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VIDEO: Trail manual? It ain't something you read to learn about trails; it's the wheelie's more useful little brother.

Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) says returning to the winner's circle will be his top priority when he lines up for his first Tour de France following a few tumultuous seasons marked by injury and controversy.

The West Coast and Midwest are criterium central this weekend in the U.S., but the women’s elite national championship in Georgia take top billing.

The UCI issued a warning Thursday advising teams and riders that several blood samples are undergoing expert scrutiny in advance of the Tour de France to determine whether blood doping or other forms of manipulation have taken place.

The new Ridley FB features integrated braking, but you better move fast if you want one.

PARIS (AFP) — The owner of the HTC-Highroad team says that the team's trailblazing days in the professional peloton could come to a premature end unless a replacement title sponsor is found before the end of the Tour de France.

Colombian Lisban Quintero, winner of the 2010 Base Camp International criterium, his first on the National Racing Calendar, has tested positive for a banned substance.

Alberto Contador will take aim at the Spanish national title this weekend in both the road race and time trial events.

Evelyn Stevens went back-to-back Thursday in Augusta, Georgia, when she won the women’s U.S. time trial national championship. Stevens (HTC-Highroad) repeated her 2010 win over teammate Amber Neben on the new Augusta course during the second day of the elite, U23 and junior national championships. Olympic champion Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty12) finished third.

Vacansoleil team for the Tour de France

• Romain Feillu (F)
• Borut Bozic (SLO)
• Marco Marcato (I)
• Thomas De Gendt (B)
• Bjorn Leukemans (B)
• Johnny Hoogerland (Nl)
• Wout Poels (Nl)
• Lieuwe Westra (Nl)
• Rob Ruijgh (Nl)

Omega-Pharma for the Tour de France

• Gilbert Philippe (B)
• Andre Greipel (G)
• Sebastian Lang (G)
• Jurgen Roelandts (B)
• Marcel Sieberg (G)
• Jurgen van den Broeck (B)
• Jurgen van de Walle (B)
• Jelle Vanendert (B)
• Frederik Willems (B)

Ryder Hesjedal will start his fourth career Tour de France under very different circumstances than the previous three editions following his break-out seventh place in 2010.

Team Sky for Tour de France

• Bradley Wiggins (GB)
• Geraint Thomas (GB)
• Ben Swift (GB)
• Juan Antonio Flecha (Sp)
• Rigoberto Urán (Col)
• Xabier Zandio (Sp)
• Simon Gerrans (Aus)
• Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
• Christian Knees (G)

BOULOGNE -SUR-MER, France (AFP) ─ French cycling legend Jeannie Longo easily beat a host of younger rivals to claim her fourth consecutive time trial title at the French national championships on Thursday.

A commuter bike that glows, why didn’t I think of that?

Word from the Tour Divide is that the owner of the Black Sheep Bike, Jake Kirkpatrick, had to abandon his effort.

Please no wagering ...

Francisco Mancebo has signed a two-year contract extension with Realcyclist.com. On The Rivet Management announced Wedensday that the National Racing Calendar individual points leader has signed on with the rookie pro squad through 2013.

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"Christian Vande Velde came in and said to me, 'You can bet that worse things will happen during your career, but you have to let this go. If you don’t, I promise you more bad things will happen, it will eat you up inside.' ”

It's finally here. Niner debuts its first carbon dually: The Jet 9 Carbon

Saxo Bank-Sungard for Tour de France

• Alberto Contador (Sp)
• Jesus Hernandez (Sp)
• Dani Navarro (Sp)
• Benjamin Noval (Sp)
• Richie Porte (Aus)
• Chris Anker Sørensen (Dk)
• Nicki Sørensen (Dk)
• Matteo Tosatto (I)
• Brian Vandborg (Dk)

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Levi Leipheimer insists there will be no leadership battles within RadioShack during the upcoming Tour de France despite the team having as many as four riders capable of riding for GC.

Enve's new compact carbon handlebar.

RadioShack for the Tour de France:

• Jani Brajkovic (Slo)
• Chris Horner (USA)
• Markel Irizar (Sp)
• Andreas Klöden (G)
• Levi Leipheimer (USA)
• Dmitriy Muravyev (Kz)
• Sérgio Paulinho (P)
• Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
• Haimar Zubeldia (Sp)

The German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF are refusing to broadcast the race live on German TV for the second year in a row in protest of what they say is too much doping in the sport. German fans will be able to watch the race via the cable channel Eurosport, however, which will broadcast the 21-stage race live across all of Europe.

Police working together in Spain and Andorra have uncovered an alleged doping ring that involved up to 42 cyclists, 11 athletes, eight triathletes and even some kayakers and motorcycle drivers. Authorities identified most of the alleged clients as professional athletes.

Maurico Soler's life is no longer in danger; that's according to Movistar team doctors attending the injured Colombian, who remains in a hospital following his horrific crash last week at the Tour de Suisse.

Speaking to Spanish television (TVE1) during a break in a training camp in the French Alps, Contador said racing the Giro d'Italia before the Tour de France was hardly ideal preparation for the demands of the Tour.

The first week of this year's Tour features something for everyone

I’d say the main difference between Quebec and France is that when you’re driving along the Riviera, you don’t have to watch out for moose. That said, I didn’t get to see any moose this week. I was pretty sure I saw a bear win stage 6, but it turned out to be Svein Tuft.

Johan Van Summeren, who delivered Garmin-Cervélo's biggest win in team history with Paris-Roubaix in April, will stay with the team through the 2014 season.

PARIS (AFP) - Saxo Bank is to continue sponsoring the cycling team of Tour de France champion Alberto Contador next season, the Danish bank confirmed on Tuesday.

Installing a front hose has never been easier with the help of Singletrack.com's Lennard Zinn.

The daily grind of pedaling the Tour Divide is offset by the spectacular scenery.

Snow and hail blowing from every angle — in June? Welcome to the Tour Divide.

Danielson primed for Tour

Rabobank for Tour de France:

• Robert Gesink (Nl)
• Luis León Sánchez (Sp)
• Carlos Barredo (Sp)
• Juan Manuel Garate (Sp)
• Bauke Mollema (Nl)
• Laurens ten Dam (Nl)
• Lars Boom (Nl)
• Maarten Tjallingii (Nl)
• Grischa Niermann (G)

Women

• 1. Amber Neben, HTC - Highroad Women, with 536 points
• 2. Janel Holcomb, Colavita/forno D'asolo, with 374 points
• 3. Erinne Willock, Team Tibco/to The Top, with 355 points
• 4. Kristen Armstrong, Peanut Butter & Co-Twenty12with 315 points
• 5. Evelyn Stevens, HTC - Highroad Women, with 306 points

• 1. Francisco Mancebo, Realcyclist.com, with 575 points
• 2. Jacobe Keough, UnitedHealthcare, with 463 points
• 3. Jesse Anthony, Kelly Benefit Strategies - Optumhealt, with 344 points
• 4. Hilton Clarke, UnitedHealthcare, with 343 points
• 5. K Frank Pipp, Bissell Pro Cycling Team, with 330 points

More questions about crank length and why Andy Schleck dropped his chain, again.

Quick Step for the Tour de France:

• Tom Boonen (B)
• Sylvain Chavanel (F)
• Gerald Ciolek (G)
• Kevin De Weert (B)
• Dries Devenyns (B)
• Addy Engels (Nl)
• Jerome Pineau (F)
• Gert Steegmans (B)
• Niki Terpstra (Nl)

Nick Legan's Harvey Rapha Continental bike

Euskaltel-Euskadi for Tour de France:

• Samuel Sánchez (Sp)
• Egoi Martínez (Sp)
• Gorka Verdugo (Sp)
• Amets Txurruka (Sp)
• Rubén Pérez (Sp)
• Iván Velasco (Sp)
• Alan Pérez (Sp)
• Pablo Urtasun (Sp)
• Gorka Izagirre (Sp)

RadioShack has four of its Tour nine already confirmed, but team boss Johan Bruyneel is asking fans' help in rounding out the squad.

EL DORADO, Kans. (VN) — All but one of the top ten solo males were beyond the half-way point of the 2011 Race Across America on Monday morning. This second half of RAAM has a distinctly different flavor than the first. For many, the attitude for the first half is one of “charge!” or “full speed ahead,” but by that halfway point (7 miles east of Pratt, Kansas) for some the mantra becomes “survival” or “What was I thinking?”

The stage race riders continued to climb the UCI WorldTour rankings after the Tour de Suisse, with overall winner Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) and second placed Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) both now in the top twenty.

Individuals

• 1. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma-Lotto, with 356 points
• 2. Alberto Contador Velasco, Saxo Bank Sungard, with 349 points
• 3. Michele Scarponi, Lampre - Isd, with 348 points
• 4. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, with 314 points
• 5. Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver, Katusha Team, with 288 points

The longest running National Racing Calendar event, the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, will not run this year. Organizers cancelled the race Monday morning due to road closures resulting from a large fire in downtown Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

Omnium

• 1. Leif Lampater (GER) with 44 points
• 2. Bobby Lea (USA) with 40 points
• 3. Anibal Borrajo (ARG) with 36 points
• 4. Douglas Repacholi (AUS) with 35 points
• 5. Stalin Quiterio (USA) with 32 points

John Eustice was looking for a track racing spectacle in Harlem when he changed the format of the 38th Harlem Skyscraper Classic. He got it Sunday when German Leif Lapater (Transporation Alternatives-Rockstar) topped U.S. Olympian Bobby Lea (Pure Energy) and Anibal Borrajo (Jamis-Sutter Home) in the two event omnium at Marcus Garvey Park in New York City.

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Ivan Basso has placed the entire focus of his season on returning to the Tour de France podium, this time on the top step in Paris. To do so, Liquigas-Cannondale’s two-time podium finisher will of course have to contend with the man he says is the only rider in the sport capable of the Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double.

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Levi Leipheimer didn't start the 2011 Tour de Suisse expecting to win what many call Europe's "fourth grand tour."

SRM has developed a power meter to function with the widely used SRAM 2×10 drive train systems.

XT is getting the trickle-down touches that its big brother, XTR, got last year.

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Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.