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Other than the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, few countries award a national championship jersey for criterium racing. The UCI does not even recognize it as an event and, therefore, does not recognize the national championship, but at least it kindly looks the other way, because criteriums are the most popular form of racing in these countries. In the U.S., criteriums dominate the racing calendar over road racing, culminating in the middle of August for the past 17 years in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove for the U.S. national criteirum championships.

Former Gerolsteiner rider Bernard Kohl said Friday that scientists working in laboratories accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) were bribed by his former manager, the alleged head of a doping network. Austrian Stefan Matschiner, who managed the careers of several top Austrian athletes including Kohl, is accused of organising an elaborate doping network which helped top athletes in Europe to cheat by using performance-enhancing drugs and methods.

Evelyn Stevens (New York, N.Y.) pulled off her first major European road stage race victory with a win in stage four of La Route de France on Thursday. Riding for the USA Cycling Women’s National Team, Stevens out sprinted fellow American Kim Anderson (Santa Barbara, Calif./Columbia-HTC) to take the stage win and second place in the general classification.

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Depending on how you look at it, Manuel Prado came within one and a half minutes, or 35 minutes, of the win at last year's Leadville Trail 100. By the time Prado (Sho-Air-Specialized) crossed the line in downtown Leadville, race winner Wiens and second-placed Lance Armstrong had finished their post-race interviews and were looking for a ride home. But Prado's third place was a lot closer and a lot more impressive than it seemed.

Trek, Lance Armstrong's bike sponsor, has sent a squad to Saturday's Leadville 100 to drive the pace with the goal of setting a course record.

Lance Armstrong is hoping a strong field will help deliver him to a victory in record time at this Saturday's Leadville Trail 100 in Colorado. The Astana rider told VeloNews Thursday that while he hasn't recruited a team for the race, his sponsor Trek has sent a squad to Leadville, including former pro Travis Brown. Armstrong is looking to them and to other top riders to drive the pace in the first 45 miles or so of the out-and-back course.

Dave Wiens dropped Lance Armstrong in the last ten miles of last year's Leadville 100, and cranked in to the finish in downtown Leadville with Armstrong breathing down his neck. Making it worse was the creepy sensation of a squishy rear tire, which nursed into the finish. When he crossed the line less than two minutes ahead of Armstrong he was almost riding on the rim.

New Anthem X Advanced SL gets lighter while the Trance X Advanced SL goes carbon.

As of Friday evening, The National Weather Service is calling for a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon Saturday in Leadville, and race organizers and racers are bracing for a possible wet finish to the race, which starts at 6:30 a.m. Earlier int he week the forecast was for a 30 percent chance of rain Saturday, and it rained off and on in Leadville Friday. Organizers are now hoping that many amateur riders can finish before the rain arrives. "I think God doesn't like slow mountain bike riders," said Ken Chlouber, the race director.

Discounts on Syncros products going to IMBA members and volunteers for creating, enhancing and preserving mountain bike trails.

Tom Danielson was back in the winner’s column last weekend with victory in the individual time trial at the five-day Vuelta a Burgos in Spain. It marked Danielson’s first European victory since 2006 and the end of a long comeback from the injuries that nearly derailed his career. The Garmin-Slipstream rider ended up third overall at Burgos, a promising result that indicates the worst is behind Danielson as he turns his attention next to the Vuelta a España, a race in which he’s already twice finished in the top 10.

Reigning Olympic road race champion Samuel Sánchez will wear the No. 1 bib for the upcoming Vuelta a España in the season’s third and final grand tour, August 29- September 20. With none of last year’s top-3 podium finishers back for the 2009 edition, race organizers released a preliminary start list Thursday that includes the Euskaltel-Euskadi leader with el número uno.

Preliminary Start List – Vuelta a España 2009

• 
  EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (EUS) - ESP
  Race Numbers 1- 09
• SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel (ESP)
• ANTON HERNANDEZ Igor (ESP)
• MARTINEZ DE ESTEBAN Egoi (ESP)
• PEREZ LEZAUN Alan (ESP)
• PEREZ MORENO Ruben (ESP)
• ISASI FLORES Inaki (ESP)
• HERNANDEZ GUTIERREZ Aitor (ESP)
• IRIZAR ARANBURU Markel (ESP)
• TXURRUKA Amets (ESP)
• • Reserve Rider - URTASUN PEREZ Pablo (

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Take a look at the fabulous flying machines and the folks flingin' them around up in Winter Park, Colorado.

The winner of the 2009 Tour de France mountain competition will start the Tour of Missouri next month. Team Liquigas has announced that Franco Pellizotti will be on its Missouri squad, as will Francesco Chicchi, who won the final stage of the 2008 race. “It is a great sign for the race to have the current King of the Mountain champion from the Tour de France and also a podium finisher from the Tour of Italy come to race in the United States,” said Jim Birrell, the Tour of Missouri’s race director.

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Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) won the final stage of the four-day Tour de l'Ain on Wednesday, snatching overall victory from Astana’s Chris Horner. Taaramae rode off to stage victory on the summit of the Grande Colombiere climb to finish ahead of teammates David Moncoutie and Damien Monier. Horner had started the 128.2km fourth stage in Belley with a 22-second lead on Taaramae but the American failed to defend his lead, finishing 37-seconds behind his Estonian rival on the stage.