Bruyneel served with US subpoena rumours

Johan Bruyneel

According to widespread rumours, RadioShack-Nissan boss Johan Bruyneel was served with a subpoena as he stepped off his plane and onto US soil this week on his way to the Tour of California. Though the rumours remain unconfirmed, it doesn't take a huge leap of the imagination to connect the story to Floyd Landis, who rode for Bruyneel's US Postal team between 2002-2004 and is currently subject to federal investigation related to the "Floyd Fairness Fund" he set up to pay for his legal team when he was accused of doping. 

Others have suggested that if the subpoena really does exist, it could be part of an ongoing USADA investigation into Lance Armstrong. Whether or not USADA is able to issue a subpoena is unclear - Betsy Andreu, interviewed by Anthony Tan for Velonews, says that they can, other sources say they cannot, while the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which works with and partially funds USADA and is a component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, would certainly be able to seek a subpoena.

Velonation has since located a source "with knowledge of the matter" who claims that the team manager met with investigators on Friday. A USADA spokesperson told the website that an "investigation into the sport of cycling is ongoing."

The story took most of Saturday to get into the mainstream news, leading some fans to suggest it was all a load of rubbish; while others thought that the press had been told not to talk about it. Bruyneel Tweeted some photos from California at around 8pm (BST) the day the story broke, but made no mention of it.

Tour of Utah route announced

The 2010 Tour of Utah parcours has just been announced and looks to be even more brutal than would be expected of a state characterised by deserts and mountains, proving why it is that this event has become known as the toughest stage race in America. Taking in 409 miles (658km) of the diverse conditions to be found in the region, this year's Tour - the seventh to be held - places particular emphasis on climbing with almost 30,000 feet (9144m) to be tackled over six days. Add to this average summer temperatures of 29 to 39 degrees Celsius and it looks as though those taking part in the event are in for a tough time right from the prologue, which is an uphill-all-the-way time trial to be held at the Utah Olympic Park.

Stage 1 offers no let-up with 187km and 2514m of climbing. Risers will complete a circuit three times to finish the race, making it a superb stage from spectator's point of view, and face a sprint on the flat section to the finish line. Stage 2 is 161km and involves just 860m of climbs, but those metres are spread out across the stage and will catch out who found the previous night insufficient time to recover from Stage 1's tests. Stage 3 is a time trial, held on the Miller Motorsports racing track at Tooele. As a motor racing track, it features several bends to liven things up and though they're unlikely to be especially challenging when negotiated on a bicycle, they'll make an interesting alternative to the standard velodrome layout. Coming at a relatively early stage in the race, the stage should see TT specialists giving it their all and achieving respectable speeds. Stage 4 takes place on a road circuit in and around Salt Lake City of which competitors will need to complete eleven laps, making this another stage that will be popular with both spectators and television crews for the number of times they are able to see riders pass. Stage 5 is intended to be the Queen Stage. It's 161km but, being the final stage, the 3322m of climbing across four mountain sections - including gradients of up to 12% in the final climb - means that all riders will need to have paced themselves carefully over the previous stages if they're to stand any hope of finishing.

As ever with non-European races, steephill.tv offers your best chance of keeping up with the action and will be publishing results and photographs daily during the event. With Levi Leipheimer having achieved a surprise victory in the Tour de Suisse, expect to see him attempting a repeat of his Utah triumph of last year.

Augusta National Crits Championship

"This is going to be monster!" exclaimed the race commentator at the start line of the 1.2km city centre course in Augusta yesterday, and he was right: with more than 800 cyclists battling it out for the USA Cycling National Criterium Championships the event looked more like an outsized alleycat race than an official, organised date.

Tight turns and high speeds guaranteed excitement and a multiple pile-up early on - while no fun at all for competitors, no doubt enlivened the day from spectator's points of view. There were certainly plenty to see it: cycling in the USA may not yet enjoy the popularity that it does in Europe but the likes of Levi Leipheimer, Tejay van Garderen and above all Lance Armstrong have boosted it to a higher level of exposure than ever before and thousands turned out to watch the fun.


Video provided by Augusta Chronicle

David Wenger took the Elite Men's title in a race that included 125 starters, pacing himself with a surgeon's precision and just clawing his way to an advantage in a sprint finish after 80km. "I wasn't going to take a risk," he said after the race, "I just gave it 100% from the last half-lap to the finish line, everything I had." Had the course have been just 6m longer Rahsaan Bahti would have taken the title - having fought his way long and hard from the back of the pack, he was on Wenger's back wheel as the crossed over, eventually passing him a few metres later. Only 61 riders finished the race, proving what a difficult course it was.

Meanwhile, residents and business owners expressed their joy. Cafes and shops were doing a roaring trade and locals, many of them with children, thanked race organisers for bringing an exciting event to their doorstep. These sorts of short-course urban races seem to be gaining ever more popularity and are ideal for televising, so with a bit of luck and support we can all expect to see more taking place around the world.