Vacansoleil’s Luke Roberts from Australia, left, sprint to win the third stage of the Vuelta a Murcia cycling tour between Las Torres de Cotillas and Alhama de Murcia, Murcia, Spain, Friday, March 5, 2010.
A French judge has issued a arrest warrant for Floyd Landis in connection with a computer hacking, after he was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title because of doping. The Court wants to question Landis about his potential connection with the alleged hacking of the computer system at the French anti-doping facilities.
The hacking occurred at a time when Landis was trying to defend himself against the failed drug test. Landis, unable to prove his case, was ultimately banned from the sport for two years.
Lance Armstrong is going to race in the Criterium International in Corsica. That will pin him up against world road cycling champion Cadel Evans and Olympic gold medalist Samuel Sanchez – which will make for an interesting race.
The Criterium International is raced in three stages over two days — a medium mountain stage Saturday, and a flat stage and short individual time trial Sunday. This year’s race will be the first major professional race held in Corsica since the last Tour of Corsica was run in 1982.
Armstrong’s current main rival, reigning Tour de France champion and former teammate Alberto Contador, is not scheduled to participate in the event.
Corsica is a candidate to host the “grand depart” of the 100th Tour de France in 2013, and hosting the Criterium International is seen by some observers as a trial run for that. Prudhomme said the two races were so different that no conclusions could be drawn.
USA Cycling announced on January 22, 2010, the dates and venues for the 21 events that will comprise the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calendars.
In their fourth year, the three calendars will provide professional and elite level athletes with top quality racing opportunities across all disciplines of mountain biking: (1) cross-country, (2) gravity, and (3) ultra-endurance.
Consisting of 10 events in six states, the cross country calendar will kick off with the U.S. Cup Fontana in Fontana, Calif. on March 27 and wrap up on September 6 with the Laddies Loppet Stage Race in Callaway, Minn.
The eight-event gravity calendar will span five states, featuring downhill, 4-cross, super D, and dual slalom competitions. The series begins April 10 with the Santa Ynez Valley Classic in Buelton, Calif. and concludes September 12 with the Whiteface 5th Annual 5k Downhill in Wilmington, New York.
A five-race ultra-endurance calendar will give competitors the chance to duke it out in 12-hour, six-hour, 24-hour, and marathon events, starting with the 12-hours of Santos in Ocala, Fla. on Feb. 20 and ending with the USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships in Breckenridge, Colo. on the Fourth of July.
The Tour de Georgia is on its last life line and is in need of major sponsors. The Tour is one of the nation’s top professional cycling events. It has had a six year run in Georgia before falling prey to the faltering economy.
The 2009 was canceled. This past week, the 2010 was canceled as well.
There is a very real danger the race, which is estimated to pump $30 million-plus annually into the state economy, could vanish if it is not soon revived, Tour and national cycling officials agree.
Tour needs to find a sponsor that can pony up $500,000 to $1 million. It cost about $3.5 million to put on the 6 day race, 600 miles event.
ndrea Smith, spokeswoman for USA Cycling, said the Georgia race is widely considered a warm-up event for the annual Tour de France, the World Series of cycling. Her organization is the official governing body for competitive cycling in the U.S.
“It’s a big deal, not just in Georgia but on the national scene,” she said. “We certainly hope it comes back. There are a lot of people in the cycling world rooting for it to come back.”
The Georgia Tour, along with similar races in California and Missouri, is considered one of the top three races in the nation, Smith said. Biking great Lance Armstrong won Georgia’s race in 2004, competed again in 2005 and has praised the event. Several hundred thousand spectators have viewed some part of the race each year it has been run.
Chrysler and AT&T had sponsored the Georgia race in the past, and the state’s Department of Economic Development had kicked in some seed money. AT&T was the title sponsor for the 2007 race, kicking in about $500,000.
Hopefully the Tour in Georgia can find the necessary sponsor to continue the tradition and bring in some much needed revenue into the State.
The Amgen Tour of California will kick off on May 16, 2010 and continue to May 23, 2010. It is the largest cycling event in American. The format of the race is a Tour de France style race.
The race started in 2005. The aim of the race is to raise awareness and funds to support services and programs for those with cancer.
The 2010 race will cover the following cities: Nevada City, Davis, San Francisco, San Jose, Visalia, Pasadena, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Modesto, Bakersfield, Big Bear Lake, and Thousand Oaks.
Stage 1: Nevada City to Sacramento
Stage 2: Davis to Santa Rosa
Stage 3: San Fransico to Santa Cruz
Stage 4: San Jose to Modesto
Stage 5: Visalia to Bakersfield
Stage 6: Pasadena to Big Bear Lake
Stage 7: Los Angeles
Stage 8: Thousand Oaks