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Of all the lessons I learned during this past year of getting coached, No. 1 by a long shot is this basic tenet: More time on the bike does not necessarily translate to increased fitness. Instead, the key is finding that critical balance between high intensity and adequate rest. Better to crush yourself a couple times a week, and then have several short truly easy days, than to noodle around whenever you can and rarely take time off.

If you’re an early adapter and have been aching to try out a tubeless road system, you now have a new option, the Hutchinson RT1 carbon wheelset. The wheels are Hutchinson-branded, but are made by Corima and are exactly the same as Corima’s Aero + Tubeless wheelset (which is not available in the United States).

French rider Julien El Fares (Cofidis) held off the chasing peloton to win the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. Led by Liquigas and Columbia-Highroad, the chasing pack fell 11 seconds short of ending the Frenchman’s adventure in the 147km stage to Capannori on Wednesday. El Fares dropped his fellow escapee, Vladimir Duma (Flaminia), with about 20km to go but Duma chased back with 9km to go. They held a slender lead of 1:34 to hungry sprinters.

Italian Liquigas racer Gianni Da Ros was arrested on Wednesday in the northern city of Padua amid an investigation into the trafficking of banned doping products, the ANSA news agency reported. Da Ros, 23, was arrested during a team run out at the Padua velodrome and was to be questioned Thursday by a Milan judge, ANSA reported. The news agency added that the investigation at the behest of the Milan state prosecutor had seen 12 people arrested in total as well as 64 searches of properties across the country.

Britain's Olympic gold medalist Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) pulled out of Paris-Nice on Wednesday to attend the funeral of his wife's grandmother, team sports director Lionel Marie said. Wiggins scratched from the 173.5km stage from Vichy to St Etienne after placing second in the opening time trial only to lose 11 minutes on the leaders in Tuesday's third stage.

Christian Vande Velde’s world went from black to kisses from the podium girls in just four days at Paris-Nice. The Garmin-Slipstream captain attacked with 20km to go out of a seven-man breakaway to snatch a thrilling solo victory in a hard-fought rainy and cold day in Wednesday’s fourth stage at the 67th Paris-Nice. “I was good at (Tour of) California, nothing special, so to come out and do that today, it gives me a lot of confidence,” Vande Velde told VeloNews. “The form is coming along really well. I am just surprising myself.”

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SRAM has taken over title sponsorship of New Mexico's Tour of the Gila stage race, which begins this April 29 in Silver City. “SRAM has given this race security for the next several years and, with their increasing popularity in the peloton, we can only anticipate growth for our event. And SRAM’s professional neutral race support, along with their great team relationships, make them a perfect long-term partner,” stated Jack Brennan, Tour of the Gila Race Director.

Saturday’s Blue Sky Velo Cup in Longmont, Colorado and Sunday’s Boulder Cup are part of the North American Cyclocross Trophy series.

Optimal recovery nutrition is essential.

Kelly Benefit Strategies' David Veilleux will miss a few weeks' racing after breaking his collarbone in a crash during a team training camp in Texas. Veilleux was reaching back to put his sunglasses in his jersey pocket when he hit a pothole and crashed. He is returning to his native Quebec, Canada to recover and is expected to miss the Redlands Bicycle Classic and the Tour of Uruguay. His team expects him to return to racing at New York's Tour of the Battenkill April 18-19.

California's two high school mountain bike leagues have started the season this month with the SoCal league holding its first race March 1 in Monterey and the NoCal season starting March 8 at Temecula. Both races drew enthusiastic crowds who kept the cowbells and cheers going all day.   100 students representing 14 school and regional composite teams attended the SoCal race, held at the popular Vail Lake Mountain Resort. [nid:89135]