Lance Armstrong’s Team Radio Shack received a 4-year Pro Tour license on Friday, paving the way from him, Chris Horner, Levi Leipheimer and others to join the other two American teams, Columbia-HTC and Garmin-Slipstream, at the Tour de France next year.
“Following examination of the request received, the License Commission has awarded a four-year UCI ProTour license for the period 2010 to 2013 to Team Radio Shack (USA),” the UC said in a statement.
It also confirms that we’ll get to watch a very exciting duel between Armstrong and Contador next July.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
- Autopsy confirms he died of natural causes.  VDB was found dead in his hotel room last weekend while on vacation, and doctors said it was of a double pulmonary embolism combined with an existing heart condition (as reported in Belgian newspapers).  While not the cause of death, doctors did say there were signs of alcohol and drug abuse.
- Jan Ulrich’s ties with Eufemiano Fuentes, the Madrid gynecologist accused of providing doping drugs and instructions to various riders and teams, have been documented based on records found on former Director Sportif of Telekom and T-Mobile teams Rudy Pevengage (who is currently employed by Rock Racing and is also documented as having visited Fuentes).  Pevenage said Ulrich’s visits were to help him drop body weight.
- Two-time Olympic XC mountain bike champion Julien Absalon has extended his contract with Orbea through the 2012 London Olympics.
