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With only the Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup remaining, the battles for the inaugural North American Cyclocross Trophy series are still tight.   

Women's battle: eight is enough

Lance Armstrong has revealed that he fears being attacked by spectators when he makes his return to the Tour de France next year. The American, a seven-times winner of the Tour, believes he could be targeted by French fans angry that doping allegations surrounding him have helped to destroy the credibility and the magic of cycling's most famous race.

With Lance Armstrong, Carlos Sastre, Damiano Cunego and Ivan Basso already confirmed to start the centenary celebration of the corsa rosa, another big name has announced that he will race the 2009 Giro d’Italia. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) is the latest to confirm his presence in the Giro, set to begin May 9 in Venice. “Why would we want to change the program?” asked Rabobank sport director Erik Breukink in the Dutch daily De Telegraaf. “We saw last year the double worked well, so this year we’ll follow the same program, with the Giro before the Tour.”

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Alberto Contador brushed off a minor crash in a Sunday criterium honoring compatriot Joan Llaneras just as he’s poised to join Lance Armstrong at an Astana team camp early next month. The Giro-Vuelta double champion hit the deck during the ACP Criterium on Sunday and was showing some minor cuts and scrapes as a result. “I’m fine, I have some superficial scrapes on my shoulder and face. In the end, it wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Contador told reporters. “The impact was hard despite going at a slow speed. It was no big deal.”

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Rock Racing has added a wealth of European and domestic talent to its 2009 team roster, signing several top riders in recent days. In a release issued over the weekend the team announced that it had reached deals with former ProTour riders Baden Cooke, Francisco Mancebo, and José Enrique Gutiérrez, as well as top domestic talents Ivan Dominquez, Glen Chadwick, Chris Baldwin and Caleb Manion.

German cyclist Patrik Sinkewitz, who last year admitted to doping, plans to make his comeback in January at the Tour of Majorca riding for Team PSK Whirlpool, it was announced on Monday. "I have signed a one-year contract," the 28-year-old told German television channel TVnews Hessen having joined the Czech Republic-based team and is looking forward to the five-day race around the Spanish island early next year. Having tested positive for the steroid hormone testosterone on June 8 2007, Sinkewitz was later banned for a year.

The Cervélo TestTeam keeps adding firepower and filling out both its roster and support staff as the squad prepares for its 2009 debut.   The latest addition is the arrival of Marcello Albasini as sport director. The 51-year-old coach, who’s worked with several young budding Swiss pros, including Fabian Cancellara as a junior, is the father of pro cyclist Michael Albasini.   “This is a dream come true,” Albasini said in a team release. “I’m really happy to have the opportunity to develop myself and to work next year together with the Cervélo TestTeam riders.”  

Italian cyclist Riccardo Riccò on Monday filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking a reduction in his two-year doping suspension, noting that he had cooperated with investigators after being found positive at the Tour de France. Riccò, 24, was suspended from riding by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) in July after admitting to using a new variant of the EPO. He was kicked out the Tour and was subsequently fired by his Saunier-Duval team after testing positive following the Stage 4 time-trial.

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As advertised, the ‘cross course through the Washington County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro, Oregon, was wide-open, grassy and void of anything resembling elevation gain. Several days of dry weather and Sunday’s beautiful, mostly blue skies only added to the warm feelings about how quickly the course could be covered.

Spanish track cyclist Joan Llaneras received an all-star sendoff Sunday in his farewell event in Madrid. Joined by Olympic road cycling gold medalist Samuel S��nchez, Tour de France champions Carlos Sastre and Alberto Contador and ProTour winner Alejandro Valverde, the 39-year-old Llaneras officially ended his long career with a criterium on the outskirts of Madrid. This summer, Llaneras struck gold in the points race and silver in the Madison in Beijing and recently competed in some six-day events before his retirement bash this weekend.

Hayden Roulston revived his stalled professional career with two breakout Olympic medals on the track this summer in Beijing, but for 2009, the Kiwi will return his focus to the road. Roulston will put his track ambitions on hold as he joins Cervélo on a one-year contract for 2009 that will mark his return to the elite levels of the European peloton for the first time since a chaotic 2005 season.

Cooler, windier weather on Day 2 of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Mercer Cup, presented by Knapp's Cyclery, in New Jersey, made Saturday's tough race conditions look easy by comparison. Thicker, stickier mud competed with gusting winds for an extra punch in the gut but Day 2 saw a repeat for the women, with LUNA teammates Georgia Gould and Katerina Nash clinching gold and silver by a wide margin. It was GT’s Todd Wells who emerged the victor in the men’s event.