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From build, to photoshoot, to Lance, all within 24 hours

I know, I know, this isn’t road bike stuff, but its Lance Armstrong’s new Trek Top Fuel 9.9 SSL mountain bike, and that’s news to a lot of us. Lance’s first race on his new steed was this past weekend in Snowmass where the part-time Aspen resident won the Pro Men’s Colorado State Cross Country Mountain Bike Championship.

Here are some shots from the recent build up in Waterloo, WI, with Trek …

Virginia Berasetegui (Spain) has won the 2009 ETU Long Distance Triathlon European Championships in Prague. Virginia riding a Wave bike equipped with SRAM Red and a Zipp Sub 9 Disc/ 808 wheel combo smashed the field on the bike leg to win in a time of 6.13.05 an incredible 8 minutes faster than second placed Edith Niederfriniger (Ita) and the Danish duo of Charlotte Kolters and Lisbeth Kristensen.

Virginia has been having a great season winning the Wildflower Triathlon in the USA and the Bonn Triathlon in Germany. Virginia will be one of …

SRAM’s Rival gruppo, good enough for an NRC win in North Carolina

SRAM Rival-equipped David Veilleux (Kelly Benefits Strategies) won Saturday’s sixth annual Presbyterian Hospital Criterium in Charlotte, NC. The young Canadian won with a late race solo attack from a 10-rider breakaway. We believe that this is the first US National Race Calendar (NRC) win for the latest version of SRAM’s value leading Rival gruppo ($919).

Veilleux raced his Rival-equipped “training” bike,” which very often happens when pros are not able to sync up with their team truck. His regular “race” bike is SRAM …

SRAM RED rider Chris Horner (Astana) washes his team bike post-ride

Astana athlete and perennial American hardman rider Chris Horner spent the past few days hanging around with me in Chicago’s northwestern suburbs. Just like last year had the chance to spend time with this gracious, dedicated, and hard as nails rider who trained anywhere from three to six hours a day on the flat, windy, and open roads of McHenry County.

Horner is not a slob by any stretch, but he is not an overly obsessive neatnick like …

Seen here flexing some early season muscle on her way to captaining a Best Team Title at Redlands this spring, Team TIBCO’s road captain & super-domestique, Meredith Miller has just become the 2009 Elite National Champion.

Mrs. Miller takes took the title in a hotly contested race, initially animated by teammate Amber Rais. Meredith finally broke a late pack of other breakaways to come in solo.

For the second year in a row, a Miller, racing for Team TIBCO, on a SRAM Red Equipped Look has won this title. Congrat’s & thanks, ladies, on keeping …

Horner visits SRAM’s HQ and leads staff on a gentle hammerfest along Chicago’s lakefront

Having just raced the Chicago Criterium and in full prep for the latter half of the season, including the upcoming Tour of Spain, Astana’s Chris Horner took some time to visit and answer questions in front of a packed house at SRAM HQ’s weekly Monday morning meeting.

Chris answers questions at the weekly Monday morning meeting

Questions came in all forms – …

Menzies (3rd), Huff (1st) and Clarke (2nd) hamming it up before the Chicago Crit podium presentation - all ride SRAM RED

The official podium at the 2009 Chicago Criterium - all SRAM-equipped athletes

Chicago result same day as Tour de France podium sweep

The Chicago Criterium took place this past Sunday for the second time in beautiful downtown, taking riders on stretches of historic Columbus, Michigan Ave, Balbo, and Jackson, directly in front of Buckingham Fountain. Perfectly warm weather with some mild …