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Price: $95 to $125[nid:85546][nid:85548] Web site: www.sanmarcovintage.com In the world of cycling, fashion is determined by small details that are typically overlooked by the "noobs" and those not involved in the sport. One of the more subtle, yet convincing ways to step up your cycling fashion is with a classy saddle.

Matching your tire to a course’s conditions is a key to achieving the best possible result. There are currently three major tubular tire manufacturers that design, manufacture and produce complete tire lines: Challenge, Dugast and Tufo. Each manufacturer’s line is made up of three models — file tread, all-condition and mud — in a multitude of sizes.

Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong will train together for the first time on Thursday, their Astana team said. On Tuesday, the two former Tour de France champs trained in separate groups in a session that began on Sunday on the island of Tenerife. "We have groups each day, one with the best prepared cyclists and the other with the least prepared," an Astana spokesman said. The two are to train together "in theory” on Thursday.

Katie Compton, four-time national champion and worlds silver medalist, does not have a component sponsor. Compton and her mechanic husband Mark Legg, are not entirely pleased about this state of affairs, but the pair does enjoy the freedom to choose the parts they prefer.

For American cyclocrosser Katie Compton, the pieces are coming together in her long pursuit of a world 'cross championship, a chase she hopes to conclude successfully Feb. 1 in Hoogerheide, Netherlands. Compton, who turns 30 on Wednesday, says she feels stronger than ever this season — and she's been racing bicycles since she was 10 years old.

Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Georgia Gould (Luna) lead the national standings after 34 events on the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Calendar. This past weekend saw Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) and Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM Racing-Seven Cycles) win the UCI C2 Bay State Cyclocross on Saturday in Sterling, Massachusetts.

Olympian Sarah Hammer will be riding for the newly established UCI professional cycling team, Hawk Relay Cycling in 2009. The two-time world champion has signed a two-year contract with the team that will see her racing in domestic competitions, the Pan-American Championships, World Cups and World Championship events. Hammer, 25 of Temecula, California, has won two world championships in the 3km pursuit as well as seven World Cup gold medals.

From Michael Ball, Rock Racing Team Owner Culver City, Calif. – “Whenever a rider is suspended – be it for doping or any disciplinary issue – it brings negative attention to the sport that so many of us are working hard to cast in a positive light.”

Do I need wedges under my cleats?

December 1, 2008 Sean Petty Chief Operating Officer USA Cycling 1 Olympic Plaza, ??Colorado Springs, CO 80909 Dear Mr. Petty:

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y) has stepped up to support the Tour of the Battenkill’s application to ?be included in the 2009 UCI America Tour. In mid-November, despite authorization from the UCI for a late application, USA Cycling declined to review promoter Dieter Drake’s bid to replace the Tour of Georgia on the UCI America Tour.

What brings a team together? CSC’s boot camps are legendary. Often teams bring in consultants that help with “team building” activities. Ropes courses are status quo. A little trust-tree action from time to time is surely part of the deal. Last year on Garmin we realized that while all of this is well and good, and does form solid ties, we found something even better — booze, and bar-food-fueled attempts to stimulate Boulder’s nocturnal economy.

Dear Lennard,
I'm a 39-year-old, 175 lb., 150-200 miles-per-week recreational rider who frequently rides long charity rides and occasionally races. I recently switched to Specialized Armadillo Elite tires to avoid a rash of flats I'd been having, and they've worked wonders (no flats at all since the switch.) I had most recently been riding Schwalbe Stelvios, and Michelin Lithions prior to them.

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Massachusetts-based CCB International has announced its team roster for the 2009 season. Sponsors: Time Bicycles, Time pedals, Belmont Wheelworks, Giro Helmets, Marblehead Cycle, Michelin, Sigma Sport Computers, Mavic wheels, Clif Bars, Clif Blocks, Northwave Shoes. Elite Road team roster: Amos Brumble Cat 1 age 31 Westerly, RI Jeffrey Craddock Cat 2 age 26 Barnstable, Ma

A three-member arbitration panel has suspended Rock Racing rider Kayle Leogrande for two years, after concluding that he used EPO during last year's Super Week, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Monday. The independent panel of arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association (AAA)/North American Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) unanimously found that Leogrande, 31, used EPO when competing at Superweek on July 26, 2007. Leogrande, who has the option to appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport, said he was not yet prepared to respond to the panel’s decision.

Do you want to contribute to Mailbag, a regular feature of VeloNews.com? Here's how:
- Keep it short. And remember that we reserve the right to edit for grammar, length and clarity.
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America's seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong announced on Monday that he will be trying for an unprecedented eighth Tour title as well as his first win at the Giro d'Italia. The 37-year-old Texan had been thought to be solely focusing on the Giro, but said on Monday that he also intends to take on the Tour in July. "Lance Armstrong announces his participation in the 2009 Tour de France," announced his Astana team on its Web site.

The weather for Storm the Greens was not stormy, but it was ‘cross weather — temperatures in the low 40s, spitting rain, and wind. But that didn't deter the 200-plus racers who came out to vie for Zipp OVCX Tour points and Kentucky State Championship medals. In the Elite Men's race, Ryan Knapp (BikeReg.com) continued his string of dominating performances. Knapp separated himself from a lead group of four after two laps and never looked back.

Todd Wells (GT Bicycles) and Amanda Miller (Mesa Cycles) took the wins on the second day of Iowa City's Carousel Volkswagen Jingle Cross Rock, on a day when overnight snow turned the course's Mt. Krumpit descent into a muddy bog that looked more like a bobsled run.

Wells the elder

The Danish cycling team led by former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis has lost its co-sponsor Monday after software firm IT Factory declared bankruptcy and said its chief executive had embezzled 500 million kroner ($85 million). The team was previously known as CSC Saxo Bank, but was due to change its name to Saxo Bank-IT Factory for the 2009 season after the Danish software company had apparently stepped up to replace the American Computer Services Corporation as a co-sponsor.

The Oregon Pro Cycling Classic can count itself among North America’s best professional bicycle races. USA Cycling recently announced that Oregon Pro will garner the top ranking on the prestigious National Racing Calendar. The women's race also now boasts a top international designation on the UCI calendar. These rankings will ensure the highest quality fields of racers and top notch media coverage.

France’s Ag2r La Mondiale team will be back for next month's Tour Down Under in Australia, organizers said Monday. Ag2r La Mondiale has the best overall record in the Tour Down Under with four winners since the first race in 1999 -- Spaniard Mikel Astarloza (2003), Gilles Maignan of France (2000), Australian Simon Gerrans (2006) and Swiss Martin Elmiger (2007). "It is great news that such a quality team will be competing in Adelaide in January," race director Mike Turtur said.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Chris Hoy has managed to skirt a Thailand airport shutdown by hitching a ride on a transport plane, his father reported Sunday. Hoy and his girlfriend were on holiday in the country and were due to fly out of Bangkok, but the airport was shut down by anti-government protests, his agent Ricky Cowan told The Scotsman newspaper. Drawing on contacts of Hoy's sponsor DHL Logistics, they were able to get a flight out of Phuket instead, heading to Singapore.

New York City is the proud home of the House that Ruth Built, The World's Most Famous Arena, and a legendary marathon that concludes with a final sprint into Central Park. To that world-class sports heritage you can add one more landmark: The Cinnabon of Despair.

Thirty-five degrees, steady showers, gray skies … in short, perfect conditions for the final round of the BikeReg.com MABRAcross series, which also served as the Maryland, Delaware and D.C. cyclocross championships. The course was a long loop with many off-camber sections made treacherous by the weather conditions.

Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) and Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM Racing-Seven Cycles) won this weekend's Bay State Cyclocross race in Sterling, Massachusetts, the seventh event of the Verge New England Cyclo-Cross Series. Driscoll's win solidified his overall lead in the Verge series. Bruno-Roy was in third place in the series coming into the Sterling race, behind series leader Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona) and Rebecca Wellons (Ridley). Dombroski was not at the Sterling race. [nid:85483]

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Troy Wells (Clif Bar) and Todd Wells (GT) kicked off the 2008 UCI Carousel Volkswagen Jingle Cross Rock in Iowa City, Iowa, in fine style. The brothers finished 1-2 in the first day of racing, with Andy Jacques-Maynes (California Giant Strawberries) finishing third. In the women's event, Devon Haskell, Lisa Strong, and Josie Jacques-Maynes fought for position in a very tight event. In the final laps, Haskell pulled away from the other two, with Strong placing second and Jacques-Maynes claiming third. [nid:85492]

Brothers in arms