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For the final chase, Prodir, Symmetrics, and Kodak come to the front.

The peloton crosses the Missouri River bridge

Another thing you won't see at the TdF.

Dear Readers,

Welcome to this week's edition of The Prologue, the weekly summary of news from the world of competitive cycling by your friends at VeloNews.com.

It's a big week in cycling, with the season's final grand tour in full swing and the inaugural edition of the Tour of Missouri now underway.

Dear Bob,I thought you might like to address this in your column. We were ona group ride in deepest darkest West Virginia and a car passed with oncomingtraffic, mere inches from our handlebars.This yahoo move was obviously for the purpose of aggression in thatthere was a stop sign only 100 yards ahead. Our fearless leader took offenseand let loose the bird. The clan from Deliverance slid their vehicle acrossthe road and in front of our group. When the enraged and rather large passengertried to get out of the car our man, the bird man, pushed him back in.As the passenger fell back he struck

If there was any doubt that Alessandro Petacchi was back at his best, he erased them with an emphatic finishing surge Thursday to claim his second straight sprint victory at the Vuelta a España. On a day when another breakaway attempt fell short, Milram did the heavy lifting to reel in the attackers to put Ale-Jet in position to win the 173km 12th stage from Algemesí to Hellín.

The rollercoaster ride that is George Hincapie's cycling career took a decidedly upward turn on Thursday, as the American posted a solid sixth-place effort in the Tour of Missouri's stage 3 time trial. Hincapie was more than two minutes back of teammate and stage winner Levi Leipheimer, but he put time into all the other members of Wednesday's decisive 12-man breakaway, and now has a commanding lead in the overall standings of this six-day, 600-mile race that ends Sunday in St. Louis.

German rider Andreas Klöden, who suffered a bad accident in training at the beginning of September, announced on Thursday that he has withdrawn from this month's world road championships in Stuttgart. "Unfortunately, I do not have enough time to be to 100 percent ready for the beginning of the world championships," said the 32-year-old Astana rider on his website. "I have told the people in charge of the German cycling federation that I won't be racing in Stuttgart. It would not have been fair to replace one of my colleagues who is fit.” Klöden suffered a hand and hip injury when

Jan Ullrich might be retired, but his legal troubles seem far from over. On Thursday, German prosecutors revealed that the 1997 Tour de France champion transferred 25,000 euros (about $35,000) to controversial Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes for his services in 2004. They’re also following leads of a similar bank transfer in 2006. According to Jorg Schindler, a spokesman for the Bonn prosecutor’s office, the payment was made from a bank account in Geneva, Switzerland, in early 2004 for what they believe was for doping services. “We have tests that reveal Fuentes stored Ullrich’s blood and we

Petacchi takes a second consecutive victory

Hincapie solidified his hold on the jersey with a solid ride.

Menchov was on cruise control today

The day's doomed break

The Milram chase

Murcia

The winner

Everyone's smiling because tomorrow the Milram train gets the day off

Leipheimer is happy to let his teammate take the top spot on the podium.

Matti Helminen turns in a strong third-place ride

Contador: The Tour winner comes in for 10th.

Will Frischkorn had a good ride, and sits 2nd overall now.

The state of Missouri knows how to protect the riders, with some serious barriers.

O'Neill finishes a strong second

A long stage and a long break and the Tour of Missouri is changed for good. Our man Casey Gibson was there to see it all.

Hincapie at the start, perhaps predicting the outcome.

The peloton on another perfect fall day.

The break in its early stage, only 30 seconds up on the peloton.

Hincapie checks on the field as the break takes off.

The Drury Volleyball team was out to cheer on the riders.

Yellow jersey Ivan Dominguez had bike problems early.

Frank Pipp gets some advice from DS Jeff Corbett.

The TV cameraman gets creative in the break. Don't try this at home.

Mike Friedman was a strong part of the break.

Behind, the peloton is lead by Disco riders who are clearly taking it easy.

Hincapie takes a feed.

George takes the win...

... and the yellow jersey

A weary Will Frischkorn accepts the Most Aggressive Jersey.

Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) made yet another comeback after sprinting to victory in Wednesday’s otherwise routine 11th stage at the Vuelta a España. It was his first major victory since the Italian ace tested non-negative for Salbutamol at the Giro d’Italia and his career teetered on the edge of disaster. The Italian cycling federation eventually cleared Petacchi of what could have been a two-year racing ban, but the proud Petacchi was forced to sit on the sidelines during the Tour de France.

Barring a repeat of the bad luck that has periodically plagued George Hincapie the last couple years, the American is in solid position to win the overall title at the inaugural Tour of Missouri. On Wednesday, the Discovery Channel rider was part of a 12-rider break that rolled off the front of the field early in the rolling 125.6-mile stage 2 run from Clinton to Springfield and never looked back. At the finish, when Hincapie darted out of the small pack to take the stage win, the trailing field was more than 14 minutes behind.

Cycling fans with an eye for style can earn bragging rights and a Slipstream-Chipotle team bike if they design the squad’s 2008 kit in a contest designed to drum up both ideas and interest in the team. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters announced the "Get in the Slipstream" contest, which is open to the public, on August 31 at the national championships in Greenville, South Carolina. The team has since received more than 250 submissions via its Web site, where interested designers can download a template and upload their ideas. The only rules, Vaughters said, are that Slipstream’s trademark

Petacchi wins

Hincapie looks to have already locked up the inaugural Tour of Missouri

It was a routine day in the saddle for race leader Menchov

The peloton motors along

Another day, another pair of podium girls

Hincapie nips Rollin at the first sprint

Hincapie and Pipp rolling along

Schmatz fell victim to an armadillo

Hincapie takes the win . . .

. . . . and the leader's jersey

When the Dura-Ace 7800 group was introduced for the 2004 season, it didn’t feature a hint of carbon fiber despite the fact that Campagnolo was offering ample amounts of the material throughout its flagship Record group. At the time Shimano relied on its ability to forge high quality aluminum at its Osaka factories. Four years later, carbon fiber is quite evident in Shimano's 2008 line. Four of Dura-Ace’s five wheel models feature carbon fiber rims, while a fifth uses scandium. The just released XTR Shadow rear derailleur sports a true carbon fiber pulley cage. And to put the icing on

Photo Gallery Below On a day when I pause every year to reflect on what the future may holdfor all of us, I think about the things that give me a little hope forthat future. One of those things is seeing kids on bikes. The future seems a lotbrighter to me if lots of kids are riding bikes, ensuring a healthier nextgeneration of adults treading more lightly on the earth with another toolto combat global warming and oil dependence. There are a number of great programs around the country that are successfulin creating passionate young bike riders, and I think all of them shouldbe encouraged. I

How ironic is it that on the rest day we wake up two hours earlier than on any other day during the entire race? Okay, okay, I know getting up at 7:30 is not that early at all. Shoot, a majority of the working people out there have already been to the gym and commuted to work by this time. But it is really early for us right now and keep in mind that this is Spain. Let's put it this way, one of our neighbors yelled at Leah yesterday for walking our dog before 9 in the morning! That's because when their dog hears our over-grown Weimaraner, he freaks out, starts barking and wakes

It seems like just yesterday that the Slipstream squad was hanging out in Julien, California, banging out some early season miles and planning the loooong year ahead. Somehow, it’s already September and I’m now at the Tour of Missouri and just about to wrap up another season; amazing how fast the year goes by. Not that I’m done quite yet. For one thing, I still have six days of racing here and then another six in October in Mexico, but with fall in the air the mood circulating the dining room is certainly that of eager anticipation of the coming off-season. Plans of vacations to come,

MGM Home Entertainment and VeloNews cordially invite you to a special screeningof THE FLYING SCOTSMAN, the remarkable, true story of cyclist GraemeObree.WHAT: A FREE screening for cycling fans of all ages of the inspirationaland true story of an unlikely cycling champion who battled the odds toreach the pinnacle of his sport in The Flying Scotsman, arriving on DVDSeptember 18 from MGM Home Entertainment. WHEN: Friday, September 14th, 20077:30 PM (Doors open at 7:00 PM)WHERE: Boulder Theater 2032 14th StreetBoulder, CO 80302(303) 786-7030ADMISSION:  Admission is FREE and will be granted on a

Cuban speedster Ivan Dominguez earned the first yellow jersey of the inaugural Tour of Missouri, blasting across the line at the end of stage 1 on a sun-splashed Tuesday in Kansas City. The Toyota United rider’s triumph came at the expense of Canadian Zach Bell (Symmetrics) and American Kyle Wamsley (Navigators) who were second and third respectively on the opening day of this six-stage, 600-mile race that will head west to east across the Show Me State before finishing on Sunday in St. Louis.

Shimano’s new FC-7800C crank, much like the prototypes seen at this year’s Tour.

The new crank relies on a tapered spline, like XTR and a threaded BB bearing adjustment.

A cut away of the crank displaying the hollow splineless arm.

The WH-7850-C50-TU 50mm carbon tubular wheel.

The WH-7850-C24-CL 50mm carbon clincher wheel.

The rear freehub is made from titanium and now nine- and 10-speed compatible.

The WH-7850-C24-TU low profile carbon tubular wheel.

The WH-7850-C50-TU low profile carbon tubular wheel.

A close up of the low-profile clincher.

And the high profile clincher.

The tubeless compatible, scandium rimmed, WH-7850-SL wheel.

When the weather is nice, you can always expect a lot of bike riders.

Some Freikers braving the snow.

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - Something to believe in

The Freiker unit knows all...

Neither rain nor snow nor carrying skis stays this Freiker from her daily ride.

A Freiker of the week with his $10 and Green Gear after riding every day over the past week.

Guts of the Freikometer, including lead strips for shielding

Crest View Elementary bike rack and snow-covered Freikometer in January.

Press Release: Free Boulder screening of 'The Flying Scotsman'

Dominguez shows 'em how it's done.