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Kenny Roberts of DT Swiss shows us the new line of carbon wheels about to hit your local DT Swiss dealers. Announced at Sea Otter, there will be quite an assortment of choices, 32mm clincher and tubulars, 46 clincher and tubulars, and also a 66 tubular.

Oakland, CA – The OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis will be sending just a four-man squad to contest the USA Crits Southeast Speed Week beginning this weekend. But those four riders pack a ton of horsepower.

Leading the charge will be Karl Menzies, who pulled off an impressive 2nd place at the Tour of the Battenkill last weekend, to go with his Sprint competition win at Vuelta Mexico in March. Right along side Menzies will be sprinter John Murphy, who notched wins at the Redlands Criterium and the Long Beach Festival already this year.

The team also boasts another veteran fast man, Canadian Andrew Pinfold, who had an impressive Vuelta Mexico in March, earning a stage win and two more podiums in the eight-stage race. Bobby Lea, the 2008 U.S. track Olympian, rounds out the squad. Lea has quickly found his road legs this season. He spent over 100 km out in the main break at the Tour of the Battenkill last weekend, and was still able to hang in the small front group and contribute after being re-absorbed.

“Even though we aren’t bringing a full squad for these races, we have four really strong guys who know how to race criteriums, and who have plenty of experience with these races,” notes team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo.

The festivities start this Saturday with the 30th edition of the Athens Twilight Criterium, which habitually attracts over 20,000 boisterous fans along the course, many who are students at the nearby University of Georgia.

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Tim Rutledge of SBS shows us two models from the Torker 2009 lineup, the U-District a very inexpensive singlespeed/fixed gear bike aimed at the college crowd. As well as the Cargo-T, a very fun, very well equipped bike for the commuter.

Los Altos, California – This weekend marks the beginning of a nine-day period that will see Team TIBCO race in seven criteriums, including two on Sunday on opposite sides of the country.

U.S. National Road and Criterium Champion Brooke Miller will headline a four-rider team for the first two races in the USA Crits Southeast swing in Georgia, the always raucous Athens Twilight Criterium on Saturday night, followed by the Historic Roswell Criterium Sunday.

“I’m finally healthy again and feeling really good,” Miller said. “I’m looking forward to getting back out and racing with the girls.”

Brooke will be joined by Lauren Tamayo, Meredith Miller and Joannne Kiesanowski, who is coming off a win and two 2nd place finishes at the Sea Otter Classic last weekend.

Meanwhile, in Southern California this Sunday, Rushlee Buchanan, Emma Rickards and Alison Rosenthal will take the start at the NRC Dana Point Grand Prix in Orange County.

The next day, Rosenthal and Rickards will hop a flight east and join their teammates for four more Southeast races, including a pair of races in South Carolina – Walterboro and Spartanburg on Wednesday and Friday – followed by the Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, Alabama on Saturday, before a return to Georgia for the Sandy Springs criterium on Sunday May 3.

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Rick Sutten of Plus 3 Network gives us a demonstration of the companies product, a website that lets the user track their workouts and “make them count”. The idea is that you would pick a sponsor, and for every mile you ran, biked, or even swam, you’d be accumulating money to go towards a donation to your favorite charity.

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Park Tool Stopped by the booth to show us a pair of new torque wrenches from Park Tool.

MONTGOMERYVILLE, Pa. – Advances in advocacy, the growing number of successful bike share programs and the state of the economy were among the topics discussed by the more than 140 participants of last week’s Bicycle Leadership Conference (BLC). The 2009 BLC “Leading the Industry into the Future…,” presented by the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA), was held April 15-17, at the Embassy Suites in Seaside, Calif.

“The cycling industry is poised to enter what we consider to be the ‘perfect storm’ for not only the growth of cycling but a paradigm shift in the functionality of a bike,” said John Nedeau, president of the BPSA and vice president of global sales for SRAM. “During this year’s conference, the industry was clearly optimistic about the solution cycling will be to so many of the challenges our society faces. Whether a bike is providing an alternative mode of transportation in a congested city or helping an individual maintain an active lifestyle, cycling is no longer just about skinny guys in Spandex.”

As part of the three-day conference, attendees participated in group bike rides, a golf scramble, networking events and multiple panel discussions. Noteworthy topics of discussion included advocacy, bike share programs and the economy.

Advocacy
A top-panel of national and local advocacy leaders demystified the process of and the potential for pending pieces of federal legislation (a potential new investment of nine billion dollars). The panel discussion addressed what the industry can to do to make sure future bills are bicycling-friendly and how to make sure that states spend the allocated money on bicycling. Visit here for a complete list of panelists.

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Jason of Edge Composites is back to update us on what’s new and coming down the pipeline from the Utah based company.

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Suzette of Fi’zi:k gives us a quick look at the limited edition team replica saddles that will be hitting the market soon (May ‘09).

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Tyler from nuun gives us the quick low down on the nuun brand and the newest flavor banana. Which brings the total number of flavors to six. Tyler also shows off a new active hydration line, which is a better alternative to soda.