) and Belgian Klaas Lodewyck (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) to win the 128.6km stage from Bellegarde to Le Grau-du-Roi in a mass charge to the line.

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Road

Saxo Bank ends internal anti-doping program

Top Danish cycling team Saxo Bank has officially ended an internal anti-doping program run by Dr. Ramsus Damsgaard, though he remains with the team. The team previously known as CSC introduced its much-heralded program in the wake of the Operación Puerto drugs scandal, which erupted in Spain in May 2006. But the team said in a newspaper report Wednesday that the introduction of the Union Cycliste Internationale's latest weapon in the fight against doping — the so-called “biological passport” program — had forced management into reconsidering.

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Road Racing

Cavendish wins a stage at Qatar

Mark Cavendish won his first race of the season by capturing the fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar Wednesday in Madinat Al Shamal. Team Columbia-High Road’s sprint specialist pulled ahead of a small group of riders in the final meters of the 141km stage to secure victory ahead of Germany's Heinrich Haussler (Cervélo TestTeam). Belgian Tom Boonen (Quick Step), who took the race lead from Cervélo’s Roger Hammond after winning Tuesday's stage, had launched the final drive for the line but gave up yards from home.

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Road

Napolitano hoping for return to form

Brawny Italian sprinter Danilo Napolitano – racing this week at the Tour of Qatar – is hoping a change of team colors will put him back in the heat of the sprints in 2009. After an inconsistent season that saw him miss both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, Napolitano signed with Russian-sponsored Katusha to search out new motivation. With two second-places in the opening three stages at the Qatar race, the new team colors seems to be working so far.

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Road

Ventoso signs with Italian team

Spanish sprinter Fran Ventoso has finally found a team for the 2009 season, inking a deal to join the Italian team Carmiooro-Astyle. The 26-year-old Ventoso turned pro in 2004 and raced four years with Saunier Duval. He enjoyed a breakout sprint victory in the 2006 Vuelta a España, but struggled last year with Andalucía-CajaSur. He two races early in the season but was overlooked for the team’s selection for the Vuelta.

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News

Rock Racing will ride Kestrel RT900 frames with Shimano parts for 2009

Team Rock Racing will ride Kestrel RT900 frames for the 2009 season, the bicycle company announced Tuesday. "We have built great relationships with many of Rock Racing's riders through our other brands' sponsorships, and I'm happy they will get the opportunity to race on our bikes in 2009," said Karen Bliss, marketing director at Advanced Sports, Inc., Kestrel's parent company. Advanced Sports also owns the Fuji, Breezer and SE Racing bicycle brands. Rock Racing used Fuji bikes for part of the 2008 season.

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Road Gear

Ridley’s Noah, an aero road racing frame with “sticky” surface treatments

The Ridley Noah is one of the latest in series of road frames developed specifically with aerodynamics in mind. As time trial bikes have pushed the aero envelope, many of the technologies discovered for TT use have also found a home on road frames. The added benefits incorporated by Ridley into the $3000 Noah frameset make it possibly one of the fastest road frames available.

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Road Gear

Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Gel

Price: $2.50 each Weight: 32 grams Sizes: 1.1 ounce Flavors: Blueberry Pomegranate and Vanilla Orange Web site: www.guenergy.com GU now has a high-octane version of its original energy gel. Roctane is similar to the original GU energy gel but has added nutrients, including amino acids and electrolytes.

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Road Gear

INFINIT Nutrition custom drink mixes

Sizes: 25-serving bag Price: $38.25 Web site: www.infinitnutrition.com When it comes to nutrition, size matters. A larger rider is going to require a higher caloric intake than a smaller one. In addition to size, there are other factors that result in our varying metabolic rates (and it always seems like the scrawniest guy at the table can down the biggest plate).

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Road Racing

Boonen scores a win in Qatar

Belgian Tom Boonen (Quick Step) claimed his first stage win of this year's Tour of Qatar Tuesday, in the process taking the leader's jersey from Britain's Roger Hammond. Boonen, of Quick Step, won a bunch sprint at the end of the third stage ahead of Italian Danilo Napolitano and Belgian Jurgen Roelandts.

2009 Tour of Qatar

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