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A select group of the Amgen / Giant Elite Masters Racing team will be riding stages of the Amgen Tour of California in advance of the race to promote awareness and raise money for Amgen's Breakaway From Cancer. Breakaway From Cancer is a complimentary component to Amgen's sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of California to increase awareness of the important resources available to cancer patients, from prevention to education, and patient care to advocacy and support.

Lars Boom (Rabobank) took an important step toward the defense of his world cyclocross title, winning the Dutch national championship in Huijbergen on Sunday. Boom beat Thijs Al and veteran Richard Groenendaal in his first major race since injuring his elbow in a big crash in late December. In Belgium, former world champion Sven Nys defended his national title, outsprinting Niels Albert and Kevin Pauwels in Ruddervoorde. [nid:86474] Both Boom and Nys are considered favorites for the world title in the upcoming championships on February 1 in Hoogerheide, in The Netherlands.

Ivan Basso, considered to be one of the favorites going into this May’s Giro d’Italia, is slated to start his 2009 campaign at Argentina’s Tour de San Luis, January 19 to 25. Basso will co-captain the Liquigas team with fellow Italian Vincenzo Nibali. "I am going to Argentina with plans to work hard and come back in good condition,” Basso said. “January is a good month to start your season and to gauge your fitness.

Hanka Kupfernagel (Itarea-Stevens) won her eighth German national cyclocross title on Saturday, confirming her position as one of the favorites heading into this month’s world championship in Holland. The 34-year-old Kupfernagel, the reigning world champion, scored her win ahead of 18-year-old Sabrina Schweizer in the cold and wintery conditions that have swept across Europe in recent days.

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A police security team will shadow cycling superstar Lance Armstrong during his time at Australia's Tour Down Under next week, reports said Saturday. Given the extraordinary interest surrounding the seven-time Tour de France winner's comeback to elite cycling, organizers said they would be taking extra security measures to protect Armstrong. Armstrong is expected to arrive here over the weekend from Hawaii ahead of the January 18 start to the tour, according to the reports.

Defending Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre will kick start his 2009 season at the Tour of California in February to debut with his Cervélo new team colors. The 33-year-old Spanish climber says the Tour remains his top goal for the upcoming season, but said still hasn’t decided if the road to France will pass through the Giro d’Italia or not.

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Last month Olympic mountain biker Georgia Gould headed to Northern Europe with a small band of American cyclocross racers to tackle the busy two weeks of ’cross racing that book-end Christmas.

While the U.S. women's, junior and U23 teams approach this month's Cyclocross World Championships with some of the strongest teams ever, the men's team is surrounded by uncertainty. The country's most accomplished international male racer, Jonathan Page, could be kept out of the race because of a missed doping control in November. And several of the country's top prospects have bowed out, mostly because of road or mountain bike team obligations.

Mavic has issued a voluntary recall of its R-SYS front wheels, the company announced this week. Mavic is advising consumers not to use the front wheels from any of its R-SYS wheelsets (R-SYS, R-SYS Test and R-SYS Premium) because of the possible risk of spoke failure. The system relies on a unique set of tubular carbon spokes. While front wheels rely solely on the tubular carbon spoke, the rears combine those with Zicral spokes and the risk of failure is, therefore, lessened.

Tracey Sparling, a 19-year old student at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, was returning to campus after a lunch-break trip to her apartment. As she approached the red light at an intersection, she slowed, coming to a stop next to the front tire of the cement truck in the lane next to her. When the light changed, the truck driver began to turn right, unaware of the cyclist in his blind spot. Sparling shouted “Hey!” just before she was knocked from her bike and killed. The date was October 11, 2007.

Leonardo Piepoli said he fell victim to temptation last summer when he doped during the Tour de France and won a stage using CERA. In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian climber expressed strong words of regret and misgivings for his decision to take the banned blood booster that has left his career in tatters. “It was a moment of weakness, folly, recklessness. The justification: I was trying to fill a hole in my preparation,” he explained. “What I have done, at 37, with a wife and kid, is unconscionable.”

Columbia’s Michael Rogers finally added a national time trial title to his resume with victory in the Australian cycling championships in Buninyong, Victoria, on Thursday. The three-time world champion last claimed an Australian time trial win in 1996 when he won the U19 event but since then has forged a spectacular career in professional cycling, including three successive world time trial titles between 2003 and 2005.

The first of the European teams have arrived in Australia for this month's Tour Down Under, but the travel details of cycling superstar Lance Armstrong were still under wraps as of Thursday. Race organizers, mindful of the extraordinary interest that the seven-time Tour de France champion's comeback has generated, have not released his arrival plans for fears of an unwieldy media scrum at Adelaide Airport. Armstrong's Astana team is scheduled to arrive early on Sunday, but reports said the American great is not expected until next week, just ahead of the January 18 start of the tour.

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In a year of the comeback, perhaps it’s inevitable that Michael Rasmussen will join the band of riders pedaling back into the fray. The Danish climbing specialist – who was ignominiously ejected from the 2007 Tour de France just days from what appeared to be a likely overall victory and later fired by his Rabobank team – says he’s hoping to race in this year’s Vuelta a España if he can find a team willing to sign him.

Ritchey Design, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-quality road and mountain bike components, today announced it is working with Plus 3 Network, a beta social networking Web site, to increase awareness and fundraising efforts for the nonprofit organization, Project Rwanda. By selecting Ritchey Design as a sponsor, Plus 3 members can choose to raise money for Project Rwanda with every mile they ride, walk, run or swim. The relationship between Ritchey and Project Rwanda went live on www.plus3network.com on January 7, 2009.

Collegiate Cycling Volunteer Conference Director Volunteer Position/s available: Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference-ACCC (NC, MD, VA, WV, Washington D.C.) (Must be geographically located in the respective region) Volunteer roles:

Dear Explainer,
I’ve been a long-time fan of Jonathan Page. To me, he’s a workingman’s hero, the sort of guy who approaches cycling like a lot of us approach our jobs; he just puts his head down and does what he has to do to get the job done. He works hard and doesn't spend a lot of his time show-boating or boosting his ego. Now I hear that he may be facing a suspension because he missed a doping test.

The problem I have is trying to figure out why he might be suspended by USADA for just missing a test, rather that tripping the dope-meter with a positive result.

Anne-Caroline Chausson – the reigning Olympic BMX champion – is taking aim at another landmark: the world speed skiing championships.

The 31-year-old Chausson, who has always been an excellent skier and lived in Andorra for several years, will compete in the “production” category of the competition, which runs January 17-24 at Vars in the French Alps.

According to French wire reports, Chausson will race on traditional ski equipment and could hit speeds nearing 200kph on the renowned Chabrières course at Vars.

Reigning world champion Alessandro Ballan isn’t changing his program going into 2009. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the gangly Italian is focusing on the spring classics, where he helped carve his reputation with victory in Flanders in 2007 and consistency at Roubaix ahead of his breakout victory in Varese last fall. For 2009, his top goals in the first half of the season will be the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. A detour through Milan-San Remo is also likely for the Lampre rider, but a start in the Giro d’Italia remains uncertain.

Milram, Germany’s last remaining professional cycling team, announced its 25-strong squad for the 2009 season on Wednesday. The team, which features 14 new recruits and 17 German riders, is the sole professional cycling outfit in Germany after the demise of Gerolsteiner. Milram will be without retired sprint king Erik Zabel for the upcoming season but will be able to count on two great hopes in Gerald Ciolek and Linus Gerdemann.

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Graeme Brown of Rabobank held off challenges from Robbie McEwen (Team Katuysha), Simon Gerrans (Cervelo Test) and Bernie Sulzberger (Virgin Blue) to win the 2009 Jayco Bay Cycling Classic on Tuesday. Brown led the Classic going into the penultimate stage by the barest margin of one point.

ROUTE details ANNOUNCED FOR EXPANDED 2009 Amgen Tour of California PROFESSIONAL CYCLING ROAD RACE Professional Women’s Cycling Race to Return to Santa Rosa During Stage One of the Men’s Race

Organizers of the Amgen Tour of California have released details of the 2009 route, a nine-day, 750-mile course that will travel almost the entire length of California, from Sacramento to Escondido. This year's race is one day and about 100 miles longer than the 2008 route. [nid:85582] This year the race will also feature a $15,000 women's criterium, run in conjunction with stage 1 in Santa Rosa.

Organizers of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California have released the list of eight ProTour teams that will compete in the Feb. 14-22 event. Besides the ProTour teams, the race will announce its list of confirmed Continental or Continental Pro teams next month. Full rosters will be released in February. The eight ProTour teams: ·         Ag2r-La Mondiale (FRA) ·         Astana (LUX) ·         Garmin-Slipstream (USA) ·         Liquigas (ITA) ·         Quick Step (BEL) ·         Rabobank (Netherlands)

Do you have some bike suggestions for tall riders?

Over two dozen professional cyclists and Millennium Cycling, LLC are pleased to announce the launch of TwoWheelTales.com, a collection of blogs written by professional cyclists. Our professional cyclists are giving cycling fans frequent doses of the inside scoop—it’s professional cycling “unplugged”!

The SRAM Cycling Fund is awarding a $200,000 grant to the International Mountain Bicycling Association, the second award given out by the advocacy fund the component company set up last year. During the next five years, the fund plans to award $10 million in grants to support cycling advocacy programs around the world that focus on improving bicycling. “It is hard to imagine where mountain biking would be today without IMBA’s trail building and restoration efforts over the last 20 years," said Stan Day, SRAM's president and CEO.

The U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross is adding a fourth weekend to its schedule this year, adding the Planet Bike Cup in Wisconsin to its lineup. The 2009 series will return for a third year to Louisville, Kentucky, Mercer County, New Jersey and Portland, Oregon. "The addition of the Planet Bike Cup is tremendous for the series. Madison has a great cycling community and the Planet Bike Cup was already a wonderful event. We are thrilled to have added such a strong early season weekend of racing to our schedule,” said Bruce Fina, the series' executive director.

The new Ten Speed Drive / Ellsworth Factory Cycling Team is hoping to win some races while minimizing its effects on the environment this year. The team was formerly known as Colavita New Mexico presented by JNF Enterprises. “We are dedicated to promoting cycling as a form of transportation and to further public awareness of everyday techniques — from transportation to energy consumption – the public can use to lessen their environmental footprints,” said team director, John Freisen.

Kellogg to sponsor BISSELL® Pro Cycling Team   The Kellogg Company, the world’s leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, joins the BISSELL Pro Cycling Team as a key sponsor for the 2009 season. Kellogg’s commitment to nutrition and physical fitness is well aligned with the team and the sport of cycling. Alongside Kellogg, the team continues to be supported by longtime key sponsor, Advantage Benefits Group.  

USA Cycling is recognizing 13 regional athlete development programs with $20,000 worth of cash grants through its Centers of Excellence program. Rad Racing of Olympia, Washington, and the Young Medalists of the Lehigh Valley Cycling Club in Pennsylvania received top honors. The award winners were chosen based on organizational criteria and results in developing junior and U23 cycling athletes. Since the program’s inception six years ago, USA Cycling has distributed over $120,000 to grass roots development programs thanks to donations to the Development Foundation.

Why are my bottom bracket bearings wearing out so quickly?

Jonathan Patrick McCartyis joining former teammate Floyd Landis on the OUCH Presented by Maxxis team. "We'd been talking with Pat for quite some time," said team director Mike Tamayo. "Only in the past week or so were we able to work out an agreement with him."

Belgian cycling star Tom Boonen will know on February 3 if he has to face criminal charges over his positive test for cocaine, the judge investigating his case in the northern city of Turnhout said Tuesday. Boonen, a former world champion and winner of such prestigious races as Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, tested positive for the recreational drug in an out-of-competition test in May last year. The 28-year-old escaped a sports sanction because the test was not held under the auspices of a sport body.

Classics star Fabian Cancellara already rules the cobbles and now it appears he might be setting his sights on the hillier spring classics, with possible starts this year at Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race. Cancellara – who is already focusing on Tour of Flanders this year as his top early season goal – could expand into the hillier routes in eastern Belgium and southern Holland.

UCI officials Thursday will officially roll out the new calendar for elite men’s road racing for the 2009 season.

UCI president Pat McQuaid has called a press conference for Thursday at the Geneva International Airport to formally introduce the calendar that’s been in the works for months.

Following several feuding years between the sport’s major players, a cease-fire that took hold last fall will see the ProTour and the so-called “historic” events run side-by-side under the revised UCI “world calendar.”

Under the truce reached last year between the UCI and t

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