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Twenty-five New Mexico children were lucky enough Sunday to get a bicycle from Johan Bruyneel, the most successful professional cycling manager of the past decade, and a few members of team Astana.

Bruyneel and his team, including Tour de France champion Alberto Contador and USA national road champion Levi Leipheimer, are in Albuquerque for two weeks of high-altitude training. It's the first time Astana has held a training camp in the United States.

Bruyneel spent part of the afternoon shaking hands and giving out Trek bikes of all colors and sizes as part of a new program with Bernalillo County dubbed "Johan's Kids."

He joked with the crowd that someone needed to call his wife and let her know that he now had 25 more children to keep an eye on.

Charles Ovis, a local training camp representative, said Bruyneel wanted to get involved with the community, and the bike giveaway was a perfect way to encourage local children to start pedaling.

"He's going to try to be a mentor to some of these kids and hopefully get them to exercise, live more healthy lifestyles," Ovis said.

The bikes are outfitted with computers that will track the children's mileage. The kids can update their progress on a special Web site with help from the county's parks and recreation department, and Bruyneel will share training tips with them.

Some would argue there's no one better to give cycling tips than Bruyneel. As a team manager, he has a record seven consecutive Tour de France victories with Lance Armstrong and another last year with Contador of Spain.

Some of the children who received bicycles Sunday come from low-income families and others have diabetes.

Ed Chismar, director of the parks and recreation department, said the program with Bruyneel is a first and the county hopes it will blossom with twice as many children getting bikes next year.

Chismar said an added bonus is that the children will have a connection with Bruyneel and Astana as the team makes its way through the cycling season.