Aye, how far he has fallen.  Landis and his team (OUCH p/b Maxxis) have parted ways:

Momentum Sports Group (MSG) and Floyd Landis have mutually agreed to terminate Landis' Rider Agreement and thereby release both Landis and MSG from their respective obligations under the Rider Agreement for the remainder of the 2009 and 2010 racing seasons. 

Landis returned from a well-documented serious hip injury and subsequent hip resurfacing procedure to assist MSG's professional cycling team in winning the Nature Valley Grand Prix, The Tour of Elk Grove and the Joe Martin Stage Races during the 2009 racing season.  For the 2010 season, Landis expressed to MSG that he desires to ride the longer, tougher stage races offered in Europe and internationally that better suit his strengths.  Accordingly, given that MSG will be focusing its 2010 racing season primarily in the United States, MSG and Landis mutually agreed that it would be best for both parties to part ways at this time and allow Landis to seek a position with a team that could better accommodate his desires.

Does this mean the regularly rumoured move to Rock Racing is going to happen? Does anyone care?

And that's that:

The BMC Racing Team today announced the signing of current World Professional Road Champion Cadel Evans to a three year contract. This partnership will create mutually beneficial opportunities for both the current World Champion as well as the BMC Racing Team.

 “Cadel brings a wealth of experience in the Grand Tours to the team.” BMC Racing Team co-owner Jim Ochowicz stated. “As I said earlier, our team will have multiple chances to measure ourselves against the greatest teams in the world.  We are pleased that we will have the opportunities to send out our most successful riders, now including Cadel Evans, to tackle these challenges," Jim Ochowicz added. Cadel Evans compliments the current team roster that consists of seasoned professionals and young emerging talents.

Remember that Jayco Herald Sun Tour race down in Australia?  Well, Garmin does seem to have it wrapped up, but *who* on Garmin, well, that's another story.  Chris Sutton has been enjoying the yellow jersey for most of the week, with Wiggins working for him.  Wiggins, however, blew away the time trial, gaining the yellow jersey yesterday.  By how much?  4 seconds.  So, what's going to happen on the last remaining stage?

"We might just have a big punch-up in the carpark and see who comes off best," joked Wiggins after the yellow jersey presentation. “Actually haven't been in this position before, so I don't know how we will work it out.

If Chris wants to win, he can win. We always ride together, we get on really well and we are close both on and off the bike. I might let him have it.”

Sutton, of course, is feeling generous, too:

Sutton, who has benefited from Wiggins lead-out work many times this season, was equally magnanimous: "I'll ride for Wiggo. We've known each other since 2006 when we were at Cofidis. Bradley's a great time trial specialist and this morning talking at breakfast he really calmed me down. He is always helping me.

"We bleed for each other. We're brothers in arms. We are not racing against each other, it's a team effort. I just didn't win three stages here, it was the boys who put me there."

So what to do?  Oh, and Svein Tuft's in 4th, 39 seconds back.

Bike DC, after a successful test-run last year, is back for sure. I thought I'd post it here in case any of the local PdC'ers hadn't heard about it yet.  On Saturday, October 17th, thousands of bicyclists will participate in the 2009 edition of Bike DC. This year, it expands across the Potomac to be the "Washington and Arlington Community Bike Ride." For those who are unfamiliar with it, this is a noncompetitive ride offering miles of car-free biking through the heart of DC and Arlington. It also gives participants the opportunity to enjoy cycling on the George Washington Parkway, which is normally closed to bikes (this is the part I'm particularly looking forward to, as will anyone who's ever driven the parkway). I hope you'll consider coming out and enjoying the day. Details are:

Time & Start: There are two route options. The 25-mile Capital Ride begins at 8 a.m. The 12-mile Family Ride begins at 9 a.m. Both rides begin on Constitution Street NW in front of the National Archives Building and end across the Potomac River in Crystal City, Virginia.

Cost: To make the event especially family-friendly, Bike DC is free of charge for children 15-years old and younger. Registration and helmets are required. The adult registration fee is $35 for the Capital Ride and $25 for the Family Ride. Registration fees are $10 higher on the day of the event. Details and registration are available online at www.BikeDC.net until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, October 16th.

Route Differences: Both the Capital and Family rides pass by the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, the White House, the Washington Monument, the Pentagon, and the Marine Corps and Air Force memorials. The longer Capital Ride also features a climb up Embassy Row to the U. S. Naval Observatory and the Twin Oaks estate in NW Washington, plus a rare opportunity to bike the tree-lined George Washington Parkway in Arlington and the Whitehurst Freeway in Washington.

While I'm definitely going to get a lap or two in on the GW section, I'll be spending most of the ride as a volunteer near at the Iwo Jima rest stop. Say hi.

A vacation stage finished with a bunch sprint, somewhat marred by a crash within the last 3km (tho' no one looks to be too badly beat up). Results:

1. André Greipel, HTC-Columbia
2. William Bonnet, BBox, st.
3. Daniele Bennati, Liquigas, st.
4. Gerald Ciolek, Milram, st.
5. Fracisco Jose Pacheco Torres, Contentpolis-Ampo, st.

GC remains unchanged:

1. Valverde
2. Gesink, at 31"
3. Sanchez, at 1.10
4. Ivan Basso, LIQ, at 1.28
5. Evans, at 1.51
6. Mosquera, at 1.54

Screencap of the day, courtesy Helsy33:

Yep, that was pretty much it.

Hi, all.  Given PdC's excellent track record in providing me with good cycling info for my travels, I thought I'd go to the well once again.  Megabeth and I are going to be in and around Sydney this coming weekend, and a bit into the following week.  I'm probably going to rent a bike for some MTBing in the Blue Mountains, but welcome suggestions for other interesting rides (road or MTB) in the area.  Whatever we do will have to be on rentals, so any hot tips on that point would be welcome, too. 

Finally, if anyone is up for a beer or three (this is Australia after all, right?), drop me an email.  Aside from City2Surf on Sunday, we've no solid plans at the moment.  I'm fairly certain that I've got a comfortable lead in most PdC'ers met, but hey, never a bad idea to put some time into the competition (right, AC?).