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Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) raced to her fifth national cyclocross title on Sunday in a chilly, windswept Kansas City. The course was dry, the temperature low and the wind brisk as the women lined up at Tiffany Springs Park. Rebecca Wellons (Ridley Factory Team) scored the hole shot with Compton second and Deidre Winfield (Velo Bella–Kona) third. The defending champ hovered in second place on the climb, then went to the front and gave it the gas.

Defending champ Andy Jacques-Maynes (Specialized-KMC-California Giant) took the hole shot and rode solo to victory in the men's 30-34 category on Saturday at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City, Missouri.[nid:85933] Jacques-Maynes took the win in in 41 minutes, 58 seconds ahead of Weston Schempf (C3-Sollay.com) and Ali Goulet (Ridley Factory Team), who fought out a tough sprint at 40 seconds back.[nid:85935] Other winners include: Men 35-39: Brandon Dwight, Boulder Cycle Sport. Men 40-44: Roger Aspholm, Westwood Velo.

Friday's racing at the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships crowned 16 national champions in both junior and master categories and locked up a spot on the U.S. World Championship squad for one junior rider. Cyclists from as young as nine to 67 years of age contested the muddy course at Kansas City's Tiffany Springs Park on the second day of competition at the 2008 national championships.

While many of the nation's top racers are at the cyclocross national championships in Kansas City this week, USA Cycling announced the dates and locations of 17 national championship events for next year. The organization, however, did not announce a location for the next cyclocross nationals, which are tentatively scheduled for Dec. 11-14 next year. 2009 USA Cycling national championship schedule: *All dates and locations subject to change March 21: USA Cycling BMX National Championships – Desoto, Texas

This Sunday’s mens national elite cyclocross championships are as wide open as any in recent memory, with four former champions, all in peak form, lining up. Defending women’s champion Katie Compton won’t face any former champs in her race, but she will contend with an increasingly deep women’s domestic field, most notably the powerful Georgia Gould. (Womens Favorites) When deciding on favorites, we looked at: - their history at nationals, - the top racers' own opinions of their relative strengths

The USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships opened on Thursday with just over 50 master-aged riders tackling the demanding course at Kansas City's Tiffany Springs Park. Gary Thacker (Louisville, Colo./Chipotle-Titus), Phil Bannister (Putney, Vt./Putney-West Hill), Rob Lea (Taneytown, Md./Team Fuji), Walt Axthelm (Durango, Colo./Durango Wheel Club) and Ronald Riley (Aptos, Calif./Team Santa Cruz) won the first of 35 stars-and-stripes jerseys to be awarded at this year's competition.

The last lap of the last event of my 2008 season provided a perfect encapsulation of this first year of serious training and racing. Just after passing the one-to-go sign during the waning moments of the cat. 4 Colorado state championships cyclocross race, I twisted the throttle and moved past two riders into what I’m fairly certain was a top 10 placing.

Cuban sprinter Ivan Dominguez has won just about every major one-day race in the U.S. since he defected from the Cuban national team at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City. Now the "Cuban Missile" is headed to the Fuji-Servetto ProTour team for the 2009 season, and he'll get his first chance to race in Europe at age 32. And, in an interview with VeloNews Wednesday, Dominguez said he didn't want to hear from any doubters about his chances at success. "For those people, I say, just keep it to yourselves and let me try," he said.

The French team which won this year's overall team classification at the Tour Down Under in Australia, Francaise des Jeux, will be returning in 2009 to defend its crown, organizers said Wednesday. "We will expect a competitive team performance in 2009 by Francaise des Jeux," race director Mike Turtur said. The team includes Jeremy Roy, who finished second overall in the 2008 Giro d'Italia Sprint Classification, and who Turtur said would be striving to secure sprint jersey points at the Tour Down Under.

French teams, Francaise des Jeux and Cofidis, have announced their rider rosters for the 2009 Tour Down Under. Tour Down Under Race Director, Mike Turtur, says he is pleased the 2008 TourDown Under overall Teams Classification winner Francaise des Jeux is returning to defend their crown. “We will expect a competitive team performance in 2009 by Francaise des Jeux,” said Turtur. ‘With Jeremy Roy finishing second overall in the 2008 Giro d’Italia Sprint Classification, he will be striving to secure SA Lotteries Sprint jersey points at the Tour Down Under.”

Cervélo TestTeam is pleased to announce that Quarq Technology has become a sponsor of the team. Quarq will supply the men and women's Cervélo TestTeams with bicycle data systems, including Quarq's new CinQo power sensor. The Quarq CinQo is a crankset based power measurement system and has raised the bar in ease of use, durability and weight.

German cyclist Erik Zabel said Tuesday the return of seven-times winner Lance Armstrong to the 2009 Tour de France could provide the tarnished sport with a much-needed boost. Zabel, 38, who captured the Tour de France's green jersey for the points winner six times between 1996-2001, will retire after Berlin's Six-Days cycling in the German capital at the end of January. But the sprint king says Lance Armstrong's planned return to the Tour de France next summer will help boost the sport's image after a string of failed drugs tests in recent years.

VeloNews technical editor Matt Pacocha took a three-up sprint to win the Colorado state cyclocross championships Sunday in Boulder. Last year's champion Kerry Barnholt (Tokyo Joe's) defended her title, taking the women's open win over Lisa Matlock Strong (Tough Girl). With dry conditions, Pacocha took the hole shot and immediately opened a gap on the field. An elite group of five soon formed, containing Pacocha, Brandon Dwight (Boulder Cycle Sport), Jake Wells (Mafia Racing), Jonathan Baker (Vitamin Cottage) and Yannick Eckmann (Clif Bar).[nid:85762]

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Normally in Portland, when the sun shines and the temperature reads over 50 degrees in December, many consider it to be a sign of the apocalypse. But even without a drop of rain for days, the first day of the USGP finals still dirtied riders’ race kits, if only just a little.

Dear Explainer,
Whenever I read about Floyd Landis’ disqualification from the Tour de France it’s always referred to as the first rider to be “stripped of his title of his title for a doping violation.” Why the qualification? Isn’t he just the first guy to lose the Tour after the fact, period?
Jon Byrnes
Bloomington, Indiana

For American cyclocrosser Katie Compton, the pieces are coming together in her long pursuit of a world 'cross championship, a chase she hopes to conclude successfully Feb. 1 in Hoogerheide, Netherlands. Compton, who turns 30 on Wednesday, says she feels stronger than ever this season — and she's been racing bicycles since she was 10 years old.

New York City is the proud home of the House that Ruth Built, The World's Most Famous Arena, and a legendary marathon that concludes with a final sprint into Central Park. To that world-class sports heritage you can add one more landmark: The Cinnabon of Despair.

Thirty-five degrees, steady showers, gray skies … in short, perfect conditions for the final round of the BikeReg.com MABRAcross series, which also served as the Maryland, Delaware and D.C. cyclocross championships. The course was a long loop with many off-camber sections made treacherous by the weather conditions.

Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) and Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM Racing-Seven Cycles) won this weekend's Bay State Cyclocross race in Sterling, Massachusetts, the seventh event of the Verge New England Cyclo-Cross Series. Driscoll's win solidified his overall lead in the Verge series. Bruno-Roy was in third place in the series coming into the Sterling race, behind series leader Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona) and Rebecca Wellons (Ridley). Dombroski was not at the Sterling race. [nid:85483]

American Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) and Belgian Erwin Vervecken (Fidea) won the fourth round of the cyclocross World Cup, the Cross of Koksijde Dunes, in Belgium on Saturday. Compton outsprinted world champion Hanka Kupfernagel, beating the German by one second to the line on Saturday. Kupfernagel, who won her fourth world cyclocross title in January, finished 17 seconds ahead of Holland's Daphny van den Brand. Compton’s win moves her to seventh place in the overall World Cup standings, with 110 points, well behind Kupfernagel’s solid first place, with 220.

The Ohio State Championships were held in Columbus this past weekend on a course that featured equal parts power and equal parts skill. However, the presence of strong winds on race day made the power sections more significant, as three sections of lengthy straightaway went straight into a headwind. The park was extremely spectator-friendly, with most watchers perched up on the finish line hill looking down on the entire course.

Bradley Wiggins may be Garmin’s highest-profile signing for 2009, but Christian Meier may be the team’s most promising young hire. Along with Svein Tuft, Meier comes to Garmin from the Canadian Symmetrics team. But in a way, Meier was already there; the tri-lingual 23-year-old spent the last half of the 2008 season as a stagiare with Garmin.

Georgia Gould delivered a knock-out at the Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup in the Hamptons Sunday to take both the race and the North American Cyclocross Trophy Championship. Meanwhile, Todd Wells went toe-to-toe with Jeremy Powers to win the men’s race while Ryan Trebon refused to tap-out after a bad break on lap one.

A day of surprises greeted the NACT competitors at the first day of the Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup on Saturday. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the UCI C1 event occurred before most of the Elite competitors had even arrived at the venue. Earlier in the morning, Tim Johnson, tested his injured knee on the trainer and found he couldn’t even pedal a full circle. Johnson injured his knee when he banged it on a wood post while riding to victory in the USGP in New Jersey last Saturday.

Australia's national team won the Melbourne round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics series here on Saturday. The Australian Cyclones, with 112 points, edged out compatriots Team Toshiba, which scored 98 points over three days of competition. Although an impressive performance, the win came in light of only limited participation by the world's strongest track squad, the British national team. Australian Shane Perkins went one better than his Manchester World Cup silver earlier this month to claim the men's sprint with a straight heats win over Frenchman Michael D'Almedia.

Team Barloworld will continue into the 2009 season with hopes of forgetting an embarrassing doping scandal during the Tour de France and hinging its hopes on a bevy of young riders. The South African sponsor initially said it would end its three-year backing of the Italian-based, Britain-registered team after Spanish rider Moises Dueñas tested positive for EPO during the 2008 Tour.

Australia's emerging pursuit talent staked their claim as the riders of the future with a dominant win over Spain in the 4km team pursuit final on day two of the Melbourne round of the 2008-09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics series on Friday. Olympians Mark Jamieson, 24, and Jack Bobridge, 19, along with reigning junior World Champions Rohan Dennis, 18, and Luke Durbridge, 17 were the clear favorites after a strong qualifying round and they lived up to the expectation.

Although this week’s Garmin-Chipotle team camp has been a series of meetings, fittings, easy rides, meals and team-building exercises, it hasn’t been all fun and games for Tyler Farrar. The 24-year-old sprinter is staying in close contact with his family following an October car-bike collision that left his father, Ed, in intensive care with serious injuries, including spinal trauma.

Price: $23.99 Web site: www.oscycling.com OS Performance Nutrition is a new all-natural multipurpose energy drink mix that is available in four specific formulas suitable for your race situation. OS Endurance for longer, moderate intensity activities. OS Sprint for intense efforts. OS Pre-Load for a pre-race carbohydrate and protein load. OS Re-Load for post-ride recovery. Each formula is available in three flavors.

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.

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.

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.

“This is definitely my favorite race and that’s my main motivation,” said Costa Rican cyclist Federico Ramirez (BCR-Pizza Hut) after finishing the 2008’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores, on Saturday in Limón, Costa Rica.

Behind the story there is always a greater story, one which is often missed. The Tour of Lombardy unfolded in traditional fashion: a breakaway, a gauged acceleration in the peloton, the knife-stabbing attacks that seal most riders’ fate, and then, finally, the winning attack and the defeated sprints for the places of honor. The favorite won.

Even before Carlos Sastre won the Tour de France this past July, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) had announced that it was ending its long run as a title sponsor of the world’s No. 1 team. And while Sastre’s Tour victory was something of a going-away present to CSC-Saxo Bank, it wasn’t long before news hit that Sastre and bike sponsor Cervélo, both of whom had been with the team since 2002, were also parting ways to start a new project — the Cervélo TestTeam.

The most dominant feature on Stage 2 of La Ruta de los Conquistadores is the 25km paved climb from San Ignacio Acosta to Copalchi, which accounts for roughly one-third of the 76km trip from west to east San Jose. In La Ruta’s trusty race guide, the climb’s profile appears a gradual three-peaked slog up 3000 vertical feet.

It was unfortunate for Matti Breschel that his most important result so far in his young but promising career came on the same day that two Italians finished alongside him on the worlds podium in Varese, Italy. Only one journalist asked the blonde-haired Dane a question during post-race press conference dominated by over-excited Italian journalists lobbing soft balls to winner Alessandro Ballan and silver medalist Damiano Cunego.

What’s the best way to quantify pain? This question popped into my head countless times during today’s opening stage of La Ruta de los Conquistadores, a hellacious 68.7-mile slog from Jaco Beach to the outskirts of San Jose. During the journey I carried my bike up ridiculously steep, muddy slopes, climbed 14,500 feet of elevation gain (much of it in the granny gear) and suffered like a rented mule. I crossed the line cross-eyed and drooling just under eight hours in 42nd place, about two hours behind stage winner Frederico “Lico” Ramirez.

Ukranian Valeriy Kobzarenko, who was one of Team Type 1’s most dependable riders in 2008, will return to the squad in 2009. At the same time, the second-year team announced the signing of promising young Slovenian sprinter Aldo Ino Ilesic.   The two join eight other riders already announced for Team Type 1, a team striving to instill hope and inspiration for people around the world affected by diabetes. Co-founders Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge are two of four riders on the men’s professional roster who have Type 1 diabetes.  

Dear Explainer,
Is there an instance in which a rider returning from a two-year ban has been caught doping again?

A buzz of nervous anticipation hangs thick in the air at Jaco Beach today, as the 400 or so participants in Costa Rica’s 2008 La Ruta de los Conquistadores are picking up race packets, packing bags and preparing for tomorrow’s opening stage. The first of four days packs a serious punch — 68.7 miles and roughly 14,500 feet of elevation gain from Jaco to Ciudad Colon. The day also includes a plethora of super steep ascents, muddy hike-a-bike sections, river crossings and plenty of pain.

German sprint ace Erik Zabel admitts that he’ll probably miss racing, but says his retirement announcement is permanent. With scores of riders committing to comebacks, Zabel insists that, at 38, his farewell at the end of this season will be for good. “I’m sure I will feel a little bit nostalgic, but without a doubt it will be a relief,” Zabel told German reporters during a break at the Six Days of Munich track event. “When you’re not active, you live with less risk. Races with wet roads, snow, crashes … to think that all this is over is very agreeable.”

The UCI C2 HPCX served as the seventh round of the MAC Powered by SRAM Cyclocross Series on Sunday. Unlike the previous day’s sandfest at the Beacon Cyclocross in southern New Jersey, Sunday’s race meandered through a large grassy park next to the business district of Jamesburg. At 2.7 km, the course was technically one of the shortest on this year’s MAC circuit, but the combination of turns, hills and heavy ground from the previous day’s rainstorm made for long lap times, in the eight minute range for the Elite Men.

The Mid-Atlantic Cross Powered by SRAM Cyclocross Series visited New Jersey for the Beacon Cyclocross and its iconic “Amphitheater of Pain” on Saturday. In a switch from past years, the event was run under domestic sanctioning instead of its traditional UCI sanction. But the lack of international stature didn’t seem to hurt, as the event drew record entries and the largest Elite fields in years, which were won by the C3-Sollay.com duo of Wes Schempf and Laura Van Gilder.

I don’t know about the rest of my fellow weekend warrior ’cross-aholics, but race time is often also deep thoughts time. It’s not like I’m out there unfurling the complexities of E=mc² while hopping barriers. But rarely does a race pass when I don’t find myself pondering something beyond the typical “pedal harder-don’t crash-shit, I crashed-man, I’m cracking-cool, I feel better” merry-go-round.

Planet Energy and Catalyst Capital Group Inc. will continue as the principal financial sponsors of Team R.A.C.E. Pro (TRP) through 2009, but the team also said Friday that it will soon be ready to offer details about additional support from new sponsors as well. Josée Larocque and Steve Bauer of Cycle Sport Management Inc. said they are both pleased with the progress made during this first year of building a Canadian UCI Continental men’s team. “Our message is clear. We are focused on providing the best possible opportunity for Canadian road cyclists,” said Larocque.

Fellow Boulderite Brandon Dwight greeted me at the final finish line of last year’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores with a chilled bottle of Imperial in one hand and a digital camera in the other. The cold booze momentarily soothed the numerous aches and pains I had accrued during the four-day, 250-mile race from Costa Rica’s Pacific to Caribbean coasts.

Aussie road sprinter Luke Roberts of Team Kuota-Senges is the last rider in line in this photo. Fighting for position in the final sprint, Roberts crashed with Bettini into Popovych. The Aussie’s left fork blade snapped off of his Cervelo P3, and he received cranio-facial trauma upon impact, but his injuries were less serious than Bettini’s.

Dear Explainer,
I apologize if this is a dumb question, but when I heard Lance Armstrong was going to race the Giro next year I was confused. Wasn't there a warrant for his arrest or something of that nature in Italy for something akin to witness intimidation?
Rick Mattinson
Salt Lake City Utah Dear Rick,
No, it’s not a dumb question. Like my old boss used to say, “there are no dumb questions!” (Well, actually there are dumb questions - some really dumb ones in fact - but yours isn’t one of them.)

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Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) scored double wins at the Cycle-Smart International race in Northampton, Massachusetts, this weekend, while Laura Van Gilder took the win in Sunday's race. Driscoll, in his first year aged out of the U23 category, has developed a formula for success in New England: a steady start on lap 1 and then turning on the pressure for each lap after that until he finds himself alone

The second day of UCI cyclocross racing in Boulder, Colorado, saw repeat scenarios develop as on Sunday, with an identical result in the women’s race and a new winner from the same podium finishers from Saturday’s men’s race. In men’s racing, a lead group quickly formed containing Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com teammates Tim Johnson and Jeremy Powers, Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Saturday’s winner Todd Wells (GT).

On a warm day under clear skies, Melanie Swartz and Ryan Dewald stormed to victory at the Wayne Scott Xross in Fair Hill Maryland on Saturday. The long and relatively flat course through the Cecil County Fairgrounds was fast and technical with few opportunities to recover. In the Elite Men’s race, Greg Wittwer (ALAN North America) took a lead on the first lap and made the rest of the field ? and himself ? suffer. “I was going real hard,” he said after the race. “I saw from the earlier races that the races were staying together in the front and I wanted to spread it out.”

It was no day at the beach for the hundreds of professional and amateur ’crossers who competed in the opening round of the Boulder Cup, held Saturday on a sand-laden course at the Boulder Reservoir in Colorado. Todd Wells (GT) and Georgia Gould (Luna) took wins in the elite races, which stood as the fifth of eight round of the North American Cyclocross Trophy (NACT).

Riders from Britain's successful Beijing Olympic team was out in front again as the hosts won all six golds up for grabs in Manchester Saturday on the second day of the opening leg of the World Cup. Ed Clancy and Geraint Thomas, half of Britain's gold medal-winning and record-breaking team pursuit quartet in Beijing, joined up with Rob Hayles and Steven Burke to enjoy a triumph on their home track. Bradley Wiggins, a member of the team that stood atop the podium in China, opted out in preference for Sunday's Madison while Paul Manning has retired.

Great Britain's track cyclists scored gold in five World Cup events at the Manchester Velodrome on Friday night in their first action since the team’s domination of events at the Beijing Olympics. Performance director Dave Brailsford said it was time to concentrate less on Britain's exploits in China, where the team won seven of 10 events in the velodrome, and to look towards the London Olympics in 2012. And his team was in a confident mood as a mixture of familiar faces and new names took top step on the podium as the Manchester leg of the World Cup series kicked off.

The Giro d’Italia will have some pretty spectacular digs for its 100th anniversary bash. Giro officials announced that the centennary edition of the rosa corsa will begin May 9 in Venice. The Giro will return to city of canals for the first time in 12 years. With Lance Armstrong leading an all-star cast that also will likely include 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and Damiano Cunego, the Giro couldn’t ask for a better send off to celebrate a century of history.

Britain's track team may have dominated the boards of the Olympic velodrome in China, but for the man who helped orchestrate those remarkable achievements it's back to business. Dave Brailsford, the Performance Director of British track cycling, returned from Beijing a happy man after seeing his riders claim seven of the 10 gold medals on offer at the Laoshan velodrome in August. But he won't let his squad of deserved medal winners rest on their laurels.

USA Cycling is launching a revamped track program intended to get young trackies more international experience early in their careers. In recent years, USAC has sent national teams to four track World Cups each season. Under the new program, the team will send some riders to all the UCI Track Calendar events, as appropriate, including European Grand Prix races and 6-day races. USA Cycling also will launch several domestic track training camps.

The nation’s top cyclocross racers will descend upon Boulder, Colorado, this weekend for a pair of UCI events held under expected warm, sunny skies. Saturday’s event, a UCI C2, will be held along the sandy shores of the Boulder Reservoir, while Sunday’s Boulder Cup, a UCI C1, will be held on the grass at Harlow Platts Park. Both events are part of the North American Cyclocross Trophy series, which culminates November 23 at Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup in Southampton, New York.

Cervélo TestTeam is pleased to announce that Rotor Bike Components has become a sponsor of the team.   Rotor Bike Components will supply both the men and women’s Cervélo TestTeams with Q-Rings (oval chainrings), Agilis Evo cranks and Sabb bottom brackets.   “We are very pleased to be part of this new project,” said Ignacio Estellés, Rotor CEO. “In signing our 2-year agreement Rotor commits to apply its engineering to developing exciting new products, technologies and manufacturing methods, to provide the Cervelo TestTeam with the most advanced cycling components.”  

Victoria Pendleton has told 2012 Olympic Games chiefs it will be an embarrassment if women are not allowed to compete in the same number of races as male cyclists. Pendleton triumphed in the women's sprint in Beijing, one of eight golds won in an impressive total haul of 13 medals secured by the British track team at the Laoshan Velodrome. However, in China there were only three women's events on the track compared to seven for men. And that has left Pendleton feeling her achievement was "insignificant" compared to the three golds won in Beijing by British team-mate Chris Hoy.

Chris Hoy, who won three gold medals on the velodrome at this summer's Beijing Olympics, is launching a program to seek out and develop his successor in time for the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The cyclist launched the Chris Hoy Scholarship Tuesday at Murrayshall House Hotel in Scone Perthshire, the location of the Stone of Destiny where Kings of Scotland were crowned. The project will work with companies that invest in grass roots sports and support the development of Great Britain’s future Olympians.

Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) slapped high-fives and jubilantly raised his arms skyward as he coasted alone across the finish line to win Sunday’s Derby City Cup No. 2, the second round of the 2008 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. The Massachusetts native was all grins and hugs at the awards ceremony following the elite men’s race — and for good reason. Johnson’s victory came just one day after he was a non-factor in Saturday’s race, won in dominating fashion by rival Ryan Trebon (Kona).

The Czech Republic made it a six-pack of stage victories at Australia’s Crocodile Trophy Sunday as VIG+ Racing’s Kejval Lubos delivered on the promise he showed during Saturday’s stage at Chillagoe. This time there was no blowing up at the death as Lubos and breakaway partner Tomas Kozak made it another “Czech-one-two” when the race reached its annual stop-over at Mount Mulgrave Station, a cattle grazing property almost as large as some European principalities.

Lampre’s Damiano Cunego won the Japan Cup on Sunday, edging out Giovanni Visconti (Quick Step) and Liquigas’s Ivan Basso who was competing in his first race since being swept up in the Opera?ion Puerto doping scandal. The 30-year-old, now riding for the Liquigas team, finished behind compatriots Damiano Cunego — winner of the Tour of Lombardy — and former national champion Giovanni Visconti in the 151 kilometers Japan Cup.

Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Katerina Nash (Luna) took impressive solo victories at the opening day of the 2008 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, at Champion’s Park in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday.

The Czech VIG+ Racing team continued its complete dominance Friday at the 2008 Crocodile Trophy with Martin Horak scoring his first stage win and fourth consecutive stage win for his team as the off-road classic reached the Australian outback town of Chillagoe. The victory will be remembered for all the right reasons, with Horak, in the most sporting of gestures, rendering assistance when his breakaway partner, Kristof Hertsens of Belgium (Team Lingier) crashed.

It’s been an interesting end of season for American pro team Garmin-Chipotle and its team manager Jonathan Vaughters. The Garmin squad saw some impressive late-season performances by Dave Zabriskie, who finished third at the world time trial championship, and young riders Tyler Farrar and Steven Cozza.

Tomas Trunschka took a hard-fought stage win on Thursday — his second in three days — to keep the Czech team VIG+ Racing atop the leaderboard in the 2008 Crocodile Trophy. The Czechs attacked early in the 122km stage from the rainforest of Koombooloomba Dam to the outback cattle station at Gunnawarra Lagoon. Martin Horak got the ball rolling when the lead bunch entered the mountainous, technical powerline track, which has claimed many victims in this race. [nid:84540]

Cervélo TestTeam is pleased to announce the signing of Simon Gerrans of Australia, Martin Reimer of Germany, Inigio Cuesta and Xavier Florencio of Spain as well as Gabriel Rasch of Norway.

Cycling BC is proud to present the first annual Cycling BC Coaches Conference on November 22, 2008. The conference will welcome coaches from across the province and throughout the Pacific Northwest. The aim of the conference is to provide coaches with a forum to discuss topics relevant to performance and development of the sport. The theme of this year’s conference is: Innovative Coaching: New Approaches to Cycling Success Program 10:00-10:15 Introduction and Sign In. 10:15-11:00 Richard Wooles: The Cycling BC athlete development model 11:00-11:15 Break