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They like to call the Gran Prix of Gloucester the "New England 'Cross Championships," although with a winners' list peppered with names like Knapp, Bessette, Johnson, Trebon, Gould, Dunlap, Gullickson and even Vervecken, that might not be going far enough.

Francisco Mancebo is the new overall leader of the Vuelta Chihuahua, and if things work out the way the Spaniard hopes, the soon-to-be newest member of Rock Racing. On Thursday, Mancebo (Fercase-Rota dos Moveis) took a big step toward defending his 2007 title in this UCI 2.2 America Tour race, finishing third in the rolling 18.9km time trial from Pitoreal to Divisadero, and jumping from second to first in the overall standings.

Bernhard Eisel (Columbia) played off the interests of the French teams Thursday to sneak away with Paris-Bourges, the final round of the season-long French Cup series. Eisel followed Cédric Pineau (Ag2r-La Mondiale) into the day’s main breakaway just 18km into the 194km race and then nipped him in a photo finish. “It was a very fast start (48kph in first hour). I didn’t think it was going to be enough, but 13 minutes was good,” Eisel said.

The US Gran Prix of Cyclocross is adding several features to encourage growth of the sport in the junior and U23 ranks. The three-weekend USGP series will now include the CyclocrossWorld.com / USGP Junior Race Series. Two events in the series — New Jersey's Mercer Cup presented by Knapp's Cyclery and The Portland (Oregon) Cup presented by Stanley have been named the official U23 and Junior Worlds qualifying races and are the only sanctioned UCI Junior races on the American cyclocross calendar.

The Sand Creek Fall Classic mountain bicycle race will be held Saturday, October 18th at Cheyenne Mountain State Park in Colorado Springs, CO. This is the final race in the Colorado mountain bike race season and is organized by Sand Creek Sports, Inc. As with the June Sand Creek Series, this event is sponsored by Ascent Cycling, Carmichael Training Systems, Front Range Orthopaedics, Rocky Mountain Lasers and new for this race, About The Shot Photography. Links to all sponsors can be found on the www.sandcreeksports.com site.

Chris Jones will return to ride for Team Type 1 for the 2009 season while the second-year professional squad is also adding the stars-and-stripes jersey of U.S. Elite Criterium Champion Ken Hanson to its roster.   Jones, 29, scored his second straight top 10 finish at the Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championship after winning the Patterson Pass Road Race earlier in August. The Redding, Calif., native also played a key role at the Vuelta Mexico and the Tour of Arkansas, both of which were won by Team Type 1’s Glen Chadwick.  

Erik Zabel will ride into retirement in Sunday’s 102nd edition of Paris-Tours in what will be the German’s last race as a professional. Zabel, 38, announced his retirement ahead of the Varese world championships, where he crossed the line arm-in-arm with Paolo Bettini, another riding retiring at the end of the 2008 season. Zabel is a three-time winner of what’s considered the sprinter’s classic, first taking the flowers in 1994 in what was his first major victory.

Garmin-Chipotle has signed on to be part of the UCI ProTour series, the UCI reported Thursday. The American team was awarded a four-year license to join the beleaguered, season-long series managed by the UCI. Under a “cease-fire” accord reached with organizers of the three grand tours, a restructured ProTour calendar will be part of a world calendar that marks the return of major races to the UCI fold for 2009.

Mexico’s ongoing — and frequently tragic — drug war literally took center stage at the Vuelta Chihuahua on Wednesday. Following stage 3’s 155.9km grind from Guachochi to Creel that included seven rated climbs but had only limited impact on the overall standings, a group of peaceful protesters unfurled several banners proclaiming their frustration with the lack of police action since the August 16 killings of 13 residents in this small tourist town that’s a gateway to stunning Copper Canyon.

Just after his dramatic win at the U.S. professional road championships, Tyler Hamilton sat down with VeloNews managing editor Neal Rogers to talk about the win, his return from a two-year doping suspension and his personal life, including his pending divorce and his realization of the difference between acquaintances and real friends. The complete interview is in the latest issue of VeloNews, but here are a few highlights: Hamilton on his big win in Greenville:

The domestic road team known this year as Team Inferno is relaunching in 2009 as a UCI Continental Pro Team to be titled "Kenda Pro Cycling presented by Spinergy." The team's backers say it will have the distinction of being supported entirely by bicycle industry sponsors and will include an all-American staff and roster.

Welcome to my new diary on VeloNews.com, a diary that will offer an exciting, behind-the scenes look into my cycling ventures as I tour around the United States and Europe racing cyclo-cross this fall and winter. I’m certain there will be great moments inevitably accompanied by some less exciting ones: Crashes, gossip, name-dropping, interviews; lousy drivers, flight attendants and race promoters. Just make sure you read every other Wednesday during this 'cross season, and I’ll do my part to keep it exciting.

Web site: www.elite-it.com or www.realaxiom.com Retail Price: 1,550 Euros (about $2100); Internet racing software is 99 Euros (about $135) The Elite Realpower CT is an indoor trainer that the company claims can accurately simulate up to 20 percent grades and now features Internet racing capabilities.

Suggested Retail Price:: $24.99 Web page: www.thewarmfront.com Material: Malden Mills fleece with water repellent finish. Sizes: Men's and Women's. The Warmfront is a backless fleece vest that can be worn next to the skin or over a jacket or jersey. It can easily be removed with one hand while riding, without removing other layers or a hydration pack. It compacts to fit in a jersey pocket.

Retail Price: $39.95 Web site: www.velogear.com Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion is a new book from VeloPress that tells the story of the legendary component supplier from its humble beginning to its new 11-speed Super Record group. The 160-page hardcover "coffee-table" book includes deeply researched history (much of it from the company's private archives), spectacular color photography, rich text, and lavish presentation. It was written by Paolo Facchinetti and Guido Rubino.

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE PRESS RELEASE Date: 8 octobre / 8 October 2008 Lance Armstrong to start the 2009 Tour Down Under The International Cycling Union (UCI) has decided to approve Lance Armstrong’s participation in the forthcoming Tour Down Under in Australia, to be held 20-25 January, the first event of the 2009 UCI ProTour. This decision has been made after a careful assessment of the situation, taking into account both the applicable regulations and the imperatives of the fight against doping which is the UCI's number one priority.

French national anti-doping agency (AFLD) chief Pierre Bordry on Wednesday said there was "considerable evidence" of doping irregularities from blood transfusions taken at this year's Tour de France. "We possess considerable evidence from blood transfusions. We will only say later who it is," Bordry told German TV station ZDF. Bodry added that anti-doping officials were concentrating on looking for traces of banned blood booster EPO, "but we will soon be able to test the transfusions thanks to a new procedure, and we are going to do these tests.

Dear VeloNews,
Can someone explain this? Sure, I'm happy that Stefan Schumacher and Leonardo Piepoli have been caught using EPO, but can anyone explain why it took three months for these results to show up? It only took a few days to nail Riccardo Riccò for the same infraction. Why did it take so long this time around? Did it really take the lab three months to test those samples?
Robert Wilson
Redwood City, California Hello Robert,

Blood samples taken at the Beijing Olympics are to be reanalyzed for a new variant of the banned blood booster EPO using a new detection system developed for the Tour de France, the IOC announced Wednesday. The retroactive controls are designed to seek out the presence of the new generation of EPO known as CERA (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator).

Luxembourg’s anti-doping officials have expanded their inquiry into Frank Schleck, who admitted last week he transferred nearly 7000 euros in March 2006 into an account belonging to Eufemiano Fuentes, the alleged ringleader of the Operación Puerto doping ring. Schleck, who was provisionally suspended by his Team CSC-Saxo Bank team, met with Luxembourg officials last week, but his explanations weren’t enough to end the matter there.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

The pressure of five rated climbs — and one harrowing descent — made for a decisive stage 2 at Mexico’s Vuelta Chihuahua on Tuesday.

Finishing on top at the conclusion of the 188.7km mostly uphill grind from Parral to Guachochi was Colombian Gregario Ladino (Tecos-Trek), who late in the race soloed away from breakaway companion — and defending Chihuahua champion — Francisco Mancebo (Fercase-Rota dos Moveis). Ladino crossed the line in 4:59:27, with Mancebo trailing in eight seconds later and Tecos-Trek’ Juan Magallanes completing the podium, at 0:22.

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE PRESS RELEASE Date: 7 octobre / 7 October 2008 Analysis of Tour de France samples by the AFLD: three abnormal results The French Anti-Doping Agency (Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage – AFLD) has informed the International Cycling Union (UCI) of the results of first analyses of repeat tests conducted on samples taken during this year's Tour de France to detect any use of EPO (CERA in particular).

Double Tour de France stage winner Stefan Schumacher is facing a two-year ban and a fine after confirmation of a positive test for EPO (erythrpoietin), the German cycling federation (BDR) said Tuesday. Schumacher was the second rider on Monday to have been exposed as a drugs cheat, following the news that Italian Leonardo Piepoli, who won the race's 10th stage in the Pyrenees, also tested positive for the banned blood booster. The BDR said they would be looking to ban Schumacher, the winner of the Tour's two time trials, for two years.

Ritchey has partnered with Paul Lew to create the SuperLogic sub-1100-gram/pr. wheelset with boron/carbon aero clincher rims rated to 145 psi and selling for $4330! The tire bead pops up and onto a seat to lock it on; Ritchey has tested it up to 175psi without problems. The rim is distinctive with its thick edges so different from the thin edges of a hook-bead rim. The SuperLogic tubular wheelset is under a kilogram per pair and sells for $2900.

Hed’s forged track hub is an extremely high-quality single-speed hub. The stainless axle ends are interchangeable for 120mm or 130mm spacing.

The Hed Black Dog aero bar sells for $900 and weighs a mere 660 grams. Its “Lazy S” curved extensions allow the rider to drop lower on a descent with less back strain due to a more relaxed grip. Two hand positions on the extensions and flip-up pads are all designed with gaining time on climbs in mind.

The eeBrake has an elegant quick-release arm that lifts to open the brake. The superlight curved front spring is all that is needed to return it. The pads slide in easier and without a cotter pin, allowing easy pad change when switching from carbon rims to aluminum rims. A pair of calipers weighs as little as a single caliper of a many high-end brakes (195 grams/pair with pads).

Craig Edwards, former owner of Sweet Wings, now has his superlight eeBrake in production. It pivots about an eccentric center bolt to which the caliper clamps with a pinch bolt. Lowering the pads to reach the rim is done half with the rotation of the eccentric center bolt, and half with the half-length brake pad slots, resulting in less loss of leverage with longer reach. Short pivot distances, wider pivots, and non-layering of brake arms means higher stiffness and no arm-twisting.

Now you, too, can own a Parlee ... well, at least the 7-gram Parlee front derailleur clamp and use it on your own bike (with any 1-3/8” seat tube and braze-on front derailleur). A quarter the weight of an aluminum clamp, yet it’s purported to be as tough.

The Lezyne mini floor pump has a flip-out stand to stand on when pumping. An option is a pressure gauge in-line with the hose.

Lezyne’s miniature floor pump folds up into an extremely compact package. You have to bend over pretty far to use it, but it beats the heck out of a standard mini pump for getting air into the tires without damage to the valves, thanks to a hose rather than a chuck integrated into the pump. I don’t know whom else it appeals to, but it looks like the solution to me for traveling with a coupled travel bike in a small S&S bike case, which requires deflation of the tires but is too small to fit a floor pump.