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Van Haute (right) believes new riders such as Crane (left) and veterans like Reistad (center) can help the team have its best year yet.

The posh Lake San Marcos Resort in San Marcos, California, set the backdrop for the Jelly Belly professional cycling team’s first training camp of 2009. The January 20-24 camp saw 10 of the 11 team riders spin miles around north San Diego County alongside sponsor partners and the media.

Belgian Sven Nys and German Hanka Kupfernagel wrapped up their World Cup series wins in Milan on Sunday, although it was a more or less a formality for both. [nid:86889] Nys needed only 2 points to secure his fourth World Cup overall. He did that and more — winning the race by outsprinting reigning world champion Lars Boom, signaling he is ready to take the worlds next weekend in the Netherlands.

Believe it or not, there are two other Americans racing the Tour Down Under — George Hincapie and Timothy Duggan — though you’d be hard-pressed to know who they are, given the commotion surrounding a certain Lance Armstrong. VeloNews caught up with the diminutive Duggan from Garmin-Slipstream before the start of the queen stage of the TDU, and discovered the 26-year-old Coloradan’s been waging something of a comeback himself. VeloNews: This race, for most, is their first test back into the rhythm of racing — is that the case for you?

Two-time Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans of Australia says the Astana team of Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong will be his number one threat at this year's event. Evans was beat to the 2007 yellow jersey by Contador, then of Discovery Channel, and last year succumbed to another Spaniard, Carlos Sastre, in the closing stages of the race. The 30-year-old, considered Australia's most successful stage racer, admitted while he has added some firepower to his team, Astana will be tough contenders.

American Rachel Lloyd (California Giant Strawberry-Specialized) scored her best cyclocross World Cup result ever on Sunday, coming in fifth in the World Cup finale in Milan, Italy. Daphny Van den Brand won the race, two seconds ahead of Hanka Kupfernagel and 29 seconds ahead of Maryline Salvetat. American Katie Compton skipped the event, since she could not have improved on her third place in World Cup standings. Compton instead used the weekend to prepare for the upcoming world championships in the Netherlands.

Lance Armstrong is already heading back to the United States after his successful comeback debut at the Tour Down Under. Armstrong finished 29th overall at 49 seconds behind winner Allan Davis (Quick Step) in his first major stage race since winning the 2005 Tour de France for a record seventh occasion. Next up in Armstrong’s comeback tour is a 10-day training camp in Santa Rosa, California, where he will join up with Astana teammates ahead of the Tour of California (Feb. 14-22).

José Joaquin Rojas is satisfied with third place overall at the Tour Down Under and wants to carry that momentum into the first races on the European calendar.

He chose not to sprint ? he didn’t have to ? but regardless, Allan Davis’ 33rd place behind stage winner Francesco Chicchi Sunday in Adelaide saw him crowned winner of the 2009 Tour Down Under. It’s been a monumental week for the bull terrier from Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia, who, from this moment onwards, can definitively put the past behind him and move on to what many are predicting bigger and better things. “It’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride,” Davis told VeloNews, in reference to the past two seasons that saw his career in virtual limbo.

The Versus cable network will air live coverage of all nine days of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. VERSUS, beginning February 14 at 5 p.m. Eastern. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin will call the race action. “With strong U.S.-based teams and Lance Armstrong competing in the race for the first time, it is undoubtedly a marquee year for the race and we’re extremely proud to be able to showcase each weekday stage live for the first time,” said Jamie Davis, the network's president.

2009 Versus Tour of California schedule:

Three seasons after standing atop the Tour de France podium — and subsequently sitting out of competition on suspension — Floyd Landis is back in the pro peloton. He won’t be racing internationally. His return will be overshadowed by returning riders Lance Armstrong and Ivan Basso. But contributing to the designation of 2009 as the “year of the comeback” is the return of Landis, only the third American to stand atop the Tour podium in Paris.

2009-2010 UCI World Cup Cyclocross rankings, updated Jan. 18

Andalucia's Xavier Tondo won the fifth stage of Argentina's Tour de San Luis on Friday, a 205-kilometer route from San Francisco del Montea de Oro to Merlo (Mirador del Sol).