What seemed like a brilliant idea last week landed with a resounding thud at eBay on Thursday when the 17 bicycles being auctioned off by Tailwind Sports received nary a bid.

The bicycles, mostly Madone 6.9 road bikes or Equinox TTX time trial machines, carried Discovery Channel colors, the sponsor that ended its association with Tailwind this year. Tailwind gave up on finding a new sponsor and put these bikes out to bid.

Even though the individual Treks had pedigree papers identifying their authenticity and pro riders who used them, apparently no one thought that cache was worth plunking down up to the $12,200 starting bid -- not even for George Hincapie's time trial bike (above). ...   more »

When Tailwind Sports decided to pull the plug on its pro cycling team instead of finding a sponsor to replace Discovery Channel, the cyclists weren't the only ones left out in the cold.

Trek Bicycles had been the official bike for the Discovery team, and before that the US Postal Service team. The bike company that helped put Lance Armstrong in yellow seven times was suddenly left without a team.

So with Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador and other Disco teammates, as well as manager Johan Bruyneel, jumping over to Astana, I suppose it made sense for Trek to supply bicycles to the Kazahkstan-based team...   more »

Tailwind Sports is auctioning off 17 "slightly used" team bikes ridden by the likes of George Hincapie, Egoi Martinez, Jani Brajkovic and other Discovery Channel team members in the past year.

No. Nothing from Alberto Contador or Levi Leipheimer.

Most of the bicycles are Trek Madone 6.9's, although there are a few Trek Equinox TTX bikes, including one sized "large" for Hincapie. Bidding starts as low as $6,200, but most bikes are between $8,200 and $12,200 ...   more »

Photo by Bruce Friedland

The Race Across America is going to be a little shorter this year after organizers decided to move the bicycle race finish line to Annapolis, Maryland, from its traditional finish in Atlantic City.

The change won't make that much difference to the sleep-deprived and strength-depleted endurance bicyclists as they cross the finish line, however. The 2008 route is 3,008 miles, only 34 miles shorter than last year's race.

In its 26th year, the world's most famous endurance cycling race is scheduled to start at the Oceanside pier on June 8 for solo competitors and June 11 for teams. Last year's solo winner, Jure Robic, wrapped up his ride in 8 days, 19 hours, and 33 minutes ...   more »