Gerolsteiner News

Veteran German sprinter Danilo Hondo will return to the big leagues next season after inking a deal to join Lampre.

An Italian doctor, Enrico Lazzaro, has come under investigation for the unlawful practice of a doping technique, ozone therapy, as reported Friday in the Italian Gazzetta dello Sport paper.

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is no stranger to cycling locally - he rode in the Nevada City Classic this last June.

Lance Armstrong provided organizers of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California a huge lift when the international cycling star promised to be at the starting line in May.

Lance Armstrong will ride in the 2010 Amgen Tour of California , along with Levi Leipheimer .

Stage 7: May 22 -- Los Angeles Stage 8: May 23: Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village, Augora Hills Images: Felix Adamo Felix Adamo / The Californian When it was announced that the 2010 Tour of California will be coming through Bakersfield, bike riders in attendance brought into applause.

Escondido took center stage in the cycling world in February when thousands of fans watched as Levi Leipheimer won his third straight Tour of California.

The 8 day statewide race kicks off May 16 in Nevada City and will end in Sacramento.

Race and various city officials aren't commenting, but it appears the 2010 Amgen Tour of California will start in Nevada City on May 16 with a road race to Sacramento, according to several cycling web sites and The Sacramento Bee .

Davide de la Fuente is poised to join Astana for 2010. Spanish head-banger Davide de la Fuente is close to penning a deal that will put him in an Astana jersey in 2010.

Bend's Chris Horner closed his 2009 season with his Astana teammates at the Giro di Lombardia in Italy.

Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team has been granted a ProTour license that guarantees the American outfit entry into next year's Tour de France, the International Cycling Union said on Friday.

Fly V's team director Henk Vogels. Photo: Isabelle Vachon The Fly V Australia team is a bit of an enigma.

Kohl now says his doctor took an active role in doping him in 2008. Suspended Austrian racer Bernhard Kohl has accused the doctor of his former Gerolsteiner team of overseeing an organized doping program at the 2008 Tour de France.

Professional cyclist Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa, shown waving, crosses the finish line of the King Ridge Gran Fondo, a European-style cycling event he hosted in his hometown this past Sunday.

Photo: Neal Rogers It wasn't a race. There was no prize money or podium ceremony.

Horner left the Vuelta after hitting the deck in stage 4. Photo: Graham Watson Chris Horner has signed with Team RadioShack for the next two seasons, according to an Oregon newspaper.

The five athletes who tested positive for doping after blood sample retests from the 2008 Beijing Olympics will learn their fate in December.

Leipheimer says the King Ridge Gran Fondo will show that "Sonoma County is a cycling heaven." An expected 3,500 cyclists will take to the streets of Santa Rosa, California, at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning for the start of the inaugural King Ridge Gran Fondo, a mass-participation ride promoted by local cycling star Levi Leipheimer.

The future is bright for both U.S. mena s and womena s cycling. Thata s according to USA Cyclinga s director of athletics Jim Miller, who says therea s enough talent to assure more success by American riders on the road at the top levels of the sport.