The Observer-Reporter features a great interview with Mike Friedman on his selection for the US Olympic team to compete in the two-man Madison track event.

“I just broke down,” said Friedman, a 2001 graduate of Peters Township High School. “I was laughing and crying at the same time. It was just unreal.”

A few days ago, our wonderful Kiwi mechanic Kris Withington provided everyone with a full run down of what goes into keeping “9 blokes on the road for 3 weeks”. Besides holding 42 Felts, there are 28 Fizik saddles, 30 Oval Concept stems, 10 complete 2008 Shimano Dura Ace group sets and 193 Zipp wheels carefully packed in our rolling workshop!

Now in Brest and wrenching away, Kris took the time to take some shots of the inside of what the team calls the “Super Truck.” The truck is most evidently a master work of organization. And apparently, rumor has it, Team Garmin-Chipotle’s custom truck is the envy of the entire pro peloton.

So here are a few images from inside this magical workshop on wheels. Just another part of the well-oiled machine that is Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O.

As a fun challenge, we’d like to see who can identify the less obvious items included in this min photo gallery. Kris will provide us with the answers here in a few days.

CyclingWeekly talks to David Millar about his preview ride of the Cholet time trial course.

Millar described the course to ‘Cycling Weekly’ as “rolling and not at all technical. Very straightforward. It’s not even that exposed, and if there are cross-winds, it won’t have too much of an effect. It’s very much a standard Tour de France time trial course.”

ONLY 250 limited edition 2008 Tour de France Tees!

Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O is celebrating its Tour de France debut with this red, white, blue and argyle limited edition t-shirt! Show your passion for Le Tour with this 100% organic cotton beauty.

Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O is making the Tour Tee available as part of our limited edition event apparel. To keep these items unique, only small quantities are sold.

Head to Topo Ranch where only 200 of these 100% organic cotton beauties are being produced and sold exclusively.

The UK’s Daily Record interviews David Millar on his form and goals for the 2008 Tour de France.

From the article: “It’s eight years since Millar last pulled on the yellow jersey, when he won the prologue at Futuroscope on his debut and held on to the jersey for three days. But a few days of keeping tabs on the race leaders would give him the chance to end that drought after the fourth stage time trial.”

The Vancouver Sun profiles Ryder Hesjedal as the first Canadian in more than a decade to race in the Tour de France. “I’ve been to a lot of events, but there’s only one Tour de France when it comes to pro stage races. It remains special,” said Hesjedal.

With two recent wins – the Route du Sud and the Irish national championships (pictured above) – some have wondered just why young Dan Martin isn’t part of the Tour de France squad. His trainer, Adrie van Diemen answers that question.

Dan Martin isn’t going to the Tour de France for many different reasons. The main reason is that Dan has trained and raced to be at his peak for the time period that included the Route du Sud, the Irish national road championships, and the European road championships tomorrow. The Tour de France starts on July 5 and would require three more weeks of top form. It is not possible to stay in top condition for so long.

Also, the Tour de France wasn’t considered in the beginning of the year when Dan’s race schedule was planned for his first year pro. Another reason is that the longest professional stage race he has completed was the seven-day Volta a Catalunya. The difference between a shorter race and the Tour is not only in the number of stages, but also in the caliber of the peloton. The Tour de France gathers the best team’s best riders in their best condition.

For sure Dan is a talent and is going really well now. But he is still only 21-years-old and we have to be careful not to overdo it. The main thing now is that Dan keeps developing himself so he can be competitive in bigger stage races. And as long as all continues to go well in his development and there are no major setbacks - for example through injury or illness - we will see Dan in the Tour the France within a couple of years.

The Saint Louis Post-Dispatch profiles the two American teams that will take the start line of the 20008 Tour de France on Saturday, July 5 in Brest, France.

“I’m proud that we were a catalyst,” Garmin’s director, Jonathan Vaughters, told reporters Thursday in Brest, France, site of the Tour’s starting line. “I’m also proud of the fact that the sport as a whole has felt that change in the wind.”