UCI

After working behind the scenes on the structure of a new professional calendar for domestic mountain bike racing, cross-country pro and Singletrack.com columnist Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski says he's frustrated yet hopeful that top-tier racing will continue in the U.S.

Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador said Monday that 2009 has been his best year ever, as he received the award from the International Cycling Union (UCI) as this season's top rider.

After split with national cross-country series management company, number of UCI-sanctioned races goes from six to three.

The International Olympic Committee is reviewing UCI recommendations to make changes to Olympic track events for 2012.

In the wake of each World Cup season, riders, teams, journalists, sponsors and UCI officials vote for the best event venues of the year.

US Cup Chairman Scott Tedro, the man behind Team ShoAir, said UCI sanctioning demands impose unnecessarily high costs and provide only small benefits to a limited number of riders. He is set to start a new 20-race series.

The UCI has approved 19 pro conti team applications. Rock Racing's application is denied.

2009 Vuelta a España champ Alejandro Valverde may skip his title defense for a shot at the Tour de France, which he says "is the race with more international prestige."

The UCI has registered 17 ProTour teams, including Astana, but the team still may need to produce a bank guarantee before its future is secured.

The Pro XCT will feature six UCI-sanctioned events in 2010, kicking off in California on March 13. Races follow in Alabama, Wisconsin and Colorado.

New site was chosen last year to replace initial venue after the UCI ruled that it was not challenging enough.

VeloNews Editor at large John Wilcockson makes the case for keeping a proven draw by disposing of an event with little public interest — the team sprint.

Facing a ban after a positive test for EPO, Gabriele Bosisio pleads his innocence at a hearing with the Italian Olympic Committee.

In a new weekly column, "Out of Dish," Singletrack.com will scour the nether-regions of cyberspace for cycling-related material and then disgorge, plop and present it right on your doorstep. And it won't (hardly) ever be in a burning paper bag.

USA Cycling held its second annual race promoter summit at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs Nov. 13-15.

The Univest Grand Prix is a large circuit race founded in 1998.

The Tour of Missouri continues to draw top ProTour talent, including Mark Cavendish, Franco Pellizotti and Jens Voigt.

The Tour de New York began in 2004 as the Rochester Twilight Criterium.

Tour de Beauce is Canada's biggest stage race.

For many years this race — known to many simply as "Philly" — hosted the U.S. professional road race championships. That title moved to Greenville, but the race through downtown Philadelphia and up the iconic Manayunk Wall remains a classic.

The Amgen Tour of California is hands-down the biggest stage race in the United States. For 2010, it moves from its traditional mid-February slot to mid-May.

The Air Force Cycling Classic will be held in Arlington, Virginia.

The Tour of the Battenkill made a splash on the U.S. pro scene in 2009, with BMC's Scott Nydam taking the win over miles of dirt roads.

Held the day after Christmas, Heusden-Zolder in Belgium is the seventh round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup.

The UCI Track World Cup is being held in Melbourne Australia from November 19th to 21st.

Removing individual pursuit from the Olympics is a mistake, John Wilcockson tells UCI President Pat McQuaid

The third round of the 2009 Superprestige cyclocross series is in Gavere, Belgium.

Giro d'Italia

Tour de Romandie

Held in the Ardennes since 1892, "La Doyenne" ("the old one") is organized by ASO, owner and operator of the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix and other major events.

Part of the UCI Historic calendar, La Flèche Wallonne ("the Walloon arrow") begins in Charleroi and travels east to Huy.

Holland's biggest race is relatively new to the international calendar, having first been held in 1966.

The Tour of the Basque country — La Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco — showcases superb climbers.

In cycling-mad Belgium, the Tour of Flanders is second in popularity only to Paris-Roubaix, which comes a week after.

For 2010, Ghent-Wevelgem moves from its traditional Wednesday spot to the more prestigious Sunday slot.

The Volta a Catalunya is one of the oldest stage races on the international calendar.

Many riders will use the 'race of the two seas' as preparation for Milan-San Remo.

The "Race to the Sun" is a traditional early season stage race that takes riders south from France toward increasingly warmer climes.

The 101st Milan-San Remo will be held in 2010.

Daphne van den Brand, Kupfernagel and Compton battle at the 2008 Koksijde World Cup. | Photo: Frank Bodenmüller/CBGPhoto.com

Concerned that UCI rules for race equipment could be bad for business, several suppliers of UCI-registered teams have formed a coalition to present their concerns to the sport's governing body. The new Global Organization of Cycling Equipment Manufacturers includes most of the major suppliers to ProTour teams, including SRAM, Cannondale, Cervelo, Bianchi, FSA, Specialized and Felts. Phil White, the co-founder of Cervelo and one of the founders of GOCEM, said manufacturers provide about 100 million Euros in annual support of professional cycling.

2009-2010 UCI World Cup Cyclocross rankings, updated Jan. 18

The fourth round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup is in Koksijde, Belgium.