Bike Kentucky

Jeff Louder won the general classification in front of his home crowd at the National Racing Calendar's 31st event, the Tour of Utah. With only three events remaining on the 2008 NRC, Rory Sutherland continues to hold a commanding lead in the overall individual standings on the men's side while Tina Pic is the current womenandrsquo;s leader. The teams currently atop the standings include the Health Net Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis in the menandrsquo;s rankings and the Cheerwine Professional Cycling Team in the womenandrsquo;s.

At the Olympic Games on Monday, the UCI held a press conference to publicize a new plan for the structure of professional cycling following weeks of negotiations between the sport's international governing body and Editions Pillipe Amaury, the owner of the ASO and the Societe du Tour de France. As a result, the UCI unveiled key elements of the plan. To show its support of the UCI, the EPA and the proposed agreement, USA Cycling issued the following statement on Monday afternoon from China.

With a victory in the individual time trial on Wednesday, Kristin Armstrong became just the second woman in American cycling history to win Olympic gold while compatriot Levi Leipheimer continued a streak of bronze medals for U.S. men in the race against the clock. The U.S. now has seven Olympic medals in the time trial to its credit since the event's inception in 1996 - four more than the next best country. Armstrong joins Connie Carpenter-Phinney as the only gold medalists in U.S. women's cycling, while Leipheimer continues a streak of bronze since Lance Armstrong (2000) and Bobby Julich (2004).

Three days after the U.S. squad missed out on the medal stand in the road race events, The U.S. Olympic Team will field four medal hopefuls in the men's and women's individual time trial in Levi Leipheimer, David Zabriskie, Kristin Armstrong and Christine Thorburn. All four athletes are capable of winning the race against the clock. In fact, the potential exists to trump the most successful day in U.S. Olympic Cycling history that occurred four years ago when the U.S. claimed three medals in the race against the clock.

The 2008 USA Cycling Junior, U23 and Elite Road National Championships concluded in Orange County on Sunday as James Mattis captured the elite title and Kirk Carlsen led his team to a sweep of the podium in the U23 contest. Evan Huffman also claimed the Stars-and-Stripes jersey in the men's junior 17-18 road race. While the elites and U23's head home, the juniors will remain in Southern California for another week to contest the USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships at the ADT Event Center in Carson, Aug. 14-17

A confluence of adverse weather, crashes and mechanical failure conspired to keep the U.S. Olympic Team off the medal stand in the women's road cycling race Sunday despite a solid team effort put forth by the American trio of Kristin Armstrong, Amber Neben and Christine Thorburn. Armstrong was the top U.S. finisher in the 126-kilometer race, finishing 25th, 43 seconds behind a lead group of four riders that escaped the main field late in the race. After dropping her chain during a crucial part of the race, Neben lost contact and placed 33rd.

The 2008 USA Cycling Junior, U23 and Elite Road National Championships continued on Friday with the women's combined U23 and elite women's road race, as well as the women's junior 17-18 event. Brooke Miller scored a win the the elite race by outsprinting Tina Pic at the line, while Kacey Manderfield was crowned U23 national champion as the highest placed U23 rider in the field. In the junio women's 17-18 race, Anna Young took home the championship.

The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team opened competition on Saturday with the men's road race in which Levi Leipheimer placed 11th to record the team's best finish. After enduring temperatures in the mid 90's with 85% humidity throughout the six-and-a-half hour race, Leipheimer finished 20 seconds off the pace of a six-man lead group. Heavily regarded as the nation to beat entering the race, Spain delivered a gold medal by virture of Samuel Sanchez. Christian Vande Velde finished 17th and George Hincapie was 40th for the U.S.

When 15-year-old Coryn Rivera soloed across the line 45 seconds before breakaway companion and second-placed Kaitlin Antonneau in Friday's junior women's 15-16 road race, she not only secured her second 2008 national champion jersey of the week, but her 18th career national Stars-and-Stripes jersey. Rivera competes in road, track and cyclo-cross and has accrued more national titles than years of life. Friday saw six juniors claim national titles on day three of the 2008 USA Cycling Junior, U23 and Elite National Championships.

On the eve of the 2008 Olympic Games, eight American cyclists are prepared to compete in the road race events scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Beijing. On Thursday, the U.S. squad previewed what's been described by five-time Olympian George Hincapie as the hardest Olympic road course he's seen. With more than two weeks of Olympic cycling action on the horizon, a look now at the first two events of the 2008 Olympic Games - the men's and women's road races.

Day two of the 2008 USA Cycling Junior, U23 and Elite Road National Championships crowned 10 elite, U23 and junior national criterium champions at Angels Stadium. In the featured event of the day, Rock Racing's Justin Williams outsprinted Jake Keough for the win. Top junior winners included Weston Luzzader and Sinead Miller in the men's and women's events respectively in the 17-18-year-old age groups. Athletes as young as ten earned Stars-and-Stripes jerseys as the event now turns towards road racing for the final three days.

The 2008 USA Cycling Junior, U23 andamp; Elite National Championships began Wednesday in Orange County as several USA Cycling National Team members earned titles in the race against the clock. After spending several months in Europe as part of the women's national team program, Alison Powers claimed an elite women's title, while National Development Team member Peter Stetina claimed the win in the U23 field. Also, Jonathan Chodroff took home the elite men's title and USA Cycling awarded eight junior category titles.

In the 28th event on the NRC, Alejandro Borrajo came away with the pro men's victory at the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium in Charlotte on August 2, while Katharine Carroll won the women's contest. The 29th event, the 1.4-rated Hanes Park Classic in Winston Salem, saw Edward King take the pro men's victory and Brooke Miller sprint to the win in the pro women's race. Click on the story for the complete NRC standings with only four events remaining.

Menkini-Selle Italia-Master Colors Kori Seehafer recorded the most significant victory of her career on Wednesday with a win in the eighth round of the 2008 UCI Womenandrsquo;s Road World Cup. Seehafer narrowly defeated American compatriot Kim Anderson in a two-up sprint to take her first-ever World Cup victory. The nine-race World Cup series will wrap-up Friday, Aug. 1 with the Open de Suede Team Time Trial also in Vargarda, Sweeden.

After winning the stage three individual time trial, the USA Cycling Junior National Teamandrsquo;s Charlie Avis took second place overall in one of the worldandrsquo;s most prestigious junior stage races, the Tour de landrsquo;Abitibi. Avis and all five of his teammates strongly represented the United States, each claiming spots in the top 13 of one of the six stages and four placing inside the top 10 overall. Avis also took home the blue jersey, denoting the top first-year junior.

The Fort Lewis College Skyhawks dethroned Lees-McRae College, winning the 2007-2008 USA Cycling Collegiate National Team Rankings Division I race by a single point over the defending champion Bobcats. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology earned the Division II title over a surging Western Washington University in another tight race for the overall team title.

The 1.3-rated International Tour de 'Toona marked the 28th race on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar on July 27 in Altoona, Pa. Luis Amaran came away with the pro men's victory and Laura Van Gilder sprinted to first place in the women's criterium contest. With 22 menandrsquo;s races and 23 womenandrsquo;s events on the 2008 NRC now complete, Rory Sutherland continues to hold a commanding lead in the overall individual standings on the men's side while Laura Van Gilder takes over as the current womenandrsquo;s leader.

Hilton Clarke won the 27th race on the USA Cycling National Calendar, the Wells Fargo Twilight Criterium in Boise, Idaho on July 19. With 21 menandrsquo;s races and 22 womenandrsquo;s events on the 2008 NRC now complete, Rory Sutherland continues to hold a commanding lead in the overall individual standings on the men's side, while the Health Net Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis leads the menandrsquo;s team rankings.

The U.S. Junior National Team closed out the 2008 UCI Junior Road and Track World Championships on Sunday with five athletes contesting the men's and women's road race events and looking to add to its three-medal tally. Sinead Miller was the highest-placed American with an eighth-place effort in the women's contest while teammate Jerika Hutchinson finished 13th. In the men's race, Nathan Brown's 50th-place finish was the top U.S. result. The U.S. National Team finished the weeklong event with three medals - a gold and bronze from Taylor Phinney, and a bronze from Colleen Hayduk.

Two-time junior world champion Taylor Phinney contested his final event Friday at the 2008 UCI Junior Road andamp; Track World Championships, winning a bronze medal in the individual time trial. Phinney's third-place finish marked his second trip to the podium this week after winning a gold medal in the 3,000-meter individual pursuit on the track last Saturday. Other American performances were turned in by Nathan Brown and Adam Leibovitz, who placed 12th and 40th respectively, while Jerika Hutchinson led the women's contingent with a 12th-place effort and Sinead Miller placed 20th.