Cycling Tweet of the Week:

" http://twitpic.com/gi2sv - Uhh... "

*Lance Armstrong @lancearmstrong
9/4/09 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time

Lance's secret NorCal recruitment tapes revealed?

Ever wonder what it's like when a top-tier domoestic rider gets called up to the big show in Europe?

This as-yet-to-be-uh,hmm-verified super-secret transcript posted on NorCal Cycling News reveals the inner workings of cycling masterminds like Lance and Johan as they attempt to lure Jacques-Maynes brothers Ben and Andy onto the 2010 Radio Shack team. Their Bissell teammate Paul Mach, winner of the 2009 Cherry Blossom Classic and Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, also gets invited along because of his cool name.

In this excerpt, Lance explains the importance of regular Twitter updates as Ben listens on the phone in his Utah hotel room.

Lance: ...So lets see here… my file says you are a college man too… hmm… never went to college myself, learn anything good there?
Ben: Definitely – I went back to school after turning pro – it was a great experience.
Lance: Well – doesn’t hurt to have a few college kids around, I mean Taylor was okay for a while till all that Tugboat/I Believe crap. Let me ask you this… Do you have a Twitter account?
Ben: I do, don’t use it much though.
Lance: I’m thinking I might require all Team Radio Shack Riders to post five times a day. Think you can handle that? We’d all get together after rides and races and do our updates… its great publicity and team bonding. Think you can handle that?
Ben: I don’t see that being an issue – don’t you run out of things to post?
Lance: Nah – just put up stuff like – “Listening to Mandy Moore – Awesome” or “Time to call my good friend Mary Kate O.” makes people think you’re just like them.

Read the rest HERE.

Oregon's Boswell leads Lance, hits the NY Times cover

Southern Oregon junior racer Ian Boswell (Hot Tubes), a member of the USA Cycling Junior National Team, hit the super big time recently when the New York Times website featured a photo of the young rider tagging along behind American grand tour riders Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer at the Nevada City Classic.

Armstrong won the race, but not before benefiting from a little last-lap lead out from the up-and-coming Oregon rider, who won the juniors race earlier in the day. The tempo Armstrong and Leipheimer set on the hilly circuit, which winds up into the hills before descending back into town, quickly shattered the field. Like many in the race, Boswell was soon lapped by the lead group of Armstrong, Leipheimer and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling Team). The young rider hung with the leaders for an incredible seven laps before dropping off again.

Near the end of the race, after Armstrong had dropped his break companions and was soloing in for the win, the seven-time Tour winner came up on Boswell again. This time the young rider decided to give the legendary Tour rider a boost.

"He caught me at the top of the climb, and again I jumped on his wheel," Boswell wrote on his blog. "As we crested the top the paced slowed so I decided to give him some help. I went to the front and gave it all I had, and leading through the start/finish I heard one lap to go. The crowds were going wild. I lead him into the sharp left hand turn and accelerated up the climb knowing I only had one lap left. It was an awesome feeling leading the greatest Tour de France riders in history up the finial lap of his first victory since his seventh Tour win."

You can read Boswell's complete post about the race and view photos at his blog: The Boz Blog.

Armstrong, Horner and the Big O, oh my!

The Oregonian's website may have seen a spike in traffic this morning when Lance Armstrong's 770,000+ Twitter followers got a message from the seven-time Tour de France winner to check out Astana teammate and Bend resident Chris Horner's Tour of the Gila race report on OregonLive.

From Horner's report:

"I can't say how excited I am to be starting the Giro next Saturday in Italy. I feel like we are going to take the excellent motivation and momentum that we are gaining this week over with us to Europe. With how strong our three-man team has been, I can't wait to see what a full nine-man squad can do when we meet up with the rest of our Astana teammates in Italy."

Check out the rest HERE.

Barry's Super Sweet Mix Tape For Lance

This just in from VeloNews.com live Tour of California coverage:

03:44 PM: Wix tunes.

Readers of Lance Armstrong's twitter page might have noticed a post this morning that read "Driving to the race listening to "Barry's super sweet mix tape for Lance". Dude named Barry gave it to us. Thanks, Barry."

It turns out that dude named Barry was none other than (former OBRA standout) pro mountain biker/cyclocrosser and Velonews.com diarist Barry Wicks, who now lives in Santa Cruz. No word yet on whether Wicks will burn us a copy of his tunes, but we expect a column out of this (hint hint).

Versus Ready To Broadcast Tour Down Under

As advertised on the website for the Tour Down Under, the Australian race is your "chance to see Lance ... who in 2009 will compete in Adelaide for the first time in his comeback race. Don't miss the opportunity to see the 7-time Tour de France winner doing what he does best."

Unless you're planning a trip south early next year, you may have to settle for the taped 1/2 hour summaries provided each day by Versus.

The network announced its broadcast schedule for the Tour Down Under, which begins Sunday, Jan. 18, and runs through Jan. 24. Versus will broadcast a 30-minute highlight show each of the first five days of the race. The final stage Jan. 24 will be streamed live on Versus’ Web site, and a one-hour highlight show will air the following day.

(Pacific time)
1-1:30 p.m. - Sunday, Jan. 18
1:30-2 p.m. - Tuesday, Jan. 20
1:30-2 p.m. - Wednesday, Jan. 21
1:30-2 p.m. - Thursday, Jan. 22
1:30-2 p.m. - Friday, Jan. 23
No0n-1 p.m. - Saturday, Jan. 24
2-3 p.m. - Sunday, Jan. 25

Hat Tip to bikerumor.com, which also reported that NBC may outbid Versus for rights to televise the Giro d'Italia.

Spanish cops stop Horner for no helmet

(photo/GETTY IMAGES)

Professional cyclist Chris Horner had a brief encounter Tuesday with Spanish police over his choice of headwear, or lack thereof, while training on the Canary Islands.

The Associated Press reported that Horner, a Bend, Ore., resident who rides in Europe for Lance Armstrong's Astana team, was training with the seven-time Tour de France winner and the rest of the squad when a police cruiser pulled over the pack of riders.

After a routine identification check on Horner, the team pedaled away. Horner kept riding without a helmet because professional cyclists are not required to wear one in Spain.

The weeklong team training camp opened Sunday.