former bicyclist who pleaded guilty to delivering more than 350 pounds of marijuana

former bicyclist who pleaded guilty to delivering more than 350 pounds of marijuana to Wilton in 2009 was sentenced to time served Tuesday.

Melissa Giove, of Chesapeake, Va., will spend five years on probation, six months under house arrest and must perform 500 hours of community service under the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe. She could have faced as much as 40 years in federal prison.

Giove, a 39-year-old former world-champion downhill mountain biker, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in December of 2009 for her role in transporting marijuana from California to Wilton. She was arrested by Drug Enforcement Agency agents in Saratoga County on June 16, 2009.

Authorities said Giove got the marijuana in California and arranged to have it driven to the Capital District by a co-conspirator. That man, who was not named in court filings, was apprehended during his cross-country trip and agreed to cooperate with police and continue the delivery.

With federal authorities watching, Giove met with the man at Albany International Airport, where she had arrived on a plane from Virginia. She then drove a trailer containing the marijuana to the Wilton home of Eric Canori, according to authorities.

Canori, 32, pleaded guilty in June of this year to the same conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing. He was also charged earlier this year with attempting to illegally transfer $10,000 in drug proceeds to another person identified in court papers only as "D.B."

The U.S. Attorney's office had sought a prison sentence of 24 to 30 months for Giove, as well as four years of probation and a $25,000 fine, according to court filings.