Have we got a deal for you. 

With the end of summer just weeks away...heck, if you live in San Francisco, you never had a summer...we've giving you a great deal on the popular CycleTo long sleeve black jerseys.

How great is the deal? Would you believe just $49.99 for these custom Vermarc jerseys?

Quantities are limited, so if you're interested, act now before they're all gone. You can order your long sleeve black CycleTo jersey here, and if you're not sure about your size, check out the Vermarc sizing chart here.

Big-time pro bike racing is returning to Colorado, and you can thank Lance Armstrong...and Quiznos...for making it happen.

Today in Denver, Armstrong and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter announced the details of the Quiznos Pro Challenge, a week-long stage race set to start on August 22, 2011.

As the news of the race broke in Denver today, people seemed more excited about the possibility of Lance riding in the Pro Challenge than they are for the actual event itself. Heck, they're already calling it the "Tour de Lance."

There is a slim...very slim...chance that Armstrong will actually race in the Quiznos Pro Challenge. More likely he'll be in attendance to help promote and publicize the race. He's still the biggest draw in cycling, as we see in the following video from KUSA-TV in Denver.

Just nine days after he beat the best rider in the Bjarne Riis stable, Tour de France champion Alberto Contador is leaving Astana to race for Riis in 2011.

The old Saxo Bank team, the team of Andy and Frank Schleck, Fabian Cancellara and Jens Voigt, is going away. The Schleck brothers are forming their own Luxembourg-based squad, so Riis is out looking for new talent. And today, he lands the biggest star in the sport.

The new team will be called Saxo Bank-Sungard, with Alberto as the undisputed team leader. What remains to be be seen are the boys who will ride to support Contador. Voigt may be too old, and you can bet that the Swiss-based BMC team will make another run at Cancellara. That leaves a lot of holes to fill around Alberto.

Good luck, Bert. 

They say there’s one way to make a small fortune in bike racing.

You start with a large fortune.

Mill Valley, California’s Charles Moore knows that harsh reality better than most in his sport. As President and CEO of McGuire Real Estate, Moore was the driving force behind the Marin County-based McGuire Cycling Team. Over the course of six seasons his riders won races, stood on podiums and represented his company at events across America.

But two years ago, when the global economy tanked and the real estate bubble burst, Moore could not longer justify spending his company’s money on something as seemingly frivolous as a bike team. Not when he was cutting back on staff and cutting corners to keep his real estate business in the black.

Now, after a two-year absence on the cycling circuit, the McGuire team is back. Not as big and bold as before, but still contending, still winning and still representing the McGuire name on the roads and in the races. 

Organizers of the Giro are planning a big celebration in honor of the 150th anniversary of Italian unity. The first stage of next year's race will be a 22 km team time trial in and around Turin, with an individual time trial...finishing at Milan's historic Duomo...on the final day. Molto bello!

The rest of the route was not revealed today...expect that announcement sometime in early December.. What remains to be seen is the route that the riders will take through the Alps and the Dolomites. With a start in Turin, there's a good chance they'll be climbing the Alps in the first week. And with the finish in Milan, it would be a natural to descend from the Dolomites in the third week of the Giro.

Year in, and year out, the Giro is hands-down the best race in the world. 2011 should be no exception.

Team RadioShack announced today that Taylor Phinney would be joining the team as a "stagiaire" for the remainder of the season. Next month's Tour of Denmark will be his first race for RadioShack.

So, what's a stagiaire? It's a French word for trainee or intern. In cycling, it's used to describe a young rider who joins an established team but is not yet a full-time racer on the team. It's essentially a try-out for an up-and-coming rider.

Philley's pedigree and résumé are unparalleled. His mom is Connie Carpenter, the Olympic and 12-time US national champion, and his dad is David Phinney, winner of two stages in the Tour de France, a US Pro champion and Olympic bronze medalist. 

On the bike, Taylor is a two-time world champion in the individual pursuit, and the winner of the last two Under-23 Paris-Roubaix races. In short...this kid's the real deal. He's been racing on Lance Armstrong's Trek-Livestrong U23 team, so this move to the RadioShack squad is a natural.

But...can we all do him a favor? Let's not proclaim him the next Lance Armstrong, please! Let's just be content to declare him the first Taylor Phinney.

If you liked Andy Schleck's performance in France, you'll love this new CycleTo freebie.

In honor of Andy Schleck's solid second place in the 2010 Tour de France, we're giving away an official Team Saxo Bank jersey signed by Andy and all the Saxo Bank pros who raced in the Tour of California this past May.

This jersey is the real deal, made for the Saxo Bank team in Italy by Sportful. For all the details, and to sign-up for a chance to win this week's CycleTo freebie, go here.

It's hard to tell who was a bigger hit at the Tour de France this weekend...film star Cameron Diaz or three-time Tour winner Alberto Contador?

Take your pick. Both drew huge crowds and packs of paparazzi...both are international stars, recognized for greatness in their chosen endeavors...

Our thanks to John Pierce of PhotoSport International for another great set of photos from France.