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It’s not the Tour de France or even international pro racing, but Lance Armstrong can’t lose. He’s now three-for-three in regional competition since announcing his comeback in September.

Armstrong, 37 claimed the 27-mile the Rocky Hill Roundup in Smithville, the finals of the Texas Cup Series mountain bike race Sunday by 48 seconds.

Armstrong rode early in 10th position, but then was part of a three-rider break in the reace in moderately steep single-track fire trails. When a slight gap opened, Armstrong took advantage and rode to an easy win.

Last weekend, Armstrong won the individual time trial was also victorious in the two-man team time trial and the Tour de Gruene, near his home is Austin, Texas.

Armstrong is scheduled to return to the pro road peloton, Jan. 20-25 in the Tour Down Under beginning in Adelaide, Australia.

Lance Armstrong has returned to road cycling exaclty as he left it — by winning races. After claiming the individual time trial Saturday, Armstrong teamed with John Korioth, who helped co-found the Lance Armstrong Foundation, to capture the team time trial Sunday in the concluding day of the 25th anniversary of the Tour de Gruene in Texas.
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Floyd Landis

Floyd Landis, the dethroned winner of the 2006 Tour de France, has signed to race next year with the newly sponsored OUCH squad base in Southern California. The Australian-based cycling web site, cyclingnews.comn reported late Thursday that Landis would ride for the squad formerly known as Health-Net. The team is by owned Momentum Sports Group and will be officially named OUCH presented by Maxxis. Landis will join the team following the end of his suspension in January 2009.

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There’s always a surprise when the Tour de France route is announced, and this time around was no different. The event’s 96th edition, scheduled July 4-26, 2009 was announced Tuesday in Paris. It will incorporate five countries after starting in one of the world’s most wealthy principalities. Race director Christian Prudhomme unveiled the course at luncheon press conference, detailing what could be among the race’s most spectacular journeys. The race will begin with a 15-kilometer time trial in Monte Carlo in Monaco on Saturday, July 4 and advance on a clockwise route that will take the peloton into Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy before its traditional finish July 26 in Paris.
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Every year, lots of folks try to speculate what route Tour de France organizers will select for the following year’s event. The starting city of the cycling’s most prestigious event is usually known a year in advance. But the rest is kept secret until the annual fall unveiling.

This year, the presentation will occur Wednesday, Oct. 22 in its usual lavish presentation at the Palais des Congres in Paris.
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Be prepared, Adelaide. The Lance Armstrong machine is coming to your city in the not-so-distant future.

Armstrong receive permission Wednesday to compete in the Tour Down Under after cycling’s international governing body announced it has decided not to adhere to a strict rule that would prevent the rider’s hopeful return next January.

Lance Armstrong

Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, recently announced his intention to return after more than a three-year absence. The weeklong race begins Jan. 18 in Adelaide.

Under the guidelines of the Union Cycliste International (UCI), a retired rider may only return to competition by informing UCI six months in advance, in order to be available for out-of-competition dope testing.

Despite the race coming four months after the American’s decision to return, the UCI has dropped the requirement.

“The aim of Article 77 … can be better achieved through careful application of the current methods of the anti-doping programme than by the strict application of a time period,” UCI said in a statement.

“The UCI can confirm Lance Armstrong has and will be the subject of very strict monitoring throughout the period running up to his return to the peloton.”

Armstrong, 37, will ride in the event with Astana, the Kazakhstan-backed team directed by Johan Bruyneel. The former pro also directed Armstrong during his Tour de France titles.

All of a sudden, old pros are getting on their bikes again.

Alexander Vinokourov

First, it was Lance Armstrong. And now, welcome back to the peloton Raul Alcala. and if he has his way, Alexandre Vinokorouv will join Armstrong in the pro ranks in 2009.

To the surprise of almost everyone in the sport (with the exception of close friends), Raul Alcala, 44, is racing competitively for the first time in 14 years this week in the Vuelta Chichuahua in Mexico. continue reading…

German cyclist Stefan Schumacher, who surprisingly won both Tour de France individual time trials, has tested positive for a new generation of the Erythropoietin (EP0) called CERA (Continuous Erythropoisis Receptor Activator), according to the web site of French daily sports newspaper, L’Equipe, and as reported by Agence France Press (AFP).

Alexander Vinokourov

The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) also announced Leonardo Piepoli, who won the race’s 10th stage to Hautacam in the Pyrenees, tested for positive for CERA.

Piepoli, climbing specialist, was a key helper of former Saunier Duval teammate Riccardo Riccò, also a double Tour de France stage winner this year. Last week, Ricco was banned for 20 months after testing positive for CERA at the Tour.
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With the announcement of Lance Armstrong returning the pro peloton and reuniting with his former team director, Johan Bruyneel, on the Astana Cycling Team, the question might arise: What’s Astana?

In quick order: Astana is the second-largest city and the capital of Kazahkstan.

The Astana Cycling Team is sponsored by the Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan named after its capital.

Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural year, 2007. The team is managed by Bruyneel, former team manager of U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel, the teams that employed Armstrong during his seven Tour de France victories.

During the 2008 season, in which the team was excluded from the Tour de France for past drug violations, Astana has to date won 34 races.

The victories include Alberto Contador’s overall titles in the Tour of Italy and Tour of Spain and Levi Leipheimer’s overall victory in the Tour of California.

The members of the 2009 squad include three Americans, Lance Armstrong of Austin, Texas; Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa, Calif., and Chris Horner of Bend, Ore.

The 2009 roster also includes: Assan Bazayev, Jani Brajkovic, Alberto Contador, Maxim Iglinskiy, Roman Kireyev, Andreas Klöden, Berik Kupeshov, Steve Morabito, Dmitriy Muravyev, Daniel Navarro, Benjamín Noval, Sérgio Paulinho, Gregory Rast, José Luis Rubiera, Michael Schär, Tomas Vaitkus, Andrey Zeits, Haimar Zubeldia.

The team’s web site: www.astana-cyclingteam.com.