ProtourNews.com profiles the 16 teams set to compete in the 2008 Tour of Britain which starts Sunday, September 7 in London.

From the preview: “Julian Dean is a fast finisher and placed second overall on the recent Tour of Ireland. David Millar and Magnus Backstedt both have the class to win stages alone or to motivate a break.”

Fan Kevin from Texas sent in this photo and note about his very cute argyle sock monkey: “I’ve tried to find some argyle in my budget. Unfortunately, I have no budget. So I use the socks I have already.”

VeloNews features Will Frischkorn as the race favorite for the Univest Grand Prix in Souderton, Pennsylvania this Saturday, September 6. Will will be defending his title as the race winner in 2007. Check out the YouTube video that captures Will’s impressive win.

CycleTo visits with Will Frischkorn during the recent Tour of Utah to find out what it was like to ride the 2008 Tour de France.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Lucas Euser, Steven Cozza and Danny Pate (hidden) drive the breakaway during the US Pro national road championships in Greenville, South Carolina.

When this team began five years ago, one goal was to be in the Tour de France. The next goal was to make new American champions. Young talent was recruited throughout the US and thrown to the wolves; those that could hack it survived. Sunday at the US Pro national road championships that young talent crossed the threshold into the next generation of American cycling.

Everyone on the team rode an incredible race. We did exactly what we wanted to and it was just a bad twist of fate or an unlucky gust of wind that caused us to lose the jersey. It’s unfortunate and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. But this is not the last you will see of us. We have put our blood, sweat and tears into this sport the past couple of years in an accelerated program to get our bodies and minds tough enough to handle the rigors of the European peloton. This is the new beginning.

I have never seen anything like I did Sunday with everyone stepping it up to the next level. I have never been in that position before, fighting for the win all the way to line. The race was in our control, we had that jersey wrapped up, it was ours. But just like every other day, sometimes life throws us curve balls. With two small laps to go, the man we were working for came to us and told us he was cramping and had nothing left. We were forced to make on the spot decisions and play a more risky role in trying to win the race. We took a risk. Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t. But how are we supposed to make it to the next level if we don’t make any mistakes?

Please don’t look at this as a failure; look at this as the next generation of American cycling making the mistakes that will take them to the big victories over the next decade to come. Victories that will inspire, motivate and restore the passion that cycling was founded on. We ride for you, our fans. We ride for your entertainment, fueling the fire that drives you to be a better athlete and a better person. We ride to win, but in order to do that we first have to lose.

If you need to take something positive out of yesterday, take the fact that the next generation is here and we aren’t going to go away for a long time. Take pleasure in knowing what is on the horizon.

CycleTo hooks up with Danny Pate in Greenville, South Carolina to talk to him about his Tour de France debut.

Top pro team to race exclusively on Felt framesets until 2011

EDEWECHT, GERMANY (Sept 1, 2008)—Felt Bicycles has extended its sponsorship of Team Garmin-Chipotle presented by H30, the American pro cycling team dedicated to promoting ethical sporting and developing the next generation of champions, until 2011. Already engaged in a multiyear agreement, Felt and team management worked together to build on their already successful relationship when Garmin became the team’s new title sponsor, just prior to this year’s Tour de France. Under the extension, Team Garmin-Chipotle will race exclusively on Felt’s framesets for the next three years, including Felt models F1, Z1, AR (Team Issue model shown below) and DA in 2009.

“The relationship we have with Felt is tremendous.” says Jonathan Vaughters, Team Director and owner. “Not only do they know their business better than any other, they work tirelessly with our riders and staff to push the edge of what’s technologically possible. We are fortunate to work with such a progressive and passionate bicycle company.”

Felt’s US President Bill Duehring says, “In one short year the team went from vision to reality and, for us, we could not be happier. JV has done a brilliant job of putting all the pieces together. Between the team’s core message and its bona fide results, it is clear that Team Garmin-Chipotle presented byH3O is the new face of cycling. Felt is proud of this association.”

In association with the team and its family of sponsors, Felt will be offering three different team model bikes in 2009, including the AR Team Issue, the Z35 Team and the F95 Team. Each of these models, along with the entire 2009 Felt line, can be viewed at the upcoming EuroBike and InterBike trade shows. For more information on Felt Bicycles call (949) 452-9050 in the US or (49) 4405-928015 in Europe, or visit Felt online at www.feltbicycles.com or www.feltbmx.com.

About Felt Bicycles
Felt Bicycles is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of its own proprietary branded premium quality bicycles, framesets, components and accessories. The company US office is located in Irvine, CA, and its European office is in Edewecht, Germany. Felt Bicycles is an internationally recognized brand whose bicycles and products are currently sold in over 30 countries, worldwide. Athletes on Felt products have won numerous National and International events including World Championships, Olympic Games,ESPN X-Games and other major national and international competitions. For more information on Felt Bicycles call (949) 452-9050 in the US or (49) 4405-928015 in Europe, or visit Felt online at www.feltbicycles.com or www.feltbmx.com.

About Team Garmin-Chipotle Presented by H30
Owned and managed by Slipstream Sports, a sports marketing and development company, Team Garmin-Chipotle presented by H30 is dedicated to promoting ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions. In 2007, Team Slipstream partnered with Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE), to create the most progressive anti-doping system in the professional sports world. Each of the team’s 25 riders will undergo combined voluntary testing at least 700 times throughout the 2008 season, 20 times the number of tests that most professional cyclists are subject to annually. Team Garmin-Chipotle competes in a full schedule of professional cycling races in the U.S. and Europe. Additional information is available at www.slipstreamsports.com.

Today’s hotly contested 110-mile US Pro national road race championships came down to a photo finish with Blake Caldwell taking second. Danny Pate rounded out the podium in third. Lucas Euser finished fourth and Tom Danielson sixth to put four of the burrito boys in the top ten.

Check out this detailed race CyclingNews.com race report by Mark Zalewski for how it all unfolded.

From the article: “I think we rode really well but we suffered at the end from some little problems – I started to cramp and all the pressure went on Lucas and Blake. I was in the second group over the hill but we caught everyone in front and it came back together coming into the downtown area,” added Pate. “We had numbers with six out of 25 guys and we tried to increase our odds by attacking.”

Final Road Race Results
1. Tyler Hamilton 4h38′19″
2. Blake Caldwell +00″
3. Danny Pate +04″
4. Lucas Euser +05
6. Tom Danielson +1′05″
14. Tom Peterson +3′43″
23. Christian Vande Velde +3′48″
24. Pat McCarty +3′48″
DNF Dave Zabriskie
DNF Steven Cozza
DNF Tyler Farrar