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Alberto Contador proved he's the man to beat on Sunday's extraordinary moonscape climb up Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe.

Garmin-Cervélo's Brett Lancaster discusses the difficulties of the 2011 Giro d'Italia and the Mt. Etna stage in particular.

Quick Results

• 1. Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP), SaxoBank-Sungard , 4:54:08
• 2. José Rujano Guillen (VEN), Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 0:03
• 3. Stefano Garzelli (ITA), Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo, at 0:50
• 4. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas-Doimo, at 0:50
• 5. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Astana, at 0:50

GC

• 1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Sp), SaxoBank-Sungard , 33:03:51
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr), HTC-Highroad, at 0:59
• 3. Christophe Le Mevel (F), Garmin-Cervelo, at 1:19
• 4. Vincenzo Nibali (I), Liquigas-Doimo, at 1:21
• 5. Michele Scarponi (I), Lampre-ISD, at 1:28

Stage one of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California looked to be getting off to a snowy start — if it gets off at all.

Tejay Van Garderen has been logging the miles in a pair of custom Pearl Izumi shoes.

Snow cancels the first stage of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California.

Alberto Contador entered the 2011 Giro d’Italia as the odds-on favorite to take his second overall victory in the race and on Sunday, he showed why, winning the ninth stage and taking the overall lead in impressive style.

Nick Legan snaps the pre-race prep' for the 2011 Amgen Tour of California.

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ST. LOUIS, Missouri – On a wet and windy day in St. Louis, riders at the Tour De Grove lined up to brave the elements at the second year of the event, an NRC race and the latest round of the USA Crits series.

STATELINE, Nevada (VN) - Tejay Van Garderen will be aggressive in chasing bonus seconds if the opportunity arises in the opening stages of the Amgen Tour of California.

STATELINE, Nevada (VN) – Christian Vande Velde said he went through a range of emotions Friday after learning of the leak to French publication L’Equipe of the UCI’s suspicious riders list from the 2010 Tour de France.

Gregg Bleakney provides his unique perspective on stage eight of the 2011 Giro d'Italia.

HTC-Highroad's Tejay Van Garderen hopes to ride his Specialized Venge to the top step of the podium at the Amgen Tour of California.

Casey B. Gibson was on the road with BMC and RadioShack as the pros acclimated themselves to what could be some very chilly weather indeed for the kickoff to the 2011 Amgen Tour of California.

While $9,800 is an obscene amount of money to pay for a bicycle frame, the Cervélo R5CA is sublime.

STATELINE, Nevada (VN) - On the eve of the Amgen Tour of California, George Hincapie is back with his BMC Racing team and the squad’s youth movement is keeping him going.

TROPEA, Italy (VN) ─ Christophe Le Mevel is not a name that fans are used to seeing at the top of the GC of a stage race, but staffers at Garmin-Cervélo are hoping that he will be making an impression during this year's Giro d'Italia.

STATELINE, Nevada (VN) - Snow and low temperatures remain in the forecast on the eve of the Amgen Tour of California and race organizers are exploring a number of options for the opening stages.

On Saturday, Alberto Contador responded to critics the way he always does ─ with vicious accelerations from his spindly legs, taking second in stage eight and putting everyone on notice a day of ahead of the Giro's first major mountaintop finish up Mount Etna.

MADDALONI, Italy (VN) ─ Hendrik Redant came to the Giro d'Italia to drive around VIPs and make a few extra bucks before trying to land another cycling job following the collapse of the Pegasus cycling project.

Quick Results

• 1. Oscar Gatto (ITA), Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, 4:59:45
• 2. Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP), SaxoBank-Sungard, s.t.
• 3. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA), Lampre-ISD, at 0:05
• 4. Alexander Kristoff (NOR), BMC Racing Team, at 0:05
• 5. Roberto Ferrari (ITA), Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 0:05

GC

• 1. Pieter Weening (Netherlands), Rabobank Cycling Team , 28:09:49
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Belarus), HTC-Highroad, at 0:02
• 3. Marco Pinotti (Italy), HTC-Highroad, at 0:02
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (France), Garmin-Cervelo, at 0:03
• 5. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spain), SaxoBank-Sungard, at 0:13

Oscar Gatto and Alberto Contador go 1-2 in stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia.

STATELINE, Nevada (VN) – After a deal allowing the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to conduct in-competition drug testing at the Amgen Tour of California fell apart this week, the UCI resumed control of the in-competition testing for the race.

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STATELINE, Nevada (VN) - Andy Schleck said Friday that he is struggling with the death of friend and teammate Wouter Weylandt and that his team would honor the fallen Belgian on Sunday and the rest of the season.

Outspoken RadioShack rider Chris Horner believes he comes to the Amgen Tour of California with some of the best condition of his near 20-year career, and he predicts that either he or his teammate, Levi Leipheimer, will win this year’s race.

Bart de Clercq's stage-7-winning Canyon Ultimate CF SLX

AVELLINO, Italy (VN) — Bart de Clercq, winner of Friday’s stage 7 of the Giro d’Italia, only began riding seriously in 2008. The 25 year old Belgian rode his bike for fun as a student at the University of Ghent, making the decision to give racing a try only near the end of his studies. Three years later, he’s in his first season as a pro and is already a grand tour stage winner.

AVELLINO, Italy (VN) — Photographer Gregg Bleakney spent Friday looking for the best seat in the house to watch stage 7. He, along with a few race fans, found it atop the Monteverngine Di Mercogliano, where they could take in the incredible scenery AND the race action

AVELLINO, Italy (VN) – Friday’s short but explosive 110km stage ended in less than three hours, a far cry from the long, 240km monster the Giro faced earlier this week.

A look at Giro leader Pieter Weening's Team Rabobank Giant

Following up on the popular success of the first bike test issue in April, the VN Bike Lab returns with four endurance bikes tested head to head. For this review, we lab tested bikes for torsional stiffness and vibration damping, and then we took them to Europe to ride and race in the cyclosportifs of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. We then ranked the bikes in eight categories. Subscribe today!

Stage

• 1. Bart De Clercq (BEL), Omega Pharma-Lotto , 2:54:47
• 2. Michele Scarponi (ITA), Lampre-ISD, s.t.
• 3. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Astana, s.t.
• 4. Stefano Garzelli (ITA), Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo, s.t.
• 5. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas-Doimo, s.t.

GC

• 1. Pieter Weening (Nl), Rabobank Cycling Team , at
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr), HTC-Highroad, at 2
• 3. Marco Pinotti (I), HTC-Highroad, at 2
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (F), Garmin-Cervelo, at 5
• 5. Michele Scarponi (I), Lampre-ISD, at 14

Regardless of their backgrounds, the top stars of professional cycling all share one thing in common — a story of fulfilled promise.

Bart De Clercq (Omega Pharma-Lotto) took advantage of a well-timed attack on the final climb of the seventh stage of the Giro d’Italia and held on to take the win, but only just barely.

FIUGGI, Italy (VN) — VeloNews' Andrew Hood chats with HTC-Highroad's Craig Lewis at the Giro d'Italia.

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PARIS (AFP) — The International Cycling Union (UCI) on Thursday criticized the French sports daily L'Equipe for planning to publish results from anti-doping tests taken on the eve of the 2010 Tour de France.

BOULDER, Colo. (VN) — The upcoming major stage race in Colorado now has its third title since plans were first made public last year.

BRUSSELS (AFP) — The funeral of Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt, killed in a crash on the Tour of Italy, will take place next Wednesday, May 18, in his home town of Ghent, his Leopard-Trek team announced Thursday.

FIUGGI, Italy (VN) – Fran Ventoso had marked the Fiuggi stage on the road book because he knew it was tailormade for his characteristics. The long drag up to the hilltop town was just want he needed to win.

FIUGGI, Italy (VN) — Photographer Gregg Bleakney took some photos before and after stage 6 at the Giro d'Italia on Thursday.

FIUGGI, Italy (VN) – Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) says he’s being careful in what he eats in Italy as he makes a run for the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia.

Quick results

• 1. Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (ESP), Movistar, in 5:15:39
• 2. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA), Lampre-ISD, s.t.
• 3. Roberto Ferrari (ITA), Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, s.t.
• 4. Danilo Di Luca (ITA), Team Katusha, s.t.
• 5. Davide Appollonio (ITA), Team Sky, s.t.

GC

• 1. Pieter Weening (Netherlands), Rabobank Cycling Team, in 20:15:12
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Belarus), HTC-Highroad, at 0:02
• 3. Marco Pinotti (Italy), HTC-Highroad, at 0:02
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (France), Garmin-Cervelo, at 0:05
• 5. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spain), Movistar, at 0:22

FIUGGI, Italy (VN) - Francisco Ventoso launched an impressive sprint at the end of the sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia to score big win for the Movistar team, as Rabobank’s Pieter Weening finished in the main field to keep his hold on the overall lead.

CHONGMING ISLAND, China - Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (HTC Highroad Women) defended her hold on the yellow jersey in style as she won the second stage of China’s Tour of Chongming Island on Friday, unleashing a devastating sprint at the end of a 118.4km race through the Chongming Industrial Zone.

ORVIETO, Italy (VN) – Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, saw a sharp increase in activity last night between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. local time according to Agenzia Giornalistica Italia. The Giro d’Italia is scheduled to climb Etna twice during stage 9 on Sunday.

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CHONGMING ISLAND, China－Despite forecasts to the contrary, the first stage of China’s Tour of Chongming Island was a cold and wet affair, as Garmin-Cervélo’s Elizabeth Armitstead scored her first international stage victory and Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (HTC-Highroad) grabbed the overall lead on the strength of sprint bonus times.

The German Pro Continental squad NetApp has signed South African pro Daryl Impey, one of the victims of the collapsed Pegasus squad last year.

In an exclusive feature, Origins, in the June issue of VeloNews magazine, Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish, Heinrich Haussler, George Hincapie, Michael Rogers, Andy Schleck and Jens Voigt reveal their paths into the sport, from aspiring junior to the podium steps of the sport’s biggest races.

Questions on spectator etiquette, pros with fenders and lightweight bike

ORVIETO, Italy (VN) – Garmin-Cervélo earned a trip to the post-stage podium presentation as the Giro d’Italia’s “super team,” but it was without top sprinter Tyler Farrar and the maglia rosa.

Caley Fretz takes a look at Francisco Ventoso's Pinarello Dogma, with Campy's electric parts

After finishing the Amgen Tour of California in the runner-up spot for the past three years, Garmin-Cervélo aims to break that streak by fielding a roster that, on paper, is the deepest in the race.

ORVIETO, Italy (VN) – Giro d’Italia race director Angelo Zomegnan strongly defended the use of the “strade bianche” white roads in the face of criticism from some riders who suggest the dirt roads don’t belong in stage racing.

Amgen Tour of California officials are preparing for the worst as forecasts call for a late spring snowstorm to descend on the start of the eight-day race in South Lake Tahoe, California.

Nick Legan prepares himself, and a special bike, for a 200-mile gravel road race

ORVIETO, Italy (VN) – Rabobank rider Tom Jelte Slagter will stay overnight in an Italian hospital for observation, but avoided serious injury despite a heavy fall with about 15km to go in Wednesday’s fifth stage at the Giro d’Italia.

California state championships, yes, but May 15 races are also a battle of north versus south.

Quick Results

• 1. Pieter Weening (NED), Rabobank Cycling Team, in 4:54:04
• 2. Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (COL), Geox-TMC, at 8
• 3. Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (COL), Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 8
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (FRA), Garmin-Cervelo, at 8
• 5. Oscar Gatto (ITA), Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 8

GC

• 1. Pieter Weening (Netherlands), Rabobank Cycling Team, 14:59:33
• 2. Marco Pinotti (Italy), HTC-Highroad, at 2
• 3. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Belarus), HTC-Highroad, at 2
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (France), Garmin-Cervelo, at 5
• 5. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spain), Movistar, at 22

Rabobank’s Pieter Weening scored an impressive solo win on the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia, as the peloton returned to racing, following the tragic death of Wouter Wylandt on Monday.