Leipheimer preps for Beijing in Oregon, not France

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

A year ago, Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa finished a triumphant third at the Tour de France. His Discovery Channel teammate, Alberto Contador of Spain, was the winner. Soon after, the team disbanded when Discovery Channel chose not to renew its contract, and the support crew that had sent Lance Armstrong forth to win seven straight Tours was no more.

Leipheimer, Contador and several other Discovery Channel riders and coaches signed up with Astana, a team that had been booted from the 2007 Tour because of doping issues. Astana was not invited to the 2008 Tour because of its bad behavior last year, so Leipheimer, who is part of the U.S. Olympic road racing team, is preparing for Beijing by riding at the Cascade Cycling Classic in Oregon.

It is the longest consecutively run elite stage race in the U.S., and with two stages to go Leipheimer is in the lead, though only one other Astana teammate, Chris Horner, is riding in support.

Check out the Astana web site story on Leipheimer’s performance.

-- Diane Pucin