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Michael Barry was back in the spotlight in 2008, winning his first race since the 2005 season with a dramatic stage victory at the Tour of Missouri. He also rode to fifth in the Tour of Ireland and finished ninth in the grueling Olympic road race in Beijing. The 32-year-old Canadian returned to form this year after struggling through a challenging 2007 campaign that was wiped out with a nasty bout of pneumonia. Though he missed out on a slot on the nine-man Tour de France squad, Barry regained his confidence with a consistent and steady season that will carry over into 2009.

At least one company is benefiting from the global economic crisis: Netherlands-based bicycle maker Accell predicted Wednesday that it will enjoy higher than expected 2008 profits due to rising sales. "Cycling remains popular in economically adverse times," Accell Group chief executive Rene Takens said in a statement. "Last summer’s increase in fuel prices caused a lot of consumers to think about alternative means of transportation. This led to a more frequent use of the bicycle."

The BikeReg.com MABRAcross series travels to Leesburg Virginia this Sunday, November 23, for the penultimate round of its most successful season ever.  The Tacchino Ciclocross is held annually near the Thanksgiving holiday at the stunning Ida-Lee Park.  The park, located just blocks away from the center of Leesburg’s historic old section, is a top-notch modern recreation facility with a panoramic view of the Catoctin Mountain range.   

Sizes: 24 to 72 servings per box Price: $17.99 to $79.99 Web site: www.motortabs.com Motor Tabs are an easy-to-carry and easy-to-use carbohydrate and electrolyte replacement supplement. No mixing necessary, just the drop of a single effervescent tablet into your water bottle. Each 65-calorie tablet contains 250mg sodium, 75mg potassium, and 16g of carbohydrates from sucrose, dextrose, and maltodextrin.

Ric Hjerberg is leaving FSA, where has has worked for six years, most recently as technology manager. Hjertberg got his start in the bicycle business when he opened the Wheelsmith retail store in Palo Alto in 1975 with his brother Jon. Wheelsmith evolved into a spoke and wheel company.

Todd Wells (GT Bicycles) is on top of the Crankbrothers U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclocross standings for the first time in his career, following his win Sunday and second place Saturday at the Mercer Cup in New Jersey.[nid:85247] Wells, a two-time national champion in cyclocross, passed Jesse Anthony (Jamis) who had led the series after the first weekend. Anthony fell to sixth place following a disappointing weekend in the Garden State. (Complete men's standings)

Storck Bicycle and Vanderkitten Racing have announced a multi-year sponsorship deal that will place the Elite Women’s Team on Storck road bikes beginning with the 2009 racing season. “Our organization enjoyed a terrific 2008 season and we are confident that 2009 will be even more successful now that we will be riding Storcks”, said Robin Zellner, Managing Director - Vanderkitten Racing.

The Jazz Apple Women’s Cycling Team is pleased to announce their 2009 partnership with ‘sweat equity’ charity organization, Plus3Network. www.plus3network.com Plus3 Network, the brainchild of former Monterey Sea Otter Classic Director, Rick Sutton, combines incentive-oriented exercise with benefiting a broad cross-section of charities, including environmental protection and promoting equality and wellness causes. Former Olympian and Jazz Apple team owner, Susy Pryde is proud to unite the Jazz Apple Women’s dedication for cycling to the Plus3 Network

A national program is offering race promoters the opportunity to send their top amateurs to the 2009 edition of the Nature Valley Grand Prix (Minnesota, June 10-14) to compete against the country’s top men and women professional bicycle racers. Entering its second year, the “Nature Valley Pro Ride” will select amateur men and women at regional races around the United States to become part of a pair of Nature Valley composite teams for the 11th annual edition of the five-day stage race that begins June 10.

SUGOI Performance Apparel, a division of Dorel Industries (TSX: DII.B, DII.A), today announced that a new Marketing Manager and a new Creative Services Manager have joined the Company.

The Zipp OVCX Tour incorporates the Ohio State Championships when it travels to suburban Columbus on Sunday, November 23.  The Cap City Cross will be held in Upper Arlington, a suburb of Ohio’s capital city of Columbus.

Why do my Speedplay cleats wear out?

Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) won the third round of the Superprestige cyclocross series on Sunday at the Aspere-Gavere race in Belgium. World champion Hanka Kupfernagel skipped the race, run in wet and very muddy conditions. The hallmark of the course was a steep, muddy downhill chute that caused many falls, some of them race-ending, like the one that sent Niels Albert to the hospital with an injured spleen. Compton got off to a comfortable start in third position after a front-row start, with Saskia Elemans leading and Daphny van den Brand in second.

Following her double wins at the USGP Mercer Cup races in New Jersey this weekend, Georgia Gould (LUNA) has landed on top of the USA Cycling national cyclocross standings. Gould takes over the lead from Laura Van Gilder.[nid:85220] Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale), who finished fourth and third in New Jersey, remains on the top of the men's rankings although his teammate Tim Johnson is closer, thanks to his first place Saturday (Johnson did not start Sunday).

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.”

Dear Lennard,

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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.