Ex-mountain bike champ guilty in pot case

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ALBANY, N.Y., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Former world champion mountain biker Melissa Giove has admitted to her role in a federal marijuana trafficking case in New York, officials said.

Giove, 37, of Chesapeake, Va., pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Albany to a count of conspiracy to possess drugs with the intent to distribute. She could be sentenced to 40 years in prison.

The Glen Falls (N.Y.) Post-Star reported Tuesday Giove admitted her role in delivering more than 350 pounds of pot from California to the Albany, N.Y., area last summer. She also also admitted coordinating other drug sales dating to 2006, authorities said in court papers.

She remains free on bail, the newspaper said.

Giove, nicknamed "The Missile" and known for wearing her dead pet piranha fish Gonzo on a necklace when racing, won a world championship in 1994.