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Dombroski makes it back-to-back U23 victories

Jacques-Maynes is back on top after a hideous Memorial Day crash

. . . and Selander gets it

Overend slices through the snow

"Yankee Go Home" Oaxaca, MX

USGP #5 - Portland

Dear Readers,
Welcome to the latest edition of The Prologue, the weekly summary of news from the world of competitive cycling by your friends at VeloNews.com.

The sands in the 2007 cyclocross season's hourglass are rapidly sliding to the bottom chamber. With the USA Cycling Cyclocross Nationals Championships in Kansas City on deck there is nothing left to do but wait until start time. All the preparation, training and racing has been completed and there is nothing that can be done over the next few days that will make you any faster. But there are plenty of things that can be done to make you slower, and with the holiday season upon us, it’s very easy to get sucked into the ever-tempting vortex of sweets, treats and libations. Luckily for me,

Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans was named Australian cyclist of the year at an awards ceremony on Friday in Adelaide. Evans won his second-straight Sir Hubert Opperman Medal, which is awarded to the national cyclist of the year. He also was named the men's road cyclist of the year and collected the inaugural people's choice award. Evans had a year of unparalleled success in Australian cycling. He finished second in the Tour de France, the best overall finish by an Australian in cycling's most famous race. Evans was also fourth in the Vuelta a España, fifth at the world

The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company,

The 2009 Tour de France will begin July 4 in the principality of Monaco, organizers announced on Friday. This will be the first time the Tour has set out from the principality, though stages have finished there in five editions, including the famous finish between Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor when the Tour last visited Monaco, in 1964. In 2009, the Grand Départ will be a 15km individual time trial that includes a section of the famous Monaco Grand Prix circuit. Stage two will also begin in Monaco.

USA Cycling announced its annual Club of the Year awards on Friday, recognizing nine clubs — one in two different categories — for what the national governing body called “outstanding programs throughout the 2007 season.” The 10 clubs will receive complimentary registration fees for the 2008 racing season. Clubs were judged on several key areas, including race promotion, membership composition, instructional clinics and seminars, club activities and charitable contributions and racing performance. Three primary clubs were recognized based on membership size: Division I, 76 or more members;

Steve Tilford collected his fifth cyclocross national championship on Friday at wind-whipped, mud-spattered Wyandotte County Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The KCCX-Verge-Eriksen Cycles rider won the masters 45-49 race in 43:03, nearly two minutes ahead of Kevin Hines, with another veteran ’crosser — two-time masters national champion Gunnar Shogren (Fort Factory Team) — taking third at 4:03 back.

The intrepid Casey Gibson hadn't planned on filing any pix from Friday's installment of the 2007 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, but since he happened to be on hand in Kansas City, and since the eternal Steve Tilford just happened to be racing, he stuck around and clicked the shutter a few times, just for the heck of it.* [nid:41600]* Plus, we pay him. Not as much as he's worth, it's true, but we do pay him.

Tilford wins in commanding fashion

They had a little ice problem today in KC

Mud, too

Neither bothered Tilly, who took off toward a fifth national title . . .

. . . to say nothing of a refreshing mud-pack facial

The other guys chased . . .

. . . but oh, it was lonely out there

Less lonely was Julie Lockhart (NEBC-Cycle Loft), who shared a podium moment with the crowd after winning the women's 60-plus race

Bruno Roy also takes her victory by a comfortable margin

Luke Keough (CL Noonan Coast to Coast) and team mate Austin Vincent sporting their new threads

New England Cross December 8, 2007

Go, man go! Le Grand Depart, London 2007

Dave Collins Trek SIS

Tour of Missouri Winner Is Ready for the Last Stage

Can it get any more muddy? Portland USGP Woman B

Rock Racing team owner Michael Ball is a passionate and polarizing figure.

Like Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador, Trek Bicycles has chosen to stick with Johan Bruyneel and join the Astana team. The Wisconsin-based manufacturer will become the team’s official bicycle supplier on January 1, 2008. Trek Travel will also partner with Astana, offering behind-the-scenes access to the team. SRAM announced its sponsorship of Astana on November 25.

Aqu, Inc., organizers of The Tour of America, a coast-to-coast professional stage race, on Thursday announced revised dates and a tentative route for its inaugural event. Based upon feedback from racers, professional racing organizing bodies, the media and supporters, the tour has been shortened to 21 stages covering approximately 2200 miles (more than 3500 km) and scheduled for September 6-28, 2008. The tour will start in New York's Central Park and travel through 18 states before finishing in Palo Alto, California. Cities along the race's route include New York City, Philadelphia,

Mara Abbott and Jason Sears have been named recipients of USA Cycling’s annual John Stenner Collegiate Cycling Scholarships. Abbott, of Boulder, Colorado, attends Whitman College. Sears, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Each received a $2500 scholarship "based on academic achievements, athletic accomplishments and service to the community with an emphasis on collegiate-team involvement and leadership," according to USA Cycling The scholarship program, funded by donations to the USA Cycling Development Foundation, is named in honor of John

What will Mother Nature throw at Kansas City next? That’s the question organizers and racers alike are asking at the 2007 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, running Friday through Sunday in Kansas City, Kansas. On Monday, the metropolis was hit by an ice storm that grounded flights, knocked out electricity to tens of thousands and transformed city streets into treacherous swaths of ice. Wyandotte County Park, the site of the race, received a generous dusting and sports a slick layer of ice.

Rock Racing team owner Michael Ball

Leogrande isn't exactly your prototypical roadie

Trek signs with Astana

Ryan Knapp (BikeReg.com) wins Thursday's Category B 10-29 race

The layout

Patrick Morrissey (NM Team Cross) takes the B40+ race

Mark Bavineau (Essex County Velo) wins the B30-39 race

Shawnee Brenner (Velocity-Bikesource) leads the women’s 'B' field through on the first lap

Our latest reader-submitted photo gallery is now ready for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of our most recent contest. We have to admit that while we really enjoy cyclocross, it is often a love/hate relationship. Eager and energetic at the start, we often find ourselves wondering what the heck it is we're doing out there once we get going. Janet Hill managed to capture that in "You mean I have to ride another lap?" Been there. Done that. Nice work, Janet!

South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic stage race has evolved into the unofficial season opener for Europe’s top male World Cup-level cross-country racers. Christoph Sauser and Bart Brentjens, among others, use the eight-day, 800km slog across the Western Cape to boost their fitness just weeks before the first World Cup. But in the race’s four-year history, North American cross-country pros have stayed away.

The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company,

USA Cycling announced Wednesday the hiring of Randy Inglis as its Northeast regional coordinator. Inglis’s primary responsibilities will include maintaining relationships and facilitating communication with local USA Cycling race promoters, clubs, local associations and members within his assigned region. “Randy has been involved in all facets of the sport, including directing sponsorship and development initiatives,” said Theresa Delp, USA Cycling’s vice president of membership services. “His extensive experience in the cycling world helped him stand out from a very talented pool of

In an interview with VeloNews, Rock Racing team owner Michael Ball described his recent contract negotiations with Chris Horner,suggesting that American cyclist had "played us" and had been less than forthright about his desire to continue racing in Europe. After that story was posted, Horner contacted VeloNews to offer his side of the story:

You mean I have to ride another lap?

Bishop hopes the Epic will bump up his fitness for World Cup racing

Mountain-bike racing, Baja style

A fan looks for treasure in the feedzone Stage 2 TdG 2007

November in Seattle on my Fixed Gear

Utah Cross Superman

Women in the fog San Francisco Grand Prix 2003

TEAM LOUISVILLE

Lance enjoying Ragbrai

Winter Solitude

Riders in the Shade