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The newly formed Trek-Livestrong under-23 team held a training camp this past weekend in Austin, Texas. Ian Dille sat down with Taylor Phinney, who at 18 is already one of the world’s best track cyclists and the team’s most recognizable name (other than its director, Axel Merckx). Below are Phinney’s musings on his plans for 2009, joining forces with Lance Armstrong and leaving the Garmin-Chipotle under-23 squad, and how riding the pursuit is akin to stabbing yourself in the legs. Check back in the next couple days for a full writeup on and photo gallery of the Trek-Livestrong team.

Italian track cyclist Annalisa Cucinotta tested positive for an anabolic steroid in December, the Gazzetta dello Sport said on Sunday. According to the sports newspaper, the 22-year-old failed the test after a World Cup event in Cali, Colombia on December 12. Cucinotta becomes the second Italian woman cyclist after ex-road world champion Marta Bastianelli to test for a stimulant. Bastianelli missed the Olympic Games in Beijing in August due to her offense.

Time is running out to bid on a one-of-a-kind piece of cycling memorabilia that will raise money for pro cyclists Ian MacGregor and Timmy Duggan's "Just Go Harder Foundation" that supports youth mentoring and participation. An official Garmin pro-issue jersey featuring the signatures of racers on the 2008 roster of Team Garmin-Chipotle presented by H30 is up for bid on eBay. In addition to Christian Vande Velde's fourth-place finish at the Tour de France, Garmin won the team time trial at the Giro d'Italia and Vande Velde donned the pink jersey.

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Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong said Monday it would be unrealistic to expect him to win his first race in three years in next week's Tour Down Under. The American cycling great declared he was in the best shape of his life at the start of a season as he prepared to return to professional racing at the age of 37. Armstrong's appearance in the Adelaide tour has generated huge international interest, enough for organisers to take extra security measures to protect him during the event.

What a difference a year makes. This time last January, Bob Stapleton’s team entered the 2008 season without a title sponsor, with a largely young and inexperienced team and uncertain about its future. Flash forward to 2009 and Highroad roars confidently into the season with new sponsor (Columbia, introduced ahead of last year’s Tour de France, back as co-sponsor), a new bike sponsor (Scott) and a bevy of young riders that is the envy of the peloton.

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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.